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Page 8 — Halton Hills This Week, Saturday, Decembet '4;.1993 DONNA ROBBINS L Sales Representative "Helping people find their perfect nest!" Call 877-0173 24 HOUR PAGER foc Real Estate Services m & Country varies Division abt Guelph Street jeorgetown, onan UG 4A7 SS iin ROYAL LE! L el FIRST Bike ATTENTION BUYERS | and June 1994? aware of before December LITERALLY What are the legal fees? What are closing costs? When and where do I start? oes Geor Are you thinking about buying your first home between now If so, there are certain tax tips you need to be YOU CAN SAVE OF DOLLARS What is involved in looking for a home? Am I obligated to anyone if I look? How much can I comfortably afford? Where can I get the best financing? ‘What are the various mortgage options? If you cannot answer the above questions, you need help. Make an appointment to come and talk to me and I will take you through a step by step approach to home ownership without obligation. 31, 1993. THOUSANDS REAKK eee ee 877-5211 60 Guelph Street getown, Ontario L7G 4B5 LORRAINE CLARK pine RANE CLARK Fist Tine Buyer Specialist By Julian Reed Halton-Peel MP Environmental issues received less attention than they deserved during the election campaign. While there is a substantial section in the Liberal Redbook devoted to sustainable devel- opment, the attention of the electorate was given over- whelmingly to the economy, the deficit, and the national debt. Our difficulty in find- ing money to fund essential environmental sustainability will challenge us with sup- plying solutions than can be economically sustainable. At one time it was general- ly accepted that an environ- mental compromise was nec- essary to sustain a health: economy. The determination of a thriving urban area once related directly to the num- ber of operating smokestacks and the condition of the waters around it. Not too many years ago, the Chicago tiver would periodically catch fire. All the terrain around Sudbury in Ontario was barren. The Thames tiver, as it flowed past London, England; would not support life. Our success in dealing with these uses problems have been dramat cally improved. The ace approach of course, from both an environmental and a financial perspective, is to take measures in advance to ensure disasters of this type don’t reoccur, Sadly, though, even today there are clearly demonstrat- ed solutions to existing envi- ronmental problems that are financially sound, that are not being implemented. Many of the solutions are the creation of people that are tight here in Ontario, some in our own riding of Halton- el. Last week we visited a company that has developed a process for turning any- thing organic into a product that will restore organic mat- ter in soil. It can utilize everything from wood waste to food waste, to paper. The end product is spread on farm fields at a rate of up to 40 tons per acre. Soils in Ontario have been suffering a dramatic reduction in organic matter in recent fears. The average level has apparently fallen from more in 7 per cent to below 2 per cent resulting in lower yields and higher product costs. So here is yet another Good Returns T have met a number of people lately who are concerned about the low returns they are getting on their money: The question they want an answer to: where ccan I get a good return a ind have the security of a bank. Believe it f not, there is an answer. GICs are paying 4 percent on one year terms at the moment. The days of GICs paying 11 and 12 percent are gone, at least for a while. A good alternative to these low rates of return are mortgages. They are paying about 7 percent right now. That means you can do about 3 per- cent better with mortgages than with GICs. The easiest way to get into mortgages is through a mort- gage mutual fund. The words ‘mutual fund make some people nervous, but when you are talk- ing about a mortgage mutual fund you don’t need to get ner- vous. Mortgage funds are consid- ered a non-volatile investment. This means mortgages accumu- late income. They will not go up or down more than a couple of percentage points, and that is over 10 years. The name © of the game is slow, steady The next issue fat ci can re Security, Is It Possible? By Andrew Mackenzie, B.B.A. and gages are not gu: by. the Canadian Deposit Tnsiirance Corp. This is true, but the CDIC is not the only way to purines money. Here is the only way you a lose your money in Investors mortgage fund. All 17,000 mort- gages would have to go into default at the same time, the underlying land would have to become worth. nothing and the National) Housing Association would have to go under. The picture I-have just painted sounds ridiculous, well it is. You cannot are money in a mort- gage fund. ‘The best way to guard your income is to do your homework and discover the facts about all your alternatives. If your needs require a higher return you don’t have to settle for 4 percent. If you have any questions regarding mortgage funds or any other financial planning con- cerns, Andrew can be reached at 877-5495 or at Investors Group at 450-1500. solution to the garbage c This proven technology rec cles organics (much of which is presently going into land- fill sites) and still leaves the Three R principle intact. This process was invented right here, less than an hour from where you are reading this column. It is in place world- wide but not, would you believe, in Ontario. low many environmental ~_\\ Protecting the environment a prime concern Ottawa Report do you know of regarding specific environmental prob- lems? Write to me, we will pay the postage. The clarion call for this venture into environmental restoration was probably given to us by the late John F. Kennedy when he said “Some people see things as they are and ask why. I see things as they never were and ask why not.” That atti- tude put a man on the moon. problems can you think of Surely we lesser mortals can that beg positive solutions? How many positive solutions solve some problems here on earth. Tenant protection discussed By Noel Duignan North Halton MPP This week I'd like to talk about tenant protection. A few days ago, Housing Minister Evelyn Gigantes announced a residents’ rights bill to extend protection to tenants living in unregulated care homes and apartments in houses. The legislation gives these tenants the pro- tection that other tenants already enjoy. The residents’ rights bill combines the for- mer apartments in houses bill, Bill 90, and the govern- ment’s response to the hous- ing portion of the Lightman report, a report into .unregu- lated care homes in Ontario, This bill will mean real protection for the hundreds of thousands of tenants liv- ing in apartments in houses and in care homes. It’s estimated that there are more than 100,000 apart- ments in houses. There are which provide housing and some kind of care service, from nursing care to meals — across the province. These homes include unli- censed nursing homes, rest homes, retirement resi- dences, homes for special care, group homes, rooming and boarding houses provid- ing care services, domicil- liary hostels (where residents stay on a more permanent basis) and private non-profit ee institutions pro- viding How will the bill protect tenants? Care homes: The bill will bring care homes under the Landlord and Tenant Act, the Rent Control Act and the Rental Housing Protection Act. Here’s what it will accom- plish: * protect tenants from $40.00 per person aaa @ Sources and Costs of Credit @ Selling Yourself to the Lender @ Understanding the Security Required @ The Wise Use of Your Own Money Invited Lawyer, Banker and Farmer December 14 & 15, 1993 Register before Dec. 10th Queen’s Park Report arbitrary eviction * control rent increases * require a care home operator to get permission from the municipality if they want to convert or demolish’ the home * require home care opera- tors to register their rent and care costs with the provincial rent registry. Apartments in Houses: The bill will amend the Planning and Municipal Acts allow homeowners to sae an apartment in their hou: For tenants living in ste ments in houses, the bill will allow them to exercise their existing rights. There are more than 100,000 apart- ments in houses in Ontario which are currently illegal due to zoning by-laws. That apartments don’t exercise their rights because of fear of eviction. When will this take affect? The application of the Rent Control Act to care homes begins with first read- ing which took place on November 23rd. The other measures will have to go through the usual legislative process. I also want to talk briefly about Christmas decorations. Contrary to the article in The Toronto Star, there has been no government-wide ban on Christmas decorations in local government buildings. Here’s what happened. A regional manager in Sudbury issued a’ memo to local government building managers stating there would be no religious deco- ration in the-lobbies of these buildings. The memo was issued at the property man- ager’s own initiative and in now way reflects any gov- ernment policy. The decision taken by the manager has since been withdrawn. Employees in government buildings will continue to be welcome to celebrate their values and traditions in the Public space available for displays. Please recycle this newspaper “9