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THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, February 12, 1993 â€" 6‘ RESULTS OF LAST WEEK‘S POLL f The Reform Party â€" 34 S OPH\II ON 467 Speers Road, Oakville, Ont. L6K 354 845â€"3824 Fax: 845â€"3085 Classified Advertising: 845â€"2809 Circulation: 845â€"9742 or 845â€"9743 I an onv er Publis h er The Oakvnl: Bam lgtblishsd evsvy Sunday Wednesday and Fnday at 46‘7 Lid. g of smurban newspwe Pb!gg Robert Glasbey Advertising Director News Advertser. Barie Bg::;;';fi,, ""fi“ Norman Alexander Editor mwm g-‘gmflm% Tribune, Mi mfi‘fimm Geoff Hill Circulation Director en Teri Casas Office Manager l pmmwafi"ouwm m"’p‘:".a”'é'fl;, Tim Colesâ€" Production Manager lepmdmbnlnmdeorhpmdmmml is strictly forbiiden ho EDITORIAL Good news..;sort of e Ontario government works in mysterious ways. A story last month in the I Oakville Beaver was headlined "Hwy. 403 delay another of many broken promises says Mayor". Oakville Mayor Ann Mulvale was commenting on a Queen‘s Park directive that there was no money to be spent on joining the 403 highway from Burlington through north Oakville. The government said because of the fiscal crisis, it would have to put off construction for at least seven years. "The 403 is a symptom of that lack of credibility," Mulvale said at the time. It‘s been more than a decade since planning began on the vital Burlingtonâ€" Oakville 403 and the time lines set up by previous Liberal governments remained unchanged. The entire project, under these time frames, was to have been comâ€" pleted by 1998 but with the NDP pronouncement of only a few weeks ago, that wouldn‘t happen. So with this as a background, what a surprise then to learn at a press conferâ€" ence Wednesday, that money wouldn‘t be a problem, not only to quickly get the aforementioned 403 link completed, but also to toss in a few more hundred milâ€" lion dollars for other highway plans. Government is truly a curious creature. Of course Halton Region politicians, from the Burlington and Oakville mayor and Regional Chairman Peter Pomeroy, are thrilled with the news that the link will be completed in the next five years as stated in the original plans. Good news right? Well, yes and no. It‘s good news that the road will be completed thus creating muchâ€"needed jobs in the hardâ€"hit construction industry. And it‘s good news that the traffic crunch from St. Catharines through the QEWâ€"403 bottleneck at Burlington will finally be eliminated. And it‘s good news that the timing of the road construction, will take some strain off roads not built to cope with development that has proceeded regardless of the province‘s willingness to help fund new roads. Now the bad news. Under the original Liberal scheme, the 403 project would be funded through the Ministry of Transportation. Nothing original in that. Any road construction should fall under the aegis of that ministry. But that doesn‘t wash in the dazzling financial planning of the NDP governâ€" ment of Bob Rae. So where did Rae get the $313â€"million to build the 403 where none existed before? He didn‘t get it, hasn‘t got it and won‘t have it for decades to come. The trick is in how the deal was sold. Rae set up a separate Crown Corporation (mention of those words should immediately signal flashing lights and sirens) "The Transportation Capital Corporation" (TCC). How about ‘Debt Ontario?‘. The total tab is $900â€"million for all five road projects announced this week throughout Ontario. Funding is to be through "highway tolls and third party conâ€" tributions".The vague details of this body give us some concern. In short the TCC will "encourage the private sector to participate in projects, focusing on increased efficiencies and partnerships...and will make capital investment in Ontario‘s transâ€" portation system more affordable..." The TCC will also have a chairman, board of directors and a small staff reporting to the Minister of Transportation. The cost of the suggested road tolls is not known. The estimated time frame for repayment of construction costs has not been projected...yet. But what this new Crown Corporation has done is to permit the government to reâ€"direct costs away from the Ministry of Transportation and therefore, the provincial budget. In other words, no matter what the final costs are, they won‘t impact on the province‘s ecoâ€" nomic standing when it goes to world markets looking for even more money. And make no mistake about it, they will need more money. Governments always do. WEEKLY POLL _ - What is your favorite Valentine gift to a loved oneâ€"chocolates, flowers, a greeting card or jewelry? Give us your opinion on this topic by calling 845â€"5585, box 5186 to register your vote. Callers have until 12 noon Thursday to express their opinion. Results of the poll will be published in the next Friday edition of the Oakville Beaver. I N F O S CALL845-5585 If a federal election were held today, which party would you vote for â€" Liberals, New Democratic Party, Progressive Conservatives, or The Reform Party? Liberals â€"10, New Democratic Party â€" 2, Progressive Conservatives â€" 52 --------- aon uen in on x TS our LATEST INVENI'ION' The Oakville Beaver welcomes your comments. All letters must be signed and include the writer‘s address and phone The Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., number. Letters should be typed, doubleâ€"spac d and addressed to: Letters to the Editor, Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 Price of getting information costly to board Dear Sir: There are some individuals who, having folâ€" lowed recent debates in local newspapers, are now asking some interesting questions about the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and the proliferation of requests being made to the Halton Board of Education. As a Halton taxpayer, I was concerned about the cost of these requests. So I asked some quesâ€" tions, and here is what I found. 1. What have been the total number of requests for information made â€"to the Halton Board of Education under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy legislation? In the 1991 year â€" 179 In the 1992 year â€" 168 Total over 2 years â€" 247 2. Of that total, what is the percentage of requests by area? Halton East (Oakville) â€" 97.2% Halton West (Burlington) â€" 1.2% Halton North (Milton/Halton Hills) â€" 0.4A% Outside of Halton region â€" 1.2% 3. How many individuals.made requests to the Halton Board of Education? In 1991, 20 people were involved in making the 79 requests. In 1992, 11 people were involved in making the 168 requests. Over the two years, 27 different people were involved in making 247 requests. Over the two years, 37% of the total requests pertained directly to the old/new Oakville Trafalgar High School. 4.> What haveâ€"been 'the costs to the Halton s m t on Board of Education in dealing with these requests? Halton Board of Education staff costs in 1991 were approximately $30,000, and $50,000 in 1992. Lawyers‘ fees and processing costs over two years are estimated at approximately $10,000. Therefore, over two years, the cost of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy requests has totalled $90,000. It is important to state that I requested this information from the Halton Board of Education in November, 1992. I emphasized at that time that it was not to be considered as a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Individuals who are starting to ask questions, might consider the following: 1. With 247 requests being made by 27 differâ€" ent people, when does the right to atcess to information become misuse/abuse of the system? 2. With 97.2% of the requests coming from Halton East, are taxpayers from all over Halton region being saddled with the cost of pursuing the agendas of special interest groups concerning local (Oakville) issues? 3. Aside from the $90,000 cost to the Halton Board of Education of processing these requests, how much of a delay due to backlog would be experienced by parents making requests on behalf of their children‘s wellâ€"being? 4. When do we say "enough" ? 5 Lorie Jocius P.S. I was once a Key Communicator. I was, also, once a Girl Guide. I have absolutely nothing for which to apologize for either! Editor‘s note: updated figures on this issue were contained in the Wed. Feb. 10th issue of the Oakville Beaver .......... en w s e w uc nc + ons af