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RWý- To the Editor: W. cati 'earn a lot fram Bob Rae's dog. On. day at his cottage in eastern Ontario, Bob discovered thet his dog cauld walk on water. He called in reporters ta view the spectacle. Next day, the headlines read, 'Bob Rae's do9q can't swim.' While every politcian shauld b. subject to the scrutiny af the media, we must admit that much ai the media's coverage af the Bob Rae gavernment has been unbalanced and carping. Why nat give some attention ta ts accompîishments? Same notable achievements are th. Emplayee Protection Plan, the Environmental Bill af ights, Pay Equity extended ta an additional 400,000 women, the- Farnily Support Plan, Non-Profit and Ca-onp Housing and Support for Small Business. A new prograrn, carefully piloted thraugh the legislature by aur own Drummond White, is the Community Lan Fund and the Community lnvestment Share Corporation. The prograrn, invalving $300 million in three years, will help entrepreneurs who can't find ordinary f unding from the big banks and encourage energy and enterprise f rom aur own people. The kickstart provided by these boan guarantees shauld lead ta, about 4,000 jobs. Cantrary ta some local politicians, I dlaim the social contract as an achievement. Considering the recession with its soari ng wetf are costs, the decay ai some manufacturing through iree trade and the cost ta Ontario af the capping af federal transfer payments, the government action un cutting costs and raising taxes ta reduce the def icit is understandable. Now that the dust has settled, the social contract has become a fact afIdlie, with .some Public servants even enjoying their 'Rae' days. Having retired from public service, 1 cati sympathize wth those wha have iost some af their negotiated benefits, but we shauld not Jose sight af the devastating effects an the cantracts af many workers in the private sector. Many ai them are now on Ut or wefare. What Bob Ras iaced was an emergeflcy. Such cutbacks have enabled the goverriment ta proceed wit h programs such as its Jobs Ontario training prograrn which should heîp to shorten the recession. As Rae pointed out when ho opened the new skills training department of Durham College in Whitby, the $20 million necessary for this program was avaîlable only bcauise of the social contract. The Fair Tax Commission has painted out dramatsically the injustice of the current ecanommc rules in Canada. For Instance, 46 per cent ai the wealth of Ontario is controled by only 5 per cent ai the househald population. AIl can me that this imbalance lis unhealthy. The situation can b. rectified ta some extent by a wealth transfer tax. The Fair Tax Commission indicates that most ather countries levy some sort 0f weafth or weatth transfer tax. No nation can survive and flourish unless Rt seeks justice, and an essential element af such justice is always the redistribution Of wealt h. Much af the beneficial impact ai these proposais can be achieved only wth the ca-operation ai the fedleral gavernmrrent. According ta aur constitution, the lads have the financial and tax levers that can make a ifference. Now, with the departure ai blessed Brian, and the establishment ai new management under Jean Chretien, the provinces and the faderai government must work tagether ta redress the wrongs inflicted on us by the previaus governiments. In supporting Rae, wha has neyer promised us a rose garden, I amn eagerly anticipating a new direction towards fairness and equity. The Ontario governiment has achieved much in the past year. Let's g ive lit a chance in '1994. DonaldM. Warn. Whitby 600 go for a skateà To the Editor: On behalf af the Canadlan Cystic Fibrosis Faundcation af Canada, we would like ta express aur sincere appreclation ta those wha provided outstanding support ta aur 23rd skateathan, an aver- whelming success. Six hundred skaters and rarents joined lI the fun et raquais Park Feb. 12. Kinsrnon Club of Whltby Page 6, Whitby Fiee Press, Wednesday, February 23, 1994 The only Newspaper owned andi operated by Whtby residents for Whitby residents! MEMBER 0F: ONTARIO CANADIAN ~ COMMUNITY Iàri A COMMUNITY N EWSPAPER *CN NEWSPAPER ---ASSOCIATION ASSOCIATION CANADIAN ~ CIRCULATIONS CNA DIVISION AUDIT BOARD ISSN#0844-398X 26,500 COPIES DELIVERED WVEEKLY Published every Wednesday by 677209 Ontario Imc. Box 206, 131 Brook St. N., Whitby, Onitario Li N 5S1 Phone: 668-6111 Toronto Line: 427-1834 Fax: 668-0594 Doug Anderson - Publisher ,Maurice Pither - Editor Alexandra Martin - Production Manager Printed on newsprint with minimum 20%/ EW recycled content using vegetable based inks. f* 0 Ail written material, illustrations and advertising contained herein is protected by copyright. Any reproduction by any means for commercial purposes without the express permission of the newspaper is prohibited and is a violation of Canadiancoepyrigh law. Reproduction for non-commercial distribution should bear a credit line to the Whitby Free Press. mTo the edior. Praifse for Bob Educational value To the Edîtor: Copy af letter ta the Durham Board af Education Ladies and Gentlemen, I am writing on behaff of a number of concerned parents regarding the full-day/alternate day kindergarten prograrn. We understand that the vote has already been taken. H-owever, we would like ta go on record with aur concerns. We have revlewed the finance committe. report (Jan. 19) regarding full-day/alternate day kindergarten and concur that in rural areas where the time taken with long bus rides is an issue. thet this is probably a positive solution. However, in urban areas this is not a concern. The financial benefits are obviaus (ie. reduced transportation costs) but we faîl ta see trhe educatianal benefits of this change. We have been told that the board st rives ta pravide an equal opportunity for education af ail cildren, yet the report stated thae uthis approach is probably best suited ta very bright children." Where, then, is the benefit and the equal educational oppartunity for the average- ta slow-learning child. We have been advised that there will be quiet time available for those children who feel a need for it. This again begs the question of equal educational apportunity -- some children will have such a need whiîe others will not and therefare be receiving more instructianal time. Quiet time is not inst ructional. We believe that the transition to, Grade 1 would b.e esier iram the existing haif -day kindergarten pragram. The chikiren would b. mauntaining a daily routine af gaing ta schoaî every day and therefare have more consistency in their education. (For example, a child attending a Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Manday, Wednesday program who wps absent on the second Wednesday of the cycle would not be attending school for an entire week.) It was stated in the report thet one of the benefits ta the fuf-day/ alternate day kindergarten was that %every child has a -morning pragramw yet the childien will only be- receiving this manrning program- twa ta three times per week. There is no reason why children attending the existing aternoan kindergarten could nat have a emarning programe upon entering schocl. (i.. The teacher could lead the children in '0 Canada,' announicements, etc. within the classroom.i.) Our understanding is thon this program has been introduced as a method ai budget reduction, yet the repart sates that "class size must be kept small ta keep the child's fatigue ta a minimum" and thon w1uèh supervision respo n- sibilities will increase.w These factors wiIl obviously increase costs particularly for those schools in which there is no kIndergarten Thei real issue ta us is what is in the best interest af aur children. It is not in the nature of four- and five-year-ald children ta have the attention span and stamina ta do their best in a ful-day program. There would be no apportunity for atter-school activities as the children would be too tired. There would be little apportunity for quality time with working parents as again the, children would be toc tired. Kindergarten sets the tone for the remnainder af a chik's educat ion. Therefore, we ail hope that aur children's first year of school will be a positive exp:ence. When they become tired andIrrt able as the day progresses, it will become a negadiveaone. W e are af the understanding that ather school boards SEE PAGE 17 Palimeta.,ep r Discrimination By Gord Mlîse Durham East MPP Rf the present federal government continues ta treat Ontario as unfairly as the Conserv'atives did, it will have cost us $7 billion from 1990 ta 1994. When citizens across the country are treated fairly and equitabîy, Canada warks well. Ontario has suffered discrimination at the hands of a Conservative federal government that no other province in this country had ta bear. Consider t he record: 0 AIl provinces used ta have 50 per cent of their social assistance costs icovered b Ottawa under the Canada Assistance Plan, and aîmost ail still do. But beginning in 1990, Ottawa capped its support ta Ontario and now pays onîy 29 per cent of the poic'ssocial assistance costs. Ontario taxpayers have had.ta pay the difference. The bill for 1994-95 alone, if Conservative po licy towards Ontario is allowed ta stand, is $1.7 billion. 0 Ottawa spends-27 per cent of its training budget in Ontario. But Ontario has 38 per cent af the national and 36 per cent of Canada's unemployed. Nf Ontario received funding that matched its workforce, it would-receive about $370 million more in 1994-95. sOntario currently welcomes about 55 per cent of Canadas immigrants. But aur province receives only 38 per cent af federal funding for their settlement and training. Funding based on the level 0f heîp which applies in the rest of Canada would provide Ontario with about $110 million more in 1994-95. 0 Add up these figures, plus the extra interest Ontario has had ta pay on its deficit ta caver the shortfall. The bill is $2.7 billion in 1994-95, should Conservative policy toward Ontario be allowed ta stand. This would be in addition ta a shorttaîlaf $6.8 billion in interest and transfers accumulated since 1990-91. This is, in effect, a huge penalty imposed on the people of Ontario. Of ail jobs lost in the downturn, almost 70 per cent were in Ontario. When Ontario prospers, Rt helps the rest of Canada. That's why federal policies and practices that have discriminated against Ontarians are s0 wrang. Ontario wili continue ta contribute generously and with pride ta the well-being ai the rest af Canada. But we must be treated fairly in the process. The NDP government and the taxpayers have been put on the hook for billions of dollars. This would have been unfair in a thriving economy, during the recession it has been crippling. I hope this has helped you ta understand the difficuit times in which we have been asked ta gavern. 'm Iaokin for change caming from the new federal gavemment. If they dn't treat us f airly, the Mulroney policies wHI become the Chret Ïen policies. Say it isn't so, Jean. v Nlext Yu j so the e0ior. m