Page 6, Whitby Free Press, Wednesday, March 9, 1994 The only Newspaper owned and operated by Whtby residents for Whitby residents! MEMBER 0F:' - ONTARIO CANADIAN NEWSPAPER C A ESPR isi ASOCITIONASSOCIATION I~mI CANADIAN CIRCULATIONS ONA DIVISION AUDIT BOARD ISSN#0844-398X 26,500 COPIES DELIVE RED WEEKLY Published every Wednesday by 677209 Ontario Imc. Box 206, 131, Brook St. N, Whitby, Ontario Li N 5S1l Phone: 668-6111 Toronto Line: 427-1834 Fax: 668-0594 Doug Anderson - Pubisher Maurice Pither - Editor Alexandra Martin - Production Manager Printed on newsprînt with minimum 20% recycled content using vegetable based Inks. Q Ail written material, illustrations and adv.rtising contalned herein is protected by copyriht. Any reproduction by any means for commercali purposes wthout the express permission of the newspaper i8 prhlbîted and is a violation of Canadian copyrighlma. Reproduction for non-commercial distribution should bear a credit lino t0 the Wîhy Fre Press. The failures To the- Editor: Re: Latter, 'Praiso for Bob,' The Fre Press, Feb. 23. W. are tortunate that Donald MK Warne listed the accomptishments of Bob Ras that ho considered worth mentioning. It ho had isted the failures and scandais in order, à coutd titI many pages of the paper. In the f irst 18 months of being elected, the NDP government uridor Ras had a steady stream of scandais that were brought to ight alter attempts of cover-ups. We had the case of a cabinet minister telling lies about a doctor. When this coutd not bu covered up, we, the taxpayers of Ontario, through our Ont ario government. paid nearly $500,000 so the cabinet minister coutd prove she lied about the doctor. W. had scandais in the housing ministry. W. had a scanda] when a new head of Ontario Hydro was appointed by the Ras govornment at a salary of more.than $400,000 a year, but ho later agreed to take haIt that amount. Ho thon rosigned to return to British Columbia, the province f rom where-he was hired. The poor man was a needy case so thée Ra. govemment gave him a large severance package and an extra year's salary. Tho Ras government was not to bu outdone. They hired another head of Hydro, from British Columbia, at a huge salary. But this was not sultabte to his tastos, so h. n.eded $90,000 to cover his exponse account for one year. Those largo amounts were not completety lost. They wore made up for b laying off several thousand workers ftrom Hydro. Bof or. Rae was etected as Premier, ho promisod public ato insurance at a lower cost to car owners. Now we have a system Mannequin To the Editor: The cartoon by Werf in the *March 2 edit ion of The Fre Pross was quit. appropriate, but for a slight oversight -- a seated Uncle Sam at the levers in the back 0f a United Nations mannequin seatod on Uncte Sam's lap. C. Choplany W hltby caJied 'no fault,' and a mixture of public. and priva. insurance that costs $200 more a year, and drivers have lms protection from the dangers of carelées and neglgent drivers than previously. An NDP MPP who had worked hard for a governmrrent auto Insurance plan gt lower cost was forced out of the governiment caucus on the fimsy excuse he posed as a Sunshine Boy, with ail hisclothes on. Before Ras was elected, he bemoaned the tact that the smail amounts of monoy spent on lottery tickets was being taken from the mouths of the poor. Oh, what a sinful thing gambling is. But is is not too bad whon sanctioned by Rae. He has, through the Ontario Lottery Corporation, more than doubled the rnany forma of lotteries. We will soon have gambling casinos, but this is only a make-work program for our unemployed, including the 35 that will bu hired from the U.S.A. The only NDP MPP to object to the casino plan was forced to resign his seat ln caucus. Donald M. Warne tells us that the lnvestmnent Share program will cost $300 million and wi Il croate 4,000 jobs over three years. That wAih make tust 1,334 jobs a year. Hie also praises the Employment Equlty Plan. lsn't it the same plan that means white maies need not apply for jobs within the Ontario governiment? Donald M. Warne tells us we are carplng when w. com lain about Bob Ras and his ODP government.' Do w. have a right to complain when our governimont hires an American ex-policeman who was fired by his former employer for Insûrance f raud? Do we have a right to complain because the sam e ex-convict was hired as a p rovincial court emptoyes by the Figovernmrrent when they were aware of his past employment history? ?erhaps if enough Ontarians carp about our governm ont, we wil se. some improvement, but 1 doubt that. R Il witbu butter to carp than to harp about how good our NDP govermoent is wh on thei harpist is harping on a harp that is out of tune and has most of ts strings broken, like NDP promises. Tom Doucette Whitby eWIth ail the smnowolls stolon this year - I'm keepng mine Iocked up!" 0 Tote edior.. Tenor was 'disturbing' To the Edtor: Councillor Fox may prosumne that there le litts roomn for furth.r reductions ln our taxes based on what has occurred in the past few year. However, ho has been selective in his explanation (letter. 'Request unreaiistic,' The Free Press, March 2). A budget is a torecast of expected revenues and exper>ses. On balance, it is not enough to discuss costs without considering the revenue side of the budget process. The property tax reduction could bu financed by increased revenues from commercial and residential construction, user fees and productivity gains. Certainly, an improving economic environ- ment gives local government a littîe more breathing room to make difficuit decisions. White I can appreciate that the employees of the Town of Whitby have endurodAinancial hardshîps as a result of the social contract, they are certainty not alone. The prvate sector has boon ravaged bthe past recossion. ' Private-sector workers, the vast ,majority of which are not protected by collective agreements, have- endured a rocession that has resulted in lasses of income that, in many cases, exceed the 10 per cent cut suggested by Mr. Sadlor. (letter, 'How about more cuts?' Free Press, Feb. 16). The tenor of councillor Fox's latter is disturbing. When compared to the report (on the same page) on the federal budget from Alex Shepherd, Member of Parliament for Durham riding, councillor Fox appears to condescend to Mr. Sadier. White an MP empathizes with taxpayers and rmises the issue of hig6r or os in the public sector compared to the private soctor - 13.9 per cent to bu exact - councillor Fox defends the status quo. Perhaps the divergence of opinion can bu explained by comparing the background of both of these politicians. Both are pro essionatIs, however, councillor Fox is a teacher employed in the public sector and Mr. Shepherd is a charterod accountant and, formerly, a private-sector business operator. t's no wonder their views on the budget process seem to be potes apart. In terms of being aware of the-publces mood, 1 give the MP full marks for being op.n-minded and aitoeast wiUIg to debato the issue. I belleve Mr. Sadler's vlews are not nec.ssaily unrealistlc and perhaps kis eouncilor Fox who needs to rethink his pedantic reply to a Iegitlmatde opinion. Hi ttmpt to rebuko Mr. Sadier for publicly expressng his views shows a Iac Of respectfor the tundamental deglmrato lghtof issent. wy rlght to publlcly disagree wth councillar Fox ln the pages of this paper is not only entêrely justifiabebtwholly necessary in a liberal democracy. Eîected officiais should ex---#. to be challenged by those they serve. josph Putoon, Wlilby S a a..ars, ep r About Bill 120 By Gord Mille8 Durham East MIP Bill 120 extends rights under the Landlord and Tenant Act and other Iaws protecting tenants to residents of apartments in houses and care home, incîuding unlicensed, boarding and retirement homes. These tenants wiII gain protection that Ontario's other 12 million tenants already enjoy. In care homes, the lack of protection has meant residents lack privacy or are faced with the threat of Iosing their Iodging at a moment's notice. Our government believes that a nerson living in a care home or an apartrnent in a house shouîd 6ave the same rights, security and protection as other tenants. In the last while, welve seen the tragedy that can resuit trom living in an unsafe apartment. People who died in those tires might stili b. alive today if their apartments weren't made illegal by local zoning laws that ignore the thousanids of apartments that exist across the province -- some say more than 140,000 -- incluciing thousands in the.riding of Durham East. Bill 120 contains provisions to make it easier for bylaw off icers to enforce safety, health and property standards. Further, the bill makes apartments in houses a legal use. For mnany owners, this will enhance the value of their properties. Similary, tenants can complain to their municipality about unsafe or unhealthy ho3using condit ions without facing automnat lce viction because of zoning. Gontrary to what some critios suçgg.st, this is not an attemrpt to legalize exlsting apartments in houss whloh are sub-stanidaid, nor ls R a moratorium. To be legal, any unit. new or old, must meet provincial heafth and safety standard&. In ta.t, <iew standards for apartments in houses have been developed under the Ontario Building Gode and are being created under the Ontario Fire Gode. The standards wilI address tire safety ise such as snioke detectors, exits and f ire separaltions. B111 120 supports homneownership. For man eple, the rent t rom an apartment in a house can make the diference b.tween being able to stay in their home and having to move. Many people, lncluding seniors on fixed incomes, lempty-nesters' and childless couplIes, wiil benefit. At the samne time, the opportunity to live in an apartment in a home tends to b. more affordable and wili allow many people to save up for the downpayment required to buy their own home for the f irst time. The construction and renovations of apartments in houses will croate work, promote compact development, in particutar, in the inner city where household sizes are docliniîng. Finally, Bill 120 wîil allow municipalities to enter into agreements with owners to allowo gardon suites (granny flats) on their property for up to 10 years. These suites wiIl allow seniors and families to stay together, supporting each other while maintaining their privacy.