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the HERALD Wednesday December 1991 Political Forum Ottawa Report Taxes and reporters a volatile mix This is a short story about taxes and reporters Im not sure if there Is a moral I was walking down a hallway in the Parliament Buildings a week ago minding my own business when a reporter came up and put a microphone under my chin Mr Turner he said what would you do to solve the crisis in agriculture That was no small question Right now our farmers are facing hard times the price of their products especially grains while the cost of doing business keeps going up We have in ternational trading wars going on and our marketing boards are threatened Not since the Depression have things been this bad on the farm So I answered with a suggestion maybe the GST should be extended to cover food That way the per cent rate could probably be dapped to per cent and there would still be extra revenue which could go directly to subsidize the farmers Why would I say that Well two reasons First if we let the farmers go bankrupt then Canadians will end up importing more food at much higher prices Queens Park Report Private Members Bill proposed over quarry landfill issue Id like to begin this report by making a few comments about the Acton Quarry Landfill pro posal Over two thousand const tuents took the time to write to me on this issue I tried to answer some of your questions when I wrote back to you on November Ive always been totally opposed to any dumping in the Acton Quarry and my position will not change Ive questioned Environment Minister Ruth Grier in the House on more than one occasion about the S I pro posal The Minister in turn wrote to me and explained at length the limitations imposed upon her by the Environmental Assessment Act After receiving her response I began to look into the possibility of introducing a Private Members Bill Im now in the process of pulling together a number of interested people to work on such a bill It will be bas ed on the recent decision of the Niagara Escarpment Commis sion in regards to Amendment 52 that the Niagara Escarpment Is no place to situate a landfill site Id also like to bring you up to date on a few events at Queens Park A couple of weeks ago I talked to you about the release of the discussion paper on the Labour Relations Act and our in tent of holding consultations in ten locations across the province You might be interested in know ing the dates for two nearby loca tions Hamilton Monday January 20th TorontoTuesday February through Thursday February 6th If you wish to make a tion at the consultation hearings you should send a written request by mail or fax stating a prefer red location to OLRA tions Ministry of Labour Policy Division 15th Floor Avenue Toronto Ontario 1T7 Telephone 416 3267650 Your request must be received no later than 14 days to the consultation date At tendance will be confirmed at least one week prior to the hear We expect that represen tatives of a broad cross section of groups affected by the proposed NISSAN SALES SERVICE LEASING 610 MARTIN ST MILTON ONT 8784137 CARTEL Noel Hafton North MPP New Democratic Party reform of the will be in in the consultations Our government is also inviting written submissions on from all interested parties These submissions to be ed by the Ministry of Labour no later than Friday February should be sent to Bob Macken Minister of Labour Labour Relations Act Reform 14th Floor 400 University Avenue Toronto Ontario M7A If you have any questions about the process and how to participate in it please call An nette Snowdou Consultation Co ordinator at 416 3267400 I had also discussed the Employee Wage Protection Pro gram in an earlier report and I wanted to let you know that we now have a couple of booklets on hand about the program one for employers and another for workers As you ve probably heard the Sunday Shopping legislation was given Third Reading on November m the Provincial Legislation By the time this col umn appears in your newspaper some of you may have already taken advantage of the special December provisions for store openings December accounts for at least a quarter of total an nual sales for many retailers and often makes the difference bet ween a profit and a loss on the year business The legislation provides for a Common Pause Day the rest of the year Changes to the Employment Standards Act give retail employees except those Hip hospitality dustry the absolute right to refuse any Sunday or holiday assignment throughout the year Workers who previously agreed to work on such days must give employers hours notice at their request Municipalities may enact bylaws that allow stores in tourism areas to open on holidays A regulation setting out the criteria for these areas has been developed to ensure that the tourism exemption is ad ministered with consistency across the province CUT Thurs Reg price MO Professional And Shave 1 SO Guelph St Georgetown Next to Restaurant Second I have always believed the GST was unfair because it exemp ted certain things like groceries A fair tax would apply to everything at the lowest possible and it would be simpler and cheaper to ad minister Well the next day one of the MPs from British Columbia showed me the headline from one of the dailies in Vancouver There beside my picture it said Tones ponder put ting GST on food Shortly af stories appeared in newspapers from Toronto to Halifax My oneminute surprise in had the phones of MPs across Canada ringing Then last Thursday afternoon I was driving back to Georgetown from Ottawa The phone in my car rang and on the other end of the line was TV in Calgary they wanted to do an in terview on this GST on food for the farmers I pulled over and spoke to the network while they broadcast my voice and a picture of me Also on the line was some farmer from Manitoba who had been lined up to give instant reaction So here I was on the side of the near talking to a television interviewer half the country away who had heard that a group of MPs headed by me had made a formal presentation to the government on changing the tax system and that the minister in charge of consumer affairs had agreed None of it was true- It had all started with a quick comment in a hallway in Ottawa But the episode made me reflect on how things can quickly get out of control In this age of instant communications satellite feeds cellular phones and media people willing to throw anything at the public with a minimum of research and in vestigation well is it any wonder that we all get overwhelmed Next time Ill just shut up but 1 still think the farmers need our help My thanks to all those who have been filling out and returning the Constituency Survey which I recen tly sent to people living in this riding of Hal tonPee Most surveys are coming back with extensive comments and that certainly helps me do my Job in Ot tawa which is to represent the way people in our community feel about national Issues I am working now to tabulate the results to each question and hope to report to you soon on the results Of course this report will also go directly to Parliament Your voices will be heard Say I mi Constitutional reform is about many things But mostly its about you As Canadians we are now facing one of the most important challenges in our Proposals have been put forward bv the Government of Canada to improve our Constitution These proposals for a more united and prosperous Canada in which all Canadians tan feel at home are being reviewed a special parliaments committee The will also be considered a series run b independent Canadian sanitations Some of the proposals include a Canada clause that speaks our hopes and dreams as Canadi our values and net it recognizing the right ot aboriginal peoples to govern themselves while being protected b Canadian law ensuring recognition of Quebecs distinc tiveness and of minontv language groups reforming the Senate to make it elected effective and much more equitable than it is now strengthening Canada s economic union so Canadians can work and conduct business in the guaranteeing property rights Get involved and find out more about how these proposals will shape the future of Canada call toll free Deaf or impaired call 1 5671992 Canada Shaping Canadas Future Together