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«125 Cross Ave. . . ©135 Tafaloar Ad! : 845â€"0421 2303 Lakeshore Rd. W. _ 827â€"0738 «1027 Spgers Rd. . > 842â€"0954 @386 Iroquois: SII)re Rd 849â€"8486 +Hwy. #5 Hwy. #25 827â€"5200 . «Hopedale Mail 827â€"6981 «2322 Royal Windsor Dr. 338â€"1966 . .» 754 Bronte Rd. i.\ % © 825â€"80500 . .e 239. Wyecroft \. +« OakvilleiPlaces. 8424566 + + «270. N. Service Rd: _{Towne Centre 1 Liberal leader condemns Rae‘s debt strategy Welfare investigator saves Halton $485,000 By SAL BOMMARITO Special to the Beaver Ontario Liberal Party leader Lyn McLeod, during a visit to Oakville Wednesday night, didn‘t mince any words when talking about Premier Bob Rae‘s failed attempts to slash $2 billion from the $43 billion public sector payâ€" roll. She said the government‘s $2â€"billion expenâ€" diture control plan, dubbed "social contract" by the New Democratic Party, "was a very hastily and very poorly conceived decision" by Rae. She also criticized the $2â€"billion tax increase in the budget, saying it would further stall the economy. McLeod was in town to address members of the Oakville South Provincial Liberal Riding Association. She described the government‘s costâ€"cutting measures as "management by criâ€" gis3." A Metroland Community Newspaper Vol. 31 No Come into Tim Hortons today and treat yourself to a delicious eclair, turnover or one of our freshly made fancy donuts At Tim Hortons always fresh means always fresh These River Rats are preparing for the River Rat Race that will take place on Sun. June 27th at Shipyard Park as part of the Oakville Waterfront Festival. There must be three ‘rats‘ per boat and no paddles or oars will be allowed. Entry fees are $25 per team with proceeds going to the team‘s favorite charity. Each team must also provide its own boat and life jackets. Teams withâ€" out boats or lifejackets may be provided with them if race officials are given adequate notice. Anyone interested in taking part should call Mary Ellen Maxwell at Parks and Recreation, 845â€"6601. Oh yah, the rats above are Bob Perkins, director of Parks and Recreation, Frank Cooney, assistant director of culture and recreation, Ray Chisholm, manager of programs. The waterâ€" logged rat is Andy Will, Glen Abbey Pool coordinator. (Photo by Peter McCusker) "The provincial chaos reached a peak with the social contract talks, which we said were doomed to begin with," McLeod added. However, McLeod said she was "surprised" by Rae‘s announcement to legislate $2â€"billion in cuts if an agreement isn‘t reached between the government and its 950,000 public sector workers by Aug. 1st. The 50â€"yearâ€"old opposition leader said the Liberal party has all along endorsed finding a negotiated solution to the problem. "Six weeks before its last budget, the govâ€" ernment discovered they had a debt crisis," said McLeod, "something we‘ve known for two years. What took so long?" While welcoming Rae‘s decision to extend the deadline, McLeod criticized the governâ€" ment fo * ei g h w a s t e weeks" o negotiaâ€" tions with public secâ€" tor union leaders. "We‘re} seeing level s confrontation and anxiety never seen before,‘ she said. > During a questionâ€"andâ€"answer period folâ€" lowing a brief speech, McLeod said of Rae‘s decision to introduce legislation if the social contracts fail would likely result in the preâ€" mier‘s leadership being challenged. She said the premier dug himself a deep (See ‘Rae‘ page 2) Cheaters are fined, jailed in attempt to reduce welfare fraud By ROB KELLY Special to the Beaver Halton Region‘s welfare sheriff is cleaning the cheats out of the program. Welfare fraud investigator Peter Foulds, an exâ€"police officer, costs Halton Region roughly $41,000 a year but he has netted $72,856 in FRIDAY 13 CHURCH DIRECTORY.....22â€"23 BUSINESS..... CLASSIFIED Understanding the Bard Less paper work Revenue Minister Oftto Jelinek eases import and export of carsâ€"parts. 75 Cents (GST included) (See ‘Investigator‘ page 2) Page 25 ‘ .............................. 25 Shakespeare a snap with this book Page 21â€"24