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Pate HALTONWLLSOUTLOOK Ma IMS Halton Hills Is published Saturday thr TON IIIMMIIKAI I Newspaper of Hills A of Newspaper at Street Georgetown Ontario I t lass Mail I Don I STING Miller He NT ITU Sham TIDN SI Ir IHSTr Sill- ST I listings Tbeir Outlook Not another sob story SNAFU Bruce Bealtic Ottawa Thorn ion News Sen Ice Elaine Carter bundles up her two pre- school children each weekday morning and drops hem off at a friend home before hurrying off to her Job as a waitress a downtown She not all that crazy about her work It means long hours away from the kids the pay is not all that great and I he clientele arc not lavish But any work is better than none at all especially for a high school dropout who has been supporting a family alone after her husband deserted a few years ago In some ways Elaine blame Jeff for leaving His spirit was crashed when the early 19B0s recession cost him his job the plant in Ihcir Atlantic Canada city After two years of fruitless scar he left Elaine pregnant with their second child and went west to look for work She heard from him since Still at 23 Elaine has her dreams She picks up a newspaper left on the bus on her way to work and rcatL a short item that her microwave ovens video cassette recorders and computers have become standard items in many homes The story also says Canadians spend an jveragc of of every of on the necessities of food clothing and shelter Those arc beyond the pile for her Of her nun work income last ynr of necessities She thinks how nice It would be to have another SI to buy some cute outfits and a few other extras or her kids Of course that doesn t in etude the unemployment insurance collected when she was laid off from her previous job But that a week she got whilt desperate- seeking new work barely kept heart and soul together This Is sob story right Well not Elaine is a mythical character and her predicament may not be precise ly as portrayed above But this description Is based on I98G statistics on Canada s 3 million poor released recently by he National Council of Welfare an iisory agency to he federal govern The council found that women arc over represented among Canada poor Almost per cent of one- parent families headed by women arc under the poverty line Six out of children in these families arc poor Altogether there are more than a million kids living in poverty That one in six Canadian children under 15 As you might expect poor are characterized by low education single incomes part time rather than full lime employment renters rather than homeowners and ex of age They are propor more likely to be women men The council nates that the Senate report on poverty depicted a grizzled Old man on its cover as representative of Canada poor If thai cover were done today a more appropriate symbol would be a single elderly woman or young single parent mother with her children AH MAINS But while the portrait of the poor may have changed the gap between the have and rest of society ff cult to close In 1951 the notes the poorest per cent of families had l per cint of family income By tint percentage had risen only to cm in spite of massive spending by govern Income is distributed in a highly unequal and rtgressivt manner and here has I It progress in over the last the council Part of thai iniquity irises because In many middleclass well educated families both parents work Thai fact tends to erode forts by government reduce the gap But the last recession shows just how difficult it is to hold In 1981 before the slump cent lived in poverty That rosi In per cent by 19ft4 before declining tic current per cent It a reminder lint poverty Is Comment BRIAN Mad Will our Regional councillors chicken out and leave a decision on the municipalities rights up to looks like it The province is going to review the ivir How to catch stupid criminals Japans vulnerability taken into consideration Your Business Business Analyst A small group of Japan watchers gathered Trimly College in Toron to to hoar Ambassador Tomohiko special economic ad visit Japan Minister of Foreign rs and Japan chief negotiator for the Uruguay round of multilateral trade talks talk about world tli Mr ilk which focused on the June Economic Sum mil in Toronto was sponsored by the Joint Centre for Asia a on of University of York University When talk turned to Japan relations it became strain is ii always does Jnpan bash has become the number one sport politicians a that has left tl J i panose near speechless with frustration If Japan exports dollar Wait I he i the whole beach wt II pick his pockrls hi process is doing all it the iml around Mr out Japan bashing can no lot be Justified by the acts First of all Japan is no longer a lowcoal producer Wages and other coals are high Indeed Japan itself Is being hurt by lowcos imports from emerging Industrial powers such as Taiwan and South Korea IMPORTS SOAK year Japanese domestic de mand per cent to growth In the country gross product In contrast were a drag growth falling per cent Finn growth was 1 percent Inflallon Imports manufactured goods soared to mo than per of total imparls est year from per cenl In 1981 Hot the current year manufactured are expected to comprise a full hair of all the goods Japan Imports and Japan Is a big importer As protectionism grows in the United States and Japan comes under increasing attack from the European Leon ml Community one issue loams larger others in the minds of Japanese par country farmers With a population six times the size of Canada and farmland that is on IS per cent of the size of Califor mi Japan Is struggling to preserve lis agricultural sector by limiting imports of basic foodstuffs Meanwhile American beef and wheit farmers are boshing down the door dim and that Japan allow its people to buy cheaper land sub sidized agricultural products everyone it seems wants lo be in on thi action when the Japanese lo beef inn r ICIENCY the Americans and don seem lo realize or do is how vulnerable a country like Japan would be if it depended on rest o the for food Sell luff in basic foodstuffs is nit the Japanese arc seeking preserve and hey are not likely relent As Mr Kobayashi pointed out the United Males limits Imports of 14 agricultural items among dairy products peanuts Canada limits tht butler cheese and among things Japan limits imports of 22 agricultural items some of which have been found II legal under world trading rules known as Ihe General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade you can see we are oil sinners In the field of agricultural trade Mr Kobayashi said Japan is he biggest net importer of agricultural products in he world tie pointed While Japan is in favor of trade liberalization the legitimate desire of nations with extremely low levels of food self sufficiency to ensure a stable supply of basic food items trade talks be said We re living In Ihe real world he said In an old country like Japan which has been growing rice for thousands of years rice Is more than lust an economic issue the am noted lhal confused piece of legislation the provincial government dreamed up In 1976 to make sure municipalities study Ihe entire world to quote one As one example of the feels of the unclear specif cations of the act the legislation calls for a study of cultural effects of putting up a land ill site or any other such operation which will affect the environment In Regions search for a dump thai cultural requirement meant a search for Indian ar rowheads which may have been burled at the site So everything was put on hold while searched for arrowheads It not that such a search Is a bad thing Even the of the Skydomc had lo wait for an d before cons Iruct Ion could start Bui It would have been nice If knew that such a study was needed before plans went ahead Recently hired lawyer Thomas lo prepare study and make recommendations on Ihe Mr suggested several ways to clarify act one suggestion has caused heated debate among councillors Mr said Individual municipalities should not be allowed to appear before an environment it assessment hearing board In plead Its case Burlington Is doing hat right now in an attempt to stave off a new dump right next to the old one in Aldershot Mr reasoning makes sense from a Regional perspective Is spending millions of dollars to fight Burlington and He saying big battle round Ihe council table Some councillors agree with Mr suggestion and some Thot fine A majority vote should decide whether thai suggestion stays in the report which will be sent off to the environment ministry But now at suggestion of Mayor Bill Perms council has decided lo ask tin if that would violate municipality s democratic rights Let face It most ret wal clllors have been to lake Regional perspective big issues continues be a battle of municipalities Burlington was out numbered In the vote on the red damp Site Other councillors are hardly going to vote against a silo In their town If the Region is the place of last resort for a municipality then each one will be subjected to the tyranny of the majority in such a situation ItBhoulan t work that way It may be an expensive process but a municipality should have its day In court In front of an dent tribunal Just as Burlington Is doing now in front con sol id ted hear board Nevertheless whether or such a move takes away Ihe democratic rights of the municipality It should be a subjective decision There may be a complex legal answer but Is essentially a philosophical Question It be up to the lawyers the way Mayor wants to do It