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THE HERALD Wednesday April 1191 Page Political Forum Ottawa Report Viewing issues through others eyes We all view things in our own way and sometimes it good to use somebody else eyes for a while Example Last Friday morn ing I spent time with a groups of 13 young mothers in a church hall in a discussion group while their children played in another room I talked about politics for a while and then we all got into the issue of national unity After an hour or so the topic changed abruptly first to per sonal financial security and then how governments tax families I was struck by how one woman put it and how the others im mediately seemed to agree and support her She said that as a stay home mother she felt she was taking a very great risk She was not earning any money and for several more years But meanwhile those years were perhaps the most portant for her to be establishing some track record in a career At the same time she was not put any money away for retire ment And with today statistics on divorce she stood a higher thancomfortable chance of en ding up losing Sometimes I can t believe that I took this risk she said And that sure hit home Partners in a marriage who make the decision to stay at home and raise their children giving up big bucks and the prospect of a career are clearly sacrificing Garth Turner MP Halton Peel Progressive Conservative And what does the tax system do in return It penalizes them Let take two families earning the same amount of money say 000 Family a has two people working one spouse making and the other they have two kids which they put into daycare Family B has one per son working earning while the other spouse stays home and looks after the children In this case because govern ments treat people for tax pur poses as individuals Family A pays less tax than Family B The tax payable on two lower incomes is less than the tax payable on one higher income And In addition Family A can deduct daycare costs for a further tax saving This system is unfair It discriminates against families which make the decision to care for children in the home And 1 believe it should be changed A better way wouldbe to have a Family Tax Return Let treat families as economic units in stead of collections of in dividuals That way t matter who went to work or how much money was earned the thing that would matter would be the total income of the family And if people who put their kids in daycare can get a tax break why can t equal treatment be given those who stay at home Making these changes to bring fairness might pose some costs to Ottawa the form of lost taxes But that is not necessarily the case if we choose to make some changes elsewhere in the tax system And I think we should In days like these uncertainly rapid change challenges to tradi on we ought to be encouraging families not taxing them harder In Ottawa I have been pursu this change and a number of other MPs are there to also raise their voices But to convince the government this should be done we need more support If you agree please write and tell me so I can use those letters as fresh ammunition The address Garth Turner MP House of Commons Ottawa KlA 0A6 The young mothers I met were terrific but they could do with a little more hope in their eyes The system should put it there Queens Park Report Spring session promises to be busy Spring Session The legislature has been back in session for over a month now and the spring sitting has already promised to be at least as busy as the fall session Finance Minister loyd has indicated that the budget will be brought down on Monday April 29th and it will outline the government overall fiscal policy Agriculture Minister Elmer Buchanan an nounced the 1991 Farm Interest Assistance Program prior to the budget in order to allow farmers to make decisions about spnng planting Legislation on an ad system for vulnerable On was recently introduced and plans are underway for a new auto insurance system I was pleased with the an nouncement of Environment Minister Ruth regarding a ban on future municipal solid waste incinerators Our local en vironmental group ICE had been working for some time to en sure that incineration would not be included as an option for the disposal of garbage Halton Region and I shared their con cerns about the effects of burning solid waste Labour Minister Bob Macken has indicated his approval of the nominations of Odoardo Di Santo as new Chair of the Noel Halton North Hew Democratic Party Workers Compensation Board and Brian King as ViceChair and Director of Administration Mr Di Santo has been the Director of the Office of the Worker Adviser for the last five years and Mr King has been a chair in the Workers Compensation Boards of Manitoba and Saskatchewan as well as the Workers Compen Appeals Tribunal in Manitoba Mr Mackenzie stated that the new chair and vice- chair have an important job ahead of them to improve the fectiveness and credibility of the Board with both workers and employers I know that many of you have faced great difficulties and delays when dealing with the Workers Compensation Board and I too look forward to any im to a system which seems to ignore the plight of the injured worker Other announcements by Mr Mackenzie included the Hon of legislation on April to create Ontario Wage Protection Program to help workers recover wages when their employer fails to pay As I had indicated in a previous report in November the Employee Wage Protection Pro gram will cover workers earned wages and vacation severance and termination pay owed in cases of bankruptcy abandon or an employer failure to pay The seed money for the pro gram came from the Ontano governments settlement with the Varity Corporation Eligible employees will receive a max of under the Pro gram which will be retroactive to October 1 Employees who are not covered will include those who work for federally regulated companies such as chartered banks Air Canada Bell Canada radio and television stations foreign consulates cial trucking and transportation companies The amendments will also provide for enhanced en For more information about the program please call my Milton office at 8781729 Say saw it in The Herald The Reserve Parttime adventure Build on your civilian career while you earn extra money working part time in the Militia Canada s army reserve Live this uniquely rewarding experience Work with interesting people on selected evenings and weekends Enoy varied employment and travel opportunities Join the Reserve now For more information contact OUR PRICES WILL NEVER STRAND YOU MAPLE LODGE HOT DOG WIENERS PRESSED NT CORNED BEEF DELI SLICED GOOD OLD FASHIONED LB IJ3 100 Grams PRODUCT OF SPAIN OR MQROCCO CANADA NO 1 NAVEL ORANGES KISMET MARGARINE 1 LB TUB 299 LESS THAN HALF PRICE MOORE PARK PLAZA Pleasure To Serve You STORE Monday to Friday 8 a m Saturday a CLOSED SUNDAY SUPER SPECIAL IDEAL FOR THE BBQ STRIP LOIN STEAKS LB1541Kg Values Effective Saturday April 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