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The present Conservative Government in Ontario is very devoted to this notion. Over the past month. the Premier, Mr. Robarts. has made it abundantly clear that his Government does not believe in any in- terference with the pricing policies of private cor- porations. In the face of highly inflationary price increases in the steel. in- dustry, in the petroleum industry and in the nickel industry. the Robarts' the economy is an unwise, almost sinful act. Free competition and free en- terprise, it is said. must be protected at all costs. iii by DONALD C. Mae DONALD, MPP The position that private regime refuses to even corporations are free to do as contemplate any action. The they please within the mildest proposals which boundaries of the criminal would merely ensure that code, is an old one. Many these companies are people in North America required to publicly justify believe that the corporations their price increases, are must' be allowed to make turned down by the Con- their own rules and servatives. Why? To protect regulations, and that any free enterprise is the governmental regulation of monotonous refrain of the the mmmv is an unwise. Conservative answer. As we enter 1970 together, we must look back at the great many accomplish- ments d the sixties and we must resolve to do even better in the new decade that PAGE 4 North York and York representatives at Metro can expect opposition from city representatives over continuing the Spadina route south of St. Clair or Eglinton. Sewer Impost Metro Council will also have to deal with a new sewer impost agreement. This requires a payment by developers in all Metro New Year message from Ontario Prime Minister VATHEK DEAR FATHER, COME HOME WTTH ME NOW" Putrlshed at 2159 Weston Rd .Weslon by Ennupal Publishing Ltd _ every Thursday d K w-mon. Gown! Manage & J. LQMNINV Ammgmg Men.” Mrs Ochoa ‘mm, Educ- 7064660: 760:“. “one Cta- Mon Regmnhon Name-v SUISCMPYJON RATES 'loo on you in mm a? my more: m can». , OM can“ ".tttt Cimuhed ‘mutmng Mn. Edythe Manson ONO“! Amour». Dom- LoMomo - Leo's Sacha Telephone Lil-521! Just what is this free en- terprise that we are so busy protecting in Ontario? Is it the system thatallows a man to set himself up in business where he can use his savings and creative energy to provide goods and services to the public? Of course not. In fact, in Ontario today, it is much harder for a small businessman to get started or to keep his business going. The free enterprise which Mr. Robarts talks about is not concerned with small or medium sized companies. but rather with the giants, with the oil companies. the nickel companies and the steel companies, most of 1969 was the year man freed himself from the earth's atmosphere and explored the surface of the lies ahead. Looking Ahead to Metro Affairs moon thus realizing one of mankind's cherished dreams. Here on earth, our ad- vances were not nearly as Surely there is no free enterprise involved with these industries. Surely when a few giant producers control a particular com- modity, the Government acting as the designated representative of the people, has a responsibility to ensure that these producers operate in the public interest Making the TTC a department of Metro government or part of a new transportation agency responsible for rapid transit, ex- pressways, commuter rail service is another consideration for Metro Council in 1970. Since Yet Mr. Robarts doesn't see it this way. He refuses to act, and in refusing he makes it harder for the rest of us, whether we work in an office or factory, whether we farm or own a small business, to keep up with the spiraling cost of living. them, incidentally, American owned. municipalities toward the cost of sewer services. At least two boroughs refuse to honor the old sewer agreement. - _ 7 - -- . In addition, this refusal to be concerned with the ac- tions of large corporations often leads to absurdity. Just last week the Government of Ontario announced that it was going to permit the private insurance compan.ies in this Province to keep monies built up in their premium reserve accounts from medical insurance plans. These reserves were contributed by the thousands of men and women who purchased medical in- surance. They are obviously no longer needed by the insurance companies now that the Government, through OHSIP. pays the medical bills. Yet, instead of requiring the insurance companies to return this money to the people who provided it. instead of requiring the insurance companies to hand this money which was not theirs in the first place, over to the public, the Robarts' Government chooses to do nothing. thereby allowing these companies to keep this money. Clearly there are scan- dalous aspects to this whole position of refusing to make any rules for the large corporations.' It has been estimated that the primte insurance companies' "silt keep some330million by this refusal to act. This is scandalous, and I intend to do whatever is necessary and possible to force the Government to change its mind. and to require the return of the money. In the New Democratic Party we believe that the Government must condern itself with the economy and the actions of private cor- porations. The public in. terest in terms of insurance canon)" was. and in terms of unjustified price increases.; mutt be Of course, the economic health of our neighbor, United States, exerts a powerful influence on our own economy. The con- tinuing uncertainty in in- ternational money markets could have pronounced ef- fects on the future growth of industry in our province. But it's my view that the Canadian and Ontario economies are strong and viable enough to withstand any adverse circumstances that may develop in the new year. spectacular, world peace still eludes us...That bug- bear, inflation, is still with us...While some of our people have still not achieved a satisfactory standard of living, most of us in Ontario had a good year in 1969. Current prosperity indicates that we can expect, in 1970, at least a modest rise in the total of goods and services produced in our province. The investment picture for Ontario in 1970 also appears bright. Our economists fore- cast a 17 per cent rise in private and public invest- ment for a total of over seven billion dollars. Much of this increase will come from new investment in manufac- turing, which means a great many new job opportunities for our people. Led by increased personal consumption and business investment in 1970, our gross provincial product can be expected to rise more than seven per cent to a total of 33.8 billion dollars, and in- nation should ease slightly. Indeed all signs point to our province enjoying new benefits and prosperity in 1970. So I hope you will join me in welcoming the start of a new decade. By working together and exploring new horizons, we can make the new year one of the most satisfying and bountiful ever. So a Happy New Year to all of you in this province of opportunity. - A special "Thank You“ to Hatcher's Florist who supplied boutineérs for all the ladies, to Coca Cola for their contribution, and to an the other companies who so readily supplied us with favours for the donors. We particularly appreciate the patience of all the donors who arrived during the peak hours. ' _ '. The North York Firefighters played an extremely vital roll in this success, with their recruitment drive, their tireless efforts before and at the clinic, and with their generous donations of balloons and favours for the children. To all the donors who attended the North York Mayor's Clinic on January 3, and to all the volunteers whohelped make this venture so successful. John Robarts. THANK YOU , THE TORONTO NORTH YORK BRANCH THE CANADIAN RED CROSS SOCIETY Half Fare A half fare transit ride for all Metro citizens over age 65 is another issue facing Metro Council in the year ahead. It has already been granted to a select 59,000 elderly citizens. Cost of a universal half fare for those over age 65 could reach $2-million, depending on TTC estimates. The TTC calculates the loss on the basis of the difference between the half fare and the full fare paid. Metro assumed along with the province 100 per cent of the cost of subway construction the TTC has reverted mainly to an operating agency: Metro Planning Board and the City Redevelopment Advisory Board have both supported a study to determine the type of ad- ministrative organization needed to implement a total transportation plan. Metro planners are already in various stages of updating the 1980 transportation plan conceived for Metro Toronto to bring it into a more proper alignment with needs for the year 2000. . Shoreline Metro and the city will soon have to come to agreement on cost sharing for lifesaving and police patrol work along the Lake Ontario shore- line. This issue is but a small part of a much larger issue, the establishment of a Metro waters front agency to control and implement Metro's 50-mile waterfront redevelopment plan. Metro will also want to settle the business of applying municipal taxation to university owned property used for non university purposes and possibly also reducing, in some way, the amount of property in Metro that is in the tax exempt category. The cost of operating O'Keefe Centre, which Metro acquired from a brewery in 1968 may come up for review despite an operating loss below expectations. O'Keefe Centre had an operating deficit of $24,430 during its first yegr under Metro Council control. The estimate r the period was $167,000. The operating deficit, however, is just one part of the O'Keefe package. The rest includes for the first year under Metro, $145,913 in realty and business taxes for the period Aug. 16 to Dec. 31, 1968 and $387.54? in taxes for the period 2969, Metro last year produced a $214-million annual operating budget that provided no general tax increase to home owners. This was separate from local and school board needs. ' To introduce the no tax increase budget, Metro had to absorb a $5-million surplus from the previous year. Also additional unexpected costs hit the 1969 budget hard threatening to impose on Metro its first annual operating deficit. This was narrowly avoided. A residential tax hike this year is inevitable. It will be up to Metro Council to keep the tax increase as low as possible. W of Applied Arts and Technology I for employment in high demand areas of the economy Full-time Academic, Commerical and Technical Courses conducted at regular intervals throughout the veer. For details Write, Call or Visit the Admission s Office, t2umsnsway Campus, 56 Queen i, -- Boulevard, Toronto 18, Ontario. Telephone 259-3152. PREPARE YOURSELF AT HUMBER COLLEGE THURSDAY. JANUARY M, m