The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

PAGE 4 THE CANADIAN STATESMAN, October 16,2002 www.durhamregion.com Tim Whittaker Publisher Joanne Burghardt Editor-in-Chief Chris Bovie Managing Editor Judi Bobbitt Regional Editor Fred Eismont Director of Advertising Eddie Kolodziejcak Classified Advertising Manager Kirk Bailey Distribution Manager Lillian Hook Office Manager Barb Harrison Composing Manager Œïje Canadian Statesman Clarington's Award-Winning Newspaper Since 1854 ■Oct. 16,2002 Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd. Rhone 905-579-440C Classifieds 905-576-9335 Distribution 905-579-4407 General Fax 905-579-2236 Newsroom Fax 905-579-1805 E-Mail newsroom@durhamregion.com 865 Farewell St., OshawaON L1H 7L5 Publications Mail Registration No. 07637 . infodurhamregion.com EDITORIAL e-nuiil letters to newsroom@ l clut'li;imregion.com Health care in Canada comes to a critical crossroad R oy Romanow isn't even scheduled to release his findings on the state of our national health care system system until November, but already, already, voices are being raised in advance of the much-anticipated much-anticipated report. This past week, renowned outspoken critic Maude Bar- low, who raised her voice against free trade and globalization globalization as head of the Council of Canadians, was in Durham to speak against for-profit health care. Ms. Barlow, heading up a 22-city, three-month tour that winds up in December, is speaking out against drastic changes to the National Health Act, which ensures public health care for all Canadians regardless of residence residence or economic status. The key element of her Durham presentation was a McMaster University study which argues there is a two per cent higher risk of death among adults and a nine per cent higher risk of death among infants in for-profit hospitals versus not-for-profit facilities. Ms. Barlow also said total health care spending .on a per capita basis is twice as high in the United States, $7,000 annually, as in Canada, $3,298. Our public health care system, system, which dates back only four decades, is in serious danger. All provincial budgets have seen a stratospheric increase increase in health care costs as the federal government continues continues to fund a smaller amount of the total percentage. percentage. Every year or two, Prime Minister Jean Chretien finally listens to the combined complaints complaints of the premiers and sits down with them providing an extra billion or two per year of funding. That's fine until the following year when that extra money is swallowed up by the health care system and more is needed. There doesn't seem to be a truly sensible long-term solution at hand. Ms. Barlow suggests there must be better management of public funds, a more equitable tax system, an increase in private private practitioners in all communities communities to lessen the load on hospitals, and a lowering of the cost of prescription drugs by reworking the patent monopoly monopoly many prescription drug companies enjoy to allow generic drug makers into the market. Here ' in Durham we face several key problems: our rural areas suffer from a shortage shortage of family doctors and specialists specialists so we need help in attracting attracting them; and as a rapidly growing area we face a shortage shortage of hospital capacity in nearly all areas which must be addressed in the near future. If we want to continue with our current not-for-profit system, system, which both our federal and provincial governments have vowed to maintain, we need better management and more money from all sources. We'll either have to raisp taxes to keep the system alive or devote more of the current public purse to health care. OPINION LETTERS TO THE EDITOR e-mail letters to newsroom@durhamregion.eom A sad, final day at the marina To the editor: It's Saturday evening and today I did the dreaded deed. I released the lines from my boat on I dock No. 14 in the Oshawa Marina for the last time and sailed for- Whitby. But, before 1 left, I keyed into, my GPS the co-ordinates of the berth that was the home for my boat for the last 10 years. Years from now, I can return return to my dock by car and say to my grandchildren, "On this exact spot, grandad used to moor his boat." We will then drive off the parking lot as my grandchildren stare in disbelief. disbelief. That's the legacy left by this year's decision-makers. J.W. van Manen Oshawa Accident shows costs of bad driving habits To the editor: , V. ..vS'VVt, ' , Re: 'Slow, down on roads, highways,' editorial of Sept. 25, 2002. I could not agree more with your comments. My husband was recently involved in a car accident in Whitby. Fortunately, he was not injured. However his vehicle vehicle was hit at approximately 90 km/h at a four-way stop sign in a residential area. Our car, while not a new vehicle, was invaluable to us. It has now been 'written-off' by the insurance company. Of course, the value reimbursed by insurance is far from the cost of another vehicle. The bottom line is that not only was my husband at risk of injury, or worse, given a good 'shake-up' literally, the cost to us is over $6,000! All this, because of the irresponsible irresponsible driving by a 17-year-old, charged with careless driving. Every time someone drives fast and foolishly, someone paÿs the price. Of course, the ultimate price is a life. We are thankful my husband was one of the lucky ones and he came home shaken but all in one piece. Finally, we all do pay because everyone's insurance will reflect these preventable accidents. Cars can be replaced, replaced, loved ones cannot. Margaret Harper Whitby e-mail letters to newsroom@(lurhamregion.com OPINION Getting to know Clarington Natalie Miller Staff Writer T he tour began on a pretty street lined with older brick homes, front verandahs verandahs and lowering trees that stretch to form an umbrella overhead. overhead. The road is clean and smooth. Within the span of 20 minutes, I've travelled through subdivisions subdivisions containing little wartime homes and newer boastful models that cleverly fit together to form this Bow- manvillc neighbourhood. neighbourhood. It's a bright fall afternoon, afternoon, encouraging people to push strollers along sidewalks and grant their dogs exercise, exercise, The shops downtown, downtown, with their doors open, beckon customers customers inside. 1 park myself on a bench outside of an all-day breakfast joint and take in the sights, and the smell of home fries. Across the street, there's a sign indicating The Loft apartments apartments and eight narrow windows witli peaked tops overlooking Hwy. 2. Looks like a neat place to live. On this particular afternoon, there's far more vehicle traffic than pedestrian irallie, thus interfering interfering witli my mission. The visit has two purposes - the first to introduce introduce a new Clarington reporter reporter to a part of Clarington and the second to do 'the Streeter,' I am quite content on my bench next to the greasy spoon, blending into the scenery, taking notes and people-watching. I'm procrastinating. 'The streeler' looms. A woman with a child in a pink raincoat walks up the other side of the street. She could be the first candidate. The contemplation contemplation game begins in my head. Will she be in a hurry or stop to talk? I head across anyway when the traffic clears and approach her with a question, which she agrees to answer. One down, three to go. I continue along the sidewalk decorated with old-fashioned lampposts and baskets of purple impatiens. I slop another woman, who also agrees to answer. answer. And one after that. It's not often a reporter reporter gets three in a row. I spent half-an- hour trying to get the fourth. One person has an appointment, another is rushing off with dry cleaning under her arm, others are out power walking. walking. Confidence is dwindling. Back on tlie bench, 'the streeler' looms again. At a past job, when reporters did streelers we'il frequent the local college and target students because they usually wanted their headshots in the paper. They answered everything, including including questions about foot fetishes and practising safe sex, 'The Streeter' was short-lived after the editor got sick of our whining and 20-somethings being the only people interviewed, interviewed, For reporters, it shouldn't he difficult, hut it is. Weary and discouraged, discouraged, I approach a woman gelling out of lier car in a municipal municipal parking lot. I score. e-mail letters to iicw.srooin@(lurhamregion.com The sins of past premier now haunt Ernie Eves E rnie Eves would be doing a lot better if it were not for Mike Harris. The former Progressive Conservative Conservative premier has left problems that keep emerging and hurling his successor six months after lie moved on. The most recent was a revelation Mr. Harris, only days before he retired retired and without telling anyone but a handful of compliant ministers, gave overpaid professional sports teams a massive tax cut despite his having reduced services for the needy. Premier Eves had been unaware of Mr. Harris's tax break and will cancel it, But Mr. Harris has started a career with a law firm connected to sports teams. His generosity gave the Liberals Liberals an opening to charge that the Tories favour their friends and much of the public will remember remember it simply as the Tories secretly secretly giving a lax break to the rich. Premier Eves, a few days earlier, earlier, fired his tourism minister, Cam Jackson, for treating himself at taxpayers' expense to good wines, fine dining, fancy hotel rooms and other high living. Many ministers have spent public money freely on themselves themselves and the abuse has to be exceptional exceptional before one is fired. Mr. Jackson did his spending while Mr. I larris was premier and lining nothing to stop it, and even encouraging it by allowing others in public service, including offi cers of its electricity transmission network, Hydro One, to overspend. overspend. But it still probably will be thought of as a minister fired for feeding too much at the public trough on Premier Eves's watch. Premier Eves had to rebuke two other ministers, ministers, Chris Stockwcll and John Baird, and a former minister, Rob Sampson, and then- staffs for charging high expenses. Mr. Eves also had to face a grilling over a fifth minister, Tony Clement, paying an Enron-like $300,000- a-ycar salary to an aide. But all the ministers' ministers' overspending took place under Mr. Harris, who turned a benevolent blind eye. The issue Mr. Harris left that has given Mr. Eves the biggest headache has been his last- minute, poorly prepared decision to sell Hydro One. Mr. Harris, a disciple of Margaret Margaret Thatcher, had been premier nearly seven years and largely backed off his initial, grandiose plans for privatizing government functions when he announced suddenly the Province would sell its electricity transmission network. network. Mr. Harris left his successor successor to carry this through, but failed to make sure first the Province had legal authority to sell and initiate a public debate in which he could have tried to whip up support for privatizing. A court ruled the Province did not have the right to sell and the need to pass new legislation gave Eric Dowd Queen's Park the opposition parties time to rally public coilccrn. Senior officers of the utility were then found raking in huge salaries, and perks for limousines, limousines, memberships in private clubs and sponsorship of an ocean-going racing yacht unheard unheard of in government, which Mr. Harris also had failed to stop. Premier Eves had to cut the salaries and perks and fire officials officials who look them and was forced by public outrage into one of the most dramatic retreats in memory when lie agreed to sell only a minority interest, but it can all be traced back to Mr. Harris's miscalculations. Premier Eves has to lake some responsibility for what an earlier Tory premier did because he is in the same party and many voters will feel what the Tories did once they may do again. Mr. Eves has to persuade them he will be different. He cannot issue a disclaimer saying he is in no way liable for the deeds of his predecessor, with whom he says he remains on cordial personal personal terms, But Premier Eves has had had luck in having an unusually large number of continuing continuing problems bequeathed to him by Mr. Harris. The only remotely comparable comparable situation was when Tory premier William Davis nearly two decades ago ignored opposition opposition in his parly and announced announced full provincial funding for Catholic high schools, That decision helped his successor, successor, Frank Miller, get tossed out of office and Mr. lives has to worry a departing premier could hurt a successor again, CLICK AND SAj^ Today's question: Should Canada maintain its current ties with the monarchy? □ Yes □ No Cost your vote online at infodurhamregi com Last week's question: Given the recent charges levelled against the Region, arc you confident Durham's drinking water is safe? □ No 69% □ Yes 19.8 % □ Not sure 11.2 % Votes cast: 116 HAVEYOURSAY Question Clarington will offer online registration for municipal municipal programs beginning Dec. 7. What do you think of being able to register your kids for municipal programs online? Helen Nay "That would ,, be much E. easier. If ,i you have kids you z don't have to bring j them in line I with you." Lisa Brown "It's much better. Especially if you have kids with you and have to stand in line for hours and hours." Betty McGregor "I expect that's a good thing. Anything that reduces congestion and makes the process move more quickly is beneficial." Jackie Rossignol "I think it would be better. You don't have to worry about lineups or (making it there) if you're working shift work." Eljc Cmtabimt statesman is one of the Metroland Printing, Publishing Publishing and Distributing group of newspapers. The Statesman is a member of the Bow- manville Clarington Board of Trade, the Greater 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. advertisement. Credit for advertisement advertisement limited to space price error occupies, Editorial and Advertising content of the Canadian Statesman is copyrighted, copyrighted, Unauthorized reproduction reproduction Is prohibited, a° cna rrein ^CNA