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Page 6, Whitby Free Press, Wednesday, August 23. 1995 The only Newspaper owned and operated by Whîtby resîdents for Whîtby resîdents! MEMBER 0F: ®NA CANADIAN ONTARIO" COMMUNITY RFEDCOMMUNITY NEW$9PAPER N EWSPAPER ASSOCIATION. ASSOCIATION ISSN#0844-398X The Whitby Free Press is distributed free to 99% of the homes in Whitby, Brooklin, Ashburn & Myrtle as weIl as numerous public and commercial outlets in Whitby, Oshawa, Ajax, Pickering & Port Perry. 27,500 COPIES DELIVERED WEEKLY, MAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE Canada $34 + GST - Outside Canada $80 + GST Published every Wednesday by 677209 Ontario Imc. Box 206, 131 Brook St. N., Whitby, Ontario Li N 5S1 Phone: 668-6111 Outof town: 1-800-668-0322 Fax: 668-0594 Doug Anderson - Publisher Maurice Pither - Editor Alexandra Martin - Production Manager Printed on newsprint wit*h minimum 209/ recycled content using vegetable based inks. SAil written material, illustrations and advertising conlained herein is protected by copyright. Any reproduction by any means for commercial p urposes without the express permission of the newspaper is prohibited and is a violation o f Canadian copyright law. Reproduction for non-commercial distribution should bear a credit line to the Whitby Free Press. Tote edio.. Legal aid threatened To the editor: Re: Broakîin challenge ta MPP mom Issues I amn af the convictian that when one seeks the sympatby aofathers, this persan should disclose the enlire story. And this 1 feel Debbie MIcCauley has falled ta do. Her nheart-wrenchingn story describes her prght ta survive an Iess than $1 ,000 per manth, raisng a"mals and praduce ta put food on the table and her underpdvileged son. What Debble bas failed ta mention Is the tact that she currently or ln the recent past has cieaned bausesi 1amn sure she bas also faiied ta mention thls aW the welfare office as weil. On. other questian about Debbles stary la thai if sh. raises ber animais wlth the sole purpase ta put food *on the table then whyils there a sign saying nRabbits far Saleu at the To the edltor: Re: Letter, 'Wefare abuse.- by D.L French, Fr.. Press, Aug. 2 The ltter dld nat cite sources and contalned several errors. The falaWlng contalns Information which was obtained recently tram the department af socal services, income support division, in Oshawa. .D.L French stated that "Each year (mathers an wefare) have anather child and guarante. an increase ai appraximately $120 per week.* In tact, the maximum allawable increase amounts la $60 per cbild per week. This includes tbe child tax benelit, part af tbe governments Initiative ta flght child poverty, stili wldely acknawledged ta be a problem ln Canada. As weIl, instead af the '$2.400 per mantb' that D.L French states a recpient matber of tbree will receive, the actual amaunt is close ta $1 ,800 (maximum). Uf they are living in low- rent a=mmdation, their benefil ¶MII b. lower. h lis true, as D.L French stated, that redipients can collect lwo cheques in one manth - but anly if end af her drlveway?' 1 alsa flnd it bard ta belleve that the blond 0coaur ai Debble's bair Is her' natural cobour. To my knowledge hair dye is a somewhat expensive product. This, maney couîd be perhaps used ta send ber son toaa maviel Rl seems a me that Debbie McCau~ley leads somewhat" af a lavish hfestyle for someone ln ber positonlRis natnecessary for ber ta, liveaon this farm. There are accommodations ln Brooklin and Whitby that rent for slgnificantly Iess than $700 plus utilties per month. Uf she was ta do this she could get rid of bath ai her cars (the second car does not drive, nar can ft be driven. lt's Just rustlng away waiting ta, be tawed - 17 kilomnetres). rmn sure this wauid leave ber with a lot mare money ta survive an. Karen Rogers Brooklin the reaipient venufes that the firsi cheque was nat used ta pay the rent. They also- must verify their bank balance and-make a police repart ta show that the money from the first cheque was bast or stalen. As welI, recipients get a second cheoque once only - if iR happens again, they are out ai luck. Sa f raud le mare difficuli than D.L French implies. Our wefare system is not avenly generous, as D.L Frencb and many others believe. There will b. errors and f raud in any syatem - public or private. Cutbacks ta services for our Most disadvantaged people (especually children) are not the way ta figbl the deficit. i prefer talilve in a society where the poor are treated bumanely and the ricb pay their share af taxes, not where the poar just get poorer and get blamed. We would b. botter advised Io fight the deticit by demanding that ail companies, sucb as banks, wbo m*ie huge profits and pay no taxes, pay tbeir share. John Doleweerd Pickering To the edîtor: Attorney Generai Charles Harnick wili have ta flnd an effective way to, ensure the survival af legal aid. The PUrposeailegalaid estblshed by the PC ,gavernment of Premier John Robarts in 1966, is ta enabie people who cannat afford urgently-needed legal services ta obtain justice. Unfortunately, the legal aid plan has suffered abuse by a few litigants and repeat affenders, wha are indîfferent about the cast sa long as they are flot paying for It and by a few lawyers (1.4 per cent af the 6,000 wha. provided legal aid), who have made legal aid the manstay af their practices. The economy has also dvastaed the'plan by redtuclng funding while lncreasing the need for legally-aided services. Typloaliy, Iawyers are helping Ontadlos vulnerable and oppressed who require legal services. As a group, lawyers have made a very lare ontribution to legal aid, by teucngfes ta a fraction of private market rates and by contrlbuting ta the fundlng and administration ai the plan. The existing judicare system, under whkch a client wha qualifies for legal aid can select the iawýyer af chalce, Is desirable and the Attorney Generals support for it is welcome. W. recognize that some services af legal aidcouid flnd the resources to obtain legal services wihout gavemment assistance. Haweve, in the interests of access ta justice for, ail Ontanaris, funding for legai aid must b. maintained aÉ reasonable levels and the government shouid bite the builet" on the current shortialîs. If people of madest means cannot afford legal services, aur .'mrost Important democraitic Institutions suifer. Igor Ellyn Presîdent Canadien Bar Association- Ontario American doctor impressed To the edîtor: 1 wart taoemmend the Fire Department, Ambulance Service of Wbltby and the Wbitby General Hospital for a job well don., Sunday night Aug. 13. arn an Amenican Physicdan, travelling wlth my office staff and visltlng the Whitby/Taranto area for vacation. W. amrved in Whity follawting a 22-hour non-stop,. gruelling automabile drive al 8 p.m. on Aug. 13. One af my staff members, Pana Andrews deveboped a Ide threatening acute asthmatic attack which we were unable ta break on aur own. By 8:45 pm., she lost consdlousness and I I had not been for the compassionate, excellent care rendiered by your cxmmunity, she waul have died. She bas end-stage lung disease and bas been considered for a lung transplant. 8h. Is 36 yearsaold and wouldbhave died witbin 15-20 minutes if il had not been for th. Fire department, station #3, supplying oxygen, the immediate respanse af your ambulance service and close proximity af the hospital, without this aur vacation would have been disasterous. Upon aur arrivai in your Whitby Hospital emergency room, the nurses and physician gave full cooperalion and Pana miraculously walked out af there several haurs laler. W. have completed aur vacation and bad a wonderful Uime. Vaur compassion and competence wéiil b. warmly remembered and appreciated. 1 amn oencerned af the possibility that the Whltby General Hospital may b. clos.d. Panas Rte would have been bast because she could nat have survved a 20-minute drive ta the next baspitl. Wbltby provides a vital functian community.- General Please don't let Ibis faclty close. ln yaur Dr. Teresa. Allen Montgomery, MaU Bill 40 Iauded To the editor: Capy af leller ta MPP Jim Flaherty. Durham Centre As a constituent, It quit. dlsturbed me ta flnd out thal yaur government la planning ta repeal ENI[ 40, and ta water down and passibly close the Workplace Health and Safety A9enicy. Are you not aware that ta da this MIlb. ta once again place tbe ives ai workers in peril ai the hands ai their emplayers?. ln a candy apple world, employers can b. trusted ta guard the heallh and safety af their workers, ta tell them af the bazards they face, and not ta place them in danger each warking day. In the real warld, wbere the Ives af workers are welgbed against dollars ln the realm ai heatb and salety improvements, Bill 40 and the agency were the anly effective counterwelgbts. . Every year, workers are malmed and killed ta contract occupational diseases. Workers are nat selling their heatth and saety when they go ta wark, they are selling their labour. ft Is wrong ta ask that they lay down their Ives, and in some cases Ibeir communi"e and familles weffare (as in the case af Johns Manville in Scarboraugh), just ta earn a living. In the Workplace Healtb and Safety Agency, workers have a volec'e, They naw have more ai a say In their own healtb and salety. Employers and - specialists alone cannot make the, warkplace safe for our workers. Many employers would raiber save a few dollars *ralher than keep workers sale. Please use yaur paliticai clout ta, save Bil 40 and the workplace heaftb and safety agency. Most of your consfituents are workers, and flot the business people wbo stand ta gain fram these cuts. ht is unlortunate tha the average persan bas ta, pay for Premier Harris' vengeance againsi the wrking class. Susan C. Manley Whltby The Whitby Free Press welcomes letters to the editor on any subject of conoemn to our reaciers. Letters should be brief and to the point - rarely more than 300 words. Ail letters must be accompanied by the name, address and telephone number of the wniter. However, on request. your name may be .withheld from publication if we agree there is à validreason. The newspaper reserves the night to reject or edit ail letters. Send to: The Editor;, Whitby Free Press, Box 206, Whîtby, Ont. LIN 5S1, or drop through our mail slot at 131 Brock St. N. Lavish lifestyle Check facts first