O•S•C•A•R© - Old Ottawa South

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MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT OTTAWA CENTRE
By Paul Dewar
Canadians should be concerned
about the recent Conservative
budget. It was supposed to
create jobs and invest in economic
growth. Instead, it cuts over $5 billion
in funding to public services and
programs, lacks any job creation plan
and fails to take action in areas that
are critical to achieving prosperity
for all Canadians, such as working to
eliminate poverty and creating more
affordable housing options.
For seniors, changes in Old Age
Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed
Income Supplement (GIS) means
they must work two extra years
before claiming their pension. The
government has argued that the current
OAS system is unsustainable. This is
not the case. Both the Parliamentary
Budget Officer and the government’s
own Actuarial Reports have confirmed
that despite the increase in the number
of baby boomers retiring, the program
is sustainable. New Democrats have
consistently argued against regressive
changes to OAS-GIS like those in the
budget, as they will hurt the poorest
seniors. Instead, we want retirement
The OSCAR - OUR 40 th YEAR MAY 2012
2012 Budget Fails to Address the Needs of Canadians
income security strengthened through
initiatives like expansion of CPP.
The government’s decision to
change the health transfer funding
formula will cost Ontario $24 billion in
health care funding creating longer wait
times and fewer doctors and nurses.
It will also open the door to greater
privatization of our health care system.
Cuts to CBC/Radio-Canada,
Environment Canada, Natural
Resources, immigration settlement,
health care transfers, Aboriginal Affairs
and Northern Development and more
will have serious implications for
the environment, culture, education,
poverty reduction and health care.
New Democrats and Canadians
have already voiced their opposition to
the elimination of Katimavik and the
Community Access Program (CAP).
Katimavik was a youth exchange and
volunteer experience program created
in 1977 by the federal government to
equip youth with new skills, knowledge
and experience through placements in
communities across Canada. When the
youth unemployment rate in Canada
continues to remain in the double digits,
it’s short sighted of the government to
cut programs that help youth increase
Tasty Tidbits from Trillium Bakery
Gratitude
By Jocelyn LeRoy
Life isn’t measured by the number of breaths we
take but by the moments that take our breath
away”
While napping on the comfortable leather couch
back at the Smyth Road Weight-loss Spa (as lastmonth’s
OSCAR David calls the hospital), my eye
catches some small lettering high on the wall over a
life-like painting of iris. I look around this “family
room” and discover on another wall, cut-out silver
letters that say “Love,” “Family,” “Dream.”
Behind a flourishing green plant draping over a
tall cabinet, a Tuscan-looking picture of sunlit fruit
and vegetable stands flanked by a row of mossy trees
shines forth, giving a vibrant cheerfulness to the room.
The fourth wall has a framed Monet print of gardens
bordering flagstone paths meandering toward a forest
of pale Spring green trees.
Oh, and there’s a small framed print of three
children with wobbly ankles on ice, clutching hockey
sticks. Their skates are laced only half-way up.
Any of these wall adornments, if coming to life,
would take your breath away. They beckon your
imagination to melt into their moment in time. Which
their transferable skills.
The CAP provided computers and
internet access at community sites
across Canada. These sites helped to
bridge the digital divide, especially
by increasing accessibility for those
who are unable to afford a computer or
the internet. The decision to eliminate
CAP will negatively impact the most
vulnerable communities who rely on
these sites for job searches, information
sharing and educational opportunities.
I am also concerned about what did
not appear in the budget. Most notable
is the lack of a job creation plan. In
fact, budget cuts could result in a loss
of 50,000 jobs in the public and private
sectors combined. Cuts to the public
sector will have a great effect on local
economies as public sector workers
support private sector businesses and
economic growth through their own
spending.
It’s evident that the impact of this
budget will be felt both in rural and urban
areas. Cities are effectively ignored
with no money allocated for transit and
affordable housing. Adequate funding
in these areas helps ensure our cities are
vibrant, liveable places for everyone
yet under the Conservative plan they
is also eternal – it’s a sort of Zen experience.
I am always inspired by those who can imagine
golden moments among even the most terrible lifechanging
events.
My eyes fall upon a small typed paragraph titled
“Alan’s Dream,” describing a deceased leukemia
patient’s creation of this refuge from the sterile and
sometimes intimidating hospital atmosphere. I’ll bet
there was a golden moment for Alan and his family,
friends and hospital staff at the finish line of “Alan’s
Run,” witnessed by those who cared so much for Alan
and his dream. The moment of absorbing this legacy
he left is now part of my ever-expanding reservoir of
moments that take my breath away.
Back in the bakery, where lately I haven’t
been as often as usual, the customers love to let
me know “you’re never there,” as if, as they say in
Newfoundland, “I looked in the bakery and there she
was – gone!”
Oh well, kudos go to our staff, all of whom have
stepped up to the plate during the last few weeks and
months. They deserve bunches of flowers, bowls of
chocolate and a million or so dollars for their caring
and care-taking of Trillium.
The plates are filled with hot cross buns. We
share delightful moments of eye-rolling, lipsmacking
pleasure, watching customers of
all ages biting into our yummy Easter treats.
Hilarious moments show up, too. There
are two adorable three-year-old twins who
regularly shop at Trillium. Tiny they are,
but they come barreling in chattering a mile
a minute, discussing with each other what
they want. They both look me in the eye
(way up!) and articulately describe the
cookies they have chosen. They’re too
short to see the cookies on the shelf, but
they know what they’re after. Everyone in
the room takes a pause of delight as these
are neglected leaving Canadians to live
with the consequences.
There is an alternative to the
federal government’s fiscal approach.
My colleagues and I have been calling
for the Conservatives to increase
targeted incentives to create good jobs,
protect retirement security and provide
the stable funding necessary to allow
provinces to hire more doctors and
nurses. New Democrats would like to
see a commitment from the government
to reduce the small business tax rate
from 11% to 9%, which will help boost
local economies. We would also like
to see the government bring back the
popular ecoEnergy retrofit program to
help Canadians make their homes more
energy efficient, which reduces heating
and electricity costs and our overall
environmental foot print.
New Democrats will not support this
budget unless significant amendments
are made as it fails to build a secure,
prosperous future for all Canadians. We
will oppose regressive cutbacks while
working to ensure the priorities of job
creation, retirement income security,
and adequate funding for health care
are addressed.
tiny tykes negotiate the big step, precious purchase
in hand. They chatter excitedly about what they love
about their cookies.
If we don’t stop and enjoy the moment regularly,
smell the roses or the bread or the cookies, what do
we have instead? A grind…ennui…flatness, or, even
worse, a downward spiral into the memories of our
negative experiences.
It’s easy to live moment by moment in our bakery
because it’s a cauldron of activity. Surprises come
out of the ovens. (A new twist of flavour and texture
absolutely requires a bit of savouring.) Even when
a customer recounts an intense experience, these
moments remain with us. And when customers tell us
how much they appreciate what we do, we remember.
When I drop something on the floor – molasses is
lovely! – or my sifter filled with icing sugar explodes
and flies everywhere, white powdery sweetness covers
the whole counter and my shoes. These are moments
that mark a career. There’s the moment when Gail
shouts “Wait!” as I’m going out the door; she picks
the icing off my collar or cheek. “Now you can go,”
she says.
Ten years ago at Easter I said goodbye to my
mother forever. Six months later I felt her with me
on a gusty, sunny canoe trip in Algonquin Park, in the
windswept pines, on the sparkling water, and in the
bow of my canoe. “Of course it should be green,”
says mom. Now, any green canoe moment reminds
me of this.
And here’s another: the moment my six-year-old
adopted daughter touched my knee and whispered,
“bonsoir, mama.” And her sister lifted her shirt to
proudly show me her bandage covering a horrific
wound, received in a land far away and besieged by
drought. It was our first meeting, first greeting.
I still feel “wow” when I let these moments in and
have them stay awhile.