Opinion TheReview Wednesday; June 13,1990 — A16 Heart and siroke patients benefit from program You go to the doctor because you have a cold. As part of his examination, the nurse takes your blood pressure. Before you know it, you are being told that your blood pressure is high — you have hypertension. If you are like most people, the diagnosis of heart disease is the most unwelcome surprise of your life. All of a sudden you are terrified. You’ ve read the media reports that heart disease is related to close to half of all deaths in Canada. Heart disease 1s Canada’s number one killer and you’ve got It. What do you do now? The doctor is talking to you, telling you what it all means and how this is going to change your life. You know it is important; you are trying to take it all in, but you can’t. Believe it or not, the average person retains only about eight per cent of the information they are told in the doctor’s office. Obvi- ously, in the case of a condition as serious as heart disease, eight per cent is not enough. The result is you go away from the doctor’s office feeling afraid and hopeless. For this reason the Cardiocare Patient Education Program was developed with the technical assis- tance of The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. Consisting of a series of booklets on dict, smoking, exercise, high blood pressure and angina, the program was designed specifically to help heart disease patients lear about their particular problems. The more patients are informed about their conditions, the better they are able to cope and the lower their chances of developing nega- tive emotional reactions, Produced with an educational grant from Nordic Laboratories Inc. of Laval, Que., the booklets are available to patients through their physicians. However, rather than stockpile and distribute the brochures to the paticnts them- selves, the doctors will enrol each patient into the program by filling oul a registration form. The patient will then receive the booklets, one by one, in the order requested by the physician. The less government involvement the better by Hubert Beyer Special to The Review VICTORIA — Three months ago, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business told the B.C. government to stop dis- torting the marketplace with hand- outs to businesses. Three weeks ago, the govern- ment responded by introducing a number of programs that will per- petuate the distortion. What I want to know is why the politicians continue to look at the economy as a very sick body in dire need of financial medication when a large part of the business sector keeps telling them to stop meddling. Here’s a brief rundown on the three programs which, according to the government, are “designed to encourage regional develop- ment, entrepreneurship, import replacement and diversification.” The Business Start Up Program will provide loan guarantees of up to $15,000 to financial institutions to support new small business starts. The money will be provided by local financial institutions. The Small Business Assistance program provides direct loans of up to $500,000 and loan guaran- tees of up to $100,000 to small and medium businesses involving value-added processing of resource-based commodities, export-oriented manufacturing and the high tech industry. And finally, the Business Expansion Program provides loans and loan guarantees to medium and large-scale business develop- ments. Direct loans are available to projects with capital costs exceed- ing $2 million to encourage manu- facturing and value-added proc- essing, the introduction of new products to B.C, the commercial application of advanced technol- ogy, and plant modernization. The program also offers loan guaran- tees of more than $100,000. In its submission to the B.C. government, the Canadian Federa- tion of Independent Business, rep- resenting more than 7,000 mem- bers in B.C. says loan guarantees are “the next most favored form of financial assistance,” but if the organization could have it its way, it would prefer the government “to do ASL alate ee Tae ene See ee ee ee oe “Projects should have demon- Strable net benefits to British Columbia in terms of income growth, employment, regional sta- bility and diversification of the economy,” the CFIB brief says. The federation says that access to business information is far more important than financial aid. Busi- ness information, including mar- ket advisory services, is critical to the successful operation and growth of a small business, the brief goes on to say. To that effect, the federation says, the B.C. Business Network and Supply Net are excellent pro- grams. To sum it up, the three new programs seem to be just on the edge of what the Canadian Federa- tion of Independent Business deems acceptable. At least they don’t provide for outright grants. Sull, guaranteed loans can eas- ily end up being grants. If the business fails, the financial institu- tion collects from the government which guaranteed the loan. It’s doubtful that the government will ever collect from a business that’s gone belly-up. I have always liked the approach the Canadian Federation of Inde- pendent Business takes towards government involvement in the economy. Less, not more is its motto. And if you want to know what too much government meddling in the economy can ultimately lead to, consider the bankrupt econo- mies of easter Europe. I repeat, less, not more government involve- ment, is the answer. ‘Guaranteed loans can easily end up being granis. If the business fails, the financial institution collects from the government which guaranieed the loan’ =o es es es ss ee ee | WITH THIS AD rem aca Budget WITHTHIS AD | qo 2440 BEVAN AVE. | a DISCOUNT CARS ae ern $1 95 iniseror 656-0551 | _later models DAILY Many completed Victoria Homes for you to view. Pecsenal Towel ee ma ax oe a NGS WHY “PAINT” YOUR HOME 15 YEAR WARRANTY SEE THE DIFFERENCE — FEEL THE DIFFERENCE SHOWROOM 3374 TENNYSON “Never Paint The Exterior Agel ) Grecleonsaton 308-6970 Dorman’s Carpet Cleaners e CARPET CLEANING * UPHOLSTERY CLEANING Owner Wilf Dorman gives personal attention to all orders 9570 Northlawn Terrace, Sidney, B.C. 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