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4 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, April 19, 1988 Editorial Comments Sunday Shopping Laws The Liberal Government of Ontario may have just thrown more mud on the already confusing (and conten- tious) issue of Sunday shopping in this province. Last Thursday, the Government introduced legislation designed to clean up the horrendous confusion, not to mention the idiosyncrasies of the Retail Business Holidays Act. The forces both pro and con are disappointed. Those who oppose extended Sunday shopping in Ontario say vir- tually nothing has changed, and if anything the new legis- lation will in fact make it easier for more stores to remain open. Those who favour Sunday shopping argue the Govern- ment should have simply passed legislation permitting all and any store in any part of Ontario to stay open, and if lo- cal municipalities don't want wide open Sunday shopping, they can curtail the practise through zoning or by-law re- strictions. Well, the new legislation gives the responsibility to Re- gional governments in the province. If anything, we have to agree that this is a watered down cop-out. Whether Sun- day shopping in Ontario is a good thing or a bad, wanted or un-wanted is still open to a lot of debate. In our view, however, this contentious issue should be decided at the local level, by the municipal, not the Regional councils. It is a local issue, not a Regional one. If the legislation eventually works its way through the House and becomes law, it would mean, for example, that if Scugog wanted Sunday shopping, it would have to convince a majority of the members of the 30 person Durham council. Politicians from Ajax and Pickering, Oshawa and Newcastle would in effect have to decide what's right or wrong for the mer- chants and residents of Scugog. And that's silly. If ever there was an issue that deserves to be sorted and thrashed out on the floor of the local coun- cil chambers, it is this one of Sunday shopping. And as for some local councils who have said they don't want that responsibility, that's a cop-out, too. Sure, it would be contentious, and to be sure, it would be a "hot is- sue," but local councils all over Ontario have cried the blues for a long time that Big Brother down at Queens Park doesn't give them enough responsibility. The legislation introduced last week at least does one thing on the positive side: does away with religious differ- ences. For example, a merchant who now closes on Satur- day to observe a religious holiday will be permitted to open Sundays. In the past, it was the reverse. In the past, there has been much confusion about Sun- day store openings. Some areas of Ontario designated themselves "tourist areas" to get around the law. Certain stores could stay open, while others could not. And so on. What is really needed in this thorny issue is to wipe the slate clean and leave the local option completely in the hands of local councillors, who presumably know what's best for their own people and municipalities. STAR 235 QUEEN STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO Phone ¢85-7383 P.0.Box90 LOB INO J. PETER HVIDSTEN Publisher Advertising Manager (» CNA (2) | \-- § Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association and Ontario Community Newspaper Association. Published 2very Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Ltd , Port Perry, Ontario J.B. McCLELLAND Editor Authorized as second clas, mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, and for cash payment of postage in cash CATHY OLLIFFE News & Features PAnAOIA COMMU ry Ny Gon of Subscription Rate: In Canada $20.00 per year. P24 ras asso EY Elsewhere $60.00 per year. Single Copy 50° © COPYRIGHT -- All layout and composition of advertisements produced by the adver- tising department of the Port Perry Star Company Limited are protected under copyright and may not be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 Chatterbox by Cathy Olliffe STARTERS AREN'T FOR STARTERS When I'm reading through the real estate pages of this paper and | see something like this--"A GREAT LITTLE STARTER, ONLY $129,000!--1 feel a little nauseated. Traditionally, starter homes are just that--- small, modest houses priced so the average "young couple just starting out" in the real estate market, can afford to buy. But who can afford $129,000? What "young couple" can come up with a $15,000 or more down payment? And who can afford the huge {%1 ,000 or more) monthly mortgage payments" Maybe a two-income couple can do it. If, be- tween the two of them, they're bringing in $1,000 a week. But frankly, [ don't know too many couples my age who have jobs that pro- vide that kind of dough. Sure, there's a lot of LUCKY, LUCKY people around here who should kiss the ground of General Motors and consider themselves BLESSED that they get paid so much. But unless you work for GM, or you're a pro- fessional (a doctor, dentist, lawyer), or a suc- cesssful merchant, or some big-wig commuter from the city--chances are you're stuck with one of the low-paying jobs that exist in Port Perry and area. The pay around here absolutely STINKS compared to jobs of similar natures in the city. It's downright criminal what some folks get paid for the amount of work they do. Still, that's the price you pay for living in beautiful downtown Scugog. It's pretty, but you'll never get rich. And if you're just married, and both relying on local joe jobs, you might as well forget about ever owning your own home. These days it's an impossible dream. I almost don't know how me and Doug wound up buying. Pure dumb luck, plus a lot of pestering, | suppose. But that was more than a year ago, when prices were a lot lower than they are now--we just couldn't afford to do it now. Our wages have not kept up with he Plumped up price of real estate--whose ave' But there's another reason Doug and | were able to afford something--we weren't all that particular. We didn't have our hearts set on a "full basement with walk-out, eat-in kitchen, new broadloom, and two car-garage." Our demands were much more simple--we merely wanted plumbing that worked. "The rest was easy. We found something within our budget, and applied a lot of elbow grease to fix 'er up. We're pretty content in our little house, but | must admit, | feel sort of jealous sometimes when | visit friends who own "real houses"--on proper sized lots, with paved streets, whole basements, and two (count 'em!) bathrooms. We know plenty of people our age who own these homes, which fairly rankle with normal- cy. And we think, some day, we'll be able to afford a house just like their's. We will--someday. When enough equity is built into our beautiful little starter home. It's the only way we'll ever be able to come up with the thousands and thousands of dollars necessary to live in a basic three bedroom bungalow. And | find it impossible to believe that a three-bedroom bungalow these days runs in the $150,000 range. It's just too much mon- ey! A house like that in Port Perry just is not worth one-fifteenth of a million bucks. A COUPLE OF BEEFS The price of housing is unacceptable. The middle and lower class are being kicked out of Toronto's downtown core, the same way you can't get anything decent under $100,000 in Port Perry. incredible. Bank charges. Can you believe that some banks charge you money to make de- posits? And that most banks charge if you don't have a minimum balance in your account (which, in a nutshell, means banks are taking from the poor). Garth Turner of the Toronto Sun has been making a huge fuss about this issue in recent months, and if you haven't been following his columns, you're in for a not-so-pleasant surprise when you read his Shy and find out how you might be getting stiffed. The roads In Caesarea are absolutely atrocious, and it's high time the Township stopped ignoring this growing hamlet and started paying it the same attention as the rest of the Township gets. For too long now, this friendly village has taken a bad rap. This November, I'll be voting for the person who promises to remedy the situation, and | urge fellow residents to do likewise. I'm just sick and tired of hearing how much mangy Port Perry gets for recreation, roads, etc. The majority of every budget goes into Port, and although it's the biggest hub in Scu- gog, it's not the only hub. Caesarea deserves some respect, and some cash--not jokes-- from the bards who sit around on Monday in Scugog's council chambers.