PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1981, WHITBY FREE PRESS ~whi*tby Voice of the County Town Michael lan Burgess,1 'he only Whit by newspaper independently owned and operated by Whit Published every Wednesday by M.B.M. Publishing g and Photography lnc. Phone 669-61Il The Free Press Building Publisher - Managing Editor 1:1 Brock Street North, .by residents for Whitby residents. P.). Box 206. Whitby, O ig, nt. MICHAEL J. KNELL Community Editor MARJORIE A. BURGESS Advertising Manager Malling PermIt No, 40 Member of the Whitby Chamber of Commerce We may end up paying more for animal control The Town of Whitby, Ajax and Pickering have recently expressed their displeasure with the level of service provided by the Ontario Humane Society for animal control. Their displeasure has resulted in their respec- tive councils passing resolutions calling for a review of animal control services in this part of Durham Region. This action was prompted by the Ontario Humane Society's request to increase their per capita fees from $1.85 a year to $2.25 per year. This represents a 21 per cent increase. The municipalities involved have claimed that the society's level of service has been inadequate since the original contract was signed in 1969. However, this is partly their fault, because the contract that the Town of Whitby signed did not specify the level of service to be given. Therefore, the society provided a service that was believed to be adequate based on the revenue that they had. The society has also been accused by one of its former employees that its board of directors has no control over its finances and, indeed, does not know what its financial status is. This is not known to be a fact because members of the society's board take a contrary position. The performance of the society or its internai operation is not the issue being dealt with by thé three municipalities involved. If this issue was to A weemky news conmentary r=m one of Canada's anent~anng nwis personalities Agrr1PMAr POR GLOBAL NEWS I suppose the single act most calculated to make a Can- adian appreciative of his country is the leaving of it. The people who have travelled, who have seen how the other 99 per cent lives and dies, are not the people who are saying that Canada is just a step or two away from per- dition. The truth of that perception was amply borne out at noon recently when the CBC's veteran foreign correspond- ent, Joe Schlesinger, spoke to the Canadian Club in Toronto. Schlesinger is quite a guy. He was born in Vienna, lived for a time in Czhechoslovakia, eventually came to Canada, was a student at UBC, worked for a time at the old Paris Herald-Tribune, and then back here at the Toronto Star before joining the mother corporation, the CBC. He is a Canadian, in some ways a more dedic- ated Canadian than many born here, because after ample experience in other parts of the world, he "chose" this country as his own. The refreshing thing about today's speech is that.Schlesinger wasn't pushing anything, be- yond the fact that we should minimize our problems and get on with building the country. "We like to think of our- selves" he said, "as a country hopelessly split by great regional differences. Well split we may be, but those diff- erences are not as great as we think they are". Italy for example -- where they are not Italians as much as Romans Sicilians, Tuscans. A country where in Schlesingers word 's "the Venetians will tell you they just don't under- stand the Neopolitan mind". Or Germany, and the diff- erence between Prussians and Bavarians. Or England, where apart from the local dialects and the traditional class divisions, the disparity between the prosperous south around London and the rest of the country is grow- ing tragically. He closed his speech this way: "Fate has given us the luxury of being able to be disunited and fractious, without the impulse to kill each other. ..Look around the world, read history, and you can see how fort- unate we are. Let's make the most of it." Schlesinger's words; my sentiments exactly. That's not news, but that too is reality. be dealt with, then It should be dealt with by the provincial government because it gave the society its charter and the legislative authority to conduct its business. As far as the taxpayers of the Towns of Whitby, Ajax and Pickering, the only issue is: "Is the society providing the service it is being paid to do?" "We haven't had any level of service whatso- ever," is how Pickering Mayor Jack Anderson summed up the position of the three councils. The decision to re-examine animal control ser- vices is not necessarily a bad one. It is possible that when the tenders are let for animal control services that the Ontario Humane Society will be the successful bidder even though the municipalities will have to pay more for the service. However, the municipalities have indicated a desire to establish in their contract what levels of service they expect. Therefore, it is to be assumed that they are willing to pay the price. The taxpayers may also possibly be willing to pay the price if it is known in advance exactly what they are paying for. The municipalities are simply trying to correct a mistake that was made some 12 years ago by a previous council. Perhaps this is not unreasonable. This publication does not, for one instant, believe that we have spent money foolishly for the last 12 years by having the Ontario Humane Society undertake animal control. Their perfor- mance has been as good as possible considering the amount of money that they have at their disposal. lndeed, the fees received from munici- palities in total only represents about one-third of the society's revenue. If the municipalities tried to go it alone they ob- viously would have to pay the whole cost, not just one-third, and needless to say wouldn't have the benefit of unpaid volunteers, donations, bequests, etc. However, we believe that the action being un- dertaken by the Towns of Whitby, Ajax and Pickering côuld be beneficial providing that the level of service they establish is reasonable and they prove themselves willing to pay the price. Any level of service is possible provided we tax- payers are willing to foot the bill. We could even have a truck on every block, but most taxpayers would be just a little upset at the resulting tax hike. Before any individual or group attempts to turn this issue into a political football it would be wise to wait and see what the tender process produces. It is easy to say that the society has not been doing a good job. However, the statement lacks merit if it can not be demonstrated as a docu- mented fact. The easiest way to determine the facts is to wait and see what tendering produces. It could turn out that the Ontario Humane Society will continue to provide animal control services in this part of Durham Region and get more money to do a better job. Congratulations to Lt. Col. Irwin Last week, the Ministry of National Defence an- nounce that Whitby resident Major Edward "Ward," Irwin has been named Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of the Ontario Regiment. This is a much deserved honor. Lt. Col. Irwin not only served his country during the Second World War, but has been involved not only in public, but in community service as well. The editor of the Whitby Free Press had the op- portunity to meet and interview Lt. Col. Irwin while a student at Durham College and was impressed .by his sincerity and personal honesty. He has demonstrated his concern for his com- munity in many ways over the years and this publication would like to take the opportunity to publicly congratulate Lt. Col. Irwin on his appoint- ment. - - . M - owm -M" M"