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the HERALD Political OTTAWA REPORT Politicians twisting in economic winds Its been a fascinating couple of weeks if you like seeing politi cians out there twisting in the economic winds As everybody now knows the recession across North America was worse than anybody thought it would be The economists were predicting wed be pulling well out of it by now but real recovery still looks a few months off The politicians who listen to the economists have been caught short They are confronted with higher spending demands because more people are out of work and lower revenues because profits and taxes are down So the big question is this Do they raise taxes spend less money or go further in debj Heres a tale of three cities for you In Toronto the NDP govern ment of Premier Bob short ly after taking office last year mokes the decision to increase spending without raising taxes to cover the spending He says he will stimulate the economy and fight the recession The province will borrow more than billion in a single year and spend it on services In Washington Republican President George Bush tern poranly stimulates the economy by making the decision to wage war in the Persian Gulf Wars Garth Turner MP Peel Progressive Conservative always increase economic activi ly but this one has a limited feet Shortly after ends the recession worsens and over 15 million Americans are thrown out of work In Ottawa the Conservative government freezes civil servant wages passes a law restricting its ability tp spend cuts back on transfers to the provinces brings in the GST to replace some business taxes cuts money to special interest groups slashes VTA Rail subsidies and generally gives everyone an opportunity to hate it Over the last two weeks we all had a good chance to see what some of the results turned out to be In Toronto Premier Bob announced that we are in terrible times in an unprecedented television speech The strategy last year did not work and he has now declared Ontario will see serious spending Transfers to schools and hospitals and cities go up by only one per cent pro outrage The Ontario deficit rockets ahead by over per cent in a single year The premier tells us it could hit billion this year Of course deficits are just defer red taxes In Washington president Bush tries a combination of deep spending cuts and a few lax breaks to encourage investment His popularity is plunging in an election year js the States sharply increases in debt The budget deficit for 1992 is now estimated to be billion more than ten times that of Canada and up by more than 31 percent in a single year Ottawa Finance Minister Don announced last week that Canadas deficit would also rise from last year but by just three per cent But he also said this was unacceptable and the government would bring in a budget with even more ding cuts Personally I dont think it is possible to spend your way out of a recession any more It might have worked for FDR during the Depression but those days are over now AH governments are handcuffed by both existing debt QUEENS PARK REPORT Workers backed by Noel Whether you call it or the Workers Compensation Board the system implemented back in to look after injured workers still has many flaws Numerous concerns have come to my tion during the past seventeen months Both employers and workers alike have encountered problems with the present system needs to be fair and effective Last fall I wrote to Labour Minister Bob Mackenzie about the failings of the system and I would like to share parts of that letter with you he complaints are numerous and varied but include first and foremost delays delays in returning calls in in claims in making decisions in processing payments in providing access to files in sending out slips and in producing the ratings schedule for noneconomic loss awards In some cases telephone inquiries have not been returned at all and many constituents have found the WCB personnel to be arrogant rude patronizing and un sympathetic Some workers have been faced with the threat of benefit closure for reasons other than policy decisions One tuent relayed the story of a tern porary employee a student who was advised by his super visor to learn to do no more than four hours of work per day Files have been misplaced or misdirected and it took one WCB unit over two months to find a let ter sent by registered mail by a worker Letters sent by my staff have been inserted into files and not acted upon Many workers have indicated dissatisfaction with the operation and layout of the Rehabilitation Centre as well as with the whole process of rehabilitation Regional medical advisers often seem to be unaware of the actual medical condition of a worker Ad close off benefits for questionable reasons and fail to give the benefit of doubt to the worker Workers awaiting chronic pain awards are reduced to partial benefits because they Noel Duignan SB Halton North MPP Jm New Democratic Party are deemed to be fit for work Many of my constituents are fore to appeal for benefits they should have received in the first place and only some of them are entitled to receive the interest on the late payments Employers are assessed incorrectly and their requests for negotiation are ignored The above examples do not adequately reflect the level of frustration and anger felt by those who must deal with the Workers Compensation Board but they do indicate a need 1m prove service delivery and to amend existing legislation The Hamilton Regional Office has made a point of establishing regular contact with my office an many concerns have been relayed to its managers through these visits but not all of my constituents have claims assign to Hamilton Improvements are still required at all the units before these injured workers are able to profess faith in the system that should have been designed to assist them In his reply to me the Minister referred to the task force established to examine both vice delivery and vocational rehabilitation Mr Mackenzie in that he expected a final report with recommendaitons to be delivered to the WCB Chair Odoardo Santo on April 30th Other correspondence from MPP Sharon parliamentary Assistant to the Minister outlin ed some of the measures being in by the new Board ad ministration More Adjudicators he position of adjudicator assistant has been eliminated Assistants are being converted into case adjudicators About 200 more adjudicators will be created across the province This should mean faster and more service tor injured workers 2 Better Training for WCB Staff The new administration is in troducmg a massive training pro gram for front line staff par former adjudicator assistants The focus will be on case management skills and the need to provide good service to worker and employer clients More Personal Contact with Staff Better training combined with more adjudicators and caseworkers will mean more personal contact with staff Soon when you call the Board you will be answered by a person hopefully a case adjudicator not a machine Improvements in the Revenue Department Employers have suffered ser problems as bad or worse as those suffered by injured workers In the Revenue Depart ment a major project is under way to overhaul antiquated com hardware and software improving the revenue service and information available to employers Im interested your reaction to these improvements and your stories about the Workers Com pensation Board Please jot down your comments and send them to me at the following address 751 Main Street East Milton On tario L9T Ill see that your replies art directed to the ap propriate people Say I saw it in The Herald and the expensive social services provided to their citizens The 1990s it is clear are demanding leaders who can say no That may be politically unpopular but in the long run it makes more sense than buying votes today with tomorrow tax increases By the way did you hear the one about VIA It actually made a profit last year with more riders fewer employees and greater efficiency V Clothing Mens Ladies Children ALTERATIONS REPAIRS 8771598 Maybe cutting the government subsidy was the best thing we could have done for the outfit Its amazing what good can come out of a little pruning SKI SALE Main St Geotgetown reai parking lot VALENTINE LINES Name WORD AD ONLY TOTAL COST OR CALL BARB AT 8772201 fir USE YOUR VISA OR MASTERCARD PUBUC MEETING Thursday February 1992 710 pm ion Police Community Support Division GEORGETOWN PURPOSE To provide YOU with an opportunity to tell the Government of Ontario what YOU think about proposed changes to the LongTerm Care sy ji Ontario m from Te people who use LongTerm Care services are usually the elderly people with disabilities or people who have a chronic or prolonged illness FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL HALTONPEEL COMMUNITY HEALTH SUPPORT SERVICES 4162794929 OR 18005654213