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DISCLAIMER: The views written in the Email to The Editor do not necessarily reflect the views of OurHometown.ca, nor does OurHometown.ca take any responsibility of the views stated by those who write to the editor.
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Special Thank You to Heart of the Family Daycare | My husband and I are moving from Cornwall and I could not leave without waving a huge flag of love and appreciation for Heart of the Family Day Care. Our son Tristan has hung out since ten months old and is now two and a half.
It has been a journey. Our little guy put the staff through their paces as Tristan was plagued by seizures which thankfully only come on occasion now. Besides the epilepsy, Tristan is autistic which can be a challenge but Heart has been wonderful at understanding him.
They are great to work with a guy that's a bit different then the rest of the crew but always up to the challenge. He's blossomed because of the nurturing environment Heart of the Family provides and he has great buddies in his classmates even though he plays in a different manner.
I struggle to find the words to express our immense gratitude and love. Tristan will miss his Heart of the Family Mamas' and we will also. THANK YOU and we love you.
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Cynthia Burk
Cornwall, Ontario
| Badly underestimating working Canadians | Despicable. At all levels of government the right wing in this country are mounting a concerted effort to demoralize working people and their unions simply to please their friends on Bay Street. Its not enough that they sit idly by and watch what is left of the middle class erode before their eyes. They are vehement in their ideology to put unfetered control of the workplace back in the hands of the countries employers. Harper, Hudak, Ford and others are badly underestimating working Canadians. Its true, as it relates to most things political, we are a passive society however try stripping away a workers hard earned wages, pension and benefits and all hell will break loose (see EMD Caterpillar in London, Ontario). Canadian workers won't stand idly by and let that happen.
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Roland Kiehne
Toronto, Ontario
President CAW Local 112
| Stay the hell out of Lamoureux Park! | Councillor Murphy - Your question Jan 24th,2012 "what to do with the waterfront"? I believe, after yesterday's two open meetings (consultations) the answer is short and sweet, stay the hell out of Lamoureux Park! Actually, for me, I was startled by one reocurring comment, leave MY Park alone. People have built a connection to the Park, whether it's a personal connection, or perhaps their pride of having such a beautiful green space, it's become Cornwall's landmark so to speak?
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Bill Parisien
Cornwall, Ontario
| LA CAISSE POPULAIRE: UNE COOPÉRATIVE SOLIDE | Pour le mouvement Desjardins, le pouvoir économique n’appartient pas a priori aux détenteurs de l’argent. L’argent ne confère pas le pouvoir… la règle, c’est un homme = une voix, parce qu’un homme en vaut un autre. Chaque citoyen n’a qu’un vote, peu importe sa richesse. Le contrôle démocratique est exercé par les membres en assemblée générale.
Dans une coopérative, les usagers sont tous propriétaires, détenteurs d’une part sociale, remboursable, tandis que dans une banque, les propriétaires sont les actionnaires et non pas les clients.
Dans les coopératives, ce sont les membres qui élisent leurs administrateurs, en assemblée générale. Dans les banques, ce sont les investisseurs qui élisent les membres du conseil d’administration, sur recommendation des hauts gestionnaires. Pour les coopératives, les profits sont distribués à la fin de chaque année financière, versés aux réserves générales ou versés sous forme de ristournes aux membres en proportion de leurs activités d’épargne ou de crédit
Les coopératives font partie du patrimoine national. Une coopérative peut être liquidée, suivant la décision des membres, mais elle ne peut être vendue de gré à gré. En fait, le mouvement Desjardins est une coopérative moderne dans un monde globalisé.
Enfin, il est clair que le mouvement Desjardins, se classe parmi les grandes institutions bancaires dans le monde.
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Mario Leclerc
Cornwall, Ontario
| Ontario doesn't need a slot machine economy that preys on the vulnerable | I am disappointed by the recent announcement by Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan that the Ontario Government plans to expand gambling in Ontario as a way to balance the budget. The plans include two new casinos, greater access to slot machines, and government-backed Internet gambling.
This is not the responsible way to grow Ontario?s economy and to raise more revenue. The McGuinty Government is trying to balance the province's books on the backs of problem gamblers and their families and the poor who are desperate to make ends meet. This greater access to gambling will increase gambling addiction and the associated mental health and social problems such as anxiety, depression, personal debt, bankruptcy, family breakdown, and high rates of suicide.
The best way to create good jobs is to provide tax credits to businesses that create new jobs, to create value added jobs in the resource sector, and to invest in infrastructure. We also need a balanced approach to balancing the budget. Rather than making reckless cuts to essential public services and betting on gambling, the McGuinty Government should restore the corporate tax rate to the 2010 level, ensure that the rich one per cent pay their fair share of taxes, reduce its reliance on high priced consultants, and cap public sector CEO salaries.
Encouraging more Ontarians to gamble their money away is no way to create good jobs and to balance the budget. We don't need a slot machine economy that preys on the vulnerable.
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Brian Lynch
Cornwall, Ontario
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Voter suppression is an unacceptable practice that violates the Canada Elections Act | I am troubled by the widespread complaints of election fraud to obstruct the electoral process and to suppress the opposition vote in many ridings across Canada in the May 2, 2011 federal election.
Voter suppression by directing opposition voters to non-existent polling stations and harassing opposition voters so that they don?t vote is an unacceptable practice that violates the Canada Elections Act and is illegal. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a $5,000 fine, five years in jail, or both.
We should be encouraging more people to vote in our democracy not discourage them by fraudulent phone calls.
This serious attack on our democratic right to vote requires a full public inquiry to find out who is responsible for this election fraud to prevent people from voting.
People and campaigns responsible for these voter suppression tactics should be held to account and charged accordingly. Otherwise, we will be looking at an even lower voter turnout in the next federal election in 2015.
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Brian Lynch
Cornwall, Ontario
President, NDP Federal Riding Association
| Robin Hood Turned Upside Down | The general federal corporate income tax rate stood at 28% in 2000. It was cut to 21% under the Liberals, and then cut in stages, from 21% to 15%, under the Conservatives. The most recent cut was from 16,5% to 15%, effective January 1, 2012.
Corporate tax cuts have been very costly for all of us in terms of foregone government revenues. In 2012-13, the federal government expects to collect $33,1 billion in corporate income tax revenues, based on a corporate income tax rate of 15%. If the corporate tax rate was still at 21%, where it was when the Conservatives took office, revenues would be $13 billion higher.
At least, we as taxpayers expect that corporate income tax rate cuts would be re-invested in company operations, boosting economic growth, productivity, and jobs.
However, studies have shown that rising corporate after-tax profits have not resulted in increased real investment. Instead, we have seen a big increase in dividend payouts and in financial assets.
While the effective tax rate has declined significantly since 2000, companies are paying an even large share of their profits out as dividends. In 2010, for every dollar in after-tax profits, 49 cents was paid out directly to shareholders, and the share was even higher in the recession year of 2009. Corporate tax cuts are not supposed to be an end in themselves.
In fact, the Top-10 Corporate Hoarders have collectively accumulated $30.7 billion in extra short and long-term assets between 2000 and 2010, since 2000.
Furthermore, according to Statistics Canada, total corporate cash reserves of private, non-financial corporations grew from $157 billion in the second quarter of 2001, to $477 billion in the second quarter of 2011.
Not surprisingly, the Conservatives plan to reduce federal spending by up to $8 billion by 2014 - taking money from the ordinary citizens to pay for the wealthy. This is Robin Hood turned upside down...
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Mario Leclerc
Cornwall, Ontario
Past Federal NDP candidate in SDSG
| Bring Pierre McGuire Home | I am a 60 year old die hard Habs fan so have seen great management in the days of Sam Pollock.
That Gauthier has been allowed to do what he has done and his total lack of communication with us, the fans, is a travesty.
Pierre McGuire would bring along with his incredible knowledge, the passion that we are desperately lacking.
Last night's loss to the Caps reacged it's lowest point when Kabere looked like a lost rookie on their first goal. I turned the tv Off at that moment.
Pierre McGuire would make being a fan fun again. Whether he would want the job is a different story, but I think the challenge would intrique him. I'm a huge fan of his. Bring him home!!
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Murray Hersh
Dollard des Ormeuax, Quebec
| Profitable corporations and the top one per cent should pay their fair share of taxes too | The Drummond Report on Ontario?s Public Services with its massive spending cuts to essential public services fails to provide a balanced approach to eliminate the province?s deficit by 2017-18. It ignores the revenue side of balancing the budget and makes no mention of creating a fairer tax system and a job creation strategy to grow the Ontario economy. At the present time, both the Ontario Government and the Federal Government spend billions of dollars a year on tax benefits for profitable corporations and the wealthiest one per cent who need help the least. If everyone is to tighten their belts, then the profitable corporations and the top one per cent should pay their fair share of taxes.
In Ontario, if the corporate tax giveaways were restored to the 2010 level, $8 billion would be available over the next four years for much needed public services and programs such as healthcare and education, the creation of good jobs, the reduction of poverty, and deficit reduction. Study after study shows that the billions of dollars in corporate tax cuts to the large, profitable corporations are not creating new jobs. The best way to help create good jobs is to provide tax credits to businesses that create new jobs instead of handing money to companies that ship jobs out of the country.
There are also many ways that the McGuinty Government could spend taxpayers? money better and smarter. For example, the Ontario Government should reduce its reliance on high-priced consultants and place a cap on public sector CEO salaries. By cutting consultants by half, the Ontario Government would save $500 million over the next four years and the cap on public sector CEO salaries would save $80 million over the same time period. In the healthcare sector, greater emphasis should be placed on investing in frontline care and on keeping people healthy and greater use should be made of nurse practitioners and midwives.
By taking a balanced approach to balancing the budget, we can build a better, more equal Ontario that puts people first.
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Brian Lynch
Cornwall, Ontario
| McGuinty must now finally smell the roses of the Ontario Economy | Dalton McGuinty must now finally smell the economic roses of the Ontario Economy. The Drummond Report which the taxpayers of Ontario paid for thanks to the commission given out by the currently reigning Liberal Government must be paid attention to and followed. The great Province of Ontario has became a third nation province if the Current government continues on its' reckless path of the past nine years.
Follow the report Dalton or resign in nine months and let the Opposition take over, both Tories or New Democrats can do much better for us average Ontario Residents.
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Carson Elliott
Ingleside, Ontario
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