PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 1985, WHITBY FREE PRESS whitby Voice of the County Town indiýé ".Wn ".oNi ,uuland uerated hv 4Vhtbyresidei1ts for Whithy residents. Michael lan Burgess, Publisher - Managing Editor Puhlished every Wedncesday h N.B.M. Publishing and Photography Ic. IPhone i668-011 The Free Press Building, 11 Brock Street North,, P.). Box 206,, Whitby, Ont. MICHAEL KNELL community Editor VALERIE COWEN AdvertisIng Manager second Class Mani Reqistration No 5351 Edwards is right on Whitby should be concentrating on attracting new industry, not on building homes most can't afford We were alarmed by some comments made last week by Reg. Coun. Tom Edwards who said that if Whitby is to continue to enjoy its current level of growth and prosperity it must now concentrate Its efforts on attracting more job producing assessment. If one stops to think about what he said, he's absolutely correct. Over the course of the last few .a2gnwnOrMaN TOR GLOBAL NZWB M CBC should offer a non-commercial view The stupidity of trying to run a hybrid national broadcasting service like the CBC - half public, half commercial - struck me forcibly again recen- tly as I watched David Suzuki's "A Planet for the Taking." The program I watched that evening was the third in the series, subtitled "Subdue the Earth". In it, Suzuki quietly preaches revolution. He suggests that we may be practising the ultimate chauvinism in supposing that animais compete for resources, that they are innately aggressive, that they practise territoriality. He wonders whether we have ascribed human behaviour patterns to the animal world merely because we need reassurance about our own nationalism, aggression and exploitation. He asks whether the Darwinlan theorles about the survival of the fittest, and evolution, are anything more than an attempt to impose the values of Victorian England on the natural world. And he questions the whole concept of growth and supremacy of man in the natural order. It was a beautifully shot, cleanly-scripted plece of television, balanced and thought-provoking. And it was constantly interrupted by commercials which made a mockery of Suzuki was saying. Commercials promoting consumerism and ail its trappings. Growth, development, exploitation of both animate and inanimate resources, com- petition, in short, aggression against an earth that is rapidly becoming subdued. What do we have a CBC for if it is not to allow a non-commercial view of the country and the universe? You can argue that the commercial revenue helped David Suzuki make his case, that the funding for an expensive eight-part series like this has to come from somewhere. But the presence of commercials on that program diluted its impact and was degrading for the people who had put their thought and talents into its produc- tion. It is that kind of degradation that will, in the end, kill one of this country's most noble ex- periments, the CBC. years, Whitby has been growing by leaps and( bounds. But if that growth is analysed carefully,r one would discover that this growth has primarily( been residential. Edwards said that in 1968, residential property1 taxpayers accounted for 64 per cent of the town's1 assessment base. In 1985, that figure has risen to 74 per cent and shows no sign of slowing down. 1 Now, before anyone gets the wrong idea, we are not opposing growth. Growth means a lot of things. It produces more property tax revenue for the town which creates lower than expected tax increases. Growth means more people will live in the town and shop in our stores and patronize our other business services. But, residential assessment on its own does not create jobs. And jobs are the key to a healthy economy. The more people we have working, the more money there is to be spent in the community to support other business interests. If one looks at the applications that have been coming before Whitby Town Council's ad- ministrative committee recently, one will discover that most of these applications are seeking per- mission to build more homes. Very few of these will create long term, permanent jobs. Edwards notes that during the 1960's, Whitby and many other communities across Ontario used the industrial credit system in approving development applications. Under this system, a developer had to bring in so many square feet of job producing industrial space before being gran- ted permission to build any new homes. This, Edwards says, was a "job producing measure" and we're not sure that it should have been abandoned as a standard for residential growth. For the last four or five years, Whitby Town Council has embarked on a campaign to attract new industry to the municipality. Signs have been erected in Japan and West Germany and literature describing our town has been set to every major industrial nation where Canada maintains an em- bassy. This campaign has had some modest results. Some new industries have been attracted here, most recently the research and development facility currently being constructed by Mandrell Mining on Victoria St. E. This sort of activity must continue. But at the same time, Whitby Town Council should be re- examining its residential development policies. We need new homes and new people, but we also need new industry and new jobs. Council should also be taking a look at the kind of housing that is being built in Whitby. Far too of- ten, approved plans of subdivision call for the construction of higher priced homes. We are not building a supply of homes that can be afforded by low and moderate wage egrners. After ail, not everyone can afford to buy a house priced over $100,000. Sometimes, this newspaper thinks that Whitby is getting a bit elitist in its ap- proach to housing. If we insist on building homes for the big money earning executive we are going to end up as a bedroom community. Mayor Bob Attersley is fond of saying that Whitby is a well rounded community. We offer something for practically everyone. We have public transit, excellent recreational facilities and other local services. But we must also be a com- munity for everyone, no matter what tax bracket they happen to inhabit. If we are to be a truly well rounded community, then we must concentrate more of our efforts in building a sound industrial base for only that will help ensure our continued prosperity. ,NU 1 The ouly Whitby newspaper inaepenoesitiy tp%% iirts allu qPPU4.8 tut. .1.ý - -J el , %-."