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Orono Weekly Times, Wednesday, October 18, 2000 * 9 environmental review. No one Staying in Touch by John O'Toole, MPP Clean air, water and soil are some of the top environmental environmental issues today in Ontario and around the world. Growth and development are creating environmental challenges. Last week's vote by Toronto City Council to ship its garbage to the Adams Mine in Kirkland Lake is just one of the decisions that has engaged Ontarians along with last spring's contaminated water situation in Walkerton. The emissions from coal- fired power plants have also been the subject of debate over the last while. In Durham riding, these matters appear to be shared values among the vast majority of my constituents. We have our own local concerns that have been with us for many years; the contaminated waste at Port Granby, recurring dump- site reviews, the Oak Ridges Moraine as well as the spread ing of sludge (paper, and sewage) on agricultural land. If we look to the past, we can see how these difficult ^decisions have been studied to death and at the end of the process, millions of dollars had been spent and officials did not have the courage to make the difficult decisions. This has been the case in the siting task force dealing with the Port Granby low- level radioactive waste. The Liberal government of David Peterson had a policy debate on locating waste facilities in a "willing host community", while the NDP government banned incineration and set up the 'provincial Interim Waste Authority. They spent almost $100 million and made no decisions. It might be worth remembering remembering that when the Keele Valley landfill was opened, the then 1 Liberal government exempted the site from an wants waste in their backyard (NIMBY: ndt-in-my-back- yard) and yet we each make daily decisions on how we do or do not manage the amount of garbage that we throw away. From table scraps to packaging to yard waste, we all have conscious decisions to make. Where we live and make our living also factors into the decisions we make and our impact on the environment. Today, it seems that many people want to live in the country, but have difficulties with some agricultural practices. practices. Growth and development often bring more challenges than rewards. In Durham Region, our current population population is about 500,000 and is expected to grow to over one million by the year 2020. Many people have moved to rural areas and small towns while commuting to their jobs in the larger urban centers. Many drive from Peterborough to General Motors in Oshawa and many more travel from Durham Region into Toronto. Oftentimes, people bring expectations for the types of services they had access to in the cities. We demand munic ipalities provide all of the more sophisticated levels of service that we were accustomed accustomed to in urban areas. People want municipalities to attract more industry so we can avoid commuting, but at the same time, we don't want industry located close to residential residential developments. I can tell you that when 1 meet with long-time, constituents constituents in my riding, they are amazed and concerned about the rapid growth. People have seen our community community expand, become congested congested and, in some cases, they feel less safe. We need more schools, more hospital capacity', capacity', and more infrastructures like the police helicopters, in addition to "7-24" police and fire protection which would, require more sophisticated service, coordination. Thé elections in the com ing weeks will allow you the opportunity to elect those people and policies that you want td see move forward. Growth and development are shared responsibilities for every level of government and offer many challenges and opportunities. The federal level deals with immigration and distribution of resources. The province deals mostly with,policy implementation and equitable service delivery. delivery. Municipalities, for the most part, are responsible for •the delivery of community- based services. Clean air, water and soil are all part of the growth equation. At the same time, we cannot isolate ourselves from our growing and changing world. This is not simply a challenge for Durham, the GTA, Ontario or Canada - this is a global challenge. challenge. ORONO music CENTRE p ÏJJ1 MAIN STREET, ORONO TEL: 90598316118 Vote Mark Hendrikx Chartered Accountant -, for Local Council Ward 4 Crooked Creek, Kendal, Leskard, Newcastle, Newtonville, and Orono areas Campaign Platforms: • To encourage new business to settle in the Newcastle and Orono areas, and not just in Bowmanville and Courtice, and to assist these businesses in creating new local jobs. Our area should be a place to work, shop and play, and not just a place to sleep. • To assist the .council, at a professional level, with making better use of current resources. Anyone can attain fiscal responsibility. Fiscal excellence requires expert help. A Chartered Accountant has that expert ability. • To make the regibn a safer place to walk and drive. • To reduce vandalism and other crime in the*area. This is a rural community - we should not be experiencing big city problems. • . . • To encourage tourism in the Clarington area, particularly in our district. We are lucky to live in a beautiful setting in Clarington, and We have many events and attractions to encourage visitors to the area. Tourism has enormous potential to bring money into the area in a non-polluting manner and create significant new employment in the process. . • To encourage the participation of the taxpayers in assisting your local representative on council, through the use of new technology. The web page should be expanded in the future to allow taxpayers to obtain more information on decisions before council and to allow taxpayers to "have their say" before council meetings, without taking time off work or otherwise upsetting their schedules, ' • ■ ' • To review the current voting system. The Vote by Mail system implemented for this election has raised serious concerns, questions, and confusion, especially amongst the seniors. It is important that the electron process is understood by all voters. ' - On November 13, 2000 vote for a representative who actually has concrete plans to'better represent you on , council, and the professional experience to back it up. Put your "X" on Mark Hendrikx.