Council Column ez Submitted by members of WHITBY TOWN COUNCIL By MARCEL BRUNELLE Centre Ward Councillor As I write and put pen to paper for my first Coun- cil Column and look forward to the new year ahead, I see indications that the economy of our country is beginning to show signs of recovery. It has been a tough year for many of the citizens of our town and I hope this next year will see the turn-around we all hope for. Since being elected to Council, I have seen and been a part of the restraint which has been exer- cised by the staff, Mayor and Council to arrive at the. 1983 town'budget. If every municipality and region could hold their budgets to 3.4 per cent as did the town of Whitby, in spite of all the inflationary pressures, I am sure it would have a positive effect on the economy as well as renew people's faith in their government. It seems like more than just a little over two mon- ths since I was elected. Since then the pace of my activities has increased about 300 per cent. I used to think I was a busy person but until you've gone through an election, the inauguration, the challenge of understanding the intricate functioning of a town and a $13 million budget at Christmas time plus umpteen dozen meetings, you don't know what busy is. Does that sound like I'm complaining? Not a bit. I'm a little shell-shocked to be sure, but I'm thoroughly enjoying the process. To all of you who supported me on Nov. 8, I am grateful. To those of you who didn't, I know you'll give me a fair chance to serve you. To all the citizens of the town I wish a happy and prosperous new year. If there is any way I can assist you, please don't hesitate to call me. The Durham Board of Education is actively investigating their records to determine if any criminal offences were committed in con- nection with a board employee convicted of tax evasion in Decem- ber. In a press release issued by the Durham Regional police force last week, police say they are "fully aware" of the investigation and will proceed to court if evidence of criminal ac- tivity is sufficient. Police say they issued the release .to clear up confusion about the case after press accounts im- plied no criminal inves- tigation was taking place. George Stanford, 62, manager of mainte- nance and construction for the board, was con- victed of withholding more than $30,000 in taxes owed to the federal government last December. Stanford . pleaded guilty to the charge and was ordered to pay the amount withhed plus a fine of $30,911. He was suspended from duty by the board following his conviction, and then "let go" by the board in January. Confusion about whether a criminal in- vestigation was being conducted arose when an Oshawa newspaper printed discrepancies between police and the board statements re- garding the investiga- tion. This paper said the board had stated a police investigation was underway, but printed police statements saying no official com- plaint had been received. "If there is an infer- ence that this issue is not at present being ac- tively investigated, this inference is totally in- correct," the police press release states. The release goes on to say "The Durham Regional Police Fraud Squad and the Crown Attorney's office are fully aware of this inves- tigation (by the board) and if satisfactory evi- dence is obtained of any criminal offences the police department and the Crown Attorney's of- fice will present these findings before the pro- per court." Speaking to You : By SCOTT FENNELL, M.P. (PC - Ontario) A major Canadian newspaper recently ran an im- portant series of articles on the employment problems caused by high technology - especially microchips and their effect on office jobs. It's a series that should have been run - and a probler Ot- tawa should have anticipated - five years ago. When I was Parliamentary Secretary for Communica- tions three years ago, I had the agreement of the Prime Minister's office to organize a group of people to develop solutions to the current problems and those problems which I knew were going to oc- cur in the future. Any major technological inn .vation is going to bring benefits and hardships. The historical track record shows that the benefits have always out- weighed the problems. But the immediate fact is that the problems are very real and very intense. My heart goes out to older people who, through no fault of their own, suddenly find the skills they've developed over a lifetime are outdated. To help combat this unfairness, unions have an important role to play with their seniority requirements. But some unions and big government thinkers go too far when they say the answer is to suppress the new technology. This is precisely the attitude that will guarantee that Canada is left in the stone ages as the rest of the world moves into the future. The solution is to embrace the new technology. No matter how efficiently a robot can assemble a car, someone has to assemble the robot. And repair it. And market it. And improve it. And, eventually tow it to the scrap heap. A believer in small government, I nevertheless feel that government must take an active role in job retraining programs. This doesn't necessarily mean that governments should provide them. For example, corporations coûld be given a tax break if they provide retraining programs for the employees they are forced to let go. Ottawa, and all levels of government in Canada, have already made mistakes in dealing with the high technology influx. Millions of tax-dollars have been invested by Ottawa in high tech development, mainly because the government wanted a piece of the action. Had Ottawa left these investment oppor- tunities to the private sector, those tax dollars would today be available for urgently needed job training. Engagement . Mr. and Mrs. Donald Sandrelli of 116 Bell Fox are pleased to an- Drive, Whitby. Wed- nounce the recent en- ding plans for October gagement of their 15, 1983 at St. John's daughter Karen Mc- Roman CathoiicChurch Donald, 101 White Oaks in Whitby. Couple plan Court, Whitby, to Dean to reside in Whitby. WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY JANUARY 26, 2983, PAGE 7 Board investigating contracts PEARLS- I;b Aw, Ink 14 kt. clasps, 18" V incen,'t %yrio -e'>we ers 20 SIMCOE ST. S., OSHAWA., 723-7133 ALL MERCHAN'DISE Opeýi:Mon.-Thurs.,9:30a.m.-6p.m.Fri.,9:30a.m.-9p.m.Sat.,9:30a.m.-5p.m. GUARANTEED