PAGE 6, WHiTBY4 FREÉ PRESS, WEDNSA~MT1;19 VOICE 0F THE COUNTY TOWN The on/y Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents. J~j~ Published every Wednesday Maurice Pifher By 677209 Ontario Imc. Editor SPhone: 668-6111 Peter Irvine 668-6112 Avexasnranimon 668-6369AdetsnMagr CCAJ LiN 5S1 nd Class Postai Reglstratlon $05351 Production Manager it was expected ta be the year af the tax, and, unfortunateiy, the predictions are comlng true. Double digit tax lncreases just approved by the Region and Durham Board cf Education wIll resuit in a hefty tax bill for ratepayers in Durham Region. including Whitby. We've heard the explanations. Some are valid, such as sohool trustees camplainlng about the programrs mandated by the Province, but wth no provincial funding - ln keeping with the declining share by the Province ln educational f unding. The Region bas hired more staff, mnostly police Rtevoit ing offIcers, ta, keep up with growth. and put away millions for upcomning projects. Should the deai be maae win Metro over the temporary Iandfili site ln Pickering, and the Region receive the millions of dollars proposed in the deal, taxpayers snoula expect mIinal, if nat zero, tax inornases in the next few years. The Town af Whtby tax Inomease of 7.4 per cent looks good in comparison with the 11.2 par cent increase for Region and 14.1 per cent for the public sohool board. The Town made cuts that will delay prajects, but wili be Iess puni shing ta the taxpayer. At ail levels, taxpayers shauld expect mare cuts ta reduce the tax burden; should expeot budget pre- paration ta be a year-round job; should expect more of the "'hard decisions" that will hurt some, but benefit mast ln the pocketboak. If not, let the revoit begin. Roads coalition cali formore fundling Ta the editor recent study being carried out government has provided nu untario's needa. However. the Trans Canada Highway, cries under the auspices of the Roada fimding for Ontario roada since turniîng ta Canada as a whole, the out for attention, Th. people of This is the tirne of year when and Transportation Association of 1971 when the Trans Canada aedra1 goverrnment now collecte Ontario, nat only the rond uera governments at al levels are Cand (RTAC), they illustrate H-ighway was completed. Yet *5.73-billion per year from rond- mnvolved in the. Botter Roada temtng ta, put the final that the fundaspent on aur road road-related taxes now have related taxes and spenda only Coaltion, should be asking aur ouhs on, their budgets. system are far bas than what is become a mnajor source of *200-million. per year on our politicians,'Why?'. E'eauerfinance lco)mmttee collected from road related taxs. rvenh1 '""k xneiners,' etc. are ail aced with demanda for services and limited tax dollars ta allocate ta each. The Better Roads Coalition is able ta, put forth a number of interesting staistics. Quoting from gavernent sources and a By Terry O'Shaughnessy Springtime in Canada bas rarely been this bleak. Interest rates are soar- ing. Consumer confidence is plum- mneting and businessbankruptcies are on the climb. A constitutional crisis is raging from caast ta coast. The fed- erai deficit is growing steadily day by day. And the hated Goods and Services lbx is a mere seven months away fromn its proposed Jan. 1, 1991 implementa- tion date. Times are certainly tough and the federal govemmrrent is now pleading with Canadians to lower their salary expectations and curb their inflation- ary spending habits until the economy recovers some of its former health. So what happens next? Do these same poilticians then do the honorable thing and decide ta set an example for the country? Do they even do the not-so- honorable thing and restrain their own salary demnands? Are we even surprised when we iearn that senior federal bureaucrats, as well as staffers from the prime minister's office, are enjoying substantial salary increases? Unfor- tunately, the answer toalal these ques- tions is a resounding "no". in times like these'it is more dîfficuit than usual to accept the fact that bureaucrats are helping them- selves to salary increases far in excess of those of average Canadians. Recent Federai Pay Research Bureau figures showing that somne public salaries have gone up by more than 16 per cent since One statistie that is most disturbing is the fact that the federal governmrent collects *2-billion per year in road related taxes in Ontario alone each year, but spends no money on roads in Ontario.. I fact, the federal 1987 are maddening to say the very least. And the fact that even higher pay hikes are planned before this summer is nothing short of appalling. But perhaps the most galling news of ail came from the Bank of Canada where pay increases of more than 17 per cent found their way into the pockets of Bank of Canada employees. Most outrageous was the 35 per cent increase for busy Bank of Canada President John Crow who, weary from repeated trips to the interest rate pump, has been urging Canadians ta, sacrifice their salary expectations because higher wages would spur inflation and force him to keep interest rates high. Unless Crow bas an evil twin brother who has been wallowing in extra dough while publicly urging Canadians ta sacrifice their own expectations, it would seemn the pub- ic is being treated to another 'don't do as 1 do, do as 1 say' carnpaign. Because, of course, Crow is flot the only one pointing to wage restraint. Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Finance Minister Michael Wilson have both stated repeatedly that rising wage increases were a key factor in the decision to fight inflation via higher interest rates. But judging trum their un- wiliingness to shoulder their personal part of the burden, it seems as though they expeet Canadians to fight that battle alone. rPIB Feeture Service Even ini the area of the removal of level grade erossings, which is clearly the responsibility of the federal goverrunent, contributions since 1978 are now zero on aur provincial 'highways and only $2-million per year un aur municipal road rail crosanga. The Betterý Roads Coalition, because it is an Ontario-baaed organizatian, concentrates on Thank you Kinettes To the editor. The residýnts cf Reedaire Court would;like ta thank the Kinettes of Wihitby for * i* u a better view of the world. U Dorothy Demputer Grâce Harvey The Ontario provincial government colleces 2.3-bilion per year in road-related taxes and spends *1.5-billion per year on moade. This statistie doos not tae into account the additional revenue from the new 1989 road-relatod taxes, nar does it reflect the much welcomed five-year, *2-billion transportation enhancement Program. When one reviews thoe statistics at bath the federal and provincial government levels on. can clearly understand why our roads are in trouble, considering bath the condition and capacity ta carry today's traffic. Ifteneeds did not exist there wauld b. no quarrel with the decisian ta use roed-related tes for ather needs. Our road infrastruture i. et a criéis, with congestion blocking aur cities. Our national highway, Hlarold F. Gilbert Chairman Better Roade Coaltiosi Westmi*nister Church says thanks To the. edito-. To ail Whitby area merchants, the Westminster United Church Family would like ta thank yau for ~rour gnerositandcthelp in Our Tead TletAuction. Joan Senko Shirley Wallis PDoug Anderson Publisher 131 Brook Street North, P.O. Box 206,' Whitby, Ont. t Nothing te crow about 1