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PAGE 6, WEMTYFPREE PRESS, EE SDAY, MARH28i9 Publisher PvroutioingManager C ~A' V CE0THCUNY OW 131 Brock Street North, The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by P UN o 526SWityl Ot Whitby residents for Whitby residents.LN5S 2nd C ass Posta Regstraon #05351 If anyone needs to be convinced that environmental IIelaired. reaction it takes somethlng like a disaster, as in the'Hagersvilie concerns are flot beginning to dominate government 7 Incident, or public outcry, In the Rouge example, to spur agendas, measures taken by the Ontario government similar dumps across the province, Includlng a few major our politicians to action. recently should indicate otherwise. ones ln Durham Region. Meanwhiie the threat of Could no one see the potential for danger that existed On two separate issues -- tire dumps and preservîng development near the Rouge River, and long-held in the Hagersvîlle dumfp? Do government planners flot the Rouge River Valley wildemess area -- the govern- opposition to t, led to this week's designation of the realize that you can't put a shopping plaza next to a ment has shown a willingness to step ln and take action. valley as Canada's largest urban park. forest and expect a fair fight? The forest wiil lose e9very Unfortunateîy, in both Instances, government action Is However, the Rouge Is stili flot ln the clear. A proposai time. realiy a reaction to something which occurred pre- to dump Metro Toronto's garbage ln one corner of the How many more Hagersvilles, how many more Rouge vlously. It took a f Ire of epic proportions at a Hagersville park is stili on the table. While we applaud the River Valleys must occur before proactive, rather than tire dump to prompt legisiation aimed at cleanlng up government's decisions ln both cases, we must ask why reactîve thinking Is the order of the day? ...... .......................... . . . .l . . . . . . . ~ ._ _............_ _ _ Ta4xpayers' input iLgnoredat GO Transit meetins Ccpy of -lettter to Minlstry of Transportation and Communi- cation, William Wrye. To the. editSr. First lot me congratulate the Minister of Transportation on bis appointmnent Transportation is a system that shod bemado available to and attractive for al walks of life. Ites a system that is the best and safest way of getting you close to shopping, shows, dinner theatro, etc., in Toronto, Pickering and Oshawa. Your predecessor spent thousands of dollar to informn the public -through- meetings and displays in Du rhamn Region, and to get their reaction. Why? I personally attended ail these meetings and it was clear that; the best way to, extend the GO to Oshawa was by aroute east to Thornton Rd., thon north over or under Hwy. 401, joining the CPR, track, east past Stevenson Rd., and build a station just south of Gibb St. in close proimity to, the Oshawa Shopping Centre. Oshawa Transit would only need to route its present bus line another hundred yards. For those who are workIng late sài*ts it would ho much safer to got to a bus or car. Thise would not increase the bus deficit but would add passengers and revenue. To follow the CNR track to the Oshawa VIA station, which is out of the way and with limited access and cortainly not a safo place for those cominar homo late Death, taxes and Canada Post By Terry O'Shaughnessy It was an interesting marketing concept. During the post-Christmnas season when many Canadians were enjoying the benefits of Boxing Day shopping sales and bargain-basemnent prices, the folks at Canada Post came out with a reminder that the price of a first-class stamp was increasing by another cent. The reminder stated that, as of Jan. 1, 1990, along with the cost of a basic letter stamp rising to 39 cents within Canada, the basic letter rate to the United States will also increase by 1 cent (to 45 cents), and the inter- national rate will be increased by 2 cents to 78 cents per letter. In Canada, it seems, the old adage that the only thing certain in life is death and taxes can now be taken one step further to include the inevitable price hikes in postal services. And, at this time next year when the famed Goods and Services Tax is scheduled for implementation, the Canadian public faces the prospect of paying an extra 7 per cent on top of the cost of the-basic stamp rate. Translated into numbers, the GST- included stamp will cost, for exam- pIe, (at current Canada Post rates) an extra 3 cents for every first-class stamp. *And while Canada Post has taken steps to show it can iniprove service1 and deliver a profit, the Canadian public remains sceptical of its abil- ity to deliver the goods. For example, reports of post offices swamped with undelivered Christmas mail should not surprise anyone. And reports that huge price increases are in store for Canada's northern consumers (as a result of increased c osts in Canada Post's food transportation to the Yukon and Nortiswest Territories) are not likely to help improve the Corporation's beleaguered image. And, of course, the possibility of yet another postal strike is always seen by the postal user as a "not if" but "when" situation. If Canada Post's trend towards annual increases continues, and if the GSI is implemented, it is conceivable that by the year 2000 Canadians wili be paying more than haîf a dollar to mail a letter within Canada. And that cost could go even higher if a worsening economy and the pres- sures of inflation "force" even larger increases.1 Businesses in the private sector, of course, could not afford similar price hikes-the competition wouid run theni out of town. But competition isn't something the post office has ever needed to worry about. And that's a Iuxury those in the private sector are ndt able to afford. CFIB Feature Service at night, Oshawa Transit would have te place a new bus route, thus adding to the existing deficit. Are the developers pushing this for their own end? The taxpayers have already given their opinion tbiough the meetings mentioned above and are being ignored. Statistics show that the over-65 To the. editor: Having read the article concerning the two old bouses at the corner of Eucid and Dundas (Free Press, March 21l), I think it's time our councillors be conimended for their attempts te dlean up our downtown. There are still some old buildings around that are something cf an eyesore. I population is increasing, so why don't we maie GO more accessible by installing escalators and elevators. Or are you saying that those over 65 who require canes, wheelchairs, etc. are not wanted? With a little encouragement the seniors could organize groups te attend shows, shopping, etc. in Toronto, reconimend a bylawv be passed se that before any new building is constructed, the design must complement other replacemients, such as the medical building next te Ail Saints Church. In fact, the- church is also looking a little worse for wear and old fashioned . .. Yeurs sinoerely, G. Griffin Whitby Pickering and Oshawa ini the off-peak hours, thus increasing the revenue. The men's wasbroom. at Whitby GO station bas no privacy at ail. When the outer door is opened it reveals the urinal and toilet,' no partitions at ail. Disgustingi Are *you going te permit this when you extn h GO Train te Oshawa?, You want your grey vote? Coeicerned for the future of transpor'tationi Thomas IL Tompkin Whitby Fed up over delay To the editor. 'The residents in the Anderson/FrederickiBradley St. area are getting fed up waiting for our local goverrnent te make this corner safe for both motorist and pedestrian. Anderson- St. lias been made even busier by a continuous streain of dump trucks loaded with dirt from various construction sites in the area. Reinlcouncillors, we elected you. Whreare you? What does it take to get a set of traffic lights at the corner that is so obviously dangerous - a death? MSorély, Paul liRobinsc Whitby .. ,~.. .,.-,t.~ '~*,...... t. .,', 4%. %. Councillors commended for downtown clean-up LETTERS The Whitby Free Press welcomes letters to the Editor on any subject of concern to our readers. Letters should be brief and to the point - rarely more than 300 words. Ail letters miust be accornpanied by thie name, address and phone number of the writer; however , on request, your name may be withheld, from publication if we agree that there is a valid reason. The paper reserves thé right to rejeet or edit ail letters. Send to: The Editor, Whitby Free Press, Box* 206, Whitby, Ontario LiN 5S1 or drop tlirough our mailsiot at 131 BrQck St. N. 1 1