Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - December 12, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free december 7 the Winnipeg free press welcomes letters from writers must give their name and the author s name will be used and letters Are subject to we Hima Board defends school merger the Anonymous group parents for better education placed an and in metro one which purports to answer questions regarding rhe closure of co Lumbus school scheduled for the and begins with the claim that the Board has not Given reasons for the closure of in trustees have taken part in full and Frank discussion of their decision at several Public meet Ings since last they have patiently heard numerous and they have spent countless hours on the Telephone discussing the decision with individual because members of the so called parents for better education remain nameless and they can make statements for which they Are not in the interest of the Jame Assiniboia school Board once again would like to describe the Steps which Lead to the decision to consolidate the student populations of Robert Browning and co Lumbus schools into one school in a shrinking student population is a phenomenon of our but our school division suffers especially from declining the decline in enrolment for the 19 Urban Winnipeg school Divi Sions in 1980 was of this James Assiniboia share was in the student population has declined a further since the student population in James Assini Boia has dropped from to just under this fewer students does not mean lower in per Pupil costs tend to Rise with shrinking student Jame Assiniboia has Long had a policy of efficient management of re Good stewardship in order to give residents the Best possible value for their education one of the subcommittees of the original review committee which studied the Robert Brownin Columbus area addressed the question of operating costs for the two the subcommittee Ana lazed the present and projected costs for both their findings included the estimate that consolidation of the two schools into one facility would result in annual savings in 1981 of increasing to annual savings of in this there Are eight Grade 2 students at if you consider that a teacher is paid to per the costs of Small schools Are the Board has to continue Quality of education programs in the one inevitable outcome of maintaining the schools whose enrolment is declining is combined some of the disadvantages of combined classes include an increase in teacher the need for teachers to have expertise in All subjects and the possible need for itinerant consolidation of the student bodies from Robert Browning and Columbus schools became trustees Are elected by the Community to do the Best possible Job for our they Are advised by administrators who Are highly qualified and experienced professional the Board is of the opinion that the majority of taxpayers Trust and support the efforts of these elected officials and professional staff to provide the highest Quality of Educa Tion for the George Eakin chairman Jame Assiniboia school Board Winnipeg in wonderland University of Manitoba professor of economics Clarence Barber does us no favor with his Brand of Aliceon wonderland free december Barber tells us that the Burden of Manitoba debt of billion has been reduced by Mil lion simply by the magic of he fails to also Tell us that current interest rates would simultaneously add some million to the some saving Barber advances further into the realm of self deception when he suggests that interest charges should be capitalized and not counted As debt dangerous it is regrettable that no one has seen fit to say a word in defence of motorists with regard to the letter by Glenda Debolt Avo free no vember i have driven through a funeral pro cession because there Are Many Auto mobiles that have headlights that Are not visible from the a Motorist who approaches a Green Light and happens to see a car beating the Light if there is a space behind one of the cars assume that he has just seen a careless Driver and will go ahead with the Green even though there May be a right of Way for funeral if the Motorist cannot recognize it As such the right Otway is Ken Kennedy Winnipeg at it is strange that so Many Home purchasers who have to earn an honest living have resisted current plans by some mortgage institutions to do just they refuse to accept lower monthly payments if that results in an increase in the amount of the debt Down the the advice Barber gives to the nip government is not to take the debt too surely this is Akin to trying to douse a fire with when did any nip government Ever take debt too seriously the logical result of argument would be eventual repudiation of debt and the collapse of the free Enterprise the trouble with this kind of so called inflation account ing is that it encourages and fuels the fires of if Barber wishes to think Rich i suggest he do it with private capital not off the backs of the working who have suffered John Fortune Winnipeg lost gifts i sent a Christmas Box to my Daugh Ter at Banff this All she received was the Brown paper wrapper from the top of the where did the gifts go if the Box was damaged there should have been some if not All inside the i was told by the Post office to itemize the articles and the value of but what Good will that do Humphreys ruined b finance minister Allan Mac each ens budget has massively disrupted my Persona i am not among the Rich of the i have inherited no Money from through hard work and individual Effort i have been Able to slowly Advance in my Field of endear or to gain a position of responsibility that results in a salary greater than average but less than Mac each ens salary counting the tax exempt allowance that he i do not have an indexed pension or any arrangement to receive an at Tractive pension if for any reason my working years Are i do have a modest pension payable at age 65 and have been planning to apply for a reduced pension at an earlier Date so that i May retire a few years because the real value of my pen Sion will be eroded by inflation Over the next ten years As projected in the i have been doing my Best during the past 15 years to make investments that will be least adversely affected by by definition that cannot include debt instruments such As during that several investments have been profitable and some have not but on balance i have earned additional in come and have realized some capital gains All of which has been taxable and the appropriate tax paid each several investments that have been made during past years mostly in the last four or five years have not matured to the extent that warrants disposition and in some cases Market ability is difficult because of the nature and Structure of the invest the investments that Are held at present were made to support my personal financial consistent with the income tax rules in place and intended to supplement my pension income in future years that predict ably will be eroded by the so called tax loopholes for the Rich were in fact tax Laws enacted by parliament to encourage and pro vide incentive to investors primarily in the areas of investment selected by the it is inflammatory and misleading to now refer to tax Laws As tax the greatest Budgie Maceachen budget will create hardship for investors tax loophole i know of has not been closed is the tax exempt Al Lowance paid to members of Parlia one cannot dispute the authority of government to make Laws whether or not they May be considered just or intelligent including tax the retroactive change of such Laws is disruptive and in Addi Tion retroactive change creates con expense and How can any individual citizen plan his own affairs in such an environment not knowing when the government will change the rules on a retroactive basis leaving prudent planning in a state of shambles the one change in the tax proposals that i refer to is to retroactively apply the provision not to allow interest paid As a consequence of an eligible investment As a deduction against Ordinary income unless there is a corresponding income from prop erty interest or if in the Wisdom of the government the rules require so be the new rules should apply Only to new Loans and new invest All Loans that can be matched to previous investments should not be affected by retroactive i have planned my affairs As care fully As possible within the known income tax regulations with a target Date in mind for if inter est paid is not allowed As a deduction against Ordinary income the consequences Are devastating to me and i am sure to thousands of the reduction in Cash flow is greater than my net income after to change my personal financial to offset this circumstance would require the immediate disposition of assets to repay Bank Loans in an Effort to reduce interest the forced disposition of these assets would result in very Large capital losses that would result in wiping out my net Worth not in i would therefore urge Mac Eachen to Amend the proposed change so that interest paid with re Spect to matched Loans for eligible investments be fully deductible against Ordinary income prior to no vember if necessary there could be a terminal Date to this arrangement which would allow at least five years for the orderly disposition of As a certain asset was disposed of the loan Matching that investment would be thus reducing the amount of interest eligible for full if his present proposal is not amended in accordance with the above paragraph there will be utter chaos in the financial plans of thou Sands of there will be forced bankruptcies and including will be obliged to remain at work beyond the years this problem of com pounded by the present and plated High level of interest because he is proposing that the rules be changed in Midstream he is forcing Many people to Dennis Winnipeg retarded receive Good care Here recently a number of persons have Felt constrained to write letters and articles condemning the residential institutions for the mentally retarded in if not certainly by the staff of these institutions have been vilified and parents and next skin of residents in these institutions have been condemned As being uncaring and derelict in their response a great Deal of restraint has been shown by both parents of residents and staff of the institutions inasmuch As neither group has been vocal in its own defence but the time comes when action has to be taken to prevent malicious Public damage being done by generally poorly informed and narrow sighted no institution can possibly be so administered that it May have All the benefits of a family it is generally recognized by All who have any experience in the Field of mental retardation that a Public institution is not generally an acceptable living situation for mildly or moderately retarded in general such persons should be living in the help afghan refugees canadians must be proud to be unique among the industrialized nations when it comes to extending a helping hand whenever and wherever it is the department of Immi Gration and Canadian citizens have been kind in providing Aid to refugees from All Over the we have welcomed refugees from Vietnam for the last few and now from but we have not heard of any refugees from afghanis Tan immigrating to there Are hundreds of thousands of afghans being forced to leave their country since russian troops moved into Afagh almost All of these refugees Are now living in i wonder Why the press is not giving enough coverage to their and Why the immigration department has not made any offer to refugees from Zafar Malik Winnipeg in our province of approximately one citizens there Are probably about persons who might be categorized As mildly of this figure about or per Are residents of the Manitoba the question comes to mind Why out of Are these 118 persons living in the institution the reason is superimposed upon their developmental Handicap Are other handicaps at least at make it impossible for them to live in the in Manitoba there Are approximately moderately retarded of this number 159 or per cent reside at the Manitoba a few More at the Amant these people Are not institutionalized because they Are mentally retarded but for additional problems which preclude their reentry at this juncture into society at of the approximately severely and profoundly retarded 550 reside at the Manitoba school 50 per these because of their Gross require 24hourper Day care and most require More care than could reasonably be Given at those who criticize the fact that there Are not sufficient Community facilities for the mentally retarded should recognize that Manitoba rec Ord for making available such provi Sions based on one of the Best of any state or province in North of there is room for improve there always will and people such As those working for the retarded citizens at the Manitoba school and in the Community Are always striving for such it is time that some of the critics become better informed before they publicly denigrate the work that is being done in the it is especially galling to hear such criticisms voiced by people who Are All too willing to use institutional facilities when they them selves feel they have need for the care these institutions can give their loved the retarded will not be helped by polarization of nor by the outpourings of but by a concerted Effort on their Walmsley Manitoba department of Community services and corrections Portage la Manitoba fears loss of equalization funds last Premier Howard Pawley said it was critical for Manitoba to end the poisonous atmosphere sur rounding its relations with Ottawa be cause of the disastrous Impact of pro posed fiscal arrangements on Manitoba at a Federal provincial finance ministers meeting in Toronto monday and the province will find out if it is simply too according to provincial finance department Manitoba and Quebec the two provinces to fight the Federal governments constitutional plans the hardest Are the two biggest losers from Ottawa plan to change equalization calculations and reduce funding for major cos shared programs in health and in Manitoba stands to lose million in Gross terms possibly reduced to million if Ottawa forecasts of increased provincial reve Nues from the budgets tax changes Are accurate and in other provinces losses Range from a Low of Only million for Saskatchewan to a High of million for the biggest loss for both provinces occurs in equalization for have not provinces has been based on the National average yield of 31 tax the new Federal proposal would see equalization calculated on the basis of Ontario up until the Frances Russell wests resource Boom of the was Canadas wealthiest by making Ontario the Manitoba and Quebec lose the most because they have economies most similar to Ontario that they have a Low Energy a senior provincial finance department official the effect of this change is to wipe out most of Manitoba Benefit from the equalization of Saskatchewan and Albertas this Manitoba forecast million in equalization from next the province expected to obtain about under the proposed new equalization will drop to Only in an even gloomier Provin Cial finance officials have calculated that this equalization loss will continue to increase with each succeeding year until by the province will receive million less than under the present when provincial finance officials Drew this to the attention of their Federal they were told that it is not a legitimate compari since the old system is no Manitoba losses do not Stop with the million drop in added to that Are a net projected decline of million in funding for health and pos secondary education under the established programs financing act and another to million loss anticipated because of of Tawas double counting of some Provin Cial tax we dont buy Federal finance minister Allan Maceachen figures on Manitoba gains from the budgets tax the official they Are overestimating the revenues from those changes and underestimating our losses while the official says he has reason to Hope that Ottawa May be prepared to listen to provincial he admits that the situation is not All that the problem is that Maceachen wants to go to parliament with Legisla Tion in the Ottawa solicited proposals from the this they have made a major proposal on their own and then said there is Little time to discuss another problem for Manitoba is that Only one other is being similarly while All the provinces Are standing together so the chief concern of most provinces is not but the cuts in health and pos secondary education the official says All provinces Are waiting for the other shoe to drop on that so Ottawa has announced its plans to reduce Elf trans fers to provinces by nearly billion Over the next five but it has not unveiled its own spending Saul former nip finance minister and member of the govern ments transition team who attended the finance ministers meeting prior to the Dps says Ottawa is being they say they be Lieve in a Paramount National govern ment As far As the Constitution is but when it comes to this budget and their fiscal they clearly have bought the argument that Canada is just 10 provinces and that the provinces Are they have capitulated to the push for provincial have abandoned their National redistributive role and Are letting provinces run National social programs according to their own they have been under at tack so Long from the conservative provinces Over their that they Are now trying to get out from under by transferring that deficit to the prov finance minister Vic Schroeder says he can sympathize with Ottawa View that it has not been getting credit for the massive amounts of Money it has transferred to the provinces to fund health and he the answer is for provinces to be willing to recognize Ottawa role in social it should not be to starve provinces to the Point that programs Are in Schroeder says he is even willing to publicize More prominently the amount Manitoba receives in when a government it is entitled to have its spending recon Schroeder unfortunately for we Are following a govern ment which was on Side with decentralization and this Doest help our task in trying to change things at the eleventh until Manitoba has been one of the provincial voices raised in support of every provincial rights claim doonesbury Sork to if fir Asai Sthats Ofca a sat place to with the you id 5ino in to ju5t6etauay he you All bcv5 from sounds like a lot of if Era 15 ;