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6 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, September 26, 1989 The Pov Perey Shar 235 QUEEN STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO PHONE 985-7383 FAX 985-3708 The Port Perry Star is authorized as second class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, for cash payment of postage. Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 Subscription Rate: In Canada $20.00 per year Elsewhere $60.00 per year. SingleCopy 50¢ EDITORIAL Publisher - J. Peter Hvidsten Editor - John B. McClelland News/Features - Julia Ashton News Reporter - Rob Streich PRODUCTION Annabell Harrison Trudy Empringham Darlene Hlozan BUSINESS OFFICE Office Manager - Gayle Stapley Accounting - Judy Ashby Billing Department - Louise Hope ADVERTISING Advertising Co-ordinator - Valerie Ellis Advertising Sales Representative: Anna Gouldburn 5] (ecCia Cl J Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association Ontario Community Newspaper Association Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Ltd. Port Perry, Ontario Retail Sales - Kathy Dudley, Linda Ruhl, Tracy O'Neil Editorial Comment THE GST Yet another high profile national organization has lev- elled strong criticism at the Federal Government's pro- posed nine per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) In a brief filed with the House of Commons Finance Committee last week, the Canadian Home Builders Asso- ciation, charged the new tax will add $3,000 to the cost of an average new home in Canada. And in high price hous- ing areas like Metro Toronto and Vancouver, the GST will bump prices up by as much as $9,200. . What's more, the CHBA fears that if the new tax is implemented as proposed, it could be just enough to lead to a collapse in the market for new homes. Since existing or re-sale homes will not be subject to the new tax, the CHBA charges that this will leave build- ers at an unfair advantage. And besides, applying the tax to new homes but not to re-sales is discrimination. The Home Builders Association's criticism of the pro- posed new tax follows hard on the heels of a brief submit- ted by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, an organiza- tion not noted traditionally for opposition to the policies of the Conservative Government. The Chamber called the GST unacceptable in its present form. If there must be a tax, it should be six per "clent with a wider number of goods affected, and federal and provincial sales taxe should be collected as one. The Home Builders Association, not only said the proposed tax may be the death knell of their industry, it found fault with government figures on the tax. The Government, in a technical paper, calculated the new tax would add just under $500 to the cost of a $150,000 home. Not so, says the Association, the amount would be $3,000. There is an old saying about figures and statistics that need not be repeated here. However, if the govern- ment was wrong in its calculation on the impact on new homes, is it foolish to assume it erred in other calculations on just what kind of an impact this tax is going to have on Canadian society? It seems that more and more organizations, not to mention provincial governments and literally hundreds of thousands of individual Canadians, are voicing their oppo- sitiion to this proposed tax. Last week, for example, Oppo- sition MPs grinned for the TV cameras as they lugged huge mail bags full of protest letters and cards into the Commons committee room. The Finance Minister Michael Wilson, seems un- moved in the face of what is groundswell of mounting pressure from all sides to either scrap this tax altogether, or thoroughly re-vamp it. Most reasonable thinking Canadians understand the problem that Mr. Wilson is attempting to address. For the last two decades successive federal governments in Otta- wa have spent money like sailors on shore leave. The only difference was that when the sailors ran out of money, they crawled back to the ship. When the government ran out, it simply borrowed more and more and more, to the tune of $100 Billion and still counting. The size of the debt is a disgrace of national propor- tions, but must the Canadian people pay for the sins of governments past by forking over more in taxes, especial- ly a tax as large as nine per cent on just about every pur- chase and every service? Surely, Mr. Wilson must be getting the message by now. He ought to be thinking about going back to the draw- ing board, because the pressure has just started, and Ca- nadians have just begun to fight. Hor / WONDER IF THAT'S THOSE CRITTERS LOOKING FOR TOXIC was7E DUMPS! 1 rile e re 3%: H i tf EMBARRASSED...NO WAY! It appears as though | opened a "hornet's nest" a few weeks ago when | wrote in this space about my frustration with having to wait for an appointment at the doctor's office. There have been many good points made over the past three weeks, by those feeling the same frustrations, and those who feel that wait- ing for the doctor is acceptable. But last week, a letter from Nancy Brown questioned my ethics in "launching a personal attack against a group of educated and dedicat- ed professionals", as well as suggesting | "should seek a new family physician out of sheer embarrassment." First of all, | would never launch a personal attack against anyone, and the fact that they are educated and professional would make it no less wrong than if they were uneducated. Secondly, | am not embarrassed for what | wrote, and have no intention of looking for a new doctor, that is unless he feels otherwise. | never intended to slight any of the Doctors at Medical Associates, as those | know personal- wv are all very dedicated to their profession. It's the system that is wrong in my opinion. My Doctor, the one | had to wait for a few weeks back, is Bill Cohoon. He's a great guy and a like him very much as a doctor and as a friend. My first association with Dr. Bill goes back to September 1968 when he and his wife Whit- ney arrived in Port Perry. | was assigned to go and take a photo of the couple in their home on North Street where he had also set up his medi- cal practice. | liked them both from the minute | entered their home. I may not have been Dr. Bill's first patient, but | remember shortly after he arrived, going to his office to have a rash on my legs taken care of. He's been my Doctor ever since, a span of over 20 years. | was there when Dr. Bill and Dr. Ralph Price turned the sod for their Medical Asso- ciates building. In 1971, when he was president of the Scu- gog Chamber of Commerce, | worked along side of him as a director. Dr. Bill and | were two of four partners in a business venture back in the early 70's, running Jottings by }. Peter Hvidsten a dance hall known as Club Annrene. Dr. Bill has delivered three of my five chil- dren, and the only reason he didn't deliver the twins is because twins are not delivered at Com- munity Memorial Hospital in Port Perry. Dr. Bill has had me under the knife twice. His daughter Logan was our main babysitter for a couple of years, and his wife Whitney (whom | think is one of the most down to earth people | know) has invited our son Matt out to the farm to see their pigs. When Dr. Bill comes to my office each year around the end of August, | buy $20 worth of chicken Bingo or Bossy Bingo tickets....or what- ever he's selling. No questions asked. Dr. Bill and | get together, (usually during an appointment in his office)we don't always agree if were discussing a contentious issue. He has his views, and | have mine. But | would like to think we can still have respect for one another. | have great respect for Dr. Bill's ability, knowledge and dedication to his medical prac- tice. He's a very busy man, both in his chosen profession and his farming operation. As | said earlier, my comments were not made lightly, and not intended to offend him in any way. They were merely to point out what | consider to be a flaw in the system. A system that has made waiting for the doctor something that we just take for granted and accept as inevitable. There must be a way, even with the multi- tude of emergencies and interruptions as sug- gested in Dr. John Stewart's letter, to cut down on the time people wait to see their doctor. | don't know what they are, and am not even going to make any suggestions, fearing it may be misconstrued as me knowing their business bet- ter than they. If Ms. Brown feels that "some good things are worth waiting for", and she considers an hour or more in the waiting room is one of those, good for her. But comparing waiting in line at the liquor store, the bank, post office, or for groceries, with waiting for a doctors appointment is ridiculous. If there is one thing | can agree with Ms. Brown on, it is we do owe our doctors, and the staff of both our hospital and Medical Associates thanks for being available to us in this communi- ty. Their service and dedication to their profes- sion is unquestionably appreciated by us al