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PAGE 6. WIfl'Y FREE P¶RESS WEDNESDAY E 419 The only Whîtby Newspaper owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents! Published every Wednesday by 677209 Ontario 1m at 1l31 Brook St. N, Whitby,- Ontaio Li N 5S1 Phone 668-6111 Toronto LUne 427-1834 Doug Anderson - Publisher Maurice Pilier - Editor Alexandra Martin, - Production Manager 2nci Class Postal Registration #05351 Hyd ro responds To the oditor:' A letter from Frank lKehoe, 'Cen no longer tolerate Hydra rate increases,' Oct. 9, Free Press) containing somne sweeping accusations about Ontario Hydro, recently appeared ln your letters column.. His allegations deservea rospanse. Mr. Keho. thought he. was comparing Hydro's debt of $30.547 billion with, the provincial gavernment's debt stated as $9.7 billion. He was, mistakenly using Ontario's 1991 deficit - the shortieli between annuel revenue and costs. Ontanio's debt is about $51.7 billion. Me also crficlzed, Hyýdro's debt/equity ratio ai 84 per cent, and wondered haw an aging population would pay off this debt. Hydro has a high level ai diebt because,. under the Power Corporation Act, Rt must finance construction ai new facilties such as generating staitionis and transmission Uines through borrowing. No casts are passed on ta the custamers until the facilfty goes into service. Then the costs are recovered through rates over the Idfa the facility. Thisensures theit customers pay ,anly* for facilties from which they derive some benefit. Corporations ln capital-intensive businesses use debt as a means ai financing - just as most families » borrow in order ta buy a hause. Vory f9w, if an, aioft hese companies are debt rie. Bond rating agencies and the- financial community iind Hydro's debt/equity ratio ai 84 per cent acceptable. lndeed, it compares favourably wth other Canadien and U.S. public power utilities. The faot that our bonds are in such demend is the best evidence that the financial markets consider Hlydro ta be well-managed and f inancially sound. Anather dlaim by Mr. Kehae is that Hydra is "grossly averstaffedo with 36,000 employees, and should have'less then hall that number. Hydro's rogular workforce af about 27,500 i8 comparable ta the North American power utilitios \that have' a similar mix of 'generation <hydraulsc, foDssil and nuclear). Hydro's labour productivity, as measured- by the quantity ai eloctricity sold per regular employee, is competitive wth utilities such as Duke Power, Southemn Calfomnia Edison and Paciflo Gas & Electric. Hydro simply could not operate and maintain the Ontario power systemf with hall :the current number of employees. Mr. Kehoe also suggests that spending an the Darllngton Nuclear Generating Station is out of control. We are working ta ensure that Darlingtan wiIl b. an economical and environmentally acceptable source ai electricity for maqýyyears ta corne. 0put iR in perspective, consider Hydro's first large geeratin station, :, SIr Adam 1,ck Vin Niagara,-Faits, k was begun in the middle ai World War 1 at an estimated $20 million <a *huge sum back then), and financed campletely thraugh borroWing. kt w as completed about- 15 years later for almost $80 million - a faûrfold increase. No one has suggested thet Hydra shauld not have buift thae station. In the final analysis, Ontariens must Judge us on aur performance. Despite the fact that Ontario has vlrtually no colai l or natural gas and limited hydraulic resources in comparison to other provinces, aur electricity ratesare stili among the lowest in theý world, and aur reliability among the best. W. are doing many things ilght, and we're working toward even better resuits in the future. Marc Ellesen Chair Board oi Dîrectors Reclaimingwith interest To the Editor: With avar one million cnildran iust ana steD awav from the Thare lis consensus right acrossa starveÎion we seè .inth'opia, a"na Canada that the- poor, wauld have thaught that instead ai low-incarned and thase in povert the deliberate, calculatad, eaer, should not bear the brunt a joyful gauging ai Canadiens wth taxation. this adious GST, they would have Sa, whcat has this faderai instaad respected the government done? Wth a trumpat overwhelmlng raq uest ta revise blaring hallelujah chorus, the this insidiaus haartbraaker. gavernmant announced that there To mothers, the autlaok 15 vary will b. tex credits for thase bleak, now thet Scraoge's ghost is unfortunatas, assuming this would rampant et this festive season. quell the quift end fears ai the kt may console them a little ta affluent soct. know that millions ai Canadiens Thay failad ta say that whilst will b. thinkinig ai tharn, that there ivngwvih the right hn, the lat is lave and compassion in this land adwsreclaiming with interest ai ours and that wa will ramamber from theaelmast-empty reer al af those who inflicted this pockçet. No governmant has given horrendaus hardship onto aur somathing for nothing -- nob-ody smail national treasuras -- blass has banal ittad from taxation 'arn. Our prayers are with you. (excapt tycoons). To the Reiorm Party -- wAra you Now- the low-incomad, the gaing ta play Scrooge egain this p nsinas, aur brave voterans year with the thmatai o us baing tho faw that are laft), the stalwart GST'd? mniddle class and aven the rm sure the ',5 par cenit that bacich of a the nation -- smell continues ta support and condome bislnssos-. a.4nowisindrlvMN.. -P~.**.. ISanta arlidea into downtown' Whitby on Saturday. A very smnall business minister' By Michael Wycks Whoever sald, uwfth friands like that, who needs enemies?,' was definitely on ta somethlng. Canade's small business community is wonderlng the very same about the faderaI ministar for- small business and taurism, Tom Hockin. With f riends like Hockin, smal iirms in Canada cartainly need no enemies. Consider*n9 that a small business minster is supposed ta have the bast interests of small business et heart, Hockçin appeers heartless. The Canadien Fadeation' ai Indapendent Business, representing- the interests ai 88,000 small-ad madium-sized firms in Canada, has been one of the most vocal critics ai the sniall business minister. The mast' recent ceuse for criticismn involvad Hockin's refusai to ackçnowledge the vaiidity af a CFIB study -thet concludad the f irst-yeer implementation and compliance price teg for the gaads and services tex will reach $10 billion, and stritfirms will shoulder tha overwhalming brunit ai these costs. lnstaad, H-ookin staod up In the House ai Commons and'édeclared thie study flawad beause it didn't Include the transitional cradit aofferad ta businesses when the new tex wes intraducad back on Jan. 1 (the transitioal creditwes an emount of up ta $1,000 provlded -by 1h. federai gomerment ta businesses ta help cover the cost ai implomenting the GST). Accarding the Catherine Swift, chiai ecanomlst and vice president ai research for CFIB, Hockin is not onY ofwas in his assertion, bt hao knwingly off-base. *This episadei is particularty offensive because, Mr. Hockin had alreedy bean advised af -th. transitional cradit's inclusian in aur raport,* says Swift. wTo stand up In the Hous.eand make statarnents that ha knows are untrua is nat only inexcusable, but a batrayel of the sector he is suppased ta reprasent., Hockçin <eppears ta have, a one-sidad interest In small business. As lang as organizatians such -as CFI B take positions his govarment egrees with, ail is fine. Otharwise, he gaes on the atteck. wThe daeceift *nd' ignorance 'is unacceptable,* Swift continues. "Unfartunately, this rent Incident Mion put thefr heada togeter ini an vallat attempt to lift up thdir uow- merely perpetuates a tradition ai. naglact by this minister. ai lagitimate smail business concerns.7 Hiockin, elong wfth Revenue Minister Otto Jalinek, have consistently memntwined-thet the GST has enhencad i>the competitiveness ai smail business. Unfortunately, neither has been able ta provide any data to support that dlaim. CFIB's et udy,, on the -other hand, proves this tex is not only unworlcabe ed uh~fair, but - in combination with provincial taxes, mekes it the, worst texK regime ln the world. lneptness asida, Hockin is not the only problem with. the smail business minlstry. The very existence- ofai-asmall business ministry, is a problem. f's simply more' govemmental bureaucratic iluiff, except this flumM 1h heavlly on the backs o ai C ian taxpayers. Prime M Rinister NMulroney has crowedpraudly about his efforts ta raduce gavernment waste and streamline the cabinet. The elimination ai the small business. rninistry would surely b. a big step in the right direction. snowfai.l The snow uoelted, but was replacod after Monda y night'u and Tiusday monnusow and freez-