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THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, Feb. 11, 1994 â€" 6 467 Speers Road, Oakville, Ont. L6K 354 8$45â€"3824 Fax: 845â€"3085 Classified Advertising: 845â€"2809 Circulation: 845â€"9742 or 845â€"9743 : an Publishe The hn Piton Euglonng 6 barpuing j rs Rd., ille, is one of 1 r T ist ing I Oliver lls T Ll‘::e group of sljb;g\t::n neg'sapapevsewhi%h incé:ges: Ah;fickgmg News M Advertiser, Barrie nce, on Guardian, Burlington . Robert Glasbey Advertising DireCLOF Connection, Elcbicoke f"%'dh::é“ Indepondany Acton Free Press 7 ingston This We indsay This Week, Markham Economist a un, Norman Alexander Editor im,w?mge Trome, Miton ,f-"""‘“g;‘.;v"-‘.i,?"'““g‘ Nows: Hill cula i wmarketâ€"Aurora Eraâ€"Banner, Nort! lrror, il aver, in Geo“ Cir Itz'lon Director ‘_::oday. ?shawalwmrby Thi;czv'goek. P:l:‘rborouqh This Week, Richmond HiV anag homhil/Vaughan Liberal, rough Mirror. Teri Casas O‘[fi'ce 6 All material gublished in the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyi hi. Any Tim Coles Production Manager oduction in whole or in part of this material is strictly forbidden without the consent of the publisher. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of the advertising space oocur errongous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will b at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize and reject advertising. in the event of typographical error, advertising i rvices not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to sell and may be withdrawn at any lm. EDITORIAL Smoke screen No matter what kind of spin the federal government puts on its attempts to curb cigarette smuggling, the real winners are the tobacco companies and the losers will be Canadian, and particularly, Ontario taxpayers. In slashing the price of a carton of cigarettes sold in Quebec to about $23 versus the roughly $40 price in Ontario, the federal government believes it has the multiâ€" billion cigarette smuggling problem licked. What they fail to realize is that the overwhelming number of Quebeckers who buy legitimate cigarettes at the taxed rate, will continue to consume tobacco at the same or even higher rates. Not only that, young Quebeckers, statistically heavy smokers regardless of the cost of cigarettes, will consume more. In this scenario, the federal government will lose millions in tax revenue while at the same time dealing with the increasing medical problems associated with cigarette smoking. It‘s clearly a loser‘s game. In Ontario, where cigarette smuggling is a problem, albeit less so than in Quebec, Premier Bob Rae is steadfast in saying this province won‘t chop its segâ€" ment of the cigarette tax. The reason is crystal clear...the Province of Ontario canâ€" not afford to throw away what has been $500â€"million in revenue. Where will this shortfall come from? Not from Ottawa, that‘s for sure. But perhaps the most cynical component to these antiâ€"smuggling measures, is the plan by the federal government to spend $185â€"million over three years on yet another antiâ€"smoking campaign. What hypocrisy. : The feds already have a super set of television ads running these days that graphically show the downside of smoking and how it‘s uncool to smoke. In slashâ€" ing the price of smokes, Ottawa is basically enticing young people to 4ry smoking with the possibility of hooking them on a habit that can debilitate or kill them. Of course the cigarette lobby group was quick to respond solemnly to the tax changes, especially the one that will see an $3 a carton export tax initiated. This is peanuts when weighed against the likely possibility of increased sales, potentially huge sales increases. Some reports suggest the cigarette manufacturers will raise the price of their products. Our guess is they will since only a $5 per carton price hike will be straight profit; you can almost see the cigarette makers rubbing their hands in delight. Like all gutless governments, the Liberals chose to deal with a law and order problem by turning it into a tax issue. That‘s the Canadian way...it‘s not the right way but it‘s the Canadian way, you know, nice and neat and tidy and completed by just shuffling some bureaucratic paper. But having seen how the Tories were drawn into the Oka crisis, the Liberals had no stomach for what should have been done...concentrated on physically stopping the smuggling including the seizure of vehicles, boats etc. used to transport cigarettes from the U.S. to indian reserves in Quebec and Ontario. According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, tobacco accounts for about $15â€" billion in healthâ€"care costs yearly and costs 38,000 Canadians their lives every year. The Canadian Cancer Society says tobacco use is the cause of 30 per cent of all heartâ€"related deaths, 90 per cent of all deaths from lung disease and 30 per cent of all cancer deaths. CCS officials say the federal government has started the clock of a cancer timeâ€"bomb that will start exploding in another 20 years. As for the federal government‘s bluster about cutting tobacco taxes as a way to stop smuggling, perhaps the Liberals would have done well to consult with the varâ€" ious groups like the CCS, the HSF, the Lung Association and cancer physicians who see the impact of tobacco use on a daily basis. Apparently they chose to talk with some of them only at the 11th hour and then only after they had lobbied to be heard. What‘s next? Watch for alcohol smugeling from the U.S. to go off the chart. e B_FiAvfiR PHN ALON Should the Ontario government follow the federal government‘s example and cut taxes on cigarettes? Cast your ballot by calling 845â€"5585, box 5008 to vote. Callers have until 12 noon Thursday to register their vote. Results of the poll will be published in on CA[_LM5.5585 the next Friday edition of the Oakville Beaver. RESULTS OF LAST WEEK‘S POLL Is there any justification for the Blue Jays raising their ticket prices an averâ€" age of 20 per cent for the 1994 season? Yes:4 No:10 on THE INFORMKTION SUPERKIGHWAY oF LIFE, HARRYS A SPEED BUMP .. * PagEs OF THE PAST A look back at the events that made headlines in Oakville. 40 years ago Auto workers seek travel allowance 10 YEARS AGO Town councillor Norm Connolly was censured by his council colleagues for his objections to a $2,000 retirement gift for town administrator Ken Needham. Three councillors opposed the gift â€" Norm Connolly, Jackie Cutmore and Fred Oliver â€" but it was Connolly who was the most vocal of the three. "I object to spending $2,000 of taxpayers‘ money on town staff," said Connolly. "And I think you‘re trying to pull a fast one here." Needham‘s $2,000 retirement gift included annual Oakville Golf and Country Club dues and a set of golf clubs. The town administrator had been employed 28 years with the town. Connolly‘s remarks outraged other councillors. "I think this is revolting and disgusting and I think it‘s imperative this councillor be censured," said councillor Paul Farley. Mayor Harry Barrett apologized to Needham for Connolly‘s actions. "I find the whole thing totally repugnant. I would like to extend an apoloâ€" gy to Ken and his family on behalf of this counâ€" ¢if." Barrett defended the gift saying council has always given retirement gifts to staff in the past. 20 YEARS AGO A $7,500 preâ€"design engineering study of the proposed fourth crossing of Sixteen Mile Creek at Upper Middle Road was commissioned by Oakville council. The study will include engineering recommenâ€" dations on location, soil classification, drainage requirements, major utility installations and adjustâ€" ments, and estimated cost of the project. Although the fourth crossing is contained in the town‘s Official Plan, it is not expected to be built for many years. 30 YEARS AGO The bid of Halton Tories to end the Diefenbaker regime hit a stumbling block at the national conâ€" ference in Ottawa when an overwhelming vote of confidence was awarded the leader. Two motions from Halton Conservatives were soundly defeated . they called for a secret vote on the leadership and for an end to the leadership itself. But the failure brought no apparent discontent to the Halton contingent. Delegate Gordon Beatty said the vote of confidence in Diefenbaker had gained him a heavy majority and "there were relaâ€" tively few who did not vote for it." "A motion of confidence was probably the right thing, but our basic feelings are that it would be very desirable for a change to be made in the near future," said Beatty. 40 YEARS AGO Lack of lowâ€"cost housing in Oakville prompted Local 707 of the United Auto Workers Union to include a request for five cents an hour additional pay as a travel allowance. The travel allowance was included in union requests presented to the Fordâ€"Oakville executive as part of the negotiations for a first working agreement for the two parties. UAW representative Jack Taylor said the five cents was being asked because as most of the plant‘s hourlyâ€"paid workers had to commute because of lack of housing in Trafalgar. About 800 workers commute from Hamilton and another 400 from Brantford. If the fiveâ€"cent travel allowance were approved for the 3,300 hourlyâ€"paid workers it would set _ Fordâ€"Oakville back $1,350 a day. , With the exception of the travel allowance request, the Local 707 contract proposals parallel those made by Local 200 in Windsor. Both the Windsor and Oakville union are seeking a wage increase of 30 cents an hour. Pages of the past is compiled from the archives of the Oakville Beaver. LMM‘.â€" \ l 2 Te l Eow i 1J UA e itc a 1 \ 3 h o t P ue $ h B o P t 2 PAE NT Oe id is c i oo Ti e ols en o. e it t PsP o ds s t en o0 0 Ww T