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University of Waterloo -- Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

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Wednesday, May 8, 1996

Money for co-op employers

What the Ontario government has dubbed a "Co-operative Education Tax Credit" was unexpected news in yesterday's provincial budget, presented in a long speech in the legislature by finance minister Ernie Eves. The new credit provides money to private-sector employers to help them pay the salaries of co-op students. The government will deduct from companies' taxes "10 per cent of eligible expenses" from co-op hiring, to a limit of $1,000 per student for each co-op placement, starting September 1.

"I would have to read the details," says Bruce Lumsden, UW's director of co-op education, "but certainly on the surface it seems like a wonderful incentive and promotes the concept of a partnership between the government, employers and the university."

Also from Eves's speech yesterday:

We are investing $57 million this summer to provide 29,000 summer jobs for young people. That's almost 5,000 more jobs than last year. In addition to helping young people meet their education expenses, these jobs provide a wide range of work experience. By giving young people a chance to gain experience and learn meaningful skills, we are helping to ensure that they will have an opportunity to lead productive and independent lives. . . .
To help make our education system more responsive to students' needs while keeping it accessible, the Province is working with the Government of Canada to develop an income-contingent student loan program. The objective of this program will be to make loan repayments reflect a student's earnings after graduation.
To encourage companies and individuals to contribute to funds for Ontario's students, every college and university will have the opportunity to establish an Ontario Student Opportunity Trust Fund. The Province will match any donation to these trust funds made after today and before March 31, 1997. Monies from each fund will be used to assist academically qualified individuals who for financial reasons would not otherwise be able to attend college or university. It is estimated that the Province will contribute $100 million towards this initiative, creating $200 million in trust funds. The interest on these trust funds will help provide a solid base of financial support for Ontario's students.

In addition, the budget introduced the first stage of Eves's long-promised cut in personal income taxes, partly cancelled by a "fair share health care levy" on people with higher incomes. A number of changes to corporate taxes were also announced.

"Perhaps the greatest compliment goes to a budget lacking surprises," says economist Mark Mullins of Midland Walwyn. "As promised, all taxpayers benefit, the progressivity of the system is steepening, and the vast bulk of the proceeds will land in the hands of the middle class."

About text and cyberspace

At noon today in the Theatre of the Arts, the Friends of the Library present their fourth annual spring lecture. Today's speaker is Frank Tompa of the computer science department. His topic: "Exposing Text -- How Questions for the Oxford English Dictionary Led to Answers for the World Wide Web".

Says Mary Stanley in the library office: "Dr. Tompa will provide an entertaining review of how work helping to produce a new Oxford dictionary for the 21st century, the largest dictionary of the English language, resulted in software which allows users to search the Internet for information. This text management software resulted in the formation of Open Text, a Waterloo-based company of which Frank Tompa is a founding board member."

Admission to the 12:00 lecture today is free.

Because there's no Gazette today

The Positions Available list is being circulated to departments today, as happens in weeks when there's no Gazette, and it's as short a list as it can be:

Electronic/Computer Technologist. Mechanical Engineering, grade USG 6. Technologist certificate at the community college level. Knowledge in digital electronics, sensor instrumentation and hardware computer interfacing. Capable of performing independent maintenance, setup and network functions of personal computers. Excellent communication, organizational and interpersonal skills.

More information: ext. 2524.

Also happening on this spring day

The "master copy co-op record" for co-op students who are on campus now, and will be looking for fall term jobs, becomes available at 10 a.m.
Registration for campus recreation instructional programs begins today, with registration tickets available at the Blue South lower level of the Physical Activities Complex from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Student Life Centre should be hopping today and tomorrow with beginning-of-term Clubs Days displays.
A reception runs from 3:30 to 5:30 today, in Davis Centre room 1301, for "the first wave" of early retirees from the electrical and computer engineering department. Guests of honour: Ian Blake, Leonard Chow, Roger Grant, Tom McEwan, Raymond Ramshaw, Peter Birkmann, Robert Henderson, Robert MacPhie, Joan Pache, and Raymond Wright.
Watsfic, the UW science fiction club, meets at 7 p.m. in Student Life Centre room 2135 to elect an executive and talk about the games Checkpoint Omega and Insecta ("a game of battling mutant insects" -- mm, can't wait).
The Graduate Student Association board meets this evening, and will officially choose some vice-presidents for the coming year. I'm told by Ryan English of the GSA that the announcement of vice-presidential titles that I reported in this Bulletin a few days ago was released prematurely. Three VP positions remain open, "and any interested full-time member of the GSA will be considered" at tonight's meeting.

Chris Redmond -- credmond@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
(519) 888-4567 ext. 3004

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