6 -The Canadian Champion, Friday May 16, 1997 SOPINION THE CANADIAN CHAMPION Box 248, 191 Main St E., Milton, Ont. L9T 4N9 (905) 878-2341 Fax: 878-4943 Classified: 875-3300 Ian Oliver Publisher Neil Oliver Associate Publisher Rob Kelly Editor Karen Huisman Circulation Manager Teri Casas Office Manager Tim Coles Production Manager Ted Lindsay Reail .Sales Manager The Canadian Champion, published twice weekly at 191 Main St. E, Milton, Ont., L9T 4N9 (Box 248), is one of The Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distri- buting Ltd. group of suburban companies which includes: Ajax / Pickering News Advertiser; Alliston Herald/Courier; Barrie Advance; Brampton Guardian; Burlington Post; City Parent; Collingwood / Wasaga Connection; East York Mirror; Etobicoke Guardian; Georgetown Independent/ Acton Free Press; Kingston This Week; Lindsay This Week; Markham Economist & Sun; Midland / Penetanguishene Mirror; Mississauga News; Newmarket / Aurora Era Banner; Northumberland News; North York Mirror; Oakville Beaver; Orillia Today; Oshawa / Whitby / Clarington / Port Perry This Week; Peterborough This Week; Richmond Hill / Thornhill / Vaughan Liberal; Scarborough Mirror; Uxbridge / Stouffville Tribune; Today's Seniors. Advertising is accepted on the.condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The pue- lisher reserves the right to categorize advert emets deco i e The campaign It's that time again - election fever is in the air. Well, maybe not a fever. Actually, most vot- ers seems to be exhibiting symptoms of political mononucleosis - they're tired and worn out from listening to an endless barrage of political rhetoric, and can't seem to generate enough energy to gel interested in the issues. Jobs, balancing the budget, reducing the fed- eral debt, and cutting taxes are at the top of the list for most Canadians. While these are of para- mount importance there is another issue. It's almost completely ignored and is even more pressing. It is Canada Pension Plan tax hikes. Years of neglect, failure to predict aging trends, declining wages, skyrocketing disability payouts and a flawed 'pay-as-you-go' system have brought the CPP to its knees. In order to rectify the problem, the Liberal Party is campaigning on a platform to raise CPP taxes on individual workers by as much as $1,380 a year. They claim that the tax hike is necessary to ensure the long-term survival of the plan. They also claim that there is no alternative to the increase. The Progressive Conservative Party agrees that the CPP should be maintained, but proposes to offset the CPP rate hike with personal tax cuts. They would further invest CPP funds to be managed by an independent trust. The New Democrats would also retain the plan, increasing disability and survivor benefits and lowering the premiums of the 'poorest workers', presumably, therefore, increasing taxes on the 'wealthiest workers'. Who the NDP considers wealthy is not exactly clear. The Reform Party has taken a more radical position. They would scrap the CPP altogether in favour of 'Super RRSPs', while ensuring those already vested in the plan receive their sleeper issue Let's Talk Taxes with PAUL PAGNUELO benefits. Pension contributions would be manda- tory but would be deposited into individual accounts (ratber than the current pool of funds), that are privately managed and fully funded. Since Quebec already has a pension plan inde- pendent of the CPP, the Bloc couldn't care less what the rest of the country does with the current fiscal mess. On the issue of CPP reformo, then, choosing a party appears to rest on your answers to two questions. First, do you think you'll get a worth- while retum on your investment through a sub- stantial CPP tax increase? And second, do you think the CPP is worth trying to save in the first place, or should another pension system replace it? These are significant questions. They could have a dramatic impact on your disposable income now or on your retirement income. Voters need to take a long hard look at the details of the CPP issue - their financial health depends on it. Tax Fact: As of April 24, 1997, Canada's fed- eral net debt stood at $594.4 billion, or $78,988 per family of four. "Let's talk taxes" is a commentary provided by the Ontario Taxpayers Federation. Milton District Hospital celebrated the opening of the upstairs wing and the comple- tion of extensive alterations in May, 1967. Health Minister Dr. M. B. Dymond snipped the ribbon adorned in hospital colours of blue and white before a crowd of more than 200, as Halton MPP George Kerr assisted. The legacy of home violence We know that exposure to violence in the home puts a child at risk - the child will be much more likely to be a victim or a perpetrator of violence later in life. Yet the more we study the problem of family violence, the bigger the problem seems to get. A new study by the American Psychological Association, entitled "Violence and the Family", summarizes the current state of knowledge in the area. It's important reading, in part because il changes the very definition of violence and it strongly suggests that kids can be exposed to il even if they never see or hear it. Family violence involves a pattern of physi- cal, sexual or emotional abuse towards any fami- ly member. Emotional abuse includes domina- tion, control, put-downs and manipulation. The effects of this kind of emotional abuse tums out to be no less harmful and traumatic than that found when a man beats his wife or child. A parent can truly love his wife and children and still abuse them. Whether be is physically or emotionally violent, he probably doesn't think he is abusive, he may rationalize that he is doing May 2-4 weekend; notorious for risk plus fun The Victoria Day weekend is a time to relax and have fun - a time to be with friends and family. It's the perfect respite for high school students who think there is way too long between March break and the end of June. Unfortunately, il is often a weekend for tragedy and mourning. Drinking and driving is an all too common occurrence, but the "May 2- 4" weekend is notorious for drinking and driving related collisions and deaths. Much progress bas been made over the last several years, as most of us seem to have gotten the message. Yet, there are still many, who for no appreciable reason, don't seem to understand that drinking and driving kill. In just over the time it takes you to read this column, one alcohol-related collision will have occurred in Canada. In fact, the odds are that everyone of us will be involved in an alcohol related collision or will know someone who has been. Alcohol is involved in 50 per cent of all vehi- cie crashes, and is thus responsible for more than 2,500 deaths in ibis country each year. But even more disturbing is that as you drive Yo uth Perspective up to the cottage this weekend, one out of every eight drivers you pass will be legally impaired. The facts are that one can be legally impaired without blowing over the magic .08. But one doesn't have to be legally impaired to be danger- ous. Alcohol affects everyone in different ways. This of course partially depends on things such as sex, height and weight, but what is true for everyone is that after only one drink, judgment is impaired, reaction times are slowed and inhibi- tions begin to dissolve. Even the best of drinkers could easily be impaired enough after only one drink to hit the brake a second too late, drive a little too fast, fol- low a little to closely, or pull out to pass on a hili. Chances are however, that any impaired dri- ver will make their trip uneventfully. That is both comforting and distressing, as one then can never know when a collision is likely to occur. Drinking and driving is the equivalent of Russian Roulette, except when one plays this game, they put more than their own life on the line. It's frightening that people could care so lit- le about themselves and others. Even more distressing however, is the naiveté that still surrounds this issue. The 'it can't hap- pen to me' attitude is still abundant. Chances are it won't, but why anyone would proceed with such reckless abandon where lives are concemed is well beyond me, and t hope, beyond most. It's lime we all faced the facts. Drinking and driving is irresponsible, senseless, dangerous, intolerable, and illegal. One less drunk driver on the road can make all the difference to somebody, maybe even you. Please remember that this weekend. Dave Coupe is a Milton District High School student in a work placement program at The Canadian Champion. r Psychology in the '90s it in the name of love or 'for their own good', and most of all, he may say that his father treat- ed him (or his wife) a lot tougher than he is doing. Parents often think that if they don't fight in front of the children then the kids won't be hurt by il. It's not true. Tbe only way to protect the children from it is if the children don't know about the violence. This is virtually impossible if the fighting is occurring almost every day. Some factors have been identified which increase the likelihood of family violence. Families who have four or more children show much higher rates of abuse and neglect then families with fewer children. Families making less than $20,000 (Canadian) per year report maltreatment seven times as often as families with higher incomes. A higher income is no pro- tection, however, as incest is more prevalent in affluent families. The reporting of violence is crucial if one is to help the children. It is important to realize, how- ever, that il must be caught early if one is to truly help these children. The authors report, "Once they were in high school, il was too late". Some of the policy changes recommended in this report would seem to merit a closer look. They want to mandate an assessment of the abuser as well as treatment for the victim before a person convicted of family violence is sen- tenced. They want a screening for victimization to be routine in standard medical and psycholog- ical examinations. They recommend that treat- ment programs be run in schools, so kids can see others who have gone through it, feel less abnor- mal, and to provide more cost-effective group treatments where possible. It makes a lot of sense. It will pay off in a huge savings in future mental health, police, hospital, welfare, court and other costs. Most important, it will help us to break the cycle of violence and abuse that is handed down to the next generation. Looking Back ... 1 - - --l