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Page 4 TERRACE BAY/SCHREIBER NEWS Wednesday, May 3, 198! «= Editorial Page: The Terrace Bay-Schreiber News is published every Wednesday by Laurentian Publishing Limited, Box 579, Terrace Bay, Ont., POT-2W0 Tel.: 807-825-3747. Second class mailing permit 0867. Member of the Ontario Community Newspaper Assn. and the Canadian Community Newspaper Assn. Budget not a welcome one With the announcement of the federal budget last week by Finance Minister Michael Wilson, many people are wondering exactly how the changes will affect them. Of course, the usual increase to the sin taxes took place once again with a carton of cigarettes going up by $4, taxes on a litre of gasoline increasing by 1 cent per litre effective immediately and going up another 1 cent per litre January 1, -1990. Alcohol taxes increased from 18 to 19 per cent as well. Taxes have increased in a number of other areas: federal surtax up to five from three per cent, federal sales tax has increased - and will be applied to everything except for prescription drugs and medical devices, dental and education services beginning in 1991. During Wilson's T.V. appearance last Wednesday evening, he said by 1993 or 1994 the yearly deficit will be cut in half. That means by that time Canada will be approximately another $100 billion in debt. In the meantime, government services and spending are being slashed (i.e. day care, defense, unemployment coverage). By the government's own calculations, federal revenue will increase this year alone by over $3 billion. Yet, Wilson is managing to spend more than $1 billion over and above what he spent last year. If one thing can be said for the budget it's that everybody is affected. It seems no one group escaped Wilson's tax hikes. Granted, the national debt must be reduced for the sake of the future of the country. But sooner or later, and hopefully sooner, the government must realize it can tax the people only so much. It can't continually say it needs more money, and then reach into the pockets of Canadians and expect them to be complacent about it. When is it going to stop? When taxes reach 60 or 70 or 80 per cent of a person's income? Economists are debating whether the budget will lead to a slowdown in the growth of the economy or if it will bring about a recession. Either way, the economy won't be growing as it has been for the foreseeable future. General Managet.......Paul Marcon Editor....................... David Chmara Admin. Asst...........Gayle Fournier Production Asst....Carmen Dinner Editorial Asst......... Connie Sodaro Single copies 40 cents. Subscription rates: $15 per year / $25 two years (local) and $21 per year (out of town). Budget Night: Prime Time Television But honey, it's only T.V.! CCCS still has concern: Dear Editor: The Concerned Citizen Committee of Schreiber feels the need to respond to the April 26 report by CP Rail published.in the Terrace Bay/Schreiber News concerning the mincral transfer facility. Firstly, in reference to CP Rail's statement of not having enough time to "iron out the bugs," we feel had they abided by the June 20, 1988 agreement between CP Rail and Town Council, in their day to day oper- ation of the site, most of the prob- lems would not have existed in the first place. We question their attempts at "vigilance" in maintaining the site. Where it would appear they have done an intensified spring clean-up, we are. concerned that since their site supervisor has returned to his home office, fur- ther violations will or rather have occurred. This is evident in the ongoing removal of snow to the shared Terrace Bay/Schreiber dump site instead of back to the tailings pond at the mine site as stipulated in the agreement. According to Don Katchekowski, Ministry of Environment, permission had becn given to move 7 or 8 loads of snow, not the actual amouni over 40 loads which have bi transferred to date according our observations. Dr. Graham is»teferred.ta being of the opinion that ther no apparent health hazard pres based on his knowledge of the uation. We feel, based on the < cle appearing in the Times/Ne on April 24 concerning this is: that Dr. Graham is not informed observer as he him admits. . We would also argue with Rail's figures as to the amoun Continued on page | Eyedentification...security in the 90's Back in the 19th century, North American Indian were introduced to the science of photography. It was a marriage that almost didn't take. Photographers were surprised to learn that when they pointed their cameras at Sioux braves or Apache chiefs, the subjects responded by pointing arrows, spear and the odd Winchester 30- 30 right back at the photographer. The Indians weren't striking dramatic poses. They regarded cameras with about the same affection the Ayatollah would have for an autographed copy of Satanic Verses, which is to say they loathed the things. They belived that the camera could steal their spirits. We've come a long way, Kemosabe. Nowadays we don't much worry about the threat of cameras stealing our souls. We line up for the privilege of having our photos affixed to driver's licences and company ID cards. Dentists and doctors regularly shoot X ray photos of impacted molars and twisted ankles. Automatic TV cameras routinely pan across whole shuffling hordes of us in banks, public washrooms and shopping malls. Even the corner store has a Big Brother eyeball mounted up in the ceiling. I'm on TV every time I drop in to buy a quart of two percent. And there's more to come. If you find it offensive having a Rent A Cop run a metal wand under your armpits and over your privates every time you try to board a plane, chances are you're really going to have trouble with the newest wrinkle in the security game -- an innovation called Veincheck. Veincheck is a brand new security system for credit cards. The people in charge have decided that signatures are too easy to forge and fingerprints are too easy to steal. Accordingly, some day soon when you get to the checkout counter with your goodies and throw down your charge card, you may be asked to hold out your wrist. The checkout person will then take a picture of the back of your yo he Arthur Black Kinky? Nope. The camera is scanning the subcutaneous veins in your hand and translating that pattern into digital information that is stored on the back of your 'experimental charge card. If what the camera sees doesn't match with what's imprinted on your card, it means you're using that charge card illegally. Chances are at this point they'll ask you to hold out your other wrist as well. To facilitate the fitting of handcuffs. Veincheck fits right in with another hi-tech security system that's already being used in some exclusive circles where controlled access is crucial. It's called Eyedentification. With this one, a low intensity scanner looks right into your eyeballs and reads the pattern of blood vessels on your retina. Such patterns are, the experts say, like snowflakes -- no two alike. Therefore, if your retina blood vessels don't check out, you don't get past security. Veincheck is still in the stage and. Eyedentification is used primarly to control access to high security establishments and to keep track of prison inmates, but there's no reason to suppose that such systems couldn't proliferate and find their way into just about every corner of your life. Indeed, Joe Rice, the man who invented Veincheck, says-he can see the day coming when you and I could program virtually everything we own -- car, front door, television, VCR, checking account, motorboat at the cottage -- to operate only when activated by a card that recognizes the vein patterns on the back of the owner's hand. Revoluntionary? Well I suppose. But I keep thinking of that old Charlton Heston sci-fi movie -- the one about some Futureworld where every citizen has a silicon 'information' chip implanted in his wrist at birth. And I kecp remembering those Indians and their aversion to having their pictures taken. I suspect those 'underdeveloped aboriginals' sensed something we're much too sophisticated to understand.