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the HERALD Pages- Political Forum Wednesday November Ottawa Report Thoughts are turning to a federal election Last week marked three years that Ive been an MP Some days its hard to believe that time has flown by so quickly and other days I just feel baffled from all the travelling and stress On balance it is a true honor to be a Member of Parliament despite the criticism and the fact I know I can never make all the people in this riding happy Polities I have learned is all about compromise and that is something I never did well Every day I still struggle with it I ran for this job because I felt taxes were too high the govern ment was too much in debt and the future was at risk Three years later those are still my concerns As one MP I have not been able to change the world But there have been small vic tories getting the GST put against the deficit having the right to own property in the con stitutional proposals seeing legislated limits on government spending The job is far from being done and theres a great deal more Id like to do on behalf of the people who live on my street The system itself I now know needs changing MPs should be freer and more influential I sense that change is in the air As we improve the economy and heal the national unity wounds I think Parliament itself will Garth Turner become more representative and effective This will be a good thing Part of the current con stitutional proposals is about hav ing more free votes and in dependence for MPs which I ful ly support In the meantime every day that Im in the House of Com mons I make a point to get up and speak because every day there is a privilege And three years into the job Im being told to start thinking about the next election In fact I have a meeting this week with a guy who says he plans moving into the area just so he can run against me for another political party With the standing of the government in the polls right now Im sure there will be lots of people who figure they can Queens Park Report Workers investment proposals discussed Back in August I mentioned that our government had been working on a couple of ground breaking proposals to make it easier for workers to invest in their workplaces Those pro posals have since been introduc ed as legislation at Queens Park The Ontario Investment and Worker Ownership Program received first reading about three weeks ago and Id like to tell you more about this creative and co operative approach to economic renewal in our province During September our govern- ment consulted with about 30 ma jor labour business and invest ment groups about the proposals and the draft legislation was modified somewhat to reflect those consultations The program was designed to provide business with new sources of capital and to give workers a bigger voice in workplace decisionmaking The Ontario Investment and Worker Ownership Program operates in two ways Investment Part one operates very much like a mutual fund and will pro vide a tax credit to encourage workers to invest in small and mediumsized businesses through a laboursponsored in vestment fund Workers would receive an Ontario tax credit of 20 per cent on annual investments of up to 2 Ownership Part two will provide enhanced tax credits to foster employee ownership Workers investing in their own places of employment would be entitled to an Ontario tax credit of 20 per cent on the first 3500 invested and up to 30 per cent on incremental in vestments The maximum an nual investment would be 15000 The benefits are obvious Businesses will have access to another source of capital to help them grow and modernize and important factor for economic rebuilding The program will help save jobs by supporting viable companies that might otherwise shut down and employees will have a greater op portunity to share in workplace decisionmaking an important factor in job satisfaction The program should build better Noel Halton North 1 MPP 1 New Democratic Party understanding between business and labour as each becomes aware of the others needs and challenges Workers investments will be covered under the Ontario Securities Act In advance of making investments workers will be encouraged to complete a feasibility study and must file a business plan which will be reviewed by an advisory panel This process will ensure that employees have weighed the risks associated with acquiring a stake in the business and will pro mote investments in only those firms which have a reasonable opportunity for success Workers in some cases will have an op portunity to invest in highly suc cessful enterprises for example in profitable businesses where the owner is retiring Only the laboursponsored in vestment fund component of the program will apply to new ven tures For the employee- ownership provisions the business must have been in ex istence for at least two years If you have any comments about the program please call my Milton office at Tuesdays through Fridays I also wanted to let you know that Tourism and Recreation Minister Peter North has decided to tour North on December 3rd He will be meeting with local municipal of ficials and visiting some of the at tractions of the area Im looking forward to showing him a sample of what this riding has to offer in the way of planned facilities at tractive communities and natural features CANADIAN TIRE GEORGETOWN LOCATION St Georgetown OPEN SUNDAY 10 AM 5 PM And speaking of natural features by now youve probably heard that the province and the Halton Region Conservation Authority completed negotiations to obtain the LAC Minerals pro perty next to the Kelso Lake Con servation Area in the Town of Milton Funding for the purchase came from the Niagara Escarp ment Trust Fund The group call ed KEEP Keep the Escarp ment Environment Protected had been attempting for some time to prevent mining on the land by having the 390 acres of forest and wetlands under the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act The members of KEEP deserve a lot of praise for their longstanding and dedicated ef forts to protect this important natural asset for everyones benefit HOW TO BE A LOCAL HERO BE A BUSY BODY Local Heroes know that when the need is there even the busiest people have time to help They know that volunteering is one of lifes most rewarding experiences ttiB Be a Local Hero A New of Giving knock off the current MP for Maybe but Im not going to spend time dwelling on it I have never had a great deal of respect for politicians who get into the business to make a career of it its too easy for them to lose perspective Still theres something to be said for ex perience It takes time to unders tand how the system works what can realistically be done and how to steer through the rules Elections are important for sure But they cant get in the way of governments doing what they should do Politicians should never do things just to gain re election The current federal govern ment is in trouble partly because it has cut back spending raised taxes focused on reducing the deficit and tackled the question of national unity Weve also just been through a miserable reces sion and a great many people are unemployed Interest rates and inflation are down but that doesnt mean much when you dont have a job Things in short could be a lot better The critics say this government is responsible for all of these problems Others say it wouldnt matter who formed the government because the pro blems would be there anyway The national debt took years to accumulate And since they voted to stay in Canada in the 1980 referendum Quebeckers have been waiting for a new deal within Canada Well after three years in Ot tawa I certainly have a new ap preciation of how difficult it is to help Canada But I also have no less desire to do so The people on my street want a stable economy low interest rates secure jobs a united country peace reasonable taxes fair govern ment and a promising future This is one of the few nations on earth which actually has the potential of delivering all of that I am proud to fight for such goals SONLIGHT CHRISTIAN BOOKSTORE is celebrating their The store that honours Christ all year is the place to do your Christmas Shopping NO WONDER THEY CALL HIM THE SAVIOUR by Max lucado Between the stunning this girt book feature beautiful graphics and selection the bestseller N They Call lllm Saviour a moving portrayal of Christ which continues to remind us that the Cross Ik Indispensable Keg Price Sale Price GOD CAME NEAR by Max lucado per hack It an lo see the splendour of Christ le ace to face with the awesome fact that became flesh and dwelt among i Sale Price Bibles books music more All uniquely appropriate for Christmas Stop in today We have gifts to fit everyone on your list SONLIGHT CHRISTIAN BOOK8TORE Main St N Georgetown ON across from Moore Park Plaza HOURS Sat Friday 109pmV 8771550