PAGE 6, JHtBY FREE PRSS WEDNESDAY, MAY 2,'1990 VOICE OF THE COUNTY TOWN The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whftby residents. Put E iblished every Wed'nesday By 677209 Ontario Imc. Phone: 668-6111 668-6112 668-6369 Doug Anderson Publisher w Maurice Pither .Editor Peter irvine Advertising Manager Alexandra Simon Production Manager 2nd Class Postai Registratlon #05351 Whitby is experlencing one of the most significant growth spurts ln its history. With growth, cornes the opportunity for change, ahthough the benefits af change ire iargeiy a matter of perception. Such is the case at Whitby harbor. Coscan proposes thei 5-story residentiai buildings and other uses, lnciuding a waikway, at the harbor. Change Is ineitable. What the changes wlii be Is up for debate. among developers (Coscan), environ mentalists, Industriaiists, historlans, paliticians and citizens. Town planner Bob Short has said that "Whltby sees Harboring community itself contlnulng tq have a strong and meaningful leadership In the planning af the waterfront," yet them Ils nathlng in Whitby's officiai plan ta solldly protect Rt. And there are, as yet, no funds for major improvements and development by the Town. In the 170s the area was eyed for industrial deveiop- ment. Today Rt Is being valued for its open spaces and environmental significance. Whtby residents have argued for changes ta allow what they see as appropriate development, Inciudlng a waterfront waikway on the former Cartier -McNamara property. Improvements to the harbor are badly needed,' and the Coscan development - with a waterfront walkway - is a goad start, as more park areas follow ln the future ta allow incmeased recreatianal use.-* Residents and Tawn councliliors have their own Interpretation af how the public path should wlnd at Coscan. The dialogue. continues, even at the federal level, and, after much argument by concemed residents, we await wlth Interest the final decision ýregarding publie access ta that waterfront praperty. Canadians must, accept Passing the bucks each other'> s differe-nce s By Terry 0O'Shaughnessy It's the old story: don't do as 1 do; do as 1 say. At least, that's what Finance Minister Michael Wilson seemed to be saying in the Iederal budget when he announced that cuts in transfer payments were in store for the provinces. The fact of the matter is, the fed- eral government has greedily reaped the rewards of the economic boom of recent years without using its windfall revenues to get its fiscal house in order. And, realizing that the boom years have ended and the bill still hasn't been paid, Wilson's budgetary solution aimed transfer cuts'at ail the provinces with the more affluent provinces tak- ing the biggest hit. In total, cuts to the provinces will account for one third of Wilson's $3-billion in cuts slated for this year, including the province of Ontario which will lose more than $l-bitlion in payments over the next two years. Predictably, Ontario and some of the other free-spending provinces bleated in protest and, even more predictably, threatened to increase provincial taxes to make up the differ- ence in provincial revenues. The f inance minister's response was to su g- gest that the provinces cut into their own excessive spending and inflation- ary wage settlements instead of pass- ing the new costs along to taxpayers. Whether one agrees or not with the thrust of Wilson's budget, the simple truth is that a number of the provinces have allowved their spending to get even more out of hand than the fed- eral government. For example, research conducted by the Canadian Federation of Indepen- dent Business, shows the province of Ontario leading the big spenders at an average of 9.3 per cent increase in their rate of spending since 1984-85, fol- lowed by British Columbia at an also excessive 8.8 per cent. Only Alberta at 5.5 per cent, Quebec at 4.9 per cent, and Saskatchewan at 3.1 per cent are lower than the federal government's own heavily-criticized spending rate of 5.5 per cent. It is clear that the provinces have been following the example of the fed- eral government in doing what they can to drive the country further and further into debt. Unfortunately, Wilson's budget could easily trigger new provin- cial (and municipal) taxes to make up for the cuts in transfers-over the next two years. If the provinces follow their accustomed practice of doing just that, Canadians will see Wilson's empty promise of "no new taxes" for what it is-a slick attempt to pass the buck. And, of course, the biggest "new tax" yet to come is the infamous Goods and Services Tax which, if implemented, takes effect on Jan. 1, 1991. But that shouldn't diminish the fact that the more prosperous prov- inces must tighten their own beits and reduce spending. As long as they don't, Michael Wilson can welcome more opportunities of doing a repeat perfor- mance of his recent budget act. (FIB Feature Service The fiollowing letter is [rom the former Premier of&SskatchewaiL To the editor: I arn becomning increasingly disturbed at what I think ta be a growing level cf intolerance by Canadians towards their fellow citizens. In recent weeks this has been particularly true in the area of talerance tawards Canadians who may speak an officiai language different from our own. Canada is a country of two officiai languages, English and French. I welcome this. But even if I did flot, I recognize that it is and must continue ta be an enduring characteristic Of Canada. If we who use English as our mother tangue expect, when we travel in Quebec and other francophone areas, ta be weicomed and served with courtesy by public institutions' 9in our own language, we must be prepared ta encourage and support public institutions which offer services in Fr-ench in angophneareas of Canada. And>just as we may wish ta preserve English as a basis for our culture, we must accept that our feilow citizens who are francophone wish ta preserve French as a basis for their culture. I believe that respect for aur two. officiai languages is particularly importan to Canadians who are of neither French nor English origin. For many of them, support for multiculturalism is important. If taday- we say that we cannot afford linguistc duality, tomorrow we will be saying that we cannot. afford ta acconimodate the special needs of aboriginal peoples. Ini effect we. wiII be saying, that we cannc* afford Canada and the, thinga tiat make it different and distinctive. A' Canada which supports linguistie duality is a Canada in which multiculturalism is safer from attack and where the special concerns of people of native origin are more likely ta be addressed Conversely., intoierance towards one group of our fellow citizens is likely 'ta breed intolerance towards other groups too and invite reprisals. I arnsure that moot Canadians wish ta preserve and expand Canada as, a bilingual country which nourishes its cultural diversity. ,This is what makes Canada tjie interesting and blessed country that-it is. Let's keep it that way. Yoer uinorely, MliaE. Blakeney 'So, what's ail- the flap about?" 131 Brock Street North, P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. LUN 5Sl 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. Ail 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 rejeet or edit ail letters. Send to: The Editor, Whitby Free Press, Box 206, Whitby, Ontario LiN 5S1 or drop through our mailsiot at 131 Brock St. N.