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4 The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, Wednesday, October 5,1994 Section Two Master Pumpkin Carver at Watson Farms Opinions and Comments Britain a Nice Place to Visit, But... One observation 1 made on my recent recent trip to England, which made good sense to me, was their warning signs for photo radar. They, use a simple simple black silhouette of a camera placed in a comer on existing road signs. I think we could have done the same thing, thereby saving the cash spent out for poles and nice blue and gold signs all over the place. But then, we always seem to get caught up in legal games and perhaps such actions here would render the law somehow invalid. Who knows? Everyone complains about how slow the government is to take action on items of concern. On my trip I came across a narrow one-way bridge where it was impossible to see if anything anything was coming the other way. I almost almost collided head-on with a car coming over the bridge from the opposite opposite way, after which I remarked to my wife that something should be done to make travel over the bridge safer. I laughed when I read in the local local church near the bridge that Queen Elizabeth the First had complained about the danger of crossing the same bridge and suggested that something A1 Witherspoon, the former principal of Clarice High School, be done to improve safety. Ah well, showed that he is a man of many talents on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 2 what s a few hundred y ears or 80 at Watson Farms. Witherspoon told interested folks that he has carved many pumpkins over the years for his children and grandchildren, grandchildren, was Ted Watson's master pumpkin carver during his farm's Apple Festival. Canadian Indy Car Driver Scott Goodyear Stresses Importance of Seat Belts The Province of Ontario has enlisted enlisted Canadian race car driver Scott Goodyear and his two-year-old son in the battle to buckle up Ontario. The Goodyear duo volunteered their time to help create bilingual television television and radio public service announcements announcements for the two-week seat belt campaign beginning tomorrow. We want to reduce the $9 billion annual annual cost of collisions, the 74,000 annual annual visits to the emergency rooms and most of all, to reduce the pain and suffering." The police will step up seat belt enforcement during die campaign. Drivers convicted of not buckling up will receive two demerit points and a The message is aimed at the 11 per $90 fine. Drivers must ensure passen- cent of Ontario drivers don't wear their seat belts. "The next time you get behind the wheel, make sure everyone in your vehicle is buckled up," Goodyear says. "I always wear my seat belt and make sure my son Christopher is properly belted into his car seat because because it makes good sense." Statistics show that drivers who do pot wear seat belts are 17 times more likely to be killed in collisions than those who buckle up. That is because because during a collision, seat belts anchor anchor occupants securely to their seats - preventing serious or fatal injuries that can result from hitting the vehicle vehicle interior or from being thrown into traffic. "No one would ever think to jump on a 80-kilometre-an-hour rollercoaster rollercoaster without a security bar," says Transportation Minister Gilles Pouli- ot. "Yet, more than one million Ontario Ontario drivers and passengers travelling at similar speeds still don't wear their seat belts." The national goal for seat belt use among drivers is 95 per cent by 1995. Among all the provinces, Ontario is in seventh place, with 89 per cent of drivers wearing belts - the national average is 90 per cent. "It's great to see that five per cent more Ontarians are buckling up compared compared to last year. Still, our government's government's goal is 100 per cent - nothing less is acceptable," said Pouliot. "We want to make Ontario's roads the safest in North America. when waiting for goverhment action! One thing a trip away out of Ontario Ontario does is to make one realize just how fortunate we all are to be living here. The "Brits" bear a terrible overall overall tax burden while wages are much less than in Ontario. Everything,icosts about double what we pay for the same things. The country is over- populated, parking is completely banned in all inner city areas, public parking is hard to find, everyone seems to own at least two large dogs if not three, with the associated problems, problems, and the staid "London Times" Court Circular Notice on page three and all, is calling for instant dismissal of John Major's Conservative government government before the country collapses completely. In recent columns I wrote about how some folks considered the building building of non-profit housing was seen as somehow a burden on taxpayers. From that column a reader posed another another cost to taxpayers. I was told that many entrepreneurs invest in condominiums, and in commercial all. I think this is really the burden on taxpayers, but it seems not to be under under the same microscope as nonprofit nonprofit housing is. Committee hearings on Bill 173 - Long Term Care - will wrap up on October 3rd and 4th. I will be sitting as a member of that committee. Clause by clause examination of the Bill is scheduled to begin on October 25th. The Senior Citizen's Consumer Alliance is an organization that repre : sents over one million seniors. It is a coalition of the three largest senior advocacy groups in Ontario. The Alliance Alliance have asked the opposition parties parties to support quick passage of Bill 173.1 hope they will. Some people have been misled into thinking Bill 164 is entirely to blame for increases in their insurance premiums. Let me set the record straight: insurance companies were allowed a one-time 5 per cent increase increase to cover the start-up costs and improved benefits of Bill 164. For any larger increase, insurers had to show how their claims costs had gone up under the old system, or would go up in the future. If they expected expected Bill 164 would increase their costs beyond five per cent, they had to prove it, and to date, the Insurance Commission has not approved any Bill 164-related increases beyond the five per cent guideline. Bill 164 is good for Ontarians. It closes gaping holes in the old Liberal system; it better protects the long term injured, it expands the right to sue for pain and suffering and it streamlines the dispute settlement process. The best way to reduce insurance costs is to reduce the number of accidents. accidents. Our road safety initiatives - graduated licensing, photo radar, better better safety features on our roads, continued continued public education programs, and increased enforcement will all make saving money and lives a reality. reality. On Tuesday afternoon at the Ontario Ontario Legislature, thousands of tulip bulbs will be planted as part of the Provincial Government's Tulip Tribute: Tribute: Shore to Shore. In May 1995, the flowers will bloom as we celebrate a national program of commemoration to honour Canadians and the friendship friendship between Canada and the Netherlands, Netherlands, a friendship that began in war and has continued in peace. Following Following the planting ceremony, the Lieutenant Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, His Honour Honour Hal Jackman, will host a reception to honour veterans in attendance attendance who served during the Second World War in Holland. Many veterans veterans from the riding have been invited. invited. Until next week, the art of politics is directing rationally the irrationalities irrationalities of people. who still gers under the age of 16 are properly buildings that have been knowingly buckled or secured in child safety seats. Unbelted passengers over 16 can also be fined $90. Under the graduated licensing system, system, new drivers can only carry as many passengers as there are seat belts available. New drivers caught breaking this mle will be fined and have their licence suspended for 30 days. They will also have to add 30 days to their practice-time requirement. requirement. , over-built to demand. This over-built condo and office space etc. remains empty, with the person who has made the investment claiming losses , on the buildings which allow them to claim all of their losses back through income tax. This caper I have no doubt at all is part of what we read in the press about the numbers of individuals who have income income in the hundreds of thousands who end up paying no income tax at November 21 st is Pension Day For MPs Elected Six Years Ago Dear Sir/Madam: Taxpayers, hold onto your wallets! wallets! November 21st is Trough Day. That's the day when 52 MPs first elected just six years ago will qualify for gold-plated pensions worth about $53 million. It's true. After only six years in office, MPs qualify for a super-rich pension that has unlimited protection against inflation, regardless of their age. What they call a pension is really a cash-for-lifc lottery that none of us in the private sector could ever hope to afford. Prime Minister Jean Chretien promised during the last federal election election to reform this outrageous pension pension plan but to date has done nothing. nothing. He and his colleagues may need a reminder. That's why we urge your readers to contact their MPs to demand that Parliament bring MPs' pensions into line with what's available in the private private sector before those 52 MPs qualify qualify to leap into the pension trough on November 21. After all, how can our representatives representatives expect us to accept the inevitable inevitable and painful government spending cuts which are on the way, if they arc unwilling to make sacrifices as well? , The time for promises is long past - it's time for action. Yours sincerely, David Somerville President National Citizen's Coalition. Canadians are told that over 1.2 million children in this rich country live in poverty. I'm not sure I believe there is this many. Social workers say that if you are a family of four living on an income of $25,000 or less then the children are living in poverty. Let's not mix apples with oranges. But when I think of child poverty I think of the kids I've seen in Peru or Spain, and a few other cities around the globe, living on city streets, their bodies and clothing filthy, their eyes filled with dejection and despair. But there is a different standard in Canada. Canada. One story that comes to mind is the single mother in Thunder Bay whose only income was social assistance. assistance. She was able to save $20,000 over a two-year period. When social services got wind of this they tried to get the money back by taking her to court. The judge said she didn't have to pay. Why? She explained she purchased purchased food in bulk, didn't own a car, lived in reasonable but inexpensive housing, used the bus for transportation, transportation, ran all errands during one trip to downtown. She even managed paying paying her children's education. I take my hat off to her, and the judge did too. Instead of paying the money back he ordered her to do community service service work by instructing welfare recipients recipients the art of managing money. Fortunately she got back to work, but her story speaks volumes about the problems we are creating for ourselves ourselves with welfare. If $20,000 can be saved over a two-year period by a mother who knows how to handle money, then for some mothers on social assistance who don't there is simply no incentive incentive for them to work their way off welfare. Life is just too good. The reality is that these welfare moms are victims of the system. Where in the system is the incentive incentive for better education, self esteem, pride in being part of the working world? Why will some mothers, buy their groceries at convenience stores instead instead of supermarkets? Why will money go out the door on entertainment entertainment instead of the children's needs? Malnutrition, as well as other forms of abuse, are far too often the outcomes. And this, in part, is where child poverty comes from. There is enough money given to those on welfare. Spending more money isn't the answer. So what is the solution? I don't have all the answers but incentive incentive to get back into society and giving one a sense of self worth has got to be the cornerstone of a social welfare system. If people can't work, then community community service work has to be explored. We know you can develop new skills volunteering in the community. We all feel better when we belong. And why not allow people on welfare welfare to keep a few extra welfare- dollars if they get a job but the job doesn't pay all the bills? At least they are part of the system system and making a contribution. It would be cheaper than keeping them on welfare by itself. There is child poverty in this country and no reason for it. We have to start taking a look at the social security system we've created if we are going to eradicate it. Please participate in the social security security forum at Durham College, Sunday, October 23 between 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. Lecture Theatre Cl 13. The forum will be chaired by Durham College president Gary Polonsky. Information on social security is available at my office.