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6- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, January 31, 1995 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" FE Dr PORT PERRY STAR € TORIAL Editorial Comment The axeman cometh It's budget time for Canadians and, ap- propriately, taxes are a hot topic. The message that is being sent to our representatives in Ottawa is simple and clear: No New Taxes. It's a Read-Our-Lips kind of message that is ringing through the land. And it is well within the prerogative of the typical Canadian: Hard-working, honest, and taxed to the eyeballs by federal and pro- vincial governments that have seemed, for years now, to be on spending binges of epic proportions. If you want to be part of the wave that's sweeping the land, it's simple to take pan, right here at home. Two men -- Tyler 'Briley of Port Perry and Glenn Kerr of Ux- bridge -- have mounted a write-in cam- paign aimed at telling our local MP, Alex Shepherd, and federal finance minister Paul Martin, that so much as a penny's worth of new taxation is unacceptable to Canadians. They're challenging you: Put in your two cents' worth now, or stop bellyaching. They have a point. It's cliche now to portray Canadians as complacent souls who take what comes their way and fulfill their obligations, albeit with a little grum- bling. But it so often seems to be the case. : - So tell the government what you think. And while we're at it, let's send another message to Mr. Martin, who has been warning us for weeks now that we should brace ourselves for a brutal budget that will leave no sector of our society un- scathed. It's this: Look after your own house first. Mr. Martin appears poised to once more lambaste the most vulnerable seg- ments of our society, hinting he will cut Unemployment Insurance payments still more, and cut back on the programs that a large number of disadvantaged Canadi- ans depend on. Sure, there have been some mutter- ings about pay cuts for federal bureau- crats and workers, but there's been very little mention of hacking away at the phe- nomenal waste that occurs daily and compounds itself in a deficit that threat- ens to all but swallow our future. Cut the perks, cut the lavish trappings, cut the waste; and stand up for the little guy, the worker who's taxed beyond be- lief, or the currently down-and-out recip- ients of social assistance. Giving people a chance to contribute is the answer to many, many problems. Wo ew THES) WANT A SCREAM Ais 1s HiLARIous ! - Doan rme LETTER OF THE WEEK _ Government spending is taxing to voters To the Editor: Copy of a letter to Prime Minister Jean Chretien. Re: the upcoming budget and the strong possibility of further tax increas- es. I along with countless others Canadi- ans feel that any more tax increases are not acceptable, and that spending cuts are the only way out of the mess that all your predecessors, both Conservative and Liberal, have created. I've worked and paid taxes for yedrs, striving to better myself and improve my family's way of life, and to what end. A greater and greater portion of my in- come going to government spending/ waste most of which I had little or no say in. I've decided to opt out of the system of working for the government. From now on I'm going to work enough to exist, i.e. pay little or no taxes. t's a sad state of affairs that has led me to this decision, and if the rest of the population were to follow suit, the coun- try would be bankrupt even sooner than predicted. I would therefore strongly urge you to look for more ways to cut spending. A suggestion that will not sit well with some, as we have always been known for our generosity, is to cut aid to foreign countries and world relief in one form or another. Leave it up to the individual to choose who and how much they wish to send. Turn to page 7 by J. Peter Hvidsten KEEP OFF THE RIVERS & LAKES Twenty two people have lost their lives in snowmobile related accidents this winter, 6 of these involving snowmobilers going through thin ice on rivers and lakes. It's a sad statistic, but of those who lost their lives this winter, 13 deaths were alcohol-related. With Scugog Township nestled along the shores of Lake Scugog, and hundreds of snowmobilers using the lake for enter- tainment during the winter, there is con- stantly the fear of fatal accidents within our community. But as often as safety officials and the ministry warns snowmobilers of the dang- ers of speed, alcohol and thin ice, it never seems to be enough for some. Last Friday two men lost their lives when their snowmobile plunged through the ice and into the frigid water of Lake Simcoe. A third snowmobiler was fortu- nately pulled from the icy water in time to save his life. So far this winter we've been lucky in Scugog. There have been a number of snowmobile accidents, but thankfully, to date no deaths. Usually by this time of the year the ice on Lake Scugog is considered safe for just about any kind of activity. But after a month of mild temperatures, there are many places still open or unsafe on our rivers and lakes. In Scugog we can usually count on hun- dreds of residents enjoying ice skating at the Open Air Ice Palace in early January, but this year the popular skating facility has yet to be opened to the public. Just two weeks ago the Snow Flake Festival and Sled Dog Races had to be cancelled due to extremely mild weather and record rainfalls. Since then we've had some cold weath- er, and yes, the lake is probably safe in some areas. But to assume that a week- and-a-half of below freezing temperatures is enough to make the entire lake safe is foolish. Safety officials continue to issue stern warnings to snowmobilers to stay off the lakes, especially if they are unfamiliar. We echo the same cautions! oy OR RR A Moe te TG i Poti hi