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Page THE HERALD Wednesday January 1990 Several issues are snapping at Ontario Liberals heels I am sure a great many of you have heard the old adage When you are up to your butt in alligators its tough to remember that your original intention was to drain the swamp Being an MPP certainly proves the truth that saying A government must fight hard not to get so wrapped up in high profile and controversial issues that its longterm program becomes lost At the present time the alligators of no fault insurance Sunday shop ping infractions and teachers pen sions are swimming through the media They are all very impor tant issues but they are only a small part of the changes that the provincial government has under taken One of the major steps taken dur ing the last five years is deficit reduction The provincial deficit has dropped from nearly S3 billion to approximately The next issue is to try to end up with that figure at zero Even the cur rent mil- be examined in its true Ugh A house der or business per son divides their spending into two types They have everyday operating expenses such as groceries and salaries as one type of spending and then they have large capital items such as houses factories cars and machinery A smart person wants to make sure that their every day expenses can be covered from their cash on hand With large capital items however things area little dif ferent Most of us cannot hope to buy a house or factory with ready cash We go to the bank and gel a mortgage Well the provincial government does something similar All of the deficit which we can call the governments mor tgage is going to new capital pro jects Most Ontarios capital spending for new schools and hospitals and other capital pro jects come from its ready cash the form of your tax dollars in the general revenue fund Un fortunately the need for new facilities is greater at the present moment than the amount of revenue collected so we borrow- to build Hopefully we can even tually be in the enviable position of not needing to get a mortgage for the facilities that Ontario needs Deficit reduction is a long and ongoing process but other things have been happening during the most recent session of the provin cial legislature On Dec royal assent was given to legislation that will provide for major reforms of Ontario trial courts The merger of the district and high courts along with the small claims court forms the Ontario Court of Justice General Division The present provincial criminal and family courts will be known as the Ontario Court of Justice provincial divi sion Included in this phrase is an increase in the small claims court monetary limit to province- wide A second phase of the reform will merge these two divisions into a single onelevel trial court able to deal with criminal civil and fami ly law matters We will no longer see such things as a family law dispute requiring two or more pro ceedings in two or more courts The new system will allow a family dispute to be dealt with in one pro ceeding before one judge The increasing importance of the role of organizations such as Halton Helping Hands and the Red Cross Homemakers was recogniz ed in improvements in wages and training These initiatives will strengthen the community care system Funds have also been pro vided to agencies helping persons with developmental and physical handicaps A comprehensive 98 Mill St GEORGETOWN DAYS 8772900 EVENINGS 8530780 reform of long care has been initiated which will help maintain the independence of Ontarios seniors Work on environmental protec tion has been ongoing since the passage of the spills bill shortly after the government came to power in 1985 Recently new legislation was passed to eliminate the use of in aerosol con tainers The government has also moved to put its own house in order Reduction and recycling are being aggressively promoted in government departments The On tario environment minister has pushed the federal environment department for an early announce ment of regulations which will match the proposed 1994 California standards for hydrocarbons car bon monoxide and nitrogen oxide for modelyear cars These are only some of the governments recent initiatives Others include the first major revi sion of the mining act since 1906 the introduction of the first major reforms to the police services act in four decades and the introduc tion of a new antidrug strategy based upon prevention and educa tion through community action and increased law enforcement The alligators will always be with us but long term strategies and programs are already beginn ing to lower the water level in the swamp Clean Up Vour Act PitchIn Fashions For The Young At Heart MAIN ST GEORGETOWN Across From Knox SPECIAL EXTENDED THROUGH FEBRUARY SAVE Reg On This Month 45 SPIRAL WRAP save On This Mth 60 Regular BO ACRYLIC NAILS EAR PIERCING NOW AVAILABLE Col Today For Your Appointment 235 GUELPH ST BESIDE BURGER KING THAT TO TOW 8777917 MONEY MANAGEMENT EDITION 1990 If you offer a financial product or service you shouldnt miss this opportunity to include yourself in our special Financial Supplement Money Management This special edition is delivered to over homes covering all of Hills and is filled with insight- financial planning information so crucial at this time of year If you require more information or would like to see a professionally prepared layout please contact our display advertising department Publication Date WEDNESDAY FEB 7th Deadline For Booking Contact Dan Taylor mill IIIIH I M the HERALD