Wednesday August 22, 2001 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER A5 Economic critic says we're on bring of recession living, cost o f services, taxation and availability o f services," said Kwinter. L ow university education funding is one exam ple, he said. D espite the critical review s o f health care, K w inter adm itted that it "does a relatively good jo b for citizens" com pared to the U .S. and noted the highest reason for bankruptcy in the U.S. is By A ngela Blackburn health care costs. OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF T h at's not to say the GTA is in bad shape -- N orth A m erica is teetering on the brink o f a far from it. C iting a barrage o f facts, figures and statis recession, w arned O n tario 's Liberal Econom ic tics, K w inter outlined a picture o f the GTA D evelopm ent and T rade C ritic M onte K w inter w ithin the heart o f the G olden H orseshoe -- last week. "the core o f econom ic developm ent in southern "If the U.S. goes dow n, we go dow n w ith it. O ntario for centuries." T he best we can do is to be prepared," said T he GTA has 4.3 m illion people -- w ithin K w inter, M PP for York Centre. T h e fo rm e r D av id P eterso n g o v ern m e n t the G olden H orseshoe's 7 m illion people or 60% o f O n tario 's popula C a b in e t m in iste r w as tion. speculating on the possi "I'm try in g to stay upb eat, H om e to the m ost im por b ility o f an im p en d in g b ut stay real. I believe w e 're tan t C an ad a-U .S . ec o recession -- one financial ex p erts w arn is on the g o in g th ro u g h s o m e very, very nom ic corridor, w hether it's industry o r agricul horizon. p e rilo u s tim e s ." tu re, the G olden K w in ter, an 18-year L iberal veteran w ho w as -Monte Kwinter H orseshoe does the bulk o f business in O ntario. o rig in a lly ed u c ated in "W henever I go to T hunder Bay or O ttaw a Fine A rts, w as speaker at the second annual and say that, th ey go b a llistic ," lau g h ed B usiness B reakfast Fundraiser, hosted by the Kwinter. O akville P rovincial L iberal A ssociation held at "T he GTA is in very good econom ic health," the Q uality Inn & Suites. he adm itted. "A ll indicators are show ing that if w e d o n 't P opulation and investm ent grow th is on the go into a recession, w e're pretty close to it," upsw ing. The GTA m ay fall short Stateside, but said Kwinter. "We have an incredibly fragile econom y. If it leads C an ad a's m etropolitan centres in living standards. it isn 't w atched very, very carefully, w e're going A verage incom es in the GTA are high, ed u to have som e m ajor problem s," he said. cational standards are good, and H alton boasts "T he (provincial) governm ent is not respond the low est crim e rate in Canada. ing. T hey put out new s releases saying that C om m unity life and health care are good, things are good, that tax cuts are w orking, that w hile teen birth and suicide rates are low. the econom y is grow ing." H ow ever, like any doctor m ay w arn a m idT hough K w in ter d o e sn 't foresee another 1929, he said the challenge for local govern dle-aged patient, there are som e issues that bear m ent and business is to "m ake sure your fiscal w atching. O ne in five low -incom e fam ilies spend more house is in order." F o r lo cal g o v ern m e n t th a t m ean s, fig h t than h alf their incom e on shelter. "G row ing congestion on the roads is the dow nloading by higher levels o f governm ent, he num ber one crisis that w e face and unless it is advised. "I 'm trying to stay upbeat, but stay real. I faced, w e're going to have econom ic stagna tion," said Kwinter. b elieve w e 're going through som e very, very As the form er Industry, Trade & C om m erce perilous tim es," w arned Kwinter. m inister w ho helped form er Ford o f C anada W ith m ore than tw o dozen local business people and m any local governm ent representa president K en H arrigan negotiate the paint plant tives in attendance, K w inter said the GTA has a for O ak v ille's F ord plant, K w inter lauded the value o f the auto industry to these parts. low er standard o f living to com parable U.S. Yet, on the subject o f vehicles, K w inter said regions. that if transportation w oes aren 't addressed, "I think th a t's concerning to all three levels they w ill likely inhibit future econom ic devel o f governm ent," adm itted M ayor A nn M ulvale, opm ent, he said. w ho, questioned the indicators upon w hich the M oney, governm ent w ill and a seam less claim is based. "It's a com bination o f things such as cost o f GTA tran sit sy stem are the answ er, said Kwinter. ^CMPEMWORING R E D C A R P E T S E R V I C E /K T E V E R Y S T E F * PACIFIC Monte Kwinter says governments m ust fight downloading, put their fiscal houses in order CARPETS `PEERLESS' 60 oz Saxony ONLY $ O i; 9 9 l HIGH DENSITY LAMINATES itaxtincf D sq yd OR $ 0 9 9 $1 49 TM £ S q ft sq ft COMPLETELY INSTALLED 1 5 YEA R W A R R A N T Y M A D E IN G E R M A N Y 2 Great Choices: i f GST H ^ R S T o r Buy Now - Pay In 3Years. EBBT 3V xV MAPLE 3%" x3 V $ 5 " Sq ft C INNAM ON A SH $C 49 sq ft 2 5 YEAR W A R R A N TY BURLINGTON: 1250 Brant St. (ACROSS FROM FAMOUS PLAYERS) 905-332-8388 1-888-882-6788 2 5 YEA R W A R R A N T Y S e le c t + B e tte r M ISSISSAUGA; 734 Dundas St. E. (JUST EAST OF CAWTHRA) 905-281-8552 F R E E ! S H O P -A T -H O M E Visit U s A t: w w w .p a c ific -fio o rin g .c o m *See store for details. Prior orders and wood products excluded from this offer. Cannot be combined with any other sale or offer. O.A.C. O F O R FALL PROGRAMS YMCA We build strong kids, strong families, strong communities. Car insurance with no S tate Farm ftgent? I 'm not that brave. P R E S C H O O L 1.5-6YRS · Just Me & Dad · Muck N' Such · Science Discovery · Creative Movement And So Much More! State F *im C u stom er Joh n W ooiard Y O U T H5-17 Y R S · Coed Basketball · Girls Only Basketball ·Gymnastics · JiuJitsu · Taekwondo, Judo And So Much More! A llig a to r specialist John W o o la rd has no problem wrestling w ith reptiles. But ask him to g ra p p le w ith cut-rate c ar insurance? N o w ay. Play it safe w ith yo u r c a r insurance. G e t reliab le service an d com petitive rates from me, K t.x lj!. your State Farm A gent. 2001-02 Program & Sen/ices Guide Now Available A D U L T · Fitness Memberships · Pilates · Latin Dance ·Yoga · Coed Volleyball League And So Much More! FOR M O R E IN FO R M A TIO N PLEASE C A LL O R DROP BY THE Y Andrew Heideman, Agent 2 8 2 8 Kingsway Drive 2nd Floor O akville, O N 905-829-0018 andrew.heideman.bdus@statefarm.com Like a good neighbour, State Farm is there®. State Farm Mutual Insurance Company · Canadian Head offices: Scarborough, Ontario 4 10 Rebecca Street, Oakville 905-845-3417 www.ymcaofoakville.com statefarm.comTM