p~s~j 1W~NESflAY:IJULY~;1988 ~AJ VOICE OF THE COUNTY The only Whitby newspaper Independently ownedand operated by Whitby residents for Whitby'resldents. TOWN Maurice Plfher Editor Peter Irvine Advertising Manager Alexandra Simon Production Manager Confessing to ignorance While regional councillors showed littie patience recently with Ed Kolodzie's..repeated criticism of health and social service policy, they might have expressed more surprise with an admission by councillor Irv Harrell that he has little idea of what is going on in that department. Yes, the reports are lengthy and not easy to follow, particularly for a busy regional councillor who is involved with another committee or committees. However, to actually vote on matters about which one doesn't understand is not the way the decision-making process should be conducted. In fact, it's almost in contempt of the system to vote in ignorance. Perhaps, sometimes rightly, councillor Kolodzie is rebuked for unnecessary comment and grand- standing. But one can't often accuse him of failing to inquire about the apparently boring details, nor cf being totally unaware of what is going on. Isn't that the way it should be? ~1 LETTERS FROM OUR 1 EADERS Compromise was only way to save Lynde house To the Editor: I read with interest Doug Anderson's column on the Lynde House in the issue of July 29 and Rod Angevaaré's letter in the Jul) 6 issue of The Free Press, re. garding heritage protection. I feel it is unfortunate and not in the best interests of al concerned to make an "issue" oui of the proposed designation of the Lynde house now. Whatever onE may think of how the Lynde house got to Cullen Gardens, its future atlast seems secure. Len Cullen deserves credit for restoring this architectural treasure when others would not have had the financial capabilit3 to do so. What should be addressed now is a general policy toward a] historic buildings in the Town of Whitby. We have a real opp- ortunity here to set a cleai direction for the future, based on the experiences (good and bad) of the last three or four years. I agree with Rod Angevaarc that where possible an historic building should remain on il original site. But in some cases (i.e. Lynde House) we must not let the unobtainable best defeat the obtainable good. A com- promise had to be made in ordei to save this house and in the long run we will come to see that il was the only way to save it, based on the circumstances at the time. However, it would not be advisable for Cullen Gardens tc become, as some would see it, a convenient dumping ground foi all the unwanted historic build- In support of free trade agreement To the editor: Robert J. Broughton's letter (Free Press, June 22/88) is a shrill, emotional plea for Canadians to stand still while the world moves forward. His verbal barrage is a narrow-minded, simplistic anti-change polemic. The free trade agreement will directly affect how Canada trades with the United States. It is specifically aobut tariffs and trade. To imply how it will affect sovereignty, quality of life and attitudes in Canada is mere conjecture and Broughton's negative conjecture of what will be is cynical and unreal. Canadians are progressive and in the twentieth century we have learned to initiate and master change and our productive advances have raised our standard of living. The global economy requires liberalized trade between all nations and the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) as well as the G - 7 leaders continue to work toward that end. Ideally, we would like to have a free trade agreement with the world and so this agreement with the U.S. is the logical first step. Whether we should expand trade with the U.S. is not the issue we should consider at length. Rather, we should be wholly preoccupied with increasing our international competitiveness by improving productivity. Mr. Broughton calls himself an concerned Canadian who is apolitical. He asks a concerned lawyer to challenge the government in the Supreme court. I interpret this to mean he doesn't participate in the democratic process and he would like someone else to do his fighting. -How could anyone respect his opinion? Yours kindly, J. Butson Whitby ings of Whitby. What is needed is a precise written policy at the council level to draw the attention of develop- ers to the historic buildings of oui community and offer guidelines for their preservation. Without such a policy, we will continue tc see more buildings demolished. moved or altered beyond recog. nition, and be powerless to stop these things from happening. Whitby is under tremendous development pressure at thc present time. Those who come tc our comunity to build should bc encouraged to incorporate intc their developments any existing buildings worthy of preservation. This was done in the case of th( Anderson-Flint house, morc through the efforts of an indi. vidual citizen, than througl- policy. Rod Angevaare is correct when he says we need leadership from Town council in this area. Rather than reacting to eacl. situation as it arises, our Town should be prepared to deal with developers before they come in with their plans. Whitby is a town with a proud heritage that needs protection. Although the Ontario Heritage Act lacks the teeth to protect the designated buildings in the way they should be, and council ;will designate only if the owner permits it, there is still plenty of opportunity to (1) make the developers aware of our archi- tectural landmarks and (2) to work with them to find an acceptable way to incorporate them into their plans. This is being done successfully with Florence Heard house on Mary St. E. A beginning has been made, but there is still a long way to go. It would be a great credit to Whitby if it became a leader in Ontario in developing a policy for preservation of its heritage. The opportunity is there. Let's grasp it and show the rest of the municipalities under development pressure what we can do. Yours sincerely, Brian Winter Whitby Celebration will enrich lives To the editor Again this year I offer my congratulations to the Ashburn community centre board and volunteers for organizing such an excellent Canada Day celebration. The fond memories which our children will remember of this special day will enrich their lives in this great country. Proud to be a Canadian in Ashburn. Thank you Gerry Emm Regional Councillor Published every Wednesday By 677209 Ontario Inc. Phone: 668-6111 Doug Anderson Publisher The Free Press Building 131 Brock Street North, P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. i LETTERS The Whitby Free Press welcomes letters to the Editor on any subject of concern to our readers. Letters should be brief and to the point - rarely more than 300 words. All letters must be accompanied by the name, address and phone number of the writer; however, on request, your name may be withheld from publication if we agree that there is a valid reason. The paper reserves the right to reject or edit all letters. Send to: The. Editor, Whitby Free Press, Box 206, Whitby, Ontario LiN 5S1 or drop through our mailslot at 131 Brock St. N. j>