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These are just two of the 25 recommenâ€" dations contained in the Report on the Caribbean and Central America issued on July 29 by my colleagues and 1 on the , Subâ€"Committee on Canada‘s Relations with Latin America and the Caribbean. ~.The report is an interim statement, designed to encourage discussion. Copies , are available at my office in Waterioo Square. As a committee we are commencâ€" e hf the final phase of study on Canada‘ .. relations with the countries of South __. America. Our final report will be issued later this year. . â€" The report deals with the trade and .RECOMMENDATION: .‘"The Governâ€" ment and the Canadian bysiness commuâ€" nity should begin immediate examination into the treation of a Canadian Overseas Investment Agency, and other methods of promoting joint ventures between small and medium sized Canadian companies and their counterparts in the Caribbean and Central America." RECOMMENDATION: ‘"The Parliaâ€" ment of Canada is urged to create a Human Rights Association of Parliamenâ€" tarians to monitor respect for human rights in the Caribbean and Central America, especially in countries with which Canada has important relations."" â€" When MacEachen first hinted at dropping indexing the Conservatives mounted a petition against dropping it. Temporarily, MacEachen â€"realized that to drop indexing would be unpopular. This time around, MacEachen only gave less than two weeks notice of his budget so there was no time to mount yet another petition so now he has his deâ€"indexing and the Conservatives and ‘the NDP have to fight a battle against an already announced policy. Compared to the housing funds and the large deficit, the partial deâ€"indexing did not receive much attention in initial newscasts, but it is potentially a serious threat to the future of Canadian taxation. > Robert Stanfield, in 1973 and 1974 argued that inflation, much of it caused by governâ€" ment, made taxes rise at an increasing rate since people whoseâ€"real income did not rise still had to pay more in taxes. That meant that the government revenues kept rising even when productivity did not and encouraged the government to continue inflating the economy. John Turner, the then minister of finance, saw the rightness of the argument and introduced an imperfect indexing system. One aspect of the June 28 budget which has already attracted the attention of the opposiâ€" tion parties in Ottawa is the inequity of the partial deâ€"indexing. o L O However, Allan MacEachen, ever since becoming minister of finance, has been trying to reduce the amount of indexing to reduce the need for him to fight inflation. After all, if government revenues go up faster than GNP, the government does not have to restrain itâ€" self. Indexing always helped the lower income earner the most because it kept the lowest income earner off the tax rolls even when his income went up by the rate of inflation. Other groups benefited by varying amounts. The fact that lower income groups were kept off the tax rolls benefited the government since they did not have the cost of collecting piddly amounts of tax, and at that level the cost of collection per dollar collected is high. â€" _ To demonstrate the effect of partial deâ€"inâ€" dexing of the personal income tax, it is worth using department of finance figures to make some calculations. Single Taxpayers earnings WALTER McLEAN Partial deâ€"indexing presents problems tions, teaches economics at Wilfrid Laurier University. . . McCready, a regular conâ€" *Diff. $57 164 Douglas J. McCready ‘The subâ€"committee seeks to make it. very clear that each of the countries in the area, particularly Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador, must be viewed in light of their very different history and human rights. situations. We are familiar with daily press accounts of the ongoing atrocities being perpetrated against these peoples ... Concerning Cuba, the subâ€"comâ€" mittee leveled some of its sharpest criticism for the absence of civil and political rights under the Castro regime, while recognizing the medical and educaâ€" tional advances. We do not wish to see Official Canadian Aid resumed under current circumstances. ... The r:ron commends the human rights records of the three largest democratic countries of the investment opportunities in this area. We were mindful, however, of the testimony by Canadian Ambassador Douglas Sirrs (who was until recently responsible for our relations with this area), that ‘"it would be naive and fallacious‘" to think that trade can be the initial basts for relation?d with these politically and economically disâ€" turbed nations. ...The report includes a strong statement about the desirability and feasibility of reversing the longâ€"term decline in Canadaâ€"Caribbean trade. â€" 15 A2 Married Taxpayer,â€" two ::nh;ldren under 18, earnâ€" g A 100,000 600 .60 *Difference in tax between full indexing and the proposed indexing *Percentage Increase in Tax Note that whether single or married those earning $7,500 have the largest percentage increase in tax although those making $50,000 come close. Those making somewhat more than $7,500 and less than $50,000 have a smaller tax increase and those in the $100,000 bracket have a much smaller tax increase. > Few would argue that those making $50,000 ought to be a cause for sympathy. Yet, those are the professionals and the trades people with skills who could provide the start of some capital for investment in this country. They are also the most mobile group in our society who would fare much better in the United States and if we keep taxing them they are the ones who will be influenced to leave and be most readily accepted by other countries. After all, they have all the educational investment in them already. ' It seems illogical that the $50,000 per annum income earner should bear a larger tax increase than a $100,000 per annum individual. And where is the MacEachen of last November who was concerned about income tax fairâ€" ness? Again, the partial deâ€"indexing of personal income taxes is unfair to low income earners and to the upper middle class, two groups whom Canadians ought to be concerned about. But even more importantly, partial deâ€"indexâ€" ing throws away the logic underlying any indexing system which says tht if you are no better off than the year before (real income constant) you should not pay more taxes. A further part of the logic is that under indexing, government has an incentive to fight inflation. That incentive is now reduced. Taxation is not supposed to be in the absence of voter representation and I as a voter never heard that if I voted Liberal I would pay higher and higher taxes even if my real income decreased. I think it is time I had a chance to express my vote on that particular issue for 1 would vote for tax fairness implying full inâ€" dexing. (c) Wilfrid Laurier University Newsfeatures It is cruel for the lowest income earners to bear the brunt of this bad policy move. #A Central America 100,000 412 .A1 The subâ€"committee regects utterly _any role for the Soviet Union in resoiving tensions in the region. We state that: ‘"‘these regions are of strategic importance to the United ‘States and to the Western Alliance, of which Canada is a member." Tensions in Central America should be resolved through negotiations between eontrhsl-&erefo-.ltlsforthumson that the subâ€"committee recommends to the Cangdian Govéernment that it press for a With respect to El Salvador, it is observed that the decision of the previous government of El Salvador to hold elecâ€" tions was "... a significant development in human rights.‘‘ The majority of the subâ€"committee members, however, join with me in observing that since a signifiâ€" cant number of political groups in that country were forbidden by decree from participating in the elections, dialogue with these groups is essential if the polarization and vioience in El Saivador is not to grow worse. The report puts.the recent elections in perspective: ‘"We are confronted with the tragic fact that the exercise of the right to vote does not by itself guarantee the basic human rights of Salvadorians." o â€" region â€" Costa Rica, Jamaica and Trinâ€" idad: 413 57 A1 So as to remove any taint of partisanship or ministerial involveâ€" ment, it is also the Liberal Party‘s belief that there should be a proviâ€" sion making the Ontario Human Rights Commission accountable to the Legislature, in the same manner ‘as the Ombudsman. 4 UOntario‘s new Human Rla:ns Code was prociaimed on the 15th of June, 1982. At a dinner honoring the occasion, the Premier asked that we ‘"‘*compare the Ontario of today with the Ontario that existed when the Human Rights Code was first creatâ€" For example, no provision was made for "protecting"‘ handicapped persons from discrimination, and the only such protection which existed was to be found within the Handicapped Employment Proâ€" gram of the Ministry of Labour, created to foster programs, not to define and guarantee human rights. â€" The truth of the matter is that the Human Rights Code failed to keep pace with social and demographic changes which occurred in the two decades which followed its original enactment in 1961. In an effort to remedy human rights legislation, the government introduced Bill 7, "To Revise and Extend Protection of Human Rights in Ontario‘ on 24th of April, 1981. The Liberal Party supported the bill in principle, considering it to be an enlightened piece of legislation, and due to constructive opposition, the Bill was substantially amended and improved. â€" Although the upper limit of ‘"age" protection has been eliminated in all areas except employment, and harassment provisions on the grounds of sex has been clarified, there are aspects in which the legislation does not, in the Liberal view, go far enough: with respect to "reasonable accommodation" for the handicapped, and with respect to the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of language and politiâ€" cal belief. The decision to refer the conâ€" troversial budget bill to amend the Retail Sales Tax Act to an allâ€"party Queen‘s Park Report Ohtario‘s new Human Rights WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 18, 1982 â€" PAGE 7 # # # regionâ€"wide agreement to simultaneously reducemilitary assistance to government, and outside assistance to revolutionary groups. The recommendations are varied, but they are all supportive of the basic thesis that Canadian foreign policy in the ‘80s ought to give special attention to out hemisphere._The Caribbean needs signals that Canada values our historic associa tion of trade, tourism and immigration. ... In Central America we ean help in the struggle for stability, thereby opening the way for future economic: and socia! encounters. The subâ€"committee calls fo: priority action in relations with our closest neighbours. The Chronicle weliâ€" comes letters to the ediâ€" tor. Writers must identify themselves through their name, address and teleâ€" phone number. We reâ€" serve the right to edit. It seems clear that the budget will weaken, if not eliminate certain sectors of the provincial economy. If predictions are fulfilled, we can expect (1) the loss of 7,500 jobs in the restaurant and food service industry; (2) loss of 1,000 service repair jobs due to the labour tax; (3) possible elimination of the caâ€" tering truck industry; (4) curtailâ€" ment of research and development into alternative energies and loss of future employment opportunities in our developing solar industry. _ > The need for a policy which widens the consultation process is crucial if governments wish to avoid implementing budget policies which may have a disastrous impact on business and on individuals. indicated that an application of sales tax to goods, purchased by public sector organizations, repreâ€" sented a surcharge on a nonâ€"discreâ€" tionary expenditure. In other words, the government is now taxing items which must be purchased by these institutions to satisfy provincial legislation which sets minimum standards for fire safety, adequacy of physical plant, and general health and safety. School boards (the consumer) are unable to avoid paying the tax because of the decision to purchase is oneâ€"which is required by legislation. The 1982 budget puts the burden on lowâ€"income earners and those on fixed incomes to pay a larger percentage of their earnings for taxes, rather than those who have a considerably larger income. Legislative Committee, with the powerâ€"to hold public hearings and recommend changes, dreéew nearly 60 submissions from a wide variety of interest groups and organizaâ€" tions, most of which demanded significant changes in tax policy. However, Committee hearings proved to be little more than an exercise in futility and frustration. Notwithstanding widespread objecâ€" tions, the government has passed legislation extending the Retail Sales Tax to a number of previously exempted items. Some of the common criticisms were from municipalities and school boards suggesting that their probâ€" lems were exacerbated by the timing of the budget. School boards LETTERS POLWCY â€" â€"