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Oakville Beaver Weekend, Sunday, October 30, 1994 â€" 18 0cl: Cha "We "It‘s time we got serious about social reforms," he told the 40th annual meeting of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce Thursday. "We have to because of the deficit ($42 million last year) and the debt." He told the meeting social assistance spending is largely responsible for the growing deficit, and according to recent news reports, the federal govâ€" ernment hopes to reduce it by $9.4 million through social reforms. Currently, 42 cents of every tax dolâ€" lar collected goes towards "servicing the debt," he said. â€" the federal government got seriâ€" # ous about stopping abuses to our social services or those who really need Unemployment Insurance, for example, won‘t be able to collect. J ohn Crispo says it‘s about time By WILMA BLOKHUIS Oakville Beaver Staff Social Services safety net gives handouts to wrong people FOR YOUR FREE NAUTILUS WORKOUT CALL Nautilus, Apex, Free Weights, Stairmasters, Lifecycles, Rower, Aerobic Classes, Airâ€"Conditioned, Personal Trainers Available! JUST ARRIVED! â€" Sant‘o N ew ow ADDeor/ng Recumbent _4 Li > Ti Life Cycles omplimentary Fot Cold Kors D‘oeuyres â€" and 4:30 p.m.â€"7:00 p.m. â€" No Cover Charge Upl’ight Join us on Sundays for Our FANTASTIC BRUNCH... Only: $ 1 .’ LIVE BANDS â€" D.J.‘s Playing Your Favourites From The 60‘s, 70‘s 80‘s LARGE DANCE Cycles "But, let‘s get serious," the University of Toronto political ecoâ€" nomics professor urged. "No individual in this country should suffer any form of human depravation, poverty or suffering through no fault of their own, but nobody, no able bodied person in this country should get any form of social "Furthermore, it‘s perverse. A lot of people, quite rationally, are staying on unemployment insurance or welâ€" fare with the ancillary benefits they get, rather than go back to a relatively low paying, marginal job â€" and they‘re perfectly rational in doing this. "The system isn‘t working. Too much money goes to people who don‘t need it and too little to the peoâ€" ple who do. UIC benefits should be earned, not given out as ‘hand outs,‘ Crispo said. Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting told: 1610 | | JOHNSON. "Arm and arm they go up with Buzz Hargrove (of the Canadian Auto Workers Union) and say "Don‘t touch our unemployment insurance.‘ We use that to help us with our plant "Now I happen to believe General Motors is a fantastic corporate citizen in this country, but I couldn‘t believe their reaction to (federal human resources minister Lloyd) Axworthy‘s proposal for UIC changes. "I don‘t care if it‘s UIC, welfare, Workers Compensation and believe me, eventually the old age pensions, will all have to be clawed back. I don‘t think we need the clawback to get the deficit down to zero, but to begin to repay the debt." For too long, these benefits have been regarded as an untouchable "sacred trust," said Crispo. He also didn‘t have many kind words for the auto industry, which, he said was among the top abusers of the social system. assistance unless they‘re willing to take upgrading, retraining, or relocaâ€" tion." Otherwise, "you accept volunteer service in the community, you do something." HOWARD 500 araus rp., ‘Too much money goes people _ who don‘t . need itand. too little to . John Crispo (Q.E.W. Trafalgar Rd.) In suggesting other spending cuts, Crispo suggested phasing out subsiâ€" dies to agriculture, industry, and speâ€" cial interest groups, and to provide subsidized daycare to only those sinâ€" gle parents who are making the effort to break free from social assistance. He also suggested reducing the pubâ€" "We should get them, and get them all," said Crispo. "I want to put a clawback on all forms of social security. "If we can‘t tell General Motors we‘re not going to subsidize your plant changeovers and your short term layoffs, and tell Canadians if your income is above a certain level and we give you social security, you‘re going to get a clawback." Crispo, rankled by Revenue Canada statistics showing that perâ€" haps "hundreds of millionaires" colâ€" lected social assistance such as UIC benefits and old age pensions in 1992, said the same was true for "fishermen who earned up to $100,000 a year in a very short periâ€" od, and then go off and collect UIC." "General Motors belongs to the Business Council on National Issues and so does Ford. General Motors, and I hope not Ford, are like any like every Canadian citizen; they‘re part of the problem. They say cut the deficit, get it down to zero, but don‘t touch any benefit that I get." "They are typical Canadians, they are a disgrace to this country . . . and if Ford shares that point of view, and I suspect it does, you‘re just as rotâ€" ten," shouted an animated Crispo. "We do not," came the reply from a group of Ford executives in attenâ€" dance. changeovers and short term layoffs. lic service sector through privatizaâ€" tion and contracting out â€" but allow the workers (members of CUPE â€" Canadian Union of Public Employees) to bid on government jobs; and issuing incomeâ€"based vouchers to students. "The higher your income, the less you get. If you‘re poor, you get your whole tuition paid." "We have an obligation (to fix Canada‘s economy), not for ourâ€" selves but for our children. If there‘s anything that bothers me, makes me feel embarrassed and ashamed, it‘s to think of the way I could be leaving this country to them compared to the way I found it when I was old enough to appreciate what it was. "If you can‘t get off your duffs," he told his audience in closing, "and go out after the things I‘m telling you should be fighting for, you‘re not only a disgrace as Canadians, you‘re a disgrace as parents." Lamenting that "we‘re never going to put people back into high paying, meaningful jobs" unless Canada‘s economy is turned around, Crispo said his graduating students face the prospect of "working as hard as your parents did for three quarters of their income. And, he said refugees "should not be allowed to jump the queue" of those lining up for immigration into Canada unless they are prepared to pay the price. "I say you want to bring your family here, you post a bond saying you will pay their mediâ€" care expenses for at least five years." Crispo also suggested medicare benefits should be claimed on income tax returns. "That will make us think about what it costs." Q.E.W. NUR