THE HERALD OUTLOOK Saturday December Pages Peoples Forum Animal tragedy prompts response from reader The Editor Sir I writing to you in the hope that you could spare a few lines in your excellent newspaper to bring attention to a problem that faces pet owners mainly dog lovers at this tune of the year As I usually do I was taking my dog for an early morning walk in Prospect Park Acton On Fairy Lake there were large numbers of geese swans etc sit ting on the newly formed ice upon the lake surface Ice that was still not very strong We had reached the farthest point of the centre point of the lake opposite the Legion Hall when I saw a Ger man Shepherd dog come on to the ice from the Legion grounds in pursuit of the ducks I could see what would happen but could do nothing If I called the dog it would on to even thin ner ice Well the inevitable hap pened About yards from shore the ice gave way and the dog went into the water We watched the dog attempt to get out for a few minutes unable to help and then we made our way to the nearest telephone in Acton Arena and called the Animal Welfare authorities who set out right away and we returned to the scene Alas it was too late the cold had taken it toll and all that re mained of a once beautiful animal was a hole in the ice It was sad and for me very distressing and I m sure for the owners of that beautiful pet The point of this letter is hopefully to remind pet owners mainly dog owners of the dangers of allowing your pets to run by lakes ponds etc unleashed Later the ice will thicken and the problem will disappear until the spring Another point on which I would appreciate a little guidance by anyone who knows the problem when we walk by the lake I always take a little food for the wild fowl but lately I have begun to wonder whetherjr not I am do ing them a grave disservice I am not wise in ways of the coun tryside being brought up in the city I ve always understood that the birds migrate to warmer climates in the winter but it seems that ever increasing numbers are staying and a lot are not surviving being frozen into the ice etc Am I contributing to their by giving thenm food and maybe causing them to stay I would appreciate any expert ad vice you could give I realize these problems arise each year and that warn ings are given but a reminder could save a lot of suffering for your time Yours faithfully P Brooks Acton P S There is nothing but praise for the Animal Welfare people they did all they could promptly They were as distressed as I Dear Sir Through the facility of your editorial page the Lions Club of Georgetown wishes to extend its appreciation to all who par ticipated in our 59th Annual Santa Claus Parade on November 24th We gratefully acknowledge the generous assistance of the local business and merchants who sup ported our effort financially again this year We have acknowledged each on an in dividual basis in an advertise ment placed in this edition of Lions Club thanks I Writer upset with Chamber Sir your newspaper your newspaper We also extend our thanks to the Region Police for their efforts in traffic control Above ail we wish to thank all of the community groups whose enthusiastic participation again made the pa radea success We look forward to seeing everyone back for our 60th An Parade next November Yours very truly Mark Rush Chairman 1990 Lion s Santa Claus Parade Committee Successful bazaar Dear Editor The Tenant Association of Durham thank everyone who helped make our bazaar a great success Prize winners are as follows Afghan M Williams Cushion Cleave Doll and Candle S Donalds Sincerely Greta Secretary Durham St Apt Georgetown To the Editor The message published Nov by the Board of Directors for Hills Chamber of Commerce leaves me to unders tand their emphasis tends to be oblivious to the needs and grievances of the Town residents Understandable perhaps for the Chamber since it is strictly business oriented One can hardly blame the Chambers directors Theirs is a distinct focus we are able to understand But for the Board of Halton Hills it is not quite as easy Where is the concern for the less affluent for the less ad vantaged Those whose wages do not rise with the increasing cost of living What happened to af fordable housing Frankly I feel for the suspecting Some able to come up with a downpayment but not able to maintain their homes mostly due to the rising costs of utilities and services The purchase of a house is about as comparable to that of a car only more so Almost anyone is able to purchase a car It s maintenance is another matter Does anyone really believe they actually own their home their property If one is unable to come up with the taxes they will soon find out who really does own it Taxes are forever subject to change The suggestion of more units per acre is tantamount to ghetto- nig Smaller roads when much more space is essential for much needed parking The higher the density the more services and maintenance we are required to pay for We already have quite a fleet of police vehicles The claim is To correct the Imbalance ol residential taxes is business Does business ever help Toronto residential taxes If so just try convincing its residents The real horror is to even that the Niagara Escarp ment and Credit River is a bar ner to growth Nature does not recognize our borders The current issue is environ ment and clarity begins at home regardless of where we live I am not antidevelopment I am self destruction sabotage Lois A Richardson Georgetown Opinion Guest columnist Wage and price controls should be brought back By A J P Eng Mr Wilson has said it We are now officially in a Recession But not to worry His recent flyer providing Important informa about Canada Economic Plan states clearly that all is well under control page 5 Is it indeed We learn much from this flyer For example the national debt has accumulated in the last six years from billion dollars to 380 billion during the Mulroney era at an average rate of billion per year This is largely attributed to the compounding of interest at an average rate of 10 on the original billion The rest of the increase has been due to the inability of the government to even meet the initially small but ever increasing interest each year on the debt itself We have the same situation still Notwithstanding a variety of disagreeable cuts in service privatization provincial funding or whatever at no time has it ap parently been possible to reduce the deficit to offset the increase in the national debt and the attach ed increase in interest Wilson is reported to have predicted a billion deficit for next year and it is also suggested that it will be eliminated by 1995 But in view of the conflict ng anti inflation policy of the Bank of Canada Crow Wilson credibility has long since gone It would seem highly probable under present policies that the debt will increase to nearly one half trillion i by Some control It is difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel Wilson sees It is more likely that the tunnel has a dead end where the contractor s funds runout To support this dismal forecast one must consider that the economy is in such a slump that the tax returns a major source of funds for the reduction of the deficit will be seriously reduced Unemployment payments will have to be highly increased training programs enlarged and many other expenses incurred At the same time relief by way of cutting services is becoming in creasmgly difficult politically All this is happening at the same time as the interest added an nually to the increased debt has to be considered The 10 figure assumed in Wilson s flyer may well turn out to average much higher as the government is fore ed to borrow under duress We have currently to assume that without drastic increases in personal and corporate taxes we have no hope to even balance the budget That is not all the bad news We still have the national debt hanging like the proverbial albatross around our necks This represents a monstrous mor constantly on the increase which must be tackled and reduc before we can entertain thoughts of any new programs or restore old ones such as our railway and postal services already in a shambles This said and hopefully pro perly realized the following gestion is humbly submitted to Mulroney and his unpopular ad ministration in hopes that he is capable of accepting new but old ways that may even enable them to win back a measure of popular support Wage and Price Controls were first proposed by Stanfield in a watered down ver sion during the 1974 election It met with a cool reception by the electorate and who cautiously kept clear of it won his reelection with a good majori ty Shortly afterwards he decided to introduce it himself realizing the sheer necessity of controlling the rapidly escalating inflation of to 1974 see Wilson chart It may have been a bit of a political manoeuvring but Trudeau though he may be arrogant is no fool We need Wage and Price Con trols now as ever before Witness the wage gains by the auto workers a direct flouting of government policy They are not needed because inflation is high which it is not but because it is only being kept low by a policy which is throwing the whole economy into a made in Canada depression of extremely threatening dimensions With in place inflation would be under substantial control and Crow s rigid policy of holding up the dollar and interest rates can and should be abandoned This would surely induce a tremendous upsurge in business activities in construction manufacturing merchandising the whole bit Consumer and investor confidence would return and much employment be regain money would be freed for investment for consumer purchasing more relief for the deficit through increased tax returns The trade unions as always would be major opponents to a return to controls which might be best sold to them through the ex penences of the early 1970 s It is unfortunate that Wilson s flyer was given such poor distribution Was it recaled because it gave away too much information Those who were lucky enough to get and retain a copy should refer to the chart on page This il lustrates roughly the variation of the from to During the penod 1971 to the index rose in three and a half years from to according to the chart This alarmed Stanfield at the time of the general election who set out to control it and his Liberals however did them in as noted earlier It is interesting that the CPI fell to within a year At this point Chretien as he relates in his autobiography was created Minister of Finance chapter 5 We read that Trudeau etc to keep the controls because the program was working well as the chart clearly shows But Chretien on his own initiative for debatable reasons terminated the policy against the wishes of Trudeau and many of his senior advisors Contrary to Chretien s expecta the CPI took off again lm mediately This time is rose to 13 even higher than in Clark s little attempt to stem the tide during his short lived regime was thwarted by the Liberal s return under Turner and the CPI continued to climb at a faster rate to its peak in 1981 after which it fell in years to 5 the lowest since This fall was not due to Wage and Price Controls this time but a real though moderate recession When Mulroney and the Pro gressive Conservatives took over in badly frightened by past events a policy was adopted to control inflation by control of the interest rate and the dollar The result of this policy is now all too evident It is hoped that this sum mary wdl put the varying results of government manipulation of the economy in true perspective This done there is more Wage and Price Controls can and will exert a strong influence in br the economy back from the depths of depression but will not in themselves do much for the national debt What that will amount to by the time a balanced budget can be achieved is anyone s guess In any case the debt will represent a monstrous mortgage against the people How it can be repaid to the point where the interest on the debt and other desirable expenditures can be covered within the budget is of vital importance Con as a mortgage it could possibly be arranged to be repaid an amortized basic over a period mandatory and enforced l e mainly through taxation But there another possibility in the chain of events If our debt should reach such a total as it well may do that it cannot be financed by taxation or reduction in services we will have reached a critical stage Reading Wilson s chart our economy now has achieved an apparently stable situation under Crow policy of a roughly CPIyear But this masks the real situation where the economy is far from stable Unemployment and bankruptcies are increasing by the day to catostrophic levels and there is no end in sight no light at the end of the tunnel Experts views on this situation range from the callous attitude that we are just m a period of adjustment to that of a growing fear of a hyperinflation with CPI increases of perhaps 100 per year Is our government going to roll the dice once more or wdl it take corrective action now while still in power Or will it leave an impossible legacy for the next administration Write us a letter The Herald wants to hear from you If you have an opinion you want to express or a comment to make send us a letter or drop by the office Our address is GuelphSt Georgetown OntL7G3Z6 All letters must be signed Please include your ad dress and telephone number for verification The Herald reserves the right to edit letters due to space limitations or libel