In the Media

'Rare' salamanders widen debate on turtle ponds
Richard Leitner, Stoney Creek
Published: June 15th 2007

The Hamilton Conservation Authority is asking the city to consider extending environmental protections to school board properties by turtle ponds near the Stoney Creek lakeshore.

Directors voted unanimously last week to request a more comprehensive study of two Community Beach ponds previously earmarked for protection, as well as a man-made one also reportedly home to birds, turtles and salamanders.

Should the city decide to officially designate the ponds and neighbouring land as an environmentally significant area, directors also left the door open for the conservation authority to assume ownership.

NDP PLAN TO DEAL WITH PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS

During meetings in my office or when I’ve been out and about in Hamilton East –Stoney Creek I’ve heard about skyrocketing prescription drug prices from a lot of working families in my riding.

Between 1992 and 2002, household spending on prescription drugs jumped more than 70%. Over that same period, spending on food, clothing and shelter increased by 11%.

No family should face the burden of overwhelming drug costs alone: each year we spend nearly 4 billion dollars out of our own pockets on pharmaceutical drugs.

It is time that reasonable solutions are brought forward. Canada must provide working families with assurances that financial hardship won’t be a barrier to getting the prescription drugs they need. If you get sick and can’t afford the drugs needed to survive the federal government should step in to help.

PUBLICATION: The Hamilton Spectator
DATE: 2007.04.05
EDITION: Final
SECTION: Business
PAGE: A20
BYLINE: Steve Arnold

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A plan to keep jobs in Hamilton

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Hamilton needs a strike force charged with keeping good-paying jobs here.

That's the goal of a new committee city council will be asked to form next week.

The brainchild of Councillors Scott Duvall, Terry Whitehead and Brian McHattie, the new group would be responsible for helping struggling employers like Hamilton Specialty Bar get survival aid from senior governments.

On Monday, the Conservatives announced their second budget in the House of Commons. Another budget, another disappointment.

This budget fails ordinary hard-working Canadians because it fails to close the prosperity gap. With over 9 billion in corporate tax cuts and the failure to take away the tax advantages for the oil sands, contrary to what Finance Minister Flaherty says, this budget does more for those around the boardroom table than for those at the kitchen table.

This budget is one where we see steps forward accompanied by two steps backwards. For example, there are new measures for funding post-secondary education. But there is nothing to address student debt, the need for students to get loans to be able to afford their education or to reduce, freeze or eliminate tuition fees.

Tax credits: They don’t replace programs and services, but if they’re there don’t forget to claim them!

Tax season is upon us again. Politicians will continue to debate the meaning of tax credits but we will all still have to file our income taxes before April 30th. The debate will continue about the meaning of tax credits in the absence of infrastructure. Take for example the Conservative childcare benefit is essentially a tax credit, but there has been minimal investment in childcare spaces. So although all Canadians with children have a little more money, no more Canadians have access to quality, affordable childcare.

Creating Fair Opportunities: foreign credentials must be recognized

Over the last decade various governments have promised to act on getting foreign credentials recognized. By 2015, 100% of the growth in our labour forced will be derived from immigration. According to a study by the Conference Board of Canada, an additional 5 billion dollars could be pumped into our economy if the education and skills of the under-employed were formally recognized.

But we still have not seen a plan from our Government on how to recognize foreign credentials. Instead of acting, the Conservatives want to study the issue further. They even have 18 million dollars they want to use to consult on the much touted promise to create an agency to oversee the recognition of foreign credentials.

Last week, during a meeting of the Standing Committee on Finance (February 15th 2007) I questioned the Minister of Finance, Jim Flaherty, why average Canadians are getting gouged while big banks reap the profits.

While the big-six banks made record profits - $19 billion last year – you and I coughed up $420 million of our own money last year at bank-owned ATMs.

The Conservative government has introduced changes to the Bank Act, but none of these address the issue of unnecessary ATM fees. At last week’s meeting, the Minister indicated that he was speaking to the banks about this. He also noted that it is the NDP who first brought this issue to the forefront.

At my constituency office, my staff and I work with a variety of people and groups of people like seniors, workers who face an uncertain job future and new immigrants on issues, concerns and problems they have with federal programs and services.

A good portion of the work we do is with new immigrants who face many of the same income and job security difficulties as the average Hamiltonian, but also face some difficulties particular to being a new Canadian.

An overall concern and often the cause of many of the issues that newly arrived constituents bring to me is the increasing income gap they face. A gap that is creating a poverty trap for new Canadians.

Sault Ste. Marie NDP MP and social policy critic Tony Martin joined Hamilton East-Stoney Creek MP Wayne Marston, Hamilton Centre MP David Christopherson and Hamilton Mountain MP Chris Charlton, along with Hamilton East MPP Andrea Horvath last Friday at the Hamilton East Kiwanis Boys and Girls Club, where they held a forum to hear presentations from residents affected by recent government cutbacks to Canada's social programs.

Intended to help build political will for change and provide an opportunity for dialogue on the barriers to end poverty, the Standing Up For Hamilton Forum saw more than 70 people in attendance - several interested individuals and representatives of community groups or organizations who advocate on poverty issues.

PUBLICATION: The Hamilton Spectator
PAGE: A10
BYLINE: Dana Borcea
COPYRIGHT: ╘ 2007 Torstar Corporation
WORD COUNT: 414

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Terrifying parallels; Man executed in China belonged to same minority group as Burlington detainee

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The wife of a Burlington man imprisoned in China is reeling after hearing that another man, detained for similar reasons, has been executed.

Kamila Telendibaeva sat in the living room of her Burlington home and wept Wednesday as she listened to the choked words of the man's widow on Radio Free Asia.