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ebbatssisssssabtfstjitt t ytj gjp st ontario sett0 deliverfirst balanced budgetio decade eteworrc lsf by patrick casey t 5 staff writer c ifsthe old good s cop routine arid itfarkham mayor don cousens is growing tired of wearing the black haf- 1 wheh finance minister ernie eves rises in the legislature at queens park this afternoon jto deliver aprovincial budget offering more tax cuts and new money for health care it will also mark the first balanced budget in a decade eliminating a deficit that was 11 million when the tories took office in 1995 v however cousens says the bud- get wont address critical issues in york region including a five property tax hike beginning next year to help fund construction pro jects for the regions three hospitals furthermore- federal and provincial governments continue to don cousens york region is fac ing critical issues says markhams mayor including hospital funding tually debt free but downloading means wecdritinue to havea tough time keeping our costs down it ignore thegrowing transportation becomes a rippling effect and really frank- klees oak ridges mpp says transportation funding is part of todays budget crisis thats crippling highways across greater toronto and-with- but adequate infrastructure dollars ontarios prosperous economy will grind to a halt he said this is a problem the tax cuts have stimulated the economy but r r province is getting a clean bill of finaricialhealth while we could fall a notch or two on our credit stand ing cousens said yesterday you cant have theiprovince puts us offa slippery road and without new to invest in rapid transit and improved go transit cousens insists no amount of tax cuts will keep ontarios economic boom afloat without that infrastructure investment residents will never see transportation better than it is right now that is the threat things are bad right now and theyare only going to get worse saidjcousens ments this year alone if it doesnt happen at the provincial and federal levels get ready for the municipal govern ment to find the money but that is a false economy our budgets will quality of life we all have a vested interest said- klees j jthe conservative party whip canada v is the only country where mejeder governmeritis major role in me transportation cri- sis v i not redirecting funds from massive federal budgets into trans- portation is a disgrace i appeal to jrhy federalcounterpaft and all 101 liberal members to get to work so this province receives a fair sharelaf its federal transit dollars rln february the liberals announced a sixyear 26billioh national infrastructure program however only 450 million arrives in the first two years with 550 million coming in the final fouryears following the next feder- al election kleessaid the 61billion provin cial budgevwill againincludeper sdrial income tax cuts and the gov ernment will begin to tackle a 121- billion debt that costs taxpayers not be able to cope with that more than 9 billion ayear in inter although he would not commit est payments looking too good because there is notin york region will invest 100 bnlyonetaxpayef-markhamisvir- million in transportation improve- to adollar figure oak ridges mpp frank klees confirmed funding for j transportation improvements will be part of the budget but stressed die need for the federal and munic- ipal governments to play a larger financial role there is a provincial role to play because it is not just about moving people and products its about w bspitsl ch iefs wou idiwelconie more cash byjennifer brown staff writer pitals have also negotiated a pay hike with their services constantly under pressure from ontario finance vninwer may have made a billion- sw8 populations hospitals such as york central in douarpmiseffithehealthcaresystembutlocalhbs 5 c t newmarket and pitkradnfflstratbrsarentc6uritmgbnmatmbneyyet markham stouffyule are expecting big things from s vymethvreoptimisticthatnew v s cental serves more tnan 300000 york region residents every five years an additional 72000 people move into thehospitals catchment area i optimistic wiirfiriwirito highgrowthyprk region theyre con- vinced a pqrtionof thefunding will be used to pay for a new deal with ontarios doctors v we dont know wie havent heard anything but f most of us believe there will be more money for hospi- tals said markham stduffvillehdspital president jim macleani think there are mariymany pressures in the includes both highgrowth r pressures and in the teaching centres xnd maclean cautioried the funds maybe required to cover recent pay increases- for hursestand the pfovlncesddctorsrthe deal struck lastweek with the v ontario medical association willsee a number of the hospital is embarking on the first phase of a 44 million expansion and renovation plan that includes a new nursing horfte as well as newprograms and ser vices to meet the needs of its growing community the province must deliver they have to come through said york central president frank lussing t no choice we will not be able to meet the publics expectations for service without additional f the government has to commit big time hospitals such as york central and york county that calling canada 3the most over- taxed country in the western world aurora councillor john west praised the provincial governments continued commitment toward tax relief even if it means a savings of only a few dollars extra each week to the people making more than 100000ayear i dont think an extra 10of 20 will mean a lot ybut to most people every dollar they can keep in their pocket is an advantage west said over the last 10 years we have watched the moneywasted under previous governments no matter what you think about this govern- mentthey are doing work that will benefit people down the road newmarket chamber of commerce generatmanager terry l carter agreed lax cuts are impor- tant but said transportation remains a top concern for york region residents- the- region has 6percent growth so you have to look at hard services such as highways andsolv- ing our water problems carter said whats the logic in skimping on public transit like go trains richmond hilt mayor bill bell called provincial debt reduction a step in the right direction but said the tories rumoured plan of financing the redevelopment of torontos waterfront isa mistake r were forced to becomehiglily efficient amid growth e money would be better spent changes including a new primary care model that will and cutbacks in the mid- 90s say its time their commuv transportation solutions require investment maclean said 7 h would imagine it will be a substantial chunk of v to cover off that agreement- r the tentative four would allow for fee increases of 195 per cent in the first year and 2 per cent in each of the subsequent years nurses in ontario hos- nities receive what tkeyhave needed for so long fgeorgina mayor rob grossi there has been little recognition for oiiroperating agreed- noting the responsibility of efficiencies its been 11th hour announcements on municipal politicians has grown an ad hoc basis for some time lussing said dramatically in thepast five years if they dont deliver we will face difficulties but i because of downloading cant imagine they wont be responsive ottawa and queens park from irkioijaf news digest whats happening peter pan v today through thursday glad park public school 300 glad i park ave stouffyille kaitlyn thornton left is peterpan to laurie painters tinkerbell in their schools production of peter panjickets are s3 and available at the doorshowtirhe is 7 p mcal 6420224 for more information y i i s s aurora seekslegaladvice on controversial dump site the town of aurora has sought legal advice about a con troversial fill site some believe has been exceeding dumping restrictions councillor phyllis morris says the town will vigorously pur- suelegal avenuesto stop the fill operation located at blopmington siderqad and- i leslie street that she says is operating without a permil the town has also asked the- ministry of the environment to test the soil at the site even though last fall mayor tirnjones saidspil and rubble being dumped on the land had been approved by ministry of f erivjrpnmeht inspectors but residents in a nearby subdivision have been worried about theifwell water and tiie destruction of wetlands that sit- -ohtheenvironmeritallyvensi- tive oak ridges moraine the operator of the fill site has a 1997 permit which was granted to dump fill in the t abandoned quarry under the permit dirt and x rubble some of it excavated r from the air canada centre site v and torontos hew subway line can reach a maximum v height of five feet above bloomington sideroad 1 the town is faced with v enforcing a permit that was put- in place after fill started being dumped in the pit nearly 20 years ago i a t r jenniferbrown x