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8 • WATERLOO CHRONICLE • THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2017 WATERLOO CHRONICLE 630 Riverbend Drive, Unit 104 Kitchener, Ontario N2K 3S2 519-579-7166 Fax: 519-579-2029 www.waterloochronicle.ca Donna LUELO PUBLISHER EDITORIAL Bob VRBANAC EDITOR ext. 2305 editorial@waterloochronicle.ca bvrbanac@waterloochronicle.ca Adam JACKSON REPORTER ext. 2308 ajackson@waterloochronicle.ca Samantha BEATTIE REPORTER ext. 2229 sambeattie@waterloochronicle.ca ADVERTISING 519-579-7166 Ted ANDERSON, 579-7166 REGIONAL AD MANAGER tanderson@waterloochronicle.ca SALES LEAD Michelle STEVENS, ext. 2232 mstevens@waterloochronicle.ca SALES REPRESENTATIVE Cassandra DELLOW, ext. 2306 cdellow@waterloochronicle.ca SALES REPRESENTATIVE Aaron MURRAY, ext. 2304 amurray@waterloochronicle.ca SALES REPRESENTATIVE Mary Alice Martin, ext. 2303 mamartin@waterloochronicle.ca CLASSIFIED 519-895-5230 CIRCULATION 519-886-2830 ext. 213 Canadian Publications Mail Sales Publication Agreement Number 40050478 International Standard Serial Number ASSN 0832-3410 Audited Circulation: 31,292 The Waterloo Chronicle is pub- lished each Thursday by Metroland Media Group Ltd. ONTARIO PRESS COUNCIL The Waterloo Chronicle is a mem- ber of The Ontario Press Council, which considers complaints against member newspapers. Any complaint about news, opinions advertising or conduct should first be taken to the newspaper. Unresolved complaints can be brought to: Ontario Press Council, 2 Carlton Street, Suite 1706, Toronto, ON., M5B 1J3. COPYRIGHT The contents of this newspaper are protected by copyright and may be used only for personal non-com- mercial purposes. All other rights are reserved and commercial use is prohibited. To make any use of this material you must first obtain the permission of the owner of the copy- right. For further information con- tact Bob Vrbanac, Managing Editor, Waterloo Chronicle, 630 Riverbend Drive, Suite 104, Kitchener, Ontario N2J 3H8. LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor must contain the writer's full name, address and tele- phone number. Addresses and tele- phone numbers are used only for veri- fication purposes. Names will not be withheld. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject any contribution for brevity or legal purposes. Letters may be submitted by email to editorial@ waterloochronicle.ca. Suburban Newspapers of America VIEWPOINT WATERLOO CHRONICLE CHRONICLE EDITORIAL I got my annual birthday card from the Government of Ontario in the form of my license renewal and Drive Clean testing notice. I should grouse about the licensing fee that has almost doubled since 2011 from $74 to $120 in 2017. � is is one way the govern- ment has added to general cof- fers while hiding a tax increase with higher user fees, but there's no sense in crabbing since it's only going in one direction -- up. The things that set me off this year was the Drive Clean fee. � is program has been irrel- evant for more than a decade with modern emission controls on most vehicles. This isn't pulling polluters o� the road. � e only thing it is doing is adding repair costs for most of us because as cars get older the check engine light is on for no apparent reason. When I recently asked my mechanic why my light was on in our family's "cute ute," he said it was old. At 12 years, no other explanation was needed and there are plans to replace it. Luckily, it passed with fl ying colours last year. Th is year, it was my Subaru's turn to pass with fl ying colours as it has every two years since I bought the car. But yet I had to pay again. What really cheesed me is that the province is phasing out that testing fee at the time of renewal starting April 1. Of course that comes three months two late for me. I asked the testing facil- ity operator why that fee wasn't being waived earlier, and they said it was only for those trans- ferring vehicle ownership. Th ey were wrong. It's for all vehicles that need the test. I've also been told from peo- ple who operate testing facilities that the province is no longer issuing machines, which sug- gests that the phase out of the program is on the way. Th at's great -- except for all of us suckers who were born on the wrong day. � ere are no plans to reim- burse those of us who got caught up in this arbitrary date, and it's just another example of this gov- ernment collecting fees that are no longer relevant to presever- ing or protecting the environ- ment. This is like the government eliminating the double taxation of our hydro fees, or the hydro debt relief charge that contin- ued for years after that tempo- rary charge was supposed to be repealed. � is government gets addict- ed to the revenue streams of programs, especially those that give them protection by saying they're doing something for the environment . Apparently, the Drive Clean program will continue and the Ministry of Environment will monitor our vehicles through remote technology. I think this is just blowing more smoke and it will quietly disappear. Change doesn't comes soon enough Changes are coming to garbage collection and it seems the region is already anticipating what those changes could mean -- more illegal dumping. With garbage collection going bi-weekly and a four-bag limit soon in place, regional councillors expressed concerns that people will � nd ways to get around paying extra for gar- bage tags. Some will resort to dumping trash on local roadways or at the gate of the Waterloo Region landfi ll on Erb Street after hours. Apparently, this is a practice that already occurs, so regional offi cials are bracing for when more peoples' noses are thrown out of joint by these changes. Th e problem is not the maximum fi ne for dumping. At $5,000 its a serious fi ne and can punish problem dumpers. But how about the person who does it once or is just frus- trated enough to try to dump it in someone else's dumpster or leave it at the side of the road? As it stands now, there is no minimum fine for illegal dumping. So what is the deterrent for the incidental dumper from doing so? You hope people will still respect their local environment and their neighbourhoods, but change often makes people do irrational things. Especially for people who already believe they are paying enough for this garbage service through their taxes that they shouldn't have to pay dumping fees to drive their excess gar- bage to the land� ll. Th e suggestion of a minimum fee of $500 should dissuade the casual dumper and get them thinking about whether it's really worth it. But the Region of Waterloo will have to get the province to approve the fee to make that a reality. If it doesn't get approved, it might mean making an exam- ple of a couple of illegal dumpers charging them the maxi- mum � ne and letting everyone know there is zero tolerance for tossing your trash. Looking for a deterrent BOBBY'S WORLD BOB VRBANAC