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PAGE A4 ♦ THE CANADIAN STATESMAN ♦ June 14,2006 Tim Whittaker Publisher Joanne Burghardt Editor-In-Chief Chris Bovie Managing Editor Fred Eismont Director of Advertising Eddie Kolodziejcak Classified Advertising Manager Kirk Bailey Distribution Manager Lillian Hook Office Manager Janice O'Neil, Cheryl Haines Composing Managers Todd Blayone Interactive Media Manager Clarington's Award-Winning Newspaper Since 1854 ®je Canadian Statesman ■ ■ JUNE 14, 2006 uumcimrey iun.com Phone 905-579-4400 Classifieds 905-576-9335 Distribution 905-579-4407 General Fax 905-579-2238 Newsroom Fax 905-579-1809 E-Mail newsroom@durhamregion.com 865 Farewell St., Oshawa ON L1H 7L5 Publications Mail Registration No. 07637 infodurhamregion.com EDITORIAL e-mail letters to ncwsroom@diirhamrcgion.com New nukes a reliable energy source Faced with no other realistic realistic choices, Premier Dalton McGuinty has made the only decision lie can with regard to Ontario's energy future: We are going ahead with new nuclear reactors. The Province is facing a clear crisis with energy demand -- boosted by population and economic growth - which is on pace to outstrip supply in the very near future. Combine expanded power requirements with 15 years- of do-nothing energy policy by all three major provincial parties and you have a disaster just waiting to happen. Ontario certainly got a wake- ■ up call with the great power outage of August 2003. While that massive blackout was not directly caused by a lack of supply supply here in Ontario, it alerted everyone to the fragility of our energy options and the strain • under which the system was placed. Boiling hot temperatures last summer only reinforced the need to create more supply. Consider too that no new energy production facilities have been constructed since the early 1990s and look at the years that were wasted as we waited in vain for refurbishment in Pickering Pickering and it's easy to see that we need action now. -■ While nuclear reactors are incredibly costly to build and replace, they run efficiently at a fairly low price, once they BACKWARD GLANCE Darlington G.T.R. Station are in operation. Clarington is an ideal site to place new reactors reactors because it already has the location and infrastructure for expansion. Time is the enemy here. We're looking at 12 to 15 years between the decision to build and the day when power flows from a new reactor. And with Ontario's current current stable of reactors winding down over the next two decades, the Province must get down to it immediately. New nuclear reactors reactors constructed over the next decade will only replace what we are currently using. We'll have to find a blend of conservation conservation measures combined with other sources of supply if we are to adequately meet our future requirements. Certainly other options might be considered. Wind power is used to great effect in many European European nations. In addition, energy . can be generated by incineration of waste -- something studied by Durham Region staff and politic cians on a recent, trip to Europe. That is another option we could consider. Australia is looking to. produce 25 per cent of its energy needs through solar power. We can and should look at all these electricity possibilities in future. But for now, we know how to build nuclear and we must surge forward to make sure we aren't powerless in the decades to come. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR c-mail letters to newsroom@durhamrcgion.com Home owner appalled by property tax hike Photo supplied by Clarington Museum and Archives The Darlington G.T.R. Station was located south of Cour- -Ü tice. Grand Trunk was the first railway in the area. Its line Î opened in 1856. Today it is called Canadian National Rail- ; way. To the editor: I am appalléd by the recent property tax hike. It is an increase of 50 per cent over two installments. I am sending # this message out to the Municipality of Clarington wondering when we are going to see an increase in the amount of services avail- able since property taxes are to fund community service projects, projects, refuse collection and recycling? recycling? The cost of living in the region does not correlate to the grotesque grotesque increases in property taxes. Who makes these decisions decisions and what authority do they have? We the taxpayer deserve an answer. Accountability is key in democratic politics. Two children in university. Employed in the area. Proud homeowner. Janet Pollet . Courtice Vandalism frustrates resident To the editor: Once again the loser punks are at it again in Courtice. Driving my bike on Thombufy Street, less than a block on a Sunday Sunday morning I noticed a broken patio light smashed on the road, a huge rock rolled out of its place onto the road and my neighbours wired patio lights ripped out of the ground. I am sure if I drove any further I would have seen a lot more damage. I witnessed this same type of damage last summer and had several thefts from my property, I really would like to know what can be done about this. Since there is no police presence in this area, I guess the community will have to take the law into our own hands somehow. That boulder rolled onto the road could have killed someone. Frank Van Roessel Courtice Cancellation of child-care meeting unfortunate To the editor: The City of Oshawa scheduled scheduled a public meeting to allow the public to discuss the threatened threatened cancellation of. the early learning and development (child care) agreements between the federal and provincial govem- . ments for May 24, 2006. These agreements have given up to $1.2 billion to all provinces for the expansion of much-needed early learning and development (child care) for working parents and more funds were planned. In Durham, 669 children received subsidies for . early learning and development (child care) from this new federal federal money in 2005. In addition, plans were being made to serve many .of. the children on the waiting list. In Oshawa, only 17 per cent of children currently access a licensed early learning and development (child care) space. However, the meeting was cancelled because none of the federal politicians would appear on the, panel for the City. We all appreciate that our MPs are very busy, but according to the Region, there are 967 children on their early learning and development (child care) wait ing list, and the current service to the 669 children is in jeopardy. jeopardy. You would think at least one of the local MPs - Jim Flaherty, Colin Carrie or Bev Oda could have found the time to discuss the needs of 1,636 children -- 967 children on the waiting list and 669 children who may lose their space. Ron Dancey Oshawa Lovely robins can turn scary! To the editor: A robin built its nest at the front of our house on a wreath by our front door. We are prisoners now! We can't use our front door as both robins will swoop down on .us. The little babies are there now and so cute! I'm afraid though when the babies are old enough to fly away, we'll then take the nest down. I keep • telling the robins we were here first, but apparently they don't listen! Marg'MacDonald Oshawa LETTERS We welcome lettersthat include name, city of residence and • phone numbers for verification. Writers are generally limited to 200 words and one submission submission in 30 days. We decline announcements, poetry, open letters, consumer complaints, congratulations and thank you notes. The editor reserves the right to edit copy for length, style and clarity. The newspaper newspaper contacts only those people people whose submissions have been chosen for publication. FAX: 905-579-1809; ' E-MAIL: Newsroom ©durhamregion. com. We shouldn't follow examples of intolerance ! The recent sensational arrest of an alleged "homegrown" terrorist terrorist cell within the Greater ' Toronto Area inevitably leads to countless questions about the kind of Canadian society we've created. How could young men, most . of whom were born in Canada, come to despise the country that has offered them so much freedom freedom and choice? Why would they want to kill innocent people? people? Such questions have become routine in Europe where terrorism terrorism seems, regrettably, almost a way of' life. And sometimes, to try to grapple with these problems, problems, you have to look closely beyond your own borders to see how the terrorist threat is handled abroad. . A chilling report'by the CBC recently aired, It look reporter Mark Kelley to two particular Tim Kelly Muslim terrorist hot spots, England England and Holland, where Mr, Kelley spent a week interviewing interviewing local citizens, activists and politicians. What it revealed was a frightening look at how events in the modern world can spiral into a xenophobic web of hatred, racism and intolerance. In England, for instance, an anti-immigration, anti-Muslim party, the British National Party (BNP), has sprung up in recent years, fueled in part by the London London Underground bombing of a year ago. Fifty-six people died when a couple of tube stations and a bus were blown up by four suicide bombers, three of whom had been born and raised in England. There is no easy way to describe the BNP other than to say it appeals to the worst instincts in people. It is an anti- multicultural, pro while Anglo Saxon party which believes all would be well if the clock could be turned back a century (or two). It preys on the fears of the English middle and lower class and openly rejects the Islamiza- lion of Britain. And it is gaining in strength, Holland seems to be moving even more rapidly to alienate alienate and divide its population between Muslims and everyone everyone else, There is a move 1o ban wearing the burklia in public, public, the covering devout Mus lim women don as part of their observance of Islam. Potential immigrants arc shown à video promoting Holland's values and must lake a test to show they're Dutch. Politicians openly talk about slamming shut Holland's borders to Muslim immigrants. There arc also parties in France and Germany who make no bones about where they stand, They arc violently against anybody anybody who doesn't fit into (heir while bread philosophy of the , world. They don't even attempt to be subtle about it. You get the feeling some of these leaders leaders would carl Muslims away in cattle cars and send them to concentration camps if only they could gel away with it, The message by English and Dutch xénophobes for Canadians Canadians is simple: "You may not be ready to go as far as we have gone, but just wail, you will in (he future," That's a message I personally want nothing to do with. We don't have much to learn from Europe, a continent that, in the 20th century, will be infamous for wars and genocide. Here in Canada, we have our own issues with the way we have treated our First Nations people and with our English- French differences. But those are problems we arc working out and dealing with, in a peaceful, peaceful, civilized way. I'd suggest the same approach of tolerance, education and openness is the way we must deal with Muslims - or any other immigrant group -- in our midst, Canada can find a humane way, even if Europe can't or won't. Copy editor Tim Kelly's column appears every other Wednesday, E-mail tkelly@diirhamre}>ion. com. CLICK AND SAY Today's question: Do you think more nuclear builds within Durham Region and possibly Clarington Clarington is a good thing? Yes No Cast your vote online at infodurhamregion.com Last week's question: Are you worried about a terrorist terrorist attack taking place in Durham Region? No 32.4% Yes 67.6% Votes cast: 527 HAVE YOUR SAY Are you worried about a terrorist terrorist attack taking place in Durham Region? Ingrid Humphreys "I think the government js ' aware of the issue but they have to be more diligent." Sharon Morgan "CSIS keeps all their activities so private, how can anybody know what's happening until they make an arrest." Don Ransberry "I think we're doing more than enough. I don't think the threat is all that real anyway." Oswald Mathurin "I don't think so, we are not looking properly at the individuals individuals that are spewing the hatred message, especially the younger generation." The Canadian Statesman i one of the Metroland Printi Publishing and Distributing group of newspapers. The Statesman is a member of the Bowmanville Claringtor Board of Trade, the Greate Oshawa Chamber of Commerce, Commerce, Ontario Community Newspaper Assoc., Canadian Canadian Community Newspapt Assoc., Canadian Circulations Circulations Audit Board and the Ontario Press Council. The publisher reserves the right to classify or refuse any advertisement. Credit for at vertisement limited to spaa price error occupies. Editor and Advertising content of the Canadian Statesman is copyrighted. Unauthorized production is prohibited. Aocna ^ (*CNA