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Page 6. Whitby Fee Press, Wednesday, November 24, 1993 The only Newspaper owned and operated by Whltby resîdents for Whitby residents! MEMBER 0F: ~jONTARIO CANADIAN CONESPAPER APER COMMUNITY CQMMUNITYAPE ASSOCIATION ~ASSOCIATION ~ CANADIAN CIRCULATIONS CNA DIVISION AUDIT BOARD ISSN#0844-398X 26,500 COPIES DELIVERED WEEKLY Published every Wednesday by 677209 Ontario Imc. Box 206, 131 Brock St. N., Whitby, Ontario Li N 5S1 Phone: 668-6111 Toronto Uine: 427-1834 Fax: 668-0594 Doug Anderson - Pubisher Maurice Pither - Editor Alexandra Martin - Production Manager Printed on newsprint with minimum 200/W recycled content using vegetable based inks. C) Ali written material, illustrations and advertising contained herein is protected by copyright. Any reproduction by any means for commercial purposes without the express permission o the newspaper is prohibited and is a violation of Canadian copyright Zaw Reproduction for non-commercial distribution should bear a credit line to the Wiîtby Free Press. a eon h6"X marks the spot soth edor,, Parents do raise funds By Paul Pagnuelo, Ontario Taxpayers Federatlon It's the one sector where growth has been strong and rapid. According to a Fraser Institute study, the underground economy has skyrocketed from 14 per cent of gross dornestic product to 22 per cent over the past decede. Is it any wonder, as the hard-hit Middle class and small businesses seek ta, survive record taxloads? Politicians continue ta ignore the real reason why deficits continue to climb whiîe tax revenues are in f reefaîl. The answer is simple. High taxes are pushing more and more of our economy underground. Perhaps you know them. They're a middle-class couple in their late thirties, living in urban Ontario. Married with two children, he was a senior manager for a large manufacturing company. She was an entrepreneur wha had started her own retail business. Like other Canadians, they found themselves confronted with frozen incomnes and a rapidly escaleting tax burden. After a decade of asseult by al levais of governiment -- federal, provincial and municipal -- the tax bite had finally gotten tao much. Taxes were now gobbling up helf their family income. Lke other Iaw-abiding citizens, they stood by silent ly as they watched their financi al resaurces being sucked up by the tax-consuming public sector. eye reluctantly, but resetfully, declared ail their incarne. They paid the PST and GST. He paid big taxes ' for his smokes and weekly case of 2-4; so, too. when they f illed up the family car et the gas pumps. But after ail, this was Canada, and taxes were part of a 'special' quality of Iffe for a caring and gentle sacietyedytig ea And then onedytig ee to change. Hle lost his lob when his cornpany decided it would consolidate its operations in a lower-taxed, business-f riendty jurisdiction just south of the Ontario barder. Revenues were dropping off in her retail business, because she refused to deal for cash with no receipts. Then there were the little symbalic things that began to stick in their sides like a burr. Remember the $1.8 million in taxpayers' money paid out for that painting of a red stripe on a blue background? Or the failed lobs Ontario Plan that blew $1 billion the province didn't have? Then there were those sohool board trustees who vot ed themselves a 64 per cent inicrease but who, under public pressure, f inally relented and cut it back to only 36 per cent. Lately, ft seems governments are getting a smaller slce of their family income. This summer, the couple renovated their basement but didn't get a building permit, not only ta avoid the cost, but also to escae the increased asssessment which would have meant higher property taxes. They peid cash to avoid paying the GST on the contractor's labour. And she bartered the materials with the local building supply store in exchenge for gaods f rom her ownl retail business. He's now buying his smokes from e guy et the local bowling alley. Their clothes are now baught in Buffalo, but they forget to declare them ta those nice people eit Canada Customs. They haven't buen ta the beer store in over e year. They're now brewing their own in ths9 garage. They shop by mail order to avoid paying sales tax, anid the cleening lady gets paid cash. No GST, no doclered incarne. They're now playing that game thet millions of other Canadiens have came ta enay -- beet the taxman. l's what happons when governments go too far in their quest for more and more taxes. t's time for- aur politiciens to take a reality check. Canadiens need a tax break, now. OpÎwions expresed are those of the author. To the Edîtor: Re: Article 'Raise f unds for ice tirne* (The Free Press, Nov. 10). I take offence to Mr. Bruneîle's and Mr. Dolstra's assumption that Whitby ice-users are currently not raising funds for ice time. Many long hours are spent by bath parents and skaters in fundraising activities too numerous to mention. A good portion of these f unds are used to 'purchase' ice time. This is on top o f the $190 fee charged each chiîd playing house league hockey in Whitby. This does not include the waiting list of chiîdren wantin to purchase ice time (i.e. those kids the Brooklin-Whitby Minor Hockey Association (WMHL) just couîdn't find space for in its already overcrowded membership). These parents are wilîing ta pay the price, willing to get up at 5 a.m., wiîîing to volunteer their time to coach, assist, manage, drive... But Whitby, there is no ice for them. We are one of the lucky familles who have been given the opportunfty to choose this expensive Canadian pastime. I often weigh out the expense and time commitment by reasoning it is somewhat like a special education for my son. Despite some of '(ne bad news we hear about hockey, particularly et the rep leveï, there are good lessons these children are being taught, and not just how to put the puck in the net. They are learning about teamn play, respect for their coaches and referees, self-image and self-esteem. These are sound moral values that these players have a forum or opportunity to develop and practise. Mr. Doîstra and Mr. Brunelle, you must feel a responsibility to these famnilies for providing these opportunities. As parents and as a society, one of our most important goals is to produce children with high moralistic values. I believe this can be taught in the schools, churches, home and also on the ice pad. Ms. Longfield is quoted as saying "privete-sector- financing has not proven feasible.0-I would like some answers as to why. If a builder is wiîing to creete jobs here in Whtby by building, operating and maintaining an arena, why wouldn't Town council jump? Councîllors were elected to sit down and work out details such as these in the best interest of al residents, and then infarm and give the residents choices. Goose population controls needed To the Edîtor: Some years ago the concernied citizens, environmentaîists and wiîdlife advocates began campaigning for the preservation of many species of wildîife. Among these species was the Canada goose. From this support some ver excellent Iaws were passed which enabled this species to regain some of the numbers that they hed Iost due to human expansion and iI-considered use of chemicals. Whet they failed to do, however, was ta ensure that some controls were enacted that kept the numbers from becoming too great and which protected t hese great birds from the human desire ta make their Ife easier (ie. feed). One of the mervels of these birds was their migrations. We appear to be removing thet necessity from their lives and this can do nothing but weaken the species. They are remaining in Canada during the winter in increasing numbers. They are also taking over manly spaces in the inhabited areas of the country. As an exemple, look in the area of the Whitby haspital and its surroundings. There must bu hundreds of these beautiful fowl in that area et any given time, demanding their rite of passage f rom human transport and despoiling the sidewalks and parks with their effluent. To preserve the species we muet punish humans who continue to feed themn and hereby curtail their netural petterns af lde. We muet arrange thet their numburs bu controlled even if necesayb some method of culling. A ndwe muet insiet that the environmentalists and wildiffe ex rnants corne to the parks and publ ic areas and make themn haiable again by cleening up the effluent. W. J. Galg.r Whltby Nf it means giving a would-be private owner a break on land taxes for the first few years of operation or a good price on land to build on in exchange for a smal percentage in prof its (because isn't it true that the Town arenas are money-Iosers?), .agaîn I ask, why wouldn't Town council lump? I wvouîd like to remind counicil that Brookîin lasîated for a major population growth. Where wili these families go skating? As I put my pen down, I wouîd like to remind Mr. Brunelle, Mr. Doîstra and Mr. Batten I arn off to pick up the phone to organize a poinsettia. Christmas fundraiser for my son's hockey team. Like many othier parents invoîved in minor hockey, we are wilng to raise funds for ice time, just give us a locat ion. Brenda Singler RR1, Ashburn Hats off to promnoter To the Editor: We woukf like to thank the Whtby Free Press for featuring concert promoter Peter Jacobs of Whitby and his efforts to bring Gerry and the Pacemakers to Oshawa. As a result, we bought tickets and had a fantastic time, along with the 500-plus people who attended the Nov. 9 concert. Just for a few hours, there were a lot of 16-year-old minds trapped in fiftyish bodies. Hals off to Peter Jacobs, and we hope he succeeds in bringing more*acts to th1e area. Tom and Am Vanderstoop Whftby BIA letters In the Iast few weeks, the Whitby Free Press has pub- ished a number of letters op- posed to the current BIA and none in favour. A few pro-BIA businesses have accused the Free Press of suppressing their side of the Issue. The Whitby Free Press does flot censor letters on local issues unîess they are libel- lous. To date we have received no letters which favoured the Beat the taxman f -P