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2-Orono Weekly Times, Wednesday, February 6th, 1974 orono weekly times W i|einalSyste Second Class Mail Registration Number 6:68 l'ublished every Wednesday at the office of publiciation SUlRSCIllPTION RATES C'anada $O ...$3 editorial PLANNING IN THE REGION Mr. William McAdam, head of the Regional Planning Department, stated recently at a meeting with the Newcastle Planning Advisory Committee that in no way was there to be duplication of work between the eight planning districts and the regional planning department. This may be wishful thinking or an ideal dream on the part of the head regional planner. Most of the eight municipalities in the region are now asking that they continue to retain the planning aspect after the one year period. The Regional Planning committee concurs with this request and will so report to the Regional council who have the authority to delegate the powers of planning to the eight municipalities. If the regional council accepts the proposal then local municipal planning advisory committees will have the power to devise their Official Plans, to have some control over sub-divisions and other aspects of the planning proc.edure. Already they control zoning which Mr. McAdams pointed out in speaking to the local advisory group that many people say that those.that control zoning actually control planning. This point appears to be true as Official Plans are but guide and the power to execute these guides only comes about through zoning by-laws. The local municipalities having control of planning and the zoning would control planning in their specific areas and as such then the regional planning aspect would only be one to pass along judgement. No matter how one looks at it if one body develops the plan and the other passes judgement both must be knowledgeable and backed with professional staff. This is nothing more than duplication. Mr. McAdam also pointed out that the Durham Region was unique in the fact that regional councillors were also members of the local municipal council. He felt this would create a greater liason between the two centres of government and no doubt this opinion is right: On the other hand if regional councillors were divorced from the municipal scene they would not be so likely to delegate planning authority to the municipal levels of government. In Durham's case it is more than likely that the regional councillors will deligate the planning authority to the municipal level as they form part of that authority. The regional council have this decision to nake and it is to come before them possibly this week. The answer will. be interesting. If the decision is to hand off the planning authority it would appear that the first and outmost reason for regional government has been lost. LE DAIN SWAN SONG After alomost five years, the fourth and final report issued by the LeDain Commission of Inquiry into Non-Medical Use of Drugs is before the people of Canada. It will probably take another five years to determine whether the exercise was worth the cost, both in terms of cash ($4 million) and in time and energy. Certainly the final report contains something for everyone. It appears the LeDain Commission has taken the easy way out. They have scattered their recommendations throughout the 1148 pages. They have attached appendices and minority reports so lavishly so as to afford everyone his or her point of view. How long will the government detain any decision in the report no one has any means of knowing. Something however should be donc before the report becomes outdated and another one is felt necessary. From Alex Carruthers, M.P.P. Alex Carruthers, MPP, Dur- ham and chairman of the Ontario Select Committee on motorized snow vehicles and ail terrain vehicles reports from Queen's Park, the foi- lowing statistics as compiled by the Ontario Motor Safety League. 1. As of January 23, 1974, 29 persons had been killed this winter in Ontario as a result of motorized snow vehicles. 2. Of these 29 fatalities, 23 persons were killed on roads, but only 2 fatalities occurred on roads under provincial jurisdiction. Thus, 21 persons died as a result of a snowmobile on municipal roads. 3. Of these 29 fatalities, 20 persons died while snowmob- iling between the hours of dusk and dawn. Between 60 percent and 70 percent of all after dark deaths on snow- mobiles occurred after 11:00 p.m. Alex Carruthers, M.P.P. Durham, in a press release from Queen's Park, reports that the Ontario Development Corporation bas approved a performance loan in the amount of $100,000 to the Trillium Ceramic Tile Man- ufacturing Company, Inc. of Bowmanville. The President of this company is Mr. Antonio Poli-Capelle. Alex Carruthers Become Regional ?? The critics of Region Government are at work b the petty nature of th criticisms thus far indica that the ratepayers of th Region are not seeing th forest for the trees. The real problem facing ou elected representativesi whether they can fully cor prehend the 'regional concel that was the intent of Bill 16 If Regional Government ist break loose from the paroc ial approach, to governmen that it has thus far displaye some degree of leadershipi needed. The obvious place look for this much neede leadership is to our Chairma our Mayors and our Regiona Councillors. So far the on evidence of leadership and full comprehension of regio alism is coming from Cou cilior Des Newman of Whitb The Mayors of the two large municipalities - Oshawa an Newcastle have displayed COuncil meetings the kindo parochialism that can leadf only one result. If Mayon Potticary and Rickard con tinue to execute their narro view of the Regional scene th next election in the Durhan Wants Money For Newtonville BY SHELLEY LOUCKS The Newtonville Commun ity Hall Committee were ver optemistic, when they pri ceeded to work on th improvement of the commun ity building, without havin the money to pay for it. Mr. Wallace Boughen Newtonville came befor Newcastle Council to make request for this urgentl needed money. The $900.00 amount ha been in treasury of th Township of Clarke fora number of years following the sale of land in Newtonvill which was previuosly design ed as park land. Councillor Entwisle sug gested that the matter bE referred to both the Financ Committee, and the Com munity Services Committe for immediate action. St. Marys lu Phase "Two" BY SHELLEY LOUCKS St. Mary's Cement have presented Council with a progress report and are now ready to proceed with their second phase of the develop ment. It is reported there are seven phases in completing the total scheme at St Mary's. Town council continued dis- cussions with St. Mary's Cement Company on Monday evening, regarding the zoning of the land locating the quarry for the company. They car- ried a motion made by Con. Lyall that it be referred to the planning board. Representative of the Di- vision of Lands for the Ministry of Natural Resoure- es, S.M. Thatcher, came before council to advise and discuss the matter. al ut he te is he ur pt 32. to ýh- nt d, is to ed n al ly a nf- in- region will become a politi- cal struggle on party lines. Such a struggle fought with political overtones is surely not the concept that the Hon. John White and his advisers had in mind when they introduced Bill 162. Power struggles, do little for the populace except create bur- eaucratic monsters and raise the tax rate with few accruing benefits. It is perhaps understand- able that long time former Reeves and Mayors might accept this as the way a Region should operate. Mun- icipal government in the past was by its very nature confined by narrow bound- aries, and elected represent- atives could only work within those boundaries. A case in point was the successful political stance which Mayor Rickard took when opposing, the inclusion of the western ten lots of Darlington into an already cramped Oshawa. This was the first act contra-. vening the regional concept of government. It has set the tone for future decisions and battielines are drawn. It would be a worthwhile exercise if Councillor Des Newman could be persuaded (to take ours Mayors and Regional, Councillors aside and explain to them the real role of Regional Government. His attempts thus far to bring resolutions into Council that would formulate a Regional. approach, have been frustrat- ed by Mayors Potticary and Rickard and their loyal Coun- cillors. If we are to continue this approach to Regional Government, there was little point in dissolving County Councils. They accomplished the same thing at a much lower cost to the taxpayer. It is not the machinations of Regional Police Boards and Social Service Boards that will make Regional Govern- ment regional. It is truly regional thinking in overall planning, overall recreational facilities and an overall conservation authority that will accomplish this. None of these at the moment have a regional approach. There is presently little comfort in knowing we have a full complement of staff in a government whose leaders don't have a regional philo- sophy to direct it. S. B. Rutherford The way an environmentalist sees it by Warren Lowes y. NO. 6 POPULATION AND THE NUMBERS st GAME id If we were to ask the average Canadian i n to namne the number one killer of humnan of beings in the world at the present time, the t'O choice would most probably be made from rs such scourges as heart disease, cancer, car ,n- accidents or war. 'The correct answer )w however, is starvation. An estimated three e and one-haîf million people of this earth mn (mostly children) die from this cause each -year - and the number is increasing. This is one of the facts of life (or death), which should prompt an interest in population study. We have ahl heard of the term "population explosion", but,, since it does not yet impinge on our wellbeing in Canada, we are n-~ inclined to shrug if off as something that is 'y happening somewhere else. So, first let us oý look~ at the situation "somnewhere else", ie and then comne back to the scene in Canada. n Regardless of where mankind came from g9 be it the African cradle or the Garden-of Eden- it took more than a million years to of produce the first million people. By the year e 1650 A.D. world population had reached 500 al million. By 1850 (another 200 years) it had ly 'doubled. By 1930 it had reached two billion people, doubling in 80) years. Experts in 5~population studies predict that the next Sdoubling time will be only 35 years, bringing aus to the four billion mark. What is apparent efrom these -figures is that the population eexpands at a compound interest rate of i growth and that the doubling time comes at a dloser' intervals. When, you ask, will the world be full? And what happens then? 9- The "somewhere else" areas, we spoke of, )e are generally known as the undeveloped Scountries and they comprise such places as '~Latin America, somne African nations and e much of Asia. These could also be designated as the "starving" countries, and, unfortunately, the doubling time here runs to about 25 years. Too much togetherness means a diminution of the food supply; poverty goes hand-in-hand with illiteracy and illiteracy begets more squalor. But the urge to reproduce neyer seems to slacken; geneticists tell us that it is stored in the language of the genes. e In the final analysis, world population will acontinue'to grow as long as the birth rate v exceeds the death rate. So, in areas where rthe bîrth rate has outstripped the available -food supply, there are only two possible kinds of solution - one is to find ways to lower the birth rate, the other is to watch the death rate increase, through war, pestilence and famine. Since there has been no effective plan instituted to curtail birth rate, the alternative resuit is reflected in the 31/2 million starvation deaths per year referred toin the opening paragraph. Birth control methods continue to be hampered by poverty, ignorance and long established religious taboos, so the outlook for the "somewhere else" places looks pretty bleak, if flot hopeless. Lf this appears to be a gloomy prospect, *for the undeveloped areas, what is in store for Canada, one of the more fortunate *domains? To take a quick look at the wide expanse of *territory and its low population density (a mere 6 persons per square mile), one would almost jump to the conclusion that we are an uncrowded nation needing massive immi- gration to fill the vacant spaces. But, upon closer scrutiny of the facts, we may have some second thoughts. Arable land and moderate climate are the two key factors in sustaining human life, and on both counts our geography imposes limitations. The wide Artic regions and thi Mid-Canada Corridor can support a limited number of people, it is true, but the growth potential of the soil is quite finite and its ability to absorb wastes is almost non-existent. Even if large quantities of the food supplies were brought in, the problem of garbage disposal is even more perplexing than it is in the South. A particularly rugged breed of -people is needed to populate cold weather zones and it would appear that this stock too is quite finite. To illustrate this point we have only to examine where the present population has already chosen to settle. The Prairie provinces are only sparsely populated though the land is quite productive, the main reason being that climatie conditions are not sufficiently cosy. This situation ais, pertains in many rugged areas of the Atlantic provinces. But, if you draw a 50-mile wide corridor to extend from Quebec city through Montreal, .Kingston and Toronto to Windsor (only 1 percent of Canada's total land area), you will find over 60 percent of Canada's total population crowded into this corridor at a density of 350 per square mile and increasing. So it looks as though we are trying to kid ourselves about populating the Artic. There are political pundits and advocates of booming business enterprise who would like to see' the population of Canada mushroom to fifty million people without delay. Many of them operate from finely appointed offices in the temperate zone, they winter in the tropics and plan to populate the Arctic with almost everybody else but themselves. But, suppose these ambitions were well founded, and it became possible to settle fifty million people in Canada on the rocks, muskeg and tundra, bas anybody determined how the-population is going to be stopped at fifty'million after we have arrived at that magic figure? We have Asia and Latin America.as living examples of the tact that people production cannot be just turned off and on like a spigot. At this point, we see a definite cleavage in thinking patterns; the business fraternity, true to tradition, think in terms of quantity while the environmentalists must concern themselves primarily with the quality of life. Is the environment to be concserved for maximum benefit to generations yet unborn, or is it to be exploited for the here and now? Judging from recent reports of diminishing fuel resources and metal supplies, these are two important view- points to ponder. Shall we permit our population to zoom to fifty million, or shall we try to stabilize it at about half that figure while it is still possible? To an environmentalist, the fact that 50 million people would be good for business in Cnada only tends to prove that what is good for business is not necessarily good for Canada. It's a different way of thinking.