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PAGE 4 THE CANADIAN STATESMAN, JANUARY 21,2004 www.durhemregion.com Tim Whittaker Publisher Joanne Burghardt Editor-in-Chief Chris Bovie Managing Editor Fred Eismonl Director of Advertising Eddie Kolodzjejcak Classified Advertising Manager Kirk Bailey Distribution Manager Lillian Hook Office Manager Janice O'Neil Cheryl Haines Composing Managers Clarington's Award-Winning Newspaper Since 1854 Efjc Cmmtriiw Statesman I I Phone 905-579-440C Classifieds 905-576-9335 Distribution 905-579-440? General Fax 905-579-2238 Newsroom Fax 905-579-1809 E-Mail newsroom@durhamregion.corr, 865 Farewell St., Oshawa ON L1H 7L5 Publications Mail Registration No. 07637 I January 21,2004 Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd, infodurhamregion.com EDITORIAL c-mait letters to iicwsrooni@durliamregion.coni Municipalities over-represented A lot has changed since the 1997 municipal election when Durham Region last altered its allotment for regional councillors. councillors. Some areas' have grown much faster than others, and vve are now faced with the need to change the number of regional councillors per municipality. municipality. Pickering and Whitby, with four regional councillors each and populations near the 100.000 mark, , are clearly under-represented. On the other hand, the three northern townships of Brock, Uxbridge and Scugog, with six councillors (two apiece) and a total population of just under .60,000, gre vastly over-represented. over-represented. . What should council, with the approval of the Province, do? ■ It wouldn't hurt to see how Durham's GTA regional neighbours operate. s Durham, with 28- regional councillors for a population of 507.000 (1 councillor per IS;000 people roughly) has a higher degree of representation representation than any other GTA region. region. Halton, with 375,000 people, has 20 .regional councillors councillors or 1 per 19,000. However, other regions have far fewer councillors and far more people than Durham. York has 20 councillors representing representing 729,000 people for a ratio of 1 per 36,000; Peel has 21 councillors in a population of 990,000 or 1 per 47,000; and Toronto, with a population of 2.5 million, has 44 councillors, councillors, which is 1 councillor per 57.000 people. Looked at in this light, increasing increasing the size of Durham council by adding a councillor each for Pickering and Whitby would cause council to balloon balloon to 30 ' members, along with Regional Chairman Roger Anderson. Durham., should instead be looking at ways to reduce the size of its council. It would be' easy to d.rop to 23 councillors from 28 by cutting a councillor councillor from each of the three northern townships and two from Oshawa'. The five southern southern municipalities would then be at about 1 councillor per 25.000 residents, while the north would still be over-represented, over-represented, but far less so than now. Pickering and Whitby, with four each, and Ajax and Clarington, with three apiece, would be just about right. ' Of course, the municipali- . ties' losing councillors would shriek, but the change would bring Durham more in line with its' GTA neighbours and would reduce the size and expense expense of regional government. Council must come up with a fair process that makes every resident of Durham an equal partner in regional government and eliminates the vast disparities disparities we currently live under., -iir.-.-iv.-'i lY 1 ' / I - Y x Y Sllluti : OPINION e-mail letters to ncwsroom@durhaniregioii.com Common sense can save live: Shelley Jordan Staff Writer Within a couple of hours last Thursday, there were five accidents reported along the 401 in Durham. Driving past these vehicles and seeing metal crumpled by the force of impact was an amazing experience. experience. To think people people actually tie themselves themselves into these things and accelerate down the highway, trusting the owners of other automobiles to diligently have their brakes replaced and tires rotated. What is more amazing is that every year, police are • forced to remind the public which country they live in and the type of weather to expect here from December to March. Even though police are continuing their investigations into the accidents, weather may be at least partly to blame for some of them. With the first of three major accidents occurring when a driver attempted attempted a lane change across black ice, the second occurred -when attempting to slow down on a slippery surface caused a transport truck to jack-knife. In yet another incident, a courier van rear-ended a car carrier. Those involved in an acci- ... ... ...Y. ■.. i LETTERS TO THE EDITOR e-mail letters to newsroom@durhamregion.com dent that occurred the day before before in Newtonville weren't as fortunate when they were sent to hospital with life-threaten- ing injuries after a collision. Listen up folks: Canada is cold. It snows here. Sometimes, ice ' forms on our highways. highways. Worse yet, there is no guarantee other drivers on the road have adequate brakes, tires and other equipment for stopping in time on cold, snowy days. As well, they may not be travelling at an appropriate speed for conditions, they may follow too closely and they may be aggressive aggressive behind the wheel. The only way to decrease the number of accidents on highways is to take personal responsibility. Keep your car well-maintained and, as Sergeant Paul Malik of the Durham Regional Police said so eloquently, "Back Off." Slow down a little and take it easy. And by all means, realize you are precious cargo to someone out there who, wants to sec you come home. Reporter Shelley Jordan *.y column appears every other Wednesday. Wise to repeal lifetime ban on welfare cheats To the editor: Though the move has baffled baffled some, I believe the Liberals Liberals acted wisely by repealing the lifetime ban on benefits for welfare cheats. ; • •; ' The Conservative policies under Mike Harris were quite effective in stimulating the economy, providing more jobs and reducing widespread' unemployment. unemployment. The number of people on the dole declined dramatically. But to attribute a large portion of the decline to the lifetime ban baffles me. Consider that, to prevent their personnel system from becoming clogged, mediumsized mediumsized companies rarely advertise advertise job opportunities to prevent prevent their personnel system from becoming clogged. Applicants, Applicants, often in the hundreds, line up outside in the wee hours, waiting for the opening bell and a chance for a job interview. interview. The more jobs available, the fewer on welfare. For many, motivation is not a problem, but for some it is. The latter helps perpetuate the stereotype that characterizes most recipients as welfare v bums. The lifetime ban advocates must know the penalty is too severe. The editorial suggests softening thé rules to provide a second chance, or perhaps a third. Many convicts, such as serial pedophiles, even murderers, murderers, sometimes re-offend. Sometimes, they get more second second chances than people who obtain welfare by deceit. J. Gordon Neal Whitby Caging of boys, judicial system, disgusts reader To the editor: Re: 'Couple pleads guilty to caging boys,' Jan. 14. I was thoroughly disgusted upon reading this article. How could two people be caged for over a decade without a word being said to the authorities? It is people like the aunt of the two boys who ruin our society by bullying people. When I then read the couple couple was out on bail and the sentencing was set for April, I became utterly enraged. Saddam Hussein isn't out on bail after the crimes he's committed and what these pëople did v tq these children was just as wrong - it just happened happened toTewer people. As it is; the judicial system takes far too long for anything to be accomplished and I think things should (but probably won't) change. Ian Dasri Oshawa Abstinence too simple an answer to teen sex urges To the editor: Re: 'Teen pregnancy, STDs on the rise; abstinence is thè surest form of protection,' guest column by Harriette ' Mostert of Jan. 13. Abstinence is an over-simplified'answer over-simplified'answer to the difficult problem of sexually transmitted transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy. pregnancy. A person's sexuality is an intrinsic part of his or her make-up and the drive for teenagers to have sex will not go away. The ominous messages teens receive about sex leave them with nothing but fear and guilt over their own developing developing sex drives. Teens will ' make the best choices about sex if they can first learn to accept themselves for who they are and what they are feeling. A teen with self- respect who is excited about his or her own future will do all he or she can to prevent disease and unwanted pregnancy. pregnancy. They .may then make the choice to be abstinent until they feel ready, or yes, they may choose to have safe sex. In under-developed countries countries like Uganda, abstinence may be the, only way to prevent prevent the terrible spreading of AIDS and save lives. But in stead of handing down an abstinence abstinence manifesto to teens in Canada, we have the opportunity opportunity to respect their biological urges by helping them develop personal confidence and ambition, ambition, which will inspire them to make the right choices to protect themselves. Allison Baggio Whitby ÇbitSêrVatiVes offer Canadians choice To the editor: The RCMP is investigating links some federal Liberal or-, ganizers allegedly have with drug trafficking and organized crime. These folks happen to have served as senior organizers of Prime Minister Paul Martin's recent leadership bid. Now, the RCMP has better things to do with its time than investigating investigating our Prime Minister's fund-raising activities. I. guess the Liberals feel we're, a little naïve. Canadians • and much of Canadian media have grown accustomed to the litany of Liberal transgres-' sioris and ministerial gaffes. But while they turned the other cheek on 10 years of Liberal scandal, they also expected expected more from Mr. Martin's Martin's crew. 1 Thank goodness for the. birth of the Conservative Party of Canada. At least the Conservatives Conservatives will offer a real choice in. the next federal election. election. And, while the new boss appears much like the old boss, Canadians won't be fooled again! Dr. Colin Carrie Oshawa Letters to the Editor To submit a letter, please include your name, address and daytime telephone number. Letters should be under 200 words. The editor reserves the right to edit copy length and clarity. Fax: 905-579- 1809, E-mail: newsroom@durhamregion.com CLICK AND SAY Today's question: Are cellphone cameras in public changerooms a real concern to you? □ Yes □ Somewhat □ No Cast your vote ozi/j^e at infodurhamregion.com , Last week's question: > Do you compost? □ Yes 46.5% □ Want to but can't 17.4%- □ No 36.1% Votes cast: 194 HAVE YOUR SAY Question Should Durham have an integrated, region-wide transit system? Karen Vella "It would be a great idea from a busi- nities up to more people." Walt Gibson "It would be a good idea because Durham ■ r Region is i> one. of the. fastest-grow-, ing communities communities in the province."' Erna Duperreault "It wouldn't hurt... but it's not worth spending the money quite yet to invest in such a system. How much would it cost the ' taxpayers?". Edgar Lucas "It would be an OK idea, but where would the money come from?"' TRUE GRIT ...umwr VWE. W EffiKKE tGpW8tTv.\MB'BE ■WEW6TUE \NELL tobsmed OT mnTMtE COTER WWEt By Tim Dotighan www.dolighan.com (c) Copyright Dolighan Cartoons 2004 Œbc Caitabian Statesman is one of the Metroland Printing, Pub :; lishing and Distributing group ; of newspapers. The Statesman is a member of the Bow- manville Clarington Board of Trade, the Greater Oshawa . Chamber of Commerce, On- : tario 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 adver- • tisement. Credit for advertise-. ment limited to space price error occupies. Editorial and Advertising content of the Canadian Statesman is copyrighted. copyrighted. Unauthorized repro- . duction Is prohibited. uniuri mmewm