The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 17

NEIGHBORHOODS B2 ACTION LINEB3 0 N0TICEB0ARDB8 (DXSffil. SECTION PAGES B1-B8 rn UJ By Ron Eade Citizen staff writer wa's combined property taxes and water surcharge would increase by 19 per cent this year. The massive increases are part of a 35-year, $700-million city plan to upgrade and replace dilapidated roads and sewers. Builders' concerns about rising costs for homeowners were echoed by Carleton Aid. Tim Kehoe.

He wanted the planning committee to strike a task force to examine Ottawa's crumbling infrastructure and explore alternate ways of paying for repairs. Kehoe consumers, builders said. "I can tell you quite honestly that we won't assume the cost," said J. Michael Noonan of Tartan Homes and spokesman for the Ottawa-Carleton Home Builders' Association. "Whenever municipalities increase the development charges the prices of new homes are bumped up accordingly, and the resale market goes up too," Noonan said.

Alan Gale, president of the Real Estate Board of Ottawa-Carleton, was also con cerned the increases will be passed to consumers. "That will affect affordability, certainly at the low-end prices." Gale said new-home buyers will be hit with a double whammy of increased development charges and higher taxes. Ottawa property taxes are up an estimated 7.8 per cent this year. An additional hike proposed for the city's sewage surcharge will go today before council's community services committee. If approved by council, Otta wanted to defer any increase in development charges for 90 days until the task force reported.

But Kehoe's motion was defeated by aldermen who said the remedial work was long overdue and couldn't be delayed. And they didn't think higher development costs are the root cause of growing construction costs. Alta Vista Aid. Darrel Kent said market forces dictate house prices. Until now, Ottawa's subdivision charges were the lowest in the re gion.

If the committee's recommendations pass through policy committee Thursday and council next week, levies on lots smaller than 6,000 square feet will jump to $1,850 a lot from $600. The new rates are expected to earn $1 million. Like subdivision charges, redevelopment fees were introduced in 1961 and have increased only once, in 1974. They earned the city $2.2 million in 1988. The increase will generate an estimated $3.75 million a year.

Builders warn Ottawa house prices could increase by $1,000 or more as higher fees for developers cleared their first hurdle Tuesday at city hall. The city's planning committee approved hikes that will triple subdivision and redevelopment charges. The levies haven't been touched in 15 years. If approved by council April 19, the new rates will take effect in July and be quickly passed on to OSSB trustees get $6,000 pay raise By Brad Evenson and Charles Lewis Citizen staff writers JWUUMIWUH mwnwuuu 1 11 w.LWnr. mmAm MWM vtV 'AwA-JUfc $15,000 is not out of line with the amount of work trustees have to do.

But Fina Lobo, chairman of the OSSB parent-trustee advisory committee is "quite upset over the increase." "They still haven't obtained facilities for our high school students. They should complete some of their tasks before rewarding themselves a raise," Lobo said. Kealey said trustees often put in 25 hours of OSSB work a week. But trustees who voted against the increase said long hours are just part of the job. "Besides, we've lost 40 per cent of our students," said Trustee Robert Allen, referring to the students who shifted to the new French-language board.

"I could certainly agree with a 10-per-cent (increase), but not any more." One trustee pointed out the OSSB has more trustees per student than any board in the region. This week's tax increase will add an extra $104 on the property tax bill of a home assessed at $7,000. One day after agreeing to raise taxes 10 per cent, Ottawa Separate School Board trustees gave themselves a 61-per-cent pay raise Tuesday. Salaries for the 15 trustees will rise to $15,000 from $9,165. Trustees voted 10-4 in favor of the raise.

It puts them in line with Ottawa Board of Education and French-language board earn about $16,000 and $15,090 respectively. Trustee Betty-Ann Kealey, who proposed the increase in trustees' thonorariums, said being a trustee is becoming a full-time job. "I looked at my day-book today and I counted 57 meetings that I've attended this year," she said Tuesday, the 101st day of 1989. The increase is retroactive to March 1. The money is to come from a reserve fund in the 1989 operating budget.

About $36 million of the board's $65-million comes from local taxpayers. Rhena Charland, president of the local Catholic teacher's association, said that the jump to He went that-a-way Ottawa police Const. Al Murray lends an ear to a lost bull ter- himself making friends. The owner retrieved the dog before rier in Lowertown. Murray was cautious at first, but found an animal control officer arrived.

Two-bit job: Quarter comes out dime-sized New Perley Hospital could go up on Smyth By Gordon Brown Citizen correspondent By Jane Wilson Citizen staff writer mint's policy is to replace defective coins if an error can be proven, he added. About 85 million quarters and 160 million dimes are produced every year. Speculation is that the dime slug somehow got mixed in with the quarter slugs before it was imprinted with the quarter face. Because it would be too expensive to inspect each newly-minted coin before releasing new batches, samples are taken and batches are accepted or rejected based on those findings, he said. Terry Frost, president of Capital City Coin said the coin is probably worth between $50 and $100.

A quarter is a quarter is a but not the one Paul Barrette of Hull picked up at his last visit to a bank for change. Barrette, who buys about $500 of quarters a week for the two stores he operates in Hull apartment buildings, found something unusual in one of the rolls of quarters he received April 1. Inside was a coin, dated 1989, with the imprint of a quarter a caribou on one side and the Queen on the other but the size of a dime. Barrette said the quarter was inside a roll wrapped in clear -John Major, Citizen Shrunken quarter likely worth at least $50 of manufacturing for the Royal Canadian Mint, said mint error coins are extremely rare. The plastic and containing other regular 1989 quarters.

Denis Cudahy, vice-president school property owned by the Ot-" tawa Separate School Board. The Perley is interested in the site for its redevelopment, slated to open in 1993, said John Moolen-beek, the hospital's director of planning. Early plans called for the project to build on land occupied by the Rideau Veterans Centre on Alta Vista Drive, a home for 150 veterans who will be transferred to the new hospital. But Ministry of Health officials thought the site was too small, Moolenbeek said. Meanwhile, a second group was drawing up plans to use the land for a medical technology park which would involve privately-backed drug and medical supply laboratories.

The park is backed by four health institutions the General, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, the Rehabilitation Centre and the University of Ottawa fac-. ulties of medicine and nursing. The 30-acre parcel in question is owned by the province. Sevigny said he has no idea what it would cost to assemble the extra properties and it's too early to say whether the project will come together. A site plan will be ready by the end of June.

Alderman wants arms sale at Lansdowne Park banned The aging Perley Hospital is hoping to build a new 454-bed centre on Smyth Road beside the Ottawa Health Sciences complex. Ottawa City Hall has stepped in to co-ordinate development plans for the new Perley and a medical technology park because both projects are interested in the same site. Planners for the two medical projects sought provincial approval for the use of a 30-acre site on Smyth. Each was unaware of the other's intentions as they were dealing with different provincial ministries. But the site isn't big enough for both, said Jim Sevigny, Ottawa's commissioner of economic development.

The Perley, now in Ottawa South, needs 20 acres and the technology park needs 30. Instead of competing for the land, they've decided to jointly try to enlarge the site, said Sevigny, who has been asked to co-ordinate the land dealings. They're interested in acquiring two adjacent properties, a 10-acre site owned by the National Capital Commission and a 14-acre By Mohammed Adam Citizen staff writer The demonstration will begin at Confederation Park and end at Lansdowne. At a meeting Tuesday in an Ottawa church hall, the coalition said it would petition city council to ban any such exhibitions on city property. Richard Sanders, a spokesman for the Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade, said the group is concerned about the sale of arms to countries and governments that have no respect for human rights and life.

He said countries like Chile, Argentina and South Korea have consistently violated human rights and yet will be given the opportunity to acquire more arms for the oppression of their people. Former Ottawa mayor Marion Dewar said in an interview that she is unhappy that such an exhibition will take place in the city on public property. "We could spend our time and energy thinking about how to rid the world of hunger and not on weapons of destruction." ARMX '89, an international arms bazaar, is to be held at Lansdowne May 23 to 25. More than 400 armament corporations from 16 countries will show off their latest products to more than 13,000 buyers and users from 60 countries. About 40 area companies and institutions are expected to participate.

A coalition of 75 area groups, ranging from Oxfam Canada to the Anarchist Circle of Ottawa, are planning a protest May 22. An alderman says he will ask Ottawa Council to cease renting Lansdowne Park or any other city property for international arms exhibitions like ARMX '89. "ARMX is a reflection of a bigger problem. We are becoming the national capital of the arms industry in Canada and I don't think it is good for the city and the community," said Riverside Aid. George Brown.

32-year stay in Canada gives woman no head start in gaining citizenship dd Christel Eustace to the list of unofficial Canadians in trouble because Canada's citizenship branch sticks to a policy that has only one set of rules for everybody.1 DAVE IT BROWN yffi $1 Citizen staff Christel is the wife of Don Eustace, minister of St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church in Ottawa. She has been in Canada more than 30 years, and married Eustace 12 years ago. She arrived in Canada in 1957. "I just wanted to see what it looked like.

I wasn't sure if I wanted BROWN'S BEAT to stay. I got my landed immigrant status and married. Then I guess I let my paperwork get sloppy. "My mother in Germany said she would be upset if I changed my citizenship." She had two children during her first marriage and now has three grandchildren. All are "I Jiff I Rev.

Eustace. "Imagine these people (bureaucrats) working at a conveyor belt sorting anything from eggs to diamonds. They refuse to take one out of the flow because it is in any way exceptional." In November, this column told the story of BUI Nettleton of Brockville. He was adopted at age one, brought to Ottawa and raised and educated here. He raised a family in the capital and took a job in New York City 15 years ago.

He recently retired and moved back to Canada and his cottage in the Brockville area. Oops, said the Department of Employment and Immigration when he tried to bring his car into the country. His parents hadn't straightened out his citizenship. He could stay in the country only on a visitor's permit, and would have to apply for landed immigrant status from the U.S. He was a Royal Canadian Navy war veteran.

The system bent on that one, and his citizenship problem was straightened out in three months. One can only guess at the numbers of people born in Canada who are going to run into the lineup problem. In remote areas, there were, and probably still are, many unrecorded births. Some of these people are going to run into problems on a job application or at a border crossing. There are probably even more unrecorded births among persons illegally in the country.

The process needs a sorting station somewhere near the start of the conveyor belt. Power shopping Pat Phillips makes swimwear and runs the busi ness out of her St. Laurent Boulevard home. Stock was piling up and she decided it was time for a clearance sale. Her business, called Creations Patricia, bought some advertising and the sale was set for March 15.

That was the day of an unusually heavy rainstorm. At 10 a.m. that morning, people started to line up in front of her home. At the same time, a rush of water headed down Nerta Street, turned down St. Laurent, and hung a left at her driveway.

It ran down the drive into the garage and flooded the basement. But it didn't slow the sale. "That was something to watch," says husband Bob. "Dozens of people were sloshing around the basement looking for bathing suits." The coupled scrambled to get anything that could be damaged off the floor. Rooms that had been set aside as changing rooms had to be abandoned because of almost eight centimetres of water on the floor.

Shoppers waded around the racks, found what they liked, and took them upstairs to try on in the bedrooms. Phillips says he was most impressed by a mother and daughter who found a way to speed up the system. They went into one of the abandoned dressing rooms and rolled up the carpet in such a manner that it was above the flood. Perched on the rolled carpet, they were able to try on swim suits. They bought.

j. 1 was told to call back after May 15. "He said there is such a backlog they can't take information, even over the phone, until then." Rev. Eustace tried a call. "Not only was I told to call back after May 15, but that call could accomplish no more than to arrange a meeting sometime after July 15.

I was given no hope the matter could be straightened up in less than a year after that" Circumstances are similar to those of Ike Hull, an investigator with the Aylmer Humane Society, whose story was told in this column Thursday. A native of Holland, she came to Canada 36 years ago, married, had children, and at one point was a member of the Canadian Forces. She wanted to become a special constable to add weight to her work, but would first have to produce citizenship. After testing the paper trail, she said: "To hell with it." She was told, in effect, to get in line with all other applicants. "There is no methodology in the system," says Eustace a job opportunity opened re- Paper chase cently, but it meant Christel would have to be a Canadian citizen.

She discovered her circumstances are regarded by the bureaucracy as no different than for a new arrival. There's a paper route, one only, to be followed. Getting a citizenship certificate would take well over a year. So she loses the job opportunity. She looked up the number of citizenship in the blue pages of her telephone book, kept trying until she got past the busy signals, and talked to a staff person.

She tried to explain her circumstances, but.