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| was shocked and dismayed to read recently where the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto has been forced to cancel some surgery because of a shortage of nursing staff. This is almost unbelievable. Here we have a world famous institution where life-saving miracles are performed each day, right in the heart of the rich- est GAY in the richest province in one of the richest countries on the face of the earth. And they have to turn children away from surgery because they don't have enough nurses. That should be a national scandal, an outrage. _ This hospital and others are losing the highly skilled nurses in the acute and post-operative wards because of the pressures that go with the job, the long hours, the constant need for up-grading to keep up with changing technology, and the fact they can earn more money doing other things with a fraction of the stress load. While | don't doubt for one minute that these are the reasons why there is a shortage of nurses at Sick Childrens Hospital, there perhaps is another factor. Toronto may be the most "livable" city in the world, as their politicians are wont to brag, but the dog! of living there is slowly driving out all but the very rich. It is starting to impact on the middle and mid- upper income groups. Teachers, police officers, fire- fighters, and nurses, can earn as much, or almost as much working outside Toronto in small to mid-size cit- los where the cost of things, especially housing is far ess. And let's face it, living and working in Toronto, with ali its problems, is less desirable than it was 20 or even ten years ago. The city is facing an exodus of middle income professionals. First, they make the decision to live elsewhere and commute to the core to work, and fi- nally, when commuting becomes a four hour a day nightmare, they give that up and take their skills else- where. There are people tuning down juicy promotions because they refuse to work in the heart of the city. And there are large, well known corporations thinking seriously of moving their head offices away from To- ronto for this very reason: their employees are simply fed up with the headache of working and living in the city. It is a pattern that has occurred in numerous American cities, and it is happening now in Toronto. The City is facing huge problems: high costs, crime, transportation. And in my view, the City politi- cians should be pulling out all stops to address and correct those problems, rather than chase pie-in-the- iy dreams like the Olympic Games and a World's air. In a few short years, the heart of that city may be filled with two types of people: the very rich and the very poor. The middle class will long have fled to laces like Oshawa, Kitchener, London or Thunder ay. The shortage of nurses in hospitals in downtown Toronto is a result of a deep malaise that is hitting that city. And with the concentration of hospitals in the core of the city, the problem can only get worse. Tell that to the parents of children waiting for heart surgery that gets cancelled and delayed. And speaking, of hospitals, the Health Ministry has finally given Community Memorial in Port Perry the green light to get on with expansion plans. Our hospital will receive $2.4 million from Queens Park towards a $3.7 project that has been in the planning stage for the last three years. But the expansion will not include the 22 chronic long term) care beds the hospital had been hoping or. Still, part of the loaf is better than no loaf at all, and certainly once this expansion is finally complete in a couple of years, the people of Scugog will be bet- ter served at a hospital that already does a great job. The announcement by Elinor Caplan last week was part of a $47 million package for hospitals in Dur- ham Region. Would it be cynical to suggest that an election call is coming? Per aps this summer we might get an announcement that GO Transit is going to provide service along the old VIA line from Toronto to Peter- borough. That might be worth a few votes. I'm not exactly a novice when it comes to under- standing the political process, but it still irks me when governments save their "big announcements" for an election year. THE MEETING Slightly less than 200 people turned out at PPHS last Thursday evening to question municipal and school board reps about property taxes, and specifi- cally why Durham has been hit with double-digit tax hikes the last couple of years. | am sure some of the people left the meeting feeling their concerns had not been completely ad- dressed. But the process was a good one, almost as important as the substance. | think it's healthy for elected officials to face the ratepayers in an open for- um from time to time. It should be a semi-annual event in Scugog Township. Remember When? 45 YEARS AGO Thursday, June 28, 1945 A marriage of interest took place June 6, 1945 in the Church of England at Heston, England of L.AW. Elizabeth (Betty) Wellstood, RAF, eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W.J. Wellstood, Taunton, Sommerset to LAC William Thomas (Bill) Beare, RAF, younger son of Mr. and Mrs. Cecil E. Beare. Billy Brock left Malton on Monday to fly by plane to Union, N.J. where he will spend a couple of weeks with Dr. and Mrs. G.H. Jackson and Stanley. Messrs. Bill Bell, Don and Stan Lane are attending Cadet Camp at Niagara-on-the-Lake this week. 35 YEARS AGO Thursday, June 30, 1955 Last week Mrs. J.E. Jackson entertained her piano pupils at her home in place of their annual recital. The June meeting of the Scout and Cub Mother's Auxiliary was held at the home of Mrs. Leslie Beacock with 15 ladies pre- sent. Menus were planned for the Scout Camp. Talent money which was a special feature of the evening was very successful. 30 YEARS AGO Thursday, June 30, 1960 Mrs. W.F. Nott ably assisted by Mrs. Alfred Prentice, enter- tained thirty guests at a farewell party in honour of her daughter, Gladys and family (Mr. and Mrs. Phil Grendron, Michael and Paul) on Saturday, June 25, 1960 on the occasion of their depar- ture to reside in California, U.S.A. A new location for the town dump has been opened south of Hwy. 7A near the causeway. Mr. Bob Snelgrove has secured work in Parliament Buildings, Toronto, for the holidays. 25 YEARS AGO Thursday, July 1, 1965 On Wednesday, June 23 the Port Perry Scout and Cub Group Committee held a 'Leader Recognition Night' in honour of two of their leaders, Gordon Goode and Bill Williams. Both men are retiring after 24 years in the Scout movement. Mrs. Donna Barkey, R.R. 3, Claremont, was chosen as this year's Dairy Princess at the Annual Ontario County Dairy Princess Competition. Four Girl Guides from the Blackstock Company received their Gold Cords, the highest award in Guiding. They were Nancy Dorrell, Elizabeth Thompson, Judy Cochrane and Judy Swain. Seagrave News - On Saturday, Mrs. E. Grose and Mrs. B. '(Turn to page 10) Letters io the editor Response from Parliament Hill To the Editor: THE G.S.T. - A RESPONSE . FROM PARLIAMENT HILL The one thing I will say for Bill Scott, my Federal M.P. for Victoria-Haliburton, is that he is prompt in replying to letters from his constituents. But this is the on- ly tribute I can extend him. In the April 17th edition of the Port Perry Star, I shared with your readers several of my con- cerns, questions and frustrations with the impending Goods and Services Tax, which I took up with my local M.P. on Parliament Hill. I wanted answers that didn't repeat the Government partyline. A response which wouldn't insult my intelligence, and give credence to Ottawa's rhetoric iwhich suggests that at least 80 percent of us are mental midgets. My M.P., whose constituents have entrusted him to represent fairly their views in the House of Commons, got back to me within More realistic To the Editor: Now the Meech is dead, which I feel no particular pleasure, can we now assume that our federal representative, Stevenson, will abandon his support for a flawed document and even greater flaw- ed Prime Minister - and begin to listen to the people he supposed- ly represents. It may just be that we have a sounder and more realistic feel for the issue. David and Susan Sly Durham two weeks of my writing him. His reply may have been quick, but is sure was short in substance. For whatever reason, he chose to ignore a direct response to the specific issues I raised. The following is the only defence he coula offer me in his support of the Government's position on the G.S.T.: "There is not much I can say in support of the new tax that has not already been said. It will be fairer than the existing federal sales tax, and it will provide a more secure source of revenue to aid in program financing and deficit reduction. A value added tax of this type is not a new con- cept. It works in many other coun- tries. As it is based on consump- tion, it is sensitive to individual in- come levels and this is enhanced by the credits built into the tax for lower income Canadians. Thank you for your comments." And thank you Mr. Scott for reaffirming the Government's self admission that it has done a lousy job selling the tax to the country. With salesmen like Scott, it is no wonder that Canadians are so strongly opposed to what will be the most vicious tax grab of all by the Mulroney Government. These are indeed taxing times for Canadians who care. Sincerely, Paul Pagnuelo, R.R. 3, Little Britain, Ont. "We're running late. How's the disguise coming?" Ey IT