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You said it esg than two I months to go until hristmas and I've already met my share of scruoges. Growing up I was always told that charity work is good for the soul. Maybe, but the old blood pressure sure takes a beating. For those of you who don't know. when I'm not wearing my reporter's hat, a lot of my lime (especially lately) is spent volunteering for the local chapter of the Sunshine Foundation of Canada. The organization raises money to grant the dreams of thildren who are either suffering from a life-threatening illness or who are severe- ly physically challenged. Gifts shouidn't come with strings attached Being that I adore kids and have a great deal of compassion for those suffering. the cause is right up my alley And to see the faces of the children after they mauve a new Computer. a visit with Mickey Mouse or whatever their little hearts desire makes all of the hard work worthwhile Believe me. lately I've had to remind myself of that sentiment. Don't get me wrong; there's nothing more warm and fuzzy than giving of yourself to help others m need But In tell ynu the truth, I never knew the meaning of the word swamped until l started to help plan the Foundation's tint-ever 'Taste of the Town' culinary showcase and INCREASED NBACCO TAXES DETER PEOPLE FROM SMOKING? QUESTION silent auction. The event took place last Saturday at Westmount Golf and Country Club, raising about S8.000 for the Foundation. Awesome! But let me tell you, it will be at least another handful of days before the pre-event anxiety and the post-event exhaustion are out of my system. I think that can be said for all those involved. especially our high-energy president Carmen Robert who has- n't yet managed to can Vince me that she ever sleeps. But while this positive life experience was one I will hold close to my heart forever. it also served to open my eyes to the worst in some people. My main duty was to help organize the silent auction. I had to draft a letter In potential item donors. mail them out, follow up with phone calls. pick some of the items up and make sure they made it to the event, Needless to say, I now know a lot about running an auction. Most of the potential donors the other volun teers and I approached were generous, or at least apologetic if they couldn't support the cause But there was one incident which made me question the mtegruy of some members of this community In the letter sent out requesting donations. and during the follow-up calls, all of the details of "I don't think it would stop people, but it may make them cut back." "No. I think if people want to smoke. they wil smoke anyway" Jessie Brubacher Diane Mayer: COMMENT the event were explained thoroughly. Those with reading skills knew the items would be placed on one of the auction tables, complete with an item description credit- ing their companies for the contributions. They were also given the opportunity to place proper signage such as business cards along with their items on the tables Wrong One of the donors. whom I held In high regard before the event. didnt make things quite measy. Black and white, right7 It shouldn't be about giving to get something in return. And if it is, it doesn't get much more 'Bah Humbug' than that. Firit. because this ANDREA person's company was generous enough to make a donation, this person believed three company employees would, or at least should, be entitled to free tickets tome event. That sounds delight- ful on the surface. However, if we gave free tickets to everyone who donated. it would defeat the meaning of the word 'donation'. Needless to say this person then had to 'think' about whether or not the auction was still deserving of the dona- tion. bet me remind every- one that an event like this is intended to raise money. and that would be difficult to accom- plish if we treated every- one and their neighbour to a night of fun. But I am happy to say there seemed to be only one bad apple in the bunch, Everyone else felt gratified Just knowing their contributions will help put a smile on a sick child's face And that's what it's all about. It shouldn't be about giving to get something in return And ifit is, it doeso't get much more Tlah Humbug' than that. Dont get me wrong, donations of all kinds are appreciated. But if it's going to be condi, tional and not purely as an act of kindness. please don't bother There are many others out there who would be more than happy to fill your spot on the table with no strings attached, "Unless they raise the price to like $8 a pack, it won't stop people from smoking." No. Cigarettes are addictive and people are going to pay whatever they have to pay to smoke." Jade Hopkins Ryan Spince In 1997, the Harris government conducted what it called the "Who does what" exercise, Headed by former Toronto mayor and former federal cabinet minister David Crombie. it was designed to reconfrgure the services that were run and paid for by the different levels of government in Ontario. while at ihe same time providing money to fund the Tory tax cut. You may recall the high-saturation television commercials that featured Mike Harris in your basement, rewiring your house. As part of this process, Queen's Park took over education funding (although it still raises part of the money through regressive property taxes). while municipalities were handed the responsibility of paying for and administering seniors' and children's programs, land ambulance services, social welfare, and social housing. The last item on this list was somewhat of a surprise when it was announced. In fact. even David Crombie spoke out against the downloading of social housing. He noted that this idea had never even been discussed by his commission and suggested that someone in the all powerful premier's office must have worked out the plan "on the back of an envelope". Opposition to the download of social housing was almost universal, although different stake- -r--- holders had different reasons for their V q . r , reservations, Affordable housing advo- hniiilrl , I I l I (ti cates pointed out that Ontario is in the ‘ g, 1va midst ofa housing crisis. one that can ' . only be tackled effectively with fund- I lat' " ‘ ing and co-ordination from senior lev- ‘ N KBer. els of government. With the download ‘ , [:dliiii . of social housing administration. ‘ 3 . a I , financial and institutional barriers to ' , b . _ l , the creation of new affordable housing ‘ E L' R ‘ f , will become almost insurmountable. ' 55'" w - Municipalities worried. with some Illl-ll justification, that they were being handed housing that needed or would SCOTT need significant and expensive repairs. Of the three types of social FIATKOWSKI housing -- public housing. non-profit housing and co-operative housing __ it is the public housing stock that presents the highest potential repair costs (newer social housing communities were required or encouraged to set aside money in reserves to pay for these repairs). Built primari- ly in the period from 1945 to 1973, most public housing is now at the point ofneeding new windows, new roofs and new bath- rooms. While municipalities want to know who is going to pay these costs. residents of social housing communities want to avoid a situation in which politicians have to decide between repairing their leaking roof or freezing property taxes, The province argues that responsibility for "bricks and mortar" is best kept at the local level. This statement betrays a fundamental misun- derstanding of what social housing is all about: it is much more an bricks and mortar; it offers a home and a supportive com- munity to hundreds of thousands of PEOPLE. After a lengthy period in which the different players attempt- ed to negotiate the terms of the download. the province has now moved to impose its own plan through legislation. Bill 128. the Social Housing Reform Act. cancels existing contracts with social housing providers (a step which the province found nec- essary after repeatedly getting its knuckles wrapped by the courts for violating those agreements), These contracts are being replaced with a new operating framework __ some of which is in the legislation. but key parts will come later in reng lations that can be changed at the whim of the minister. The new operating system will be administered by 47 municipal agencies (called Consolidated Municipal Service Providers) across Ontario, which in turn will be part of a provincewide Social Housing Services Corporation. Remember folks, this is the provincial government that is opposed to red tape, Co-ops are particularly concerned about the new levels of bureaucracy, the fragmentation of operating standards. and the very real threats to their autonomy, The plan for the municipal A ities to take over the income verification functions currently performed by the housing providers will result in an inemcient and cumbersome system that will not be sensitive to the diverse needs of residents. As well. a requirement that operating surpluses be clawed back removes built in incentives for hour ing providers to operate in a cost-effective manner, In an ideal world. the Harris government would abandon its ilradvised plan to download social housing (of course, in an ideal world there wouldn't be a Harris government), In our less than ideal world, it is essential that the damage caused by this legislation be limited as much as poeuhle From the back of an envelope l P _., _ AN()TllO' _ 'i, VIEW ‘ ‘ % s i 1 %’%~'3 "s/r),,', l, , l