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PAGE 4 THE CANADIAN STATESMAN, FEBRUARY2,2000 & Opinions FOR 146 YEARS, OUR FIRST CONCERN HAS BEEN OUR COMMUNITY Publisher - Tim Whittaker Editor-in-chief - Joanne Burgliardt Managing Editor - Judi Bobbitt Advertising Manager - Brian G. Purdy Advertising - Laverne Morrison, Sharon Goodman Office - Junia Hodge, Nancy Plcasancc-Sturman Editorial - Brad Kelly, Jennifer Stone, Jaequic Mclnnes Elbe Carabtan IstateSman Former Publishers and Partners Rev. John M. Climic and W.R. Climie 1854-1878 M.A. Janies 1878-1935 • Norman S.B. James 1919-1929 G. Elena James, 1929-1947 • Dr. George W. James 1919-1957 John M. James, 1957-1999 Produced by Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd. Also Publishers of CLAR1NGTON THIS WEEK P.O. Box 190, 62 King St. W„ Bowmanvillc, Ontario L1C 3K9 TEL: 905-623-3303 FAX: 905-623-6161 HOURS: Monday to Friday 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Intcrnet-statesmn@durham.net Publications Mail Registration No. 07637 EDITORIAL Our farmland must be protected Durham Region council can't allow further losses It's often taken for granted, if not considered at all when citizens citizens or politicians think of Durham Region. But it's a vital part of our regional economy, a life-giving source for us all. It's Durham Region's farmland and it's been shrinking by thousands of acres since 1976. Durham can lay claim to being the breadbasket of the Greater Toronto Area. But,- according to Margaret Walton of. the Federation of Agriculture, GTA "farmland is under threat." Since. 1976, a total of 51,000 acres of agricultural land has been lost in Durham Region. That land is gone forever. From 385,000 acres of farmland, the region now has just 336,000 acres. It's a worrisome trend - a total of 150,000 acres of farmland farmland across the GTA, 17 per cent of the total amount, has been lost since 1976 has been lost - and it can't be allowed to continue. continue. Developers, eager to continue to expand north, have made pitches for zoning changes and have offered farmers big cheques for their land. The temptation can be difficult to resist. With plenty more land further north and especially in the eastern eastern part of the region, politicians can be swayed into believing more development is fine. There's always more farmland to go around. But that would be a big mistake and one that cannot be changed down the line. Ms. Walton gives Uxbridge, Brock and Clarington top marks for digging in and preserving farmland in their municipalities. municipalities. Scugog also rates well but Whitby, Oshawa, Pickering and Ajax, the four southern Durham municipalities where development development since 1974 has been heaviest, have steadily lost farmland. Ms. Walton made the strong case that 35,000 GTA jobs are dependent on farming. In addition, farmland is cheap to maintain, with a cost of just 21 cents to service per acre. The cost to service an acre of urban land is a whopping $1.14. Quite literally, farmland offers more bang for the buck and must be maintained. The Province can offer assistance.,When it designates land as agricultural, "developers pretty much leave it alone," says Whitby Mayor Marcel Brunelle. v " \ It's incumbent on regional councillors to make the case to federal and provincial politicians that farmland locally is worth saving. It's a message which must be forcefully delivered. We welcome your opinion. Please E-Mail your comments on our opinions to nnews@durham.net. Submissions which include include a first and last name, as well as the community of residence, residence, will be considered for publication. Be a champion and go bowling Big Brothers of Clarington could use your support Even if you're not an all-star bowler, you'll be a champion champion by taking part in Big Brothers of Clarington's annual annual Bowl for Millions. The event kicks off Monday, Feb. 18 at Liberty Bowl, on Baseline Road in Bowmanvillc. The local Big Brothers chapter hopes to raise as much as $25,000 to support the organization's mentoring programs. Because Big Brothers is a non-profit agency, the community's support is absolutely absolutely vital to the group's continued support of the children children of Clarington. Taking part is easy --- just get together four to six of your friends, family or co-workers, and call Big Brothers Clarington office to book a bowling time. Or, easier yet, find someone who is already taking part and offer a pledge. Year-round, Big Brothers' core of volunteers takes the time to make the lives of local children a little better. Now, that group is asking you for a couple of hours of your time or a few dollars from your pocket. Be a champion champion -- give Big Brothers a call. LOOKING BACK WITH THE STATESMAN 25 YEARS AGO Jan. 29,1975 Town planner George Bowden recommended the town hire additional planning staff to help handle a two-page list of subdivision proposals, shopping plazas, single lot severances, severances, commercial and industrial proposals awaiting approval. approval. The recent amalgamation to form the Town of Newcastle (Clarington) left the town without an official plan. 50 YEARS AGO Feb. 2,1950 The town of Bowmanvillc was to be canvassed by the ladies of the Home and School Club, to prepare for an upcoming upcoming tuberculosis X-ray program which was to take place at the Lion's Hall. 75 YEARS AGO Jan. 29,1925 Readers of the Statesman received the following warning: "Worms sap the strength and undermine the vitality of children. children. Strengthen them by using Mother Graves Worm Exterminator Exterminator to drive out the parasites." Information taken from the archives of The Canadian Statesman. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR University east of Toronto is needed To the editor: As you are well aware, Durham University Centre in Oshawa is spearheading a drive to see a fully accredited university located in Durham Region. With the growth in Ontario, the GTA in particular and Durham Region specifically, specifically, it's high time for this facility facility to be located here in Durham, on land already in place for it. There are many reasons for this to happen. With new knowledge driving the economy economy we must offer university facilities not just for Durham Region but for all of Ontario. The resultant direct related prosperity and good jobs arc most important. Many other indirectly related related spinoffs will occur as well. We in Durham Region feel very strongly that areas east of Toronto have been unfairly treated with regards to fair distribution of educational dollars used for upgrading of present facilities or establish ment of a new university. In respect to the latter, it's shocking to discover $10 billion billion is allocated to facilities west of Toronto while none is allocated east of Toronto every year. Is it not about time to realize realize there is a real world east of Toronto and more equitable distribution of these funds is necessary? It is my sincere hope, and the hope of many others, that concerted efforts will be made to ensure the university's support support pendulum will swing both ways. Harry Hudson Principles? What principles? It's a shock when a politician keeps his word Few politicians quit because because their parties broke a promise - in the Ontario legislature legislature you can count maybe two in half-a-century. Progressive Conservative MPPToni Skarica has become the second and earned a niche worth having in legislature history. Mr. Skarica had been told by his party headquarters communities in his riding would not be forced into an enlarged Hamilton and campaigned campaigned on this in last June's election, but a few months later the Tory government started a process to merge them without any real consultation. consultation. It was a clear case of a party making a promise to help win an election and breaking it and Mr. Skarica felt to his credit he could not go along with it. MPPs like to talk of their high principles, but while some have quit parties or the legislature over the years, they rarely did so because of any principle. Annamarie Castrilli, who had sat as a Liberal, ran for Premier Mike Harris's Tories in June declaring she had read his platform and was swept off her feet by it, but the real story is more prosaic. Her riding was merged with another and Mrs. Castrilli Castrilli failed to get nominated in it so she petulantly quit the Liberals Liberals for the Tories, but did not win anyway. Alex Cullen also left the Liberals and ran for the New Democratic Party, but this was not because he saw any great light, but because his local Liberals felt lie was too prickly prickly and did not pick him to run again. In 1993, New Democrat Peter North left his party, then in government, to sit as an independent, independent, explaining lie felt the NDP would make a difference difference for working men and women, but it had not come through. A more realistic version is lie was disgruntled because the party dropped him as tourism minister over allegations allegations lie had an affair with a barmaid and offered her a government job and, after police police laid no charges, never put him back in cabinet. John Sola, around the same time, left the Liberal caucus on a far from lofty principle. Mr. Sola, of Croatian descent, did his bit to soothe the Balkan conflict by saying lie would not live next door to a Serb and the Liberals told him they did not feel comfortable sharing the same office. David Ramsay quit as an NDP MPP in 1986 and joined the Liberals, explaining he never really had been a socialist, socialist, but had the added inducement inducement the Liberals were in government government and quickly made him a minister. Tony Lupusella left the NDP that year and joined the Liberals, but this was one more case of being shoved out, His riding was merged with another and the NDP hierarchy hierarchy gave the nod to run there to house leader Ross McClellan. J. Earl McEwan quit the Liberals in 1984 for the governing governing Tories, claiming he shared their views, but the Tories Tories planned to run a strong candidate against him and by becoming their sitting member member Mr. McEwan got the Tory nomination instead. Marvin Shore left the Liberals Liberals in 1976, saying he never felt at case with their policies, and joined the Tories, but the Tories had privately offered him a job in government, which he was glad to take when defeated in the next election. Ron Knight also quit the Liberals in 1969 without first telling his party and sat as what he called a 'free' rather than independent MPP, which symbolized his attitude: he was difficult to get along with. You have to go back almost half-a-ccntury to find any MPP before that quitting his party. The only other MPP in recent recent years others than Mr. Skarica who could truly be said to have left on principle was Dennis Drainvillc, a New Democrat, Reverend Drainvillc, an Anglican priest, opposed his own government in the early 1990s when it brought in casino casino gambling desperately trying trying to raise revenues in a weak economy. This was a reversal because the NDP had opposed gambling gambling as a tax on the poor and Rev. Drainvillc said premier Bob Rac betrayed his party. Rev. Drainvillc sat briefly as an independent before quitting quitting and running as an independent independent in a federal election in 1993, unsuccessfully, but honesty such as his and Mr. Skarica's is a reward. Zoning bylaws a heartbreak for family Jacquie Mclnnes Staff Writer If my own children happily invite me to enjoy a granny flat in their backyard in my golden years, I'll know I've been a good parent. Marg Stuart's kids love her and her husband that much. In fact, Marg's son and his wife renovated an apartment above the garage on their large Bow- manville property for the couple. The other set of in-laws, the wife's parents, already inhabited an apartment within the home. Each family has their own space on the expansive Hwy. 2 property but they are close enough to enjoy each other's company and the economics of shared accommodation. Granted, multi-generational living isn't for everyone but for the Stuart family, family, it works nicely. Mrs. Stuart speaks fondly of evenings when her grandson joins her for their favourite television program and the times when the kids walk across the yard just to say hi. The Stuarts sold their expansive house and property in Whitby after Mr. Stuart suffered a bout of serious illness. They pared down their possessions to suit the more modest needs of the apartment apartment and gave their children some of the money they earned from the sale of their home. It was a perfect situation for everyone. But, all that changed when someone, they're not sure who or why, felt it necessary necessary to report the apartment to the Clarington bylaw office, which in turn was required to investigate whether the family was in violation. Indeed, they are. The property, which is on a well and septic system, is only zoned for two families, not three. Regardless Regardless of the fact that everyone living on the property is related, the garage apartment is considered a third dwelling, says Bylaw Officer Len Cramer, "What difference would it be from having a big family in the one house?" wonders Mrs. Stuart. The bylaw mling means, unless the Stuarts were willing to take their chances on receiving rezoning approval and an official plan amendment -- a process the family has been told offers no guarantees and a hefty price tag -- the Stuarts must move. "From our standpoint, we had no choice," says Mr. Cramer about the enforcement. enforcement. Gone is the $15,000 the Stuarts spent on the garage renovation, gone is the money and possessions they gave away when they sold their Whitby house. Left is a lesson on zoning regulations and the worry of caring for a new home, just purchased, on their own. , Ironically, Mr. Cramer notes, if the two apartments in the house weren't fully self-contained units, the Stuart's garage apartment would be allowable. How a detail so small could cause a heartbreak so large, she isn't sure, but Mrs. Stuart hopes others will learn from it and take heed. THE CANADIAN STATESMAN is one of the Metroland Printing, Publishing Publishing and Distributing group of newspapers, The Statesman is a member of the Bowmanville Clarington Clarington Board of Trade, the Greater Oshawa Oshawa Chamber of Commerce, Ontario Ontario Community Newspaper Assoc., Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc., Canadian Circulations Audit Board and the Ontario Press Council, The publisher reserves the right to classify or refuse any advertisement. Credit for advertisement limited to space price error occupies. The Canadian Statesman welcomes letters to the editor. All letters should be typed or neatly hand-written, 150 words. Each letter must include the name, mailing address and daytime telephone number of the writer, The editor reserves the right to edit copy for style, length and content. We regret regret that due to the volume of letters, not all will be printed. Fax letters to 623-616lor emailed to statcsmn@durham.net