Seniors 65 + revealed

The McGuinty's offer of a 10% reduction in our Hydro bills is in no way to be considered a benefit when it was announced Hydro rates would escalate 46% over the next 5 years and then look at the HST started in July of this year helped me in making my decision to show one and all how the 65 and over seniors were and will be affected based on their present incomes of Canada Pension Plan ( CPP ), Old Age Security ( OAS ), Guaranteed Income Supplement ( GIS )

CPP per month $934.17

OAS per month $518.51

Total per month $1452.68

Total per year $17,431.16

Poverty line per year $18,373.00

Below poverty line $940.84

Below per month $78.40

OAS per month $518.51

GIS per month $654.47

Total per month $1172.98

Total per year $14,075.70

Poverty line per year $18,373,00

Below poverty line $4297.30

Below per month $ 358.10

The government funded CPP and OAS or OAS and GIS allowance guarantee a minimum income for older Canadians that is not enough to lift all older persons above the poverty line. The maximum value of the public pensions falls well short of the 50% to 70% of pre-retirement income to maintain decent living standards. The government expectations were that people would supplement public pensions with their own savings through membership of a pension plan at work but the government neglected to realize most Canadians didn't have a workplace pension and if such is the case these Canadians if having any savings will be forced to use them up because of the public pension plans being below the poverty line.

OAG and GIS are in urgent need of improvement.I have been given to understand a proposal has been made to increase the GIS benefit by 15% but in my opinion the OAS should also be increased 15 % as it has been part and parcel of the governments benefits keeping below the poverty line for the simple reason without the increase those receiving the CPP and the OAS will still be below the poverty line.

All of the above figures are based on one recipient. If a couple the maximum is slightly over the poverty line.

I should clarify what the GIS is, it is an income benefit payable to lower income seniors who are also receiving OAS and have little or no other income. Please note the GIS is not taxable.

The statistics as outlined were obtained off a Statistic Canada report.

OAS provides about 13% of a pre-retirement earnings and the CPP provides another 25% for a total of 38%. Seniors, have been found, require 70% of their pre-retirement earnings to maintain their standard of living in retirement. The existing benefit figures show the senior is short 32% of their pre-retirement earnings.

The question, When is the government going to make a move and increase these benefits as this proposal has been hung up for a very long time?

Seniors who are 65 and over and not 50+

I am writing the following in the hope what I have written is not to be construed as a witch hunt for those 50 + Canadians as they are very fine people who happen to believe their age benefits them to be called seniors. Why they do this is beyond me. You are forsaking 15 years of a robust living in a late middle age society. Why would you want to rush into those supposedly "Golden Years" which if you talk to any senior over 65 will tell you differently. It galls me when you are told there is a special price for 50 + seniors and try to explain a senior is not 50+ but 65 and over. What better deal do you have for me as I am considerably older ( 79 ) That is like a friend of mine who was 37 and had a very heavy beard and here I was a clean shaven pup being asked if he was 21 and I looked no older then 19, I was actually 21 and not asked my age.Restaurateurs and retailers still have deals for seniors that stimulates 50+ but never any thing for 65+.

Now lets get to our deserving 65 and over seniors with a little bit of their back ground such as education, health, and what we call lack of respect and understanding particularly from our federal government who discriminate us when it comes to our asking for a fair shake in raising the Canada Pension Plan, the Old Age Security, and the Old Age Supplement.

Senior means a person 65 and over who can present ID showing 65 and over

Senior means a person who is receiving the Canada Pension Plan and The Old Age Security defined by the federal government as being 65 and over.

57% of Canadians over 65 are women

20% of the current Canadians over 65 have a post graduate diploma with a degree

60% of seniors 65 and over did not complete high school

37 % have less than grade 9

46 % of seniors have a disability yet continue to enjoy life

75% of seniors 65 to 70 rate their health as good or exceptional as do 66% of

75 and over

Seniors have also one request and that is PLEASE!!!! avoid language such as the aged, the elderly. oldsters, senile, and feeble and instead use seniors, older persons, or older adults.

Don't patronize us, condescend, or use childish expressions when talking with us or about seniors.

There is one very important thing to remember about a senior and that being we have a change in visual and acuity hearing which can affect an older person's capacity to absorb information. Hearing clearly is not attainable if a sound is above or below a certain pitch or if there is a background noise such as a public address system, telephones,TV, and radio.

Unfortunately aging brings emotional changes, loneliness,isolation or worry, anxiety about becoming dependent on others, and fears about safety. I know this to be a fact.

Do not forget this one very important thing we are survivors. Don't forget that.

Seniors injured from falls

Just recently CBC had a very interesting article on the subject disclosing a number of eye opening statistics, statistics I'm sure many seniors were not aware.

From 2004 to 2008 more than 125,000 seniors in the province of Ontario were admitted to a hospital because of a fall.

It stands to reason as seniors get older they tend to have impairments in balance, in vision, and reflexes. Combine these with osteoporosis where bones become more fragile increasing the risk of broken bones. Most of these falls occur from falls on stairs, slipping, tripping, and stumbling. It has been suggested to make it safer for them use rugs with rubber backing that will stick to the floor, make sure any staircases are clear of clutter, and have hand rails. Keep phones on every floor to prevent rushing to answer, and do exercises to improve strength, balance, and flexibility.

Above all use proper lighting.

It should be pointed out 87% of seniors who fell sustained injuries to the head or spine.

Surprising as it seems men falling peaks at the average of 72 whereas women peak at 84.

It has also been suggested seniors should make a point of asking their doctors about risks of any new medications particularly those who take blood thinners could suffer severe consequences from a fall and some blood pressure medication may affect balance. It should also be mentioned the University of British Columbia found that seniors on antidepressants, anti psychotic and sedative hypnotics were 11/2 times more likely to fall compared with those not taking those drugs. The University went on to say 1 in 3 Canadians over 65 experience a fall each year and those over 80 the figure rises to 40%

BE CAREFUL

Debt vs Deficit

What does it mean?

Most people confuse debts with deficits and vice versa, no so and here is the explanation.The government collects taxes, fees, and other revenues each year while spending on programs and operations. If the government spends more than it takes in over the course of one year then it has run a deficit which applies to just one year. When the government runs a deficit then it must borrow money to make up the deficit. A debt is completely different. A debt is an accumulation of deficits. The debt usually grows year after year. with each additional deficit the debt continues to grow. Do not think if the government takes in more money then it spends in one year then it suddenly doesn't have any debt. This is not the case as it means the government has managed to run a surplus which is opposite to deficit. The debt is still there. Please!!! also note if the government has to continually borrow money each year then the debt will continue to grow year after year. This debt does not disappear. Having outlined both I want to show some very interesting figures produced by the present Ontario Liberal government. At the present time the Ontario debt amounts to $212.1 billion mainly to finance the deficit in 2009-2010. When the Liberals took office in 2003-2004 the debt was$138.8 billion, In all of the following years deficits resulted year by year as the Liberals spent more then was collected.

For this year the deficit is expected to be close to $20. billion and if spending exceeds the revenue the debt will climb regardless of what the liberals did in the line of cutting back money to the hospitals, cutting back money to people on welfare, collecting part of the loan to the Big 3, and introducing the HST.

If the Liberals can not reduce the deficit beware of McGuinty's next step when he will come up with another of his tax increases.

Now, lets look at the Canadian federal government. The federal debt now sits at $ 1.2 trillion which is the amount of money the Federal, provincial, territories, and municipal governments owe as a whole.

Just as a breather the city of Welland's debt could very easily reach $ 60 million when the Sportsplex gets under way and if it does it will leave Welland very close to the allowable debt set by the province.

Since we are talking about debt and how serious it is and how serious it can be perhaps now we should discuss the debt of the Canadian families. A recent release stated the average Canadian family debt ( household ) is $ 96,000.00, mortgage payments up to 90 days late and credit card payments were 3 months behind.

Year 2009 was a record year for personal bankruptcy filings which caused a week economy thus causing record levels of personal debt. It should be noted high personal debt levels continue to climb to a point of no return.

Canadians are continuing to borrow shown by the end of the third quarter in 2009 the average Canadian adult had over $ 40,000.00 in household credit. Back in 2000 the average was approximately$20,000.00 and in 10 years it had doubled. By the end of September 2009 the average Canadian adult was carrying a household debt of 140.8% of their personal disposable income. Three years ago it was 120%. In simple terms every dollar earned one has $1.41 in debt.

If one has a good job and interest rates stay low one can probably service one's debt

BUT

If the job is lost. the hours are cut back, one has a divorce, there is a medical problem so one could not work, can you pay your mortgage, your car loan,your line of credit, and your credit cards?

NO

I you are in this position be very careful in taking on new debt, do not even think about buying a bigger house or new car.

To control your debt move to a smaller house, or an apartment, trade in your car for something smaller with a lower monthly payment and much better on gas.

Do you need the big boat and cottage?

Do you need 500 TV channels?

Do you need to buy a coffee every day?

Can you not make your own coffee?

Sell or return the 2nd car

Put a freeze on new spending.

Stop paying the minimum monthly payment on the credit cards and increase the payment. If you don't, rest assured the principal will have tripled by the time it is paid in full paying the minimum. Credit cards are the fast road to bankruptcy. Above all if you follow these rules don't think you have extra money because you don't.

If one heeds this advice which is not from me the writer but from professional financial advisers there is a chance of getting out of debt, if not expect to be bankrupt.

Haiti

It is not my intention to criticize the help given to this country but, I would like to draw your attention to a few things our Canadian government is doing in Haiti with our money which in my opinion is absolutely assine and loss of common sense.

Recently it was announced Canada will be spending $5.6 million for diplomat residences in Haiti. It has been confirmed the $ 5.6 million will only cover the cost of the land. On top of this expenditure homes will be built for 24 diplomats at an estimated cost of $244,000.00 each. One must presume that $244,000.00 does not include furnishing and appliances which could be easily estimated at approximately $150,000.00 each or more as these diplomats like like to live off the fat of the land.

At this announcement I am surprised questions have not come up in parliament as follows; Why do we need 24 diplomats in Haiti? Why are we not supplying these diplomats with rental accommodations as we do with the majority of the diplomats that live in rental accommodations through out the world? Considering all of these expenses there is another requirement that has not been mentioned which will be a new ambassador's residence for a new embassy along with staff quarters.These are not included in the$ 5.6 million and the expense will probably match the land expense of $5.6 million Do not forget the Canadian taxpayer has already paid $1.4 million for emergency repairs to the existing embassy and another $1.7 million for temporary staff housing.

No explanation has come forward as to what will be done with the repaired embassy and the temporary staff housing.

Canada in their usual manner of wasting taxpayer money is now going to shell out $9.5 million to rebuild the headquarters of Haiti's National Police service.

Where is all of this money coming from?

Just in the last week it was announced Canada is on the way to going broke as the debt keeps climbing.

The total Canadian debt now stands at $1.1 trillion US that includes the debts of all of the provinces, the Territories, and cities. This debt in respect to every man, woman, and child would be $32,506.00 each.

I personally can only see one solution to stop this senseless spending and that being cut the number of diplomats to 12 and that is still probably too many,Forget the new embassy and staff accommodations and keep them in the quarters where money was spent to refurbish them.

Welland's Water/Sewer Budget fo 2011

After the recent Welland municipal election I would imagine one of the first things that would be on the agenda of the new Mayor Barry Sharpe and the council with seven (7 ) new members as has been the policy for the past years will be the water/sewer budget for 20111. Mayor Sharpe and the five (5 ) incumbents I am sure will remember Mr. Kovacs and yours truly who for the past years have presented to the city council our analysis report covering the proposed water/sewer budget.Unfortunately over those past years our reports were never given the time of day or in many cases never even read by many of the councilors and those that took the time to read them were very vociferous in denouncing our report as wrong but never on any occasion was it saw fit to support the accusations. In the year 2007 our report indicated the Niagara Region was over charging all municipalities in the Region for water and sewer services. Our future reports also brought the over charge to the attention of all municipalities with no reaction until early this year Councilor Sharpe at the time announced in council our report on the region was correct and the Region owed the City of Welland over $2 million dollars At the time of councilor Sharpe's announcement he received support from a city staff member. Councilor Sharpe went after the Region and as I understand he ran into a brick wall. I am sure that now as mayor and a regional councilor he will be pushing the Region for Welland's money. It is most unfortunate with all of his efforts Mayor Sharpe is not receiving any support from the other municipalities who have also been over charged by the Region.

Again as usual Mr. Kovacs and I will again be looking into a new analysis report to present to council however we have also run into a stone wall with the Region. The Region is refusing to give us copies of the flow and financial charts covering water and sewer as we were able to obtain over the past years because now the Region is telling us that information is not for the public. Mr. Kovacs spoke to Mr. Trojan at the Region and explained to him our situation. Mr. Trojan assured Mr. Kovacs we would receive the information as requested by the following Monday. If we do receive what we asked for we will make up our report to present to the new council with hope it will be received in a more positive way than in the past.

Telemarketers

I'm not sure what others have experienced with these people but in my opinion the " Do Not Call List" ( DNCL ) program set up in September 2008 is an absolute failure and a joke.

I've received an average of 1 or 2 calls per week from these telemarketers during which I found they, the marketers, are not following rules set up by the CRTC. the rules as set up are as follows; Calls are restricted to hours between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. with no calls on either Saturday or Sunday. The caller must promptly tell their name or identity and state the call is a sales call.The caller must discuss all material information about the goods and services being offered and the terms of sale.

I went on the Internet and searched for information that would indicate who were the worst offenders and found in about 90% of my findings pointed out Bell Canada.

I concur with with this as I personally have experienced for the last 4 to 6 months calls at least 1 or 2 times a month from Bell noting in all cases the caller was not following the rules. The callers do not respond immediately to a "Hello", they are hard to hear and understand which leads me to believe the calls are coming from India that Bell uses. The calls come any time after noon hour and even over the supper hours forcing me to contact the vice president of residential customer relations only after I was unsuccessful after 3 complaints to have the calls stopped. The calls stopped. It was pointed out to me if a customer has complaints to phone the number as follows; 310- BELL ( 2355 ).

Now that I've listed all of the complaints, rules, etc., I should mention who the CRTC picked as the operator of the DNCL It was Bell Canada on September 30, 2008 for a 5 year period.

Tobacco labels

Introduction:

I have an explicit reason for writing this article on Tobacco. I quit smoking over 30 years ago and never had one craving for a cigarette in all of those years. If my wife had quit smoking when I did I am sure she would have been alive today. My wife died in June 2000 of lung cancer.

The following list covers a few references to tobacco out of the CBCs radio archives and CBC's radio program " Assignment" by host Bill McNeil and guest tobacco expert John Fitzgerald dated September 4, 1961. On this radio program CBC host Mr. Fitzgerald stated Canadian tobacco makes a fine cigarette,Canadians prefer a home grown product, and tobacco is a big business in Canada. Host Bill McNeil asked Mr. Fitzgerald " Do you think cancer is really caused by tobacco?" Mr. Fitzgerald's response " There does seem to be cancer causing agents in cigarette smoke". He cautioned against smoking if you have a family history of cancer.Mr. Fitzgerald was asked why it was so hard to quit smoking and he said" It'd like food, it's company. It placates your nerves, and it gives you something to do with your hands.

For smokers one will notice Canada's warning labels have not changed in 10 years regardless of being pushed to update the labels as they are inexpensive. and lose their impact if not up dated on a regular basis.

Health Canada is not willing to go forward at this time to update warning labels on cigarettes which with out a doubt creates a possibility of increasing smoking and smoking related illnesses. One has to conclude the lack of updating by Health Canada means there would be an increase in smoking which ultimately means more tax revenue for the government.

Ottawa clearly stated it needs more time to determine the impact new labels would have.The government then should be asked how much time do they need considering the impact of labels was started in 2006.

Every province in Canada approved new labels but were told Ottawa had no intentions of moving ahead at this time.

Having written all of these things about tobacco and the federal government sitting on the fence for 10 years unable to update the warning labels on cigarettes and yet Canada has new labels but to bring them out appears to be a political decision. The government seems to be more interested in prioritizing contraband cigarettes over warning labels by highlighting their anti tobacco measures and say nothing about cigarette warning labels.

The longer Canada waits to put new warning labels on cigarettes will cost more smoker's lives. Many countries have warning labels on their cigarettes and are constantly changing them but it should be noted there is no country running the same label for 10 years.

Here are a few interesting facts about tobacco;

Years ago authorities denounced tobacco as the " Indian Vice"

Roman Catholics faced excommunication if they used tobacco

King James 1 (1562- 1621) of England levied a huge import tax on tobacco to discourage its use

The Russian Czar decreed that repeat users of tobacco would be sentenced to death

During the second world war the home front was pushing the citizens to send cigarettes over seas to the soldiers as an act of patriotism.

Hundreds of years later cigarettes are still a topic of discussion

Cell Phone Law

Before I start this article I want to explain I have a number of articles to type that I've set aside hoping I might be able to have them printed but my experiences over the past few weeks indicate I am spitting against a hurricane.

How many people like myself have seen people chatting on the phone while driving, looking down at their laps,reading messages on the phones and blackberries?Too many to count I am willing to bet.

Ontario's Distracted Driving law is not worth the paper it was written on as it has made no difference with drivers what so ever.

The law has no teeth

The law has not enough people to enforce the law which was never considered before passing. It is like a lot of bylaws that should never go through if there are not enough bodies to enforce them. There are no demerit points so your license has no risk. The offender does not have to worry about having the phone confiscated because the police do not confiscate the phones. A fine is no deterrent as it means nothing other than a few bucks out of one's pocket. When there is a law like this why is it not like driving without a seat belt or like the law against radar detection when caught the detector is automatically taken away from the driver by the police..

This is a dumb law with a lot of loop holes.

The law should have been made to mean something.

Take the phones , hand out demerit points, and increase the amount of fines

Handicapped Parking

A few years ago I wrote a number of letters on this subject basically on how the permits were being abused particularly by those not handicapped. Recently I noticed again a few complaints in regard to this problem including larger municipalities. Here is an example on what the City of Toronto does about handicapped parking by first making it very clear handicapped parking permits are issued to individuals NOT vehicles so that someone transporting a handicapped individual will have the parking benefits transferred to their vehicle.

In Toronto a permit holder may park besides being able to park in handicapped parking locations. a vehicle transporting a permit holder may park in areas where parking is prohibited except for rush hour routes which are off limits, on streets designated as " Permit Holders" areas exempt drivers may park at any time. When parking is for a limited amount of time , such as one hour parking, permit- holders may park for any length of time and do not need to abide by the time restrictions. Those with handicapped permits are also not required to pay at parking meters or other parking machines.

It should be noted permit-holders may not park in emergency, fire or snow routes, or on a bridge, a ' NO STANDING OR STOPPING AREA" an intersection and too close to a fire hydrant.

Regardless if you have an accessible parking permit you are still required to abide by safe driving and parking regulations.

These are the Toronto regulations for those who hold handicapped parking permits and I guess the question is to ask the City of Welland how many of Toronto's regulations are used here in Welland. Perhaps in the near future the City of Welland will issue their set of regulations?

High Water Bills

In the city of Welland , Ontario the citizens ( Consumers ) have been receiving some exceedingly high water bills and when these consumers complained to the city the complainants were given no sympathy other than being told they must have a leak in the water system in the home and regardless they will be expected to pay the high bill.

I did some research on the computer looking into how other municipalities handled similar problems and found what I thought was a very good approach in the city of Hamilton Ontario.

The City of Hamilton's water department has a billing agent to handle the city water bills. The company Hamilton uses is Horizon Utilities and this company is the billing agent who have agents that read remote devices or touch pads which are wired to inside water meters that are mounted on the customer's home.

If a read is more than 200% higher than the same period the previous year, it will appear on a variance report, and a phone call or " High Water Read Notification" letter is generated to the customer. Accounts are also reviewed manually to identify higher than average needs, and again a letter is generated. The letter identifies Horizon as the City of Hamilton's billing agent and explains the program is to notify customers of higher than historical water consumption. This is to provide customers the opportunity to identify and repair any leak or or other usage that would affect consumption.

This system sounds like a real good system that should be investigated by the city of Welland and any other municipalities experiencing the same problems with high water bills. I am sure the city of Welland and probably other municipalities are using any system that is vaguely similar to this and bears looking into.

Denistoun Street

I and a number of other local Denistoun residents have been after city hall for at least 5 to 7 years to have Denistoun Street resurfaced, new curbs for the entire length of the street,and poor sidewalks replaced. Over the past 2 months the street was finally cleaned up to what we asked.

over those many years.

I believe the true contributing factor in having this work done on the street was due to the street being named as one of the worst in Ontario by many of the residents in the densely populated Denistoun area. The voting was not packed, it was an accurate endeavor by all residents.The street eventaully made the top 10 list of the worst streets on Ontario.

The street is excellent due to the fine work of Brennen Paving and their very courteous workers.

Before the work was started on the street a petition circulated through out the entire densely populated Denistoun area requesting the city install proper signs and slight speed bumps to control the traffic. Denistoun Street is straight right from Lincoln to Main and with out those signs and speed bumps there is no doubt the street will turn into a speedway.

One must be made to understand Denistoun Street is a short cut to Main and is used by a variety of vehicles that endanger the lives of all of those children that live in the Denistoun housing sub division.We sincerely hope the city will listen to us and install the necessary safety equipment.

Flu Season

It is that time of year when we are advised to get our flu shots so I want to show you an article I received in regard to flu shots which I thought would interest the reader.

The following are the usual suggestions put out at this time of year to avoid the flu.

Eat Right

Make sure you get your daily dose of fruit and veggies

Take your vitamins and bump up your vitamin C

Get plenty of exercise because it builds up your immune system

Walk for at least an hour a day

Take the stairs instead of the elevator

Get lots of fresh air. Open doors and windows when ever possible

Try to eliminate as much stress from your life as you can

OR

Take the doctor's approach

The doctors clean your arm with alcohol because it kills germs

SO

Walk to the bar (exercise )

Put lime in your Coors and Vodka ( fruit )

Put celery in your Bloody Mary (veggies )

Drink outdoors on the deck ( Fresh Air )

Tell rude jokes and laugh ( Eliminate Stress )

Then pass out ( Rest )

If you keep your alcohol levels up flu germs can't get you

REMEMBER

A shot in the glass is better then a shot in the ass

Voter's List

In answer to anonymous' comment about the city's voter's list there is no doubt the recent voter's list for the past election left much to be desired.

I will explain the voter's list and how it is made up. First of all the voter's list is a list of people who can vote ( eligible electors ) for the 2010 municipal election. As it was noted by anonymous The Municipal Property Corporation ( MPAC ) prepares a preliminary list of electors through their enumeration efforts and then revises the list with the voter's assistance. According to MPAC'S web site a preliminary list was made in 2010 which brings up the question, why were so many mistakes and missing voter names?The City of Welland used this preliminary list for the voter's list for the recent municipal election.

A considerable number of eligible voting Wellanders did not receive voter notification cards and mind you those that did were informed by the city the cards had errors and would be replaced with proper new cards at the taxpayers expense.

Again anonymous was correct in stating a fair number of Wellanders do not own their own homes such as retired seniors and renters who in many cases live in apartments which means their names more then likely will not appear on the list of eligible voters. It is logical to presume these names are not available to MPAC. For example as quoted by anonymous there are voters in a number of 4-plexes through out the city who do not have their names on the voter's list because the owners of the 4- plexes are the only names listed and live out of town.

Considering all of the above is it any wonder the voter turn out was so abysmal to say the least?

Is it not fair to ask when the city intends to have such glaring errors corrected as there is a provincial election coming up in 2011. Now is the time to act, not when it is too late in 2011.

Back on my blog

After a long period of time of not writing on the blog I am back and hopefully will be able to write on a daily basis.

I've been writing for over 40 years to the media and up until the last 3 to 4 years I was printed until a number of my submissions were not printed with no reasons given.

My writings were on events that in most instances concerned events that did not appear in the local papers but were on events the public was entitled in knowing about.

I am interested in all political fields, health warnings, and sports.

I sincerely hope to hear from you.

Hydro Rates

Effective November 1, 2010 Hydro rates for those not on Smart Meters will be as follows; .064 cents per kwh for the first 1000 kwh and .074 cents per kwh for all kwhs over 1000 kwhs. Please!!!! make a note of the so called charitable cutback by Hydro as follows; .064 cents per kwh down from. .o65 cents per kwh for the first 1000 kwh as a substitute for the first 800 kwhs used per month and .074 cents per kwh down from .075 cents per kwh for all kwhs over 1000 kwhs used per month. According to the hydro residential customers using 800 kwhs per month will see a decrease amount of $ 2.80 per month on one's hydro bill. I happen to disagree with this decrease amount of $2.80 by showing as an example my most recent hydro bill as follows; My bill before the November 1, 2010 was 315 kwhs @.065 cents per kwh =$20.40 and the HST on that same bill before the decrease was $ 6.52. I took this same bill and substituted the new November 1, 2010 rates as follows; 315 kwhs @.064 cents per kwh = $20.16 and the HST would be $6.48. The total bill before the new rate was $56.71 where as the total bill using the new rate would be $56.33. The total difference in my case would be $.38 cents. Now I checked the delivery charges etc with rates supplied to me by the hydro and I don't believe there would be any changes in my final saving of $.38 cents.

Since the Hydro was so charitable with their decreases lets look at those rates on smart meters for peak periods in the upcoming winter from November 1, 2010 to April 30, 2011.

The peak period demands are more often than not 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. which as all know are when we have need of heat if you have electric heating. This is where we get hit between the eyes because the Hydro charges 9.9 cent per kwh used, lowered the rate for off-peak to 5.1 cents per kwh used from 5.3 cents per kwh used, and changed the rate for mid peak from .8 cents per kwh used to 8.1 cents per kwh used. The Hydro did nothing to the peak period rates and left it at 9.9 cents per kwh used in the time periods when one requires heat to keep warm if you have electric heating. I am forewarning all folks with electric heat if you want to be warm this winter be set to pay the price if one has a smart meter.

The Liberal party must get rid of the HST on electricity and be awake of the fact electricity is a prerequisite of life and not a luxury especially for all seniors who are on fixed incomes.

Freedom to vote

In the recent municipal election held in Welland, Ontario there were 38,957 registered voters entitled to exercise their rights to vote. When all of the votes were in and tabulated the figures showed out of 38,957 eligible voters only 15,845 of those eligible voters saw fit to exercise their rights in this democratic country with no fear of reprisal. Those who did not vote amounted to 23,112, 50 % more then the registered figure.

As stated, we live in a democratic country that allows each and every one of us the right to vote for who ever we see fit. Canada is the envy of many countries through out the world where the people live in fear for their lives on a daily basis and are not allowed a free vote with out reprisal.

When I look at the number of Wellanders that did not vote I have to wonder how many were women who obtained the right to vote in 1917 and the right to hold office in a municipal election in Ontario in 1919. In this recent election in Welland, Ontario 7 women ran for city council and only one was elected out of those 7. Those 7 ladies received the low sum of 4597 votes out of the 15,845 who turned out to vote. The question to be asked is how many of those 4597 votes were cast by women and how many by the men?

Let's face the fact the election turnout was pathetic. All of those men and women from the past who fought for the right to vote must be turning over in their graves realizing their hard fought efforts for change were for naught.

I sincerely hope those 23,112 who did not vote don't

have the gall to question and complain about how the city is run by the new mayor and council over the next 4 years.

The Charter of Rights stipulates very clearly a guarantee of freedom of expression and opinion. I sincerely hope those who did not vote try to exercise those rights.

John Deere

The following is an exert dated November 1 ,2010 from a Toronto National newspaper; " This company's exposure to global markets is impressive with divisions in many of the world's most spectacularly growing energy markets that include Brazil,Russia, India, and China.

This company's annual revenue growth in their products is 23% over the past 2 years hitting annual sales $ 18 billion (US ) IN 2009"

The company is John Deere, the same company that left Welland, Ontario for very questionable reasons such as the location of a proposed housing sub division, lost sales, loss of a US contract, going to Mexico for lower wages, and losing money. If one wishes to verify the financial figures go to Deere and Co on the Internet www.deereandco

Unbelievable to say the least.What ever the reason was for leaving Welland their financial report tells all by reporting the company is now just 19% away from a record high on the stock market.

Former Mayor Goulborne

It appears former Mayor Goulborne 's intention for running for Regional council was only to further his political career by stating at the mayoral debate he was interested in getting the Regional Chairman's position.

Recently it was revealed the Regional chairman's position would be looked at in December after nominations are received which included some nominations for former Mayor Goulborne It is hard to understand why would those nominate Mayor Goulborne when he was soundly beaten in his run for Regional council?