F - -- - -- r ~ - - -- - - - Page 6, Whitby Fee Press, Wednesday, May 18, 1994 The onty Newspaper owned and operated by- Wtitby residents for Whltby residents! MEMBER 0F: ~ONTARIO CANADIAN COMMUNITY CMMUNITY NEWSPAPER + N NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION ASSOCIATION ~ CANADIAN CIRCULATIONS CNA DIVISION AUDIT BOARD ISSN#0844-398X Publîshed every Wednesday by 677209 Ontario Imc. Box 206, 131 Brook St. N., Whitby, Ontario Li N 5S1 Phone: .668-6111 Toronto Line: 427-1834 Fax: 668-0594 Doug Anderson - Pubisher Maurice Pither - Editor Alexandra Martin - Production Manager Printed on newsprint with minimum 20% recycled content using vegetable based inks. C Alil written material, illustrations and advertising contained herein is protected by copyright. Any reproduction by any means for commercial purposes without the express pemission of the newspaper is prohibited and is a violation of Canadian oopyright aw. Reprouction for non-commercial distribution should bear a credit Une to the Whtby Free Press. CIDA. spending By Alex Sheph.rd Durham rldlng MP Canada borrows approximately $2 billion a year ta give ta approximateIy 150 developing nations. That's right, you've read correctIy This barrowed $2 billion is sPenttb the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) throughout the world as the agency sees fît.* To b. honest, when 1 heard about this, 1 almost had a Mi. Armed with thus knowledge I decided ta attend a Public Accounts Committes meeting laoking into CIDA's spending practices. And apparently 'mn not the only ane with misgivings about CIDA's spending habits. The federal auditor general was there too and subsequently released a scathing denunciation of the agency's spending. Why, for exanuple, is CIDA paying oney ta third parties wihaut f inding ot and doumentingnthe prajeots are finished as originally panned? Any why are many of CIDA's prajeots non- sustainable? Projects are started around the world and neyer completed. Or money is spent on food - and l'm not against feeding the hungry f irst - but there is, in some cases, neyer any follow-up educat ion and training an how developing nations can grow their awn. The problem stems from a very overly bureaucratic and hierarchical administration. Once a decision on funding a program is made at the top it makes no sens. once it rnakes fts way thra.ug hthe bureauracy and, into the field. At the first committee meeting I asked CIDA's president if she pîanned addressing these problems. Her replies Were vague. Sh. simply said sh. could f ix the probîemrs. Sh. wýas equally vague when asked how she was going ta make CIDA's. reparting system back ta her office mare effective and accaunitable. standards af living. I-ow much help this country is going ta 9ive deveîoping nations in the future is a profound choice Canaciians will have ta make. I think it would b. reasonable ta suggest we decrease aur commitment ta CIDA by 50 per cent and have the agency operate in fewer countries where their efforts could have a greater impact. Tote etr. Speaking out about hospital To the edîtor: Rt has been proposed that Whitby General Hospital pravide only rehabilitation services. This would mean that you would go ta Aj ax- Pickering Haspit ai or Oshawa General Hospital ta abtain your routine hospital services such as emergency, surgery, and inpatient treaMent. The people of Whltby have given generously during collections made for the hospital, not ta mention the. work of the service clubs ln Whitby. Why should they b. foreed to use ho.pitals that are already overcrowded? How many times have you had ta take your sick or injured child for care, whether I be an emergency or for tests, ta Whitby hospit aI? We now have more ai an older-aged population and they deserve 'to be treated in their own community if they need ta be haspitalized. Services currently provided at Whitby General Hospital are emergency department, out- patient services (for example; out- patient surgery, outpatlent clinios, x-ray, ultrasound, mammagraphy, pnysiotlIerapy) inpatient active treatment beds (medicaV/surgical becis), respite beds (twa weeks care for a persan being cared for by someone at home so that caregiver can have a break) and chronlo care beds. f yau want ta keep services such as w. now have in Whitby, se. vour doctor and ask for a 'Patient questionaire' and let your vaice be heard or get in touch with your councillor. Sandre Llntnsr Whitby 'Armochair' right.earned To the Edîtor: yCopy ai letter ta Durham Centre MPPDUrummond White. Sir, Two years ago yau wrote the. fallowing ln a ltter ta the editor: aPeople shauld pet involved instead af standing on the sidelines. Did yau realIy mean that people shauld get involved, or dud yau really mean they shauld onty get invoîved wfth the NDP, your own political party? Recently in the Whitby Free Press, yau accused me af being partisan. Yau also stated that 1 shauld, at: your invitation, qat out of my armchair. Not once un your letter did you address the concernis 1 expressed in my previaus letter. 1 agree with one of your partisan supporters that you did on April Wanted: Garbage solution To the Editor: This mamning I took six clear plastic bag s ai leaves ta the curb end added them ta the green bag ai household garbage already there. A neatly-tied package af corrugated boxes, another tied package ai twigs, my blue box f illed with newspapers and tin cans ail sat waiting for the fathful garbage collector. Up and dawn the street the same picture stared at me from every househald. We're ail saying ta aur g avernment off iciaIs, *Take my grae, but don't even think ma@ ai dispasing il near me." Certainly I dan't want a disposai area in my neighbourhaod but, truthfuîly, what place can b. suggested that will not b. met with great argument? What do we really expect aur oavernment ta do? Bob Rae didn't fill my garbage bags, but we' re blaming the NDP for aur predicamnrt. Could anyane ýsuggest a solution? 'm certain the. government would b. overjoyed. Hilda Dunbar Whftby .how about old mines?' To the edîtor: 1 suggest that a brainstorming session b. conducted, through your newspaper, an the subi oa garbage disposaI. Hem. is my contribution: -- that a two-level caîlecting centre b. established -- thaI large cracker milîs b. instaîled (f rom unused mine sites>, lie garbage put tiraugi the milîs inta balers, put under extreme pressure, baled into a convenient size and loaded on large transport trucks direct ly f rom the baler. .- the baled garbage b. transported ta an unused mine site.off-laaded ta conveor befts and deposited under or above ground. This method would b. dlean and would create employment aW bath ends af the system. L Harry Inkp.n Whitby 20 , with your feltow NDP member for Durham-York, present petitions ta the govemment asking them ita pass Bill 21.- How noble of yauand NDP MPP Larry O'Connor. -Your partisan supporter knows ýery well that my letter urg * pa g e of Bill 21 apperd in The Free Press before you1 arase from your seat in the legisative assembly later the sarne day. You accused me of being partisan. Until recently, I belonged ta no party. At variaus times 1 have been very critical of ail three maorplitic" parties, and MIl cniue ta be sa. You blame the PCs for holding up passage of Bill 21, yet no governing party in the modern history of Ontario has used clasure as many times in forcing passage ai bils than the present N DP government. Vour party wiIl use clasure even thoug h it has a majority in the legisiature, yet it uses the excuse that athers are the villains. In typicai NDP fashion, you are attempting ta put the blame on me for sitting in my armchair and not getting invalved.- You must b. jesting. 1 amn well past my 7Oth year. 1 served in World War Il, I volunteered in 1940 when 1 was 17. 1 served nearly six years overseas and was wounded in action. Now you have the unmitigated gal ta, accuse me of sltting in my armchair. 1 sit in my armchair (Juite oten, and 1 believe that as adisabled war veteran 1 have earned that rlght. t is because ai what 1 have seen in other countries that 1.11 under the yak. af right-wing and left-wing dictatorships that 1 arn 9 reatly orcerned with what I se. appenipg in present-day Ontario. 1 write this letter in the hope tha you will have the decency ta wte a public apology ta me, and have it published. Tom Doucette Whitby