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response is necessary to put Ai: proper perspective a point f view expressed in a Letter to the Editor in the Aug. 6 issue. The letter writer wondered why the Waterloo Minor Hockey Associâ€" ation was not holding its golf tourâ€" nament at RIM Park "given that they were one of the interest groups lobâ€" bying heavily for the building of the Don‘t blame WMHA for RIM Park woes WMHA puts the interests of youth intestered in playing ice hockey first and foremost. The assoâ€" ciation strives to provide the youth of Waterloo with the best programs in Canada. few weeks ago. the Chronicle ran a feature article A;boul a woman who lives near Laurier who has ad consistently unfortunate situations with uniâ€" versity students over the years, to the point that she dreads their return in September. I live in Uptown Waterloo. Approximately a quarter of the houses on our street are either student housing or have student boarders, including our own. I have enjoyed countless positive encounters with university students â€" from the examâ€"studying student who handed me a pocketful of toonies when 1 canâ€" vassed for the Cancer Society, to the students who dressed up and handed out candy to University students have a lot to offer In regard to the Tom Stockie retirement party fiasco â€" Kathy Wagner Marsland of the acting CAO‘s office is taking the heat for being the point person for the arrangements and finances for the really big party, and all of her duties were being accomplished during reguâ€" lar taxpayerâ€"paid office hours. It boggles the mind the lack of perception shown by the staff involved, for the mood of the citizens of our city relating to Torn Stockie and our tax bills. Let us all understand city hall procedures â€" I doubt very much that Ms. Marsland took on this role on her own without directions from higher up â€" namely her Party plans were an insult to taxpayers You said it Seeing a need for additional ice I am sorry her experience differs so much from my QUESTION WHY IS THE PROVINCIAL ELECTION IMPORTANT ? NS HES L. surfaces, WMHA was first to approach the city and make a comâ€" mitment to a donation of $250,000 towards the building of new ice surâ€" faces. Not only for our members, but the citizens of Waterloo. WMHA did not advocate for a facility of the magnitude built, nor did we lobby for gymnasia, field houses, sports fields or a golf course. This being said WMHA will conâ€" tinue to make every effort to attract high quality hockey events that will unitize the facility. When it came time to organize a golf tournament, WMHA was pleased to patronize a business that "I‘m not interested in the election. I haven‘t been following it at "We need a change. Tuition has gone up the last two years. And there‘s always a shortâ€" age of nurses and doctors." THE CHRO Jen McDonald COMMENT my kids on Halloween. A university student teaches my kids gymnastics; ~*~Wnother instructs me in aquafit at the rec centre. We have had a variety of enthusiastic, caring babysitâ€" ters from UW, WLU and Conestoga College. Any noise complaints or uncut lawns in our neigh bourhood can be attributed to "town" not "gown". Really 1 have only two complaints against the stuâ€" dents: the annual depletion of tuna, peanut butter and Kraft Dinner in area grocery stores every September and January, and the way they make me feel old when they ask innocent questions about the ‘BOs. boss, our acting CAO Kathy Durst What is deeply troubling to me is that in approving this involvement, she does not seem to appreciate either the coming change in atmosphere, priorities and accountability in city governance that must begin after the election on Nov. 10, including council and staff, or that the citizens of Waterloo do not take kindly to havâ€" ing sait rubbed on their face. DJ is both a major sponsor and supâ€" porter of minor hockey. ________ _ Our association with Rebel Creek Golf Club, as with the many other local businesses supporting minor hockey, is a mutually beneficial one. The choice was obvious when it came time to book this year‘s WMHA golf tournament. We invite you to join us on Sept. 22 and see for yourself. Rebel Creek has provided our members with yearâ€"round reduced rates and excellent value for our members. "There shouldn‘t be anymore tuition hikes, and more attention should be paid to public schools and how many chilâ€" dren are in the classâ€" rooms." Clive Smith, president Waterloo Minor Hockey Association "Environmental issues are important, like protecting water resources and groundwater. That‘s why I‘m supporting The Green Party." Karen Hutchinson Steve Palmateer Susan Fish Waterino if you called an election and there were no taxes left to Wc\s;?lbrapanymathas&sitsenfileappeallomeéleclomle on its ability to further reduce what it still insists on calling "the tax burden", that would be the ultimate nightmare. This election comes close to that kind of nightmare, with the Ontario Tories being reduced to offering three illâ€"advised new tax credits, while arguing that a failure to implement them would amount to "increasing your taxes". The Tories say that they have cut taxes 225 times since 1995. The Toronto Star, part of the news media that the Tories say is "aligned against" them, puts the number at 228. I‘m not even going to try to figure out which is correct (largely because 1 can‘t be bothered to count them)}, but I would encourage Ontarians to be as careful with the latest offering as they should have been with all of the previous tax cuts. Clearly there are substantial costs to tax cuts; costs that can be measured in services lost,capacity to govern lost, public accountabilâ€" ity lost, and even lives lost. As voting day approaches, let‘s measure the true impact of the latest round of goodies being offered by the Tories. The private school tax credit. Initially announced with no input from the minister of education, the private school tax credit was the brainchild of Jim Flaherty, then the MiNisâ€" _ _z ter of finance and later Emie Eves‘ chief | woaee 2 | rival for the Tory leadership. During the | ANOTHER | leadership campaign, Eves described the . | VIEW | tax credit as "ludicrous", noting that priâ€" . | | vate and religious schools are not | required to teach the Ontaric curriculum . | and have no public accountability. While | . 4 | Eves initially moved to delay implemenâ€" | F C | tation of the credit, he was eventually | 6 i.‘.‘ » trained to say what he was expected to ¢ ied lt | say as the heir to the Common Sense ‘ \bZ 4 ‘ Revolution. .. A 4 The tax credit is now back on, if the Tories get reâ€"elected. This tax credit is just wrong, on so e ryau t many levals it would further faginent an | PIATKOWSKI | education system that already has to 4 carry the weight of two different school systems. It would undermine efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in our schools and our society. And, perhaps most significantly, it would drain up to $700 million a year from the public treasury once fully implemented. That‘s money that could be spent on public education â€" in keeping with the Rozanski Commission‘s recommendations for $2 billion more in funding â€" or in other services to the public. If the Tories are reâ€"elected, it won‘t be available. _ , The seniors‘ property tax credit. The tab for this proposed tax credit is estimated at another $450 million. Ostensibly a reward to all seniors for years of hard work, it is really a different kind of reward â€" one that is primarily targeted at a small minority of upper income seniors. Seniors who are tenants won‘t see a peniny of it. Lower income seniors who awn homes already qualify for the existing property tax credit, and they won‘t benefit either. Seniors that I‘ve talked to don‘t object to paying for their grandchilâ€" dren‘s education, any more than their grandchildren should object to paying for health care for the elderty. Trying to drive a wedge between citizens on the basis of age is politics at its worst. If the Tories really wanted to help seniors, they would protect pensions from inflation, prevent employers from raiding pension surpluses, and let people who move from one job to another take They would reinstate rent control, so that seniors who rent could be protected. The fact that they are not doing any of these things should tell you which party it is that really "has something against seniors". of mortgage payments is being promoted as a way of allowing new homeburyers into the market. In reality, it will inflate an already overâ€" heated housing market and make it even harder for firstâ€"time buyers to afford a home (that‘s why Britain finally scrapped what was left of its own disastrous mortgage tax credit three years ago). It will solety benefit homeowners â€" who already enjoy significant â€" at the expense of tenants (who, studies show, are increasingly on the wrong end of a growing income divide). My fellow homeowners won‘t see that much benefit for the credâ€" it, estimates suggest that we‘ll save approximately $2 a week at first. But, once implemented to the extent promised, it will put another massive $700 million dent in the province‘s budget. Personally, I‘d rather have health care that my family can depend on; I‘d rather have smaller classes for my children; and I‘d rather have a government that doesn‘t feel the need to bribe voters with phoney tax cuts every time we have an election. Adding up the cost of tax cuts o3 yee 16 AJ i S 4 ‘1 l scorr | PIATKOWSKI |