PAGE 6, WHITBY FRflE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4,-1989 Published every Wednesday Maurice Pifher -Phone: 668-6111 Peter Irvine 668-6112 detsnMagr l U 5 ~~~~668-6369AdetinMagr w H :1K Anderson AlexandraSio jà Publisher Production Manager VOIC 0F HE CUNTYTOWN131 Brock Street North, The on/y Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by LUN 5S1 2nd Class Postai Registration #o5351 Whitby residents for Whîtby residents. Whitby residents have the opportunity to, at the least, "have a say" in the future development or non-development in the town. 1Tonight (Wednesday) at the municipal building, the Town planning department will present a preliminary assessment of the 16-year-old officiai plan and will hear comments by residents about the plan and any suggestions for change. t's the f irst step in an update of the plan that could take three years. In the past 16 years, Whitby has grown Have a say significantly, and residents can see the shape of the town (or city) of the future. For many, perceptions of 15 years ago may have since changed. Meanwhile,. 52 amendments have been made to the plan since 1974, about haîf of themn as a result of develo per's a pplications. And Whitby's off icial plan is two years' older than Durham Region's - if there is a conflict, the Region plan takes precedence. Should revisions be made to the plan to slow residential growth or to accommodate furiher growth? Are Whitby's greenbelt areas adequately protected in the plan? Should there be fewer or more? These are just a f ew areas that may be addressed by residents who see Whitby as their longtime home and want to ensure that it remains a distinct, identifiable, attractive community in the large urban sprawl, or "city-state," known as the Greater Toronto Area. Why assume that abortion law is neoessary?9, To the Editor, recently stated its intentic introduce abortion legislatior The federal governument bas fail. Why is there an assun-, LETTERS The Whitby Free Press welcomes lettéirs to the Editor on ai subject of concern to our readers. Letters should be brief ai to the point - rarely more than 300 words. Ail letters must1 raccompanied by the namne, address and phone number of tl writer; however, on request, your namne may be withhe from publication if we-agree that there is a valid reason. TI paper reserves the right to reject or edit ail letters. Send to The Editor, Whitby Free Press, Box 206, Whitby, Ontar LiN 5S1 or drop through our mailsiot at 131 Brock St. N. Committee considers amendments to GST By Rene Soetens Ontario riding Ml' n t Ipti ny nd be -he ald 'he 0: ito, that legisiation on abortion is bhis necessary and inevitable? tion Canadians should realize that this "urgent eall" for a Iaw was brought about by a few coincidental and unfortunate * circumstances; an aberrant United States Supreme Court * decision, and a rash of injunctions seeking ex-boyfriends. We are confident that the Suprerne Court of Canada, when it delivers its reasons in the Daigle case, will send the clear message to Canadians that they cannot stop women from.niaking their own abortion decisions by -hauling them tbrough the courts., Modern thinking on abortion, the world over, is moving away from focusing on criminality toward focusing on the health of women and their fanilies. We don't need or want a criminal law. Pregnant women are not criminals. Abortion is properly seen as a matter of health. There is no legisiation governing other medical procedures; the decision for specific medical care is ba.sed on what is known to, be good niedical practice. The decision whether or not to terminate a pregnancy is one of the niost difficuli decisions a woman bas to makeî in ber life. 0f ail abortions, 99.6 per cent are performed before the end of the 2Oth week of pregnancy. Women should decide for themselves the fate of their own bodies; their own lives. It is a woman's choice. Even under Secion 251 of the Criminal Code there were no gestational limits on the, perforxning of abortions. There are good reasons why abortions are sought after the first trimester. Lack of access te the service may cost a woman valuabie time. Money may be a probiem. Young women some- times do flot know they are pregnant. Aniniocentesis, by which fetal abnormalities are diagnosed, cannot be performed until the l6th week of pregnancy, and it may take until the l9th week or longer ta make a diagnosis, then comes the search for access te abortion and more delay. The answer te later abortion is not another abortion law, the answer 18 access early in the pregnancy. Furthermore. sex education and birth control counselling reduce the need for abortion, late or early. If the govermnent must bring in a law let it be one that would guarantee easy access to al women's health care services including abortion, family planning and birth control services.. Let us not -encourage unnecessary law, but government action that will provide real and meaningful solutions te, the problem Of unwanted pregnancies. Parliaxnent take note - most Canadians do not want another abortion law. Readers are invitedý te write or eall their Ml' if they want te, ensure that womens' freedom of choice is preserved. Judith Allen Lawyer National Association- of Women and the Law Thanks to b aseball spons ors 'o the editor: We would like to thank aIl our sponsors for the 1989 basebal season. Their support for Whitby's youn~ basebali is greatiy appre- Whitby Minor Basebal Association On Jan. 1, 1991, the goods and services tax (GST) is slated to be irnplemented. While the government is steadfastiy prepared ta keep its sehedule, it 18 the job of the Standing Committee on Finance to propose possibie aniendments ta the workings of the GST. As a member of the finance comrittee, I have the opportunity te meet with citizen groups, organizations and individuais from across Canada who are concerned with the impact of the GST on Canadians. Once ail the groups have been heard from, the committee wiIl draft a report suggesting possible amendments ta the GST, constructed from the dircet input of concemned Canadians. After only two days of heaiings,, a large nurnber of groups have presented their recornmen<lations te, the finance committee. On Sept. 19, the cornmittee heard from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Associ tion, Conference Board of Canada, National Council of Welfara, Peat Marwick, Canadian Bar Association and the National Volùntary Organizations. The Canadian Bankers' Association,, the Trust Companies Association of Canada, Canadian Cooperative Credit Society, the Canadian Life and Heaith Insurance Association and the Insurance Bureau of Canada are just somne of the groups who made presentations on Sept. 20. 0f the groups mentioned above, oniy the Canadian Federation of Independent Business stood in total opposition ta the GST. T'he remainder of tht groups applauded the government for having the fortitude te replace the outdated federal sales tax, regardless of the poli ticai *consequences. These groups have, however, made recommenidations ta the content of the GST. The suggestions have geneT!ally been to broaden the tax base by ridding such tax exempt items as basic groceries and ehiminating the GST credit to low and modest income Canadians. The combined effect of these proposais would result in a lower GST percentage rate. 0f course the best place for me toreceive input on the GST is Ontaro riding. On Wednesday, Sept. 20, the Ontario Riding Smali Business Caucus held a semninaron the GST in Ajax. Tom Hockin, Minister of State for Srnail Business, along with representatives from the Department of Finance were on hand to answer any questions. I amn confident that ail those in attendance found the seminar informative and I assure them that their concemnis were understood and wiii be brought forward at the drafting of the finance cornrittee's report. My office has been receiving a flood of questionnaire responses on both government spendi'ng and abortion. In just three days 1 have received over 800 completed questionnaires. I am deiighted at the response to what I believe ta be a valuable exercise in measuring the beliefs of the residents of Ontario riding.