Page 8, Whitby Free Pree, Wednesday, Februwy 28, 1M9 MeTage Ircd t rsub îtorgan donorbi ByMika Kowalski Another attempt will bo* rade to formaliy recognize the Meat thief at A&P A lone bandit ascapad with a shopping etfull of meat from the Thickson Road A&P store shortly aftar 9:30 a.m. Tuesday maming. Police sey ha threataned staff with either a knife or a scrwdriver when they approached hi outside the store bafore flaeing witli the cart. No one was lnjured and the robbery and canine unit. were ceiled in te invastigete and searcli the erea on Tuasday efternoon (press time). The suspect Is described as a mian in bis forties with a few day.' growth of beerd, around six feet tail and wlth an averaue build. contributions of Canadiens, who ln dying, gave lifa te others. Ontario ridlng MP Dan McTeague intends te, reintroduce his private membar's billte have April 21 declered National Organ Donor Day ln Canada. MéI'eagues bill, whicli stenuned from the tragic 1994 daath of a two-year.old Whitby boy, got as fer as second reedlng before grounding to a hait as the result of Prime Minister Jean Chretien's recent decision te prorogue parliament. Witli Chretien's announcement of a Throne Speech and new perliimentery session, ail bille not approved et the time were effectively deed and willi have te go tbrough the legielative proces once more. . McTéague has esked the House of Conions' lagisietive counsel te revlew hie bill and certify It agein rio thet ha cen resubmit It when the Housa resumes sitting. "If it lied bean enother two, threa waeks It would have bean law," said McTeague. 'The request slmply asks thet once the Houes reaumes sitting after the Throne Speech, te, put Inte, the lottery system (saiection procees te detarmine whlch non-government bille coma forward)."e Aithougli disappolnted, MdI'ae i. "pretty confident" hie bill wili ba approved prior te parliament being dissolved bafore the naxt alection.' The bill did not encounter any opposition as it passad through the initial stages, a sign that thera i. "imore seneitivity" te, the issue of organ donation, McTeague believes. Ahnb buines Mobile signs must be gone by By Mika Kowalski Whitby marchants using mobile signe hava only ona-month's grece pari od bafora running afoul of a new municipal byiaw. Mfter Merci 31, marchants who usa flashing or non.alectronic signa te promote their businesses will b. hiable te, prosacution undar Whitby's tamporary sign bylaw. Althougli the bylew actually took affect Fab. 1, businessas have been givan 60 day. in whicli ta comply witli the naw ragulations. Most temporery signe ara now bannad in Whitby under terme of the bylaw passad by Town cauncil lest July. Repeet offanders could face fines of up* to $5,000 upon conviction. Lettars outlining details of the bylaw and possible penalties hava bean sent te businessas which are now using illegal signa. According te Rick Pigeon of Whitby'e public works deartmant, Town officiais hope marchants willingiy comply with the bylaw and thet no furtlier action will need te ba taken. Attémpte ýwIll b aeata persuade offending businesses ta edhare te, the naw rules before charges ara laid, Pigeon axplained. 'That xney be ana of the options, but wa went to try and resolva it firet," lia stresaed. 'The intent is nat te go out and gat enyone." Although councillor Joe Drumm, for one, was demanding measures te control the prolifération of mobile signe elmoat 10 yaars ega, a proposad bylaw did not coma befora council until 1993. Proponents argued that ana was naadad te improva the asthatic' March i1 quality of local streets and te, eliminate potentiel safety probleis ceused by signe obstructing the view of motoriste and signs powered by faulty electricel equipment. Howaver, the. proposad modal underwent- significent changes after input was reoeivad from the business community end genaral public. Except for a 30ý-day period te, promote a new business opening or relocetion, or te advartise avants held by service clubs and non-profit organizations, mobile signa ara generelly prohibited in Whitby. Tamporary signa will not ha allowad on boulevards seve for election' signe, home builders' identification signa, public information signe, real astate open housa signe and utility poe poster signe. Temporary signe parmitted on privete proparty ara limitad to, élection signe, mobile signa, public information signe, real astata point Of sale signe and, s ubdi vis9i on/c on do milni u m bilîboard signe. During lest yaar's bylaw discussions, council waa wernad by an officiel of the Canadien Mobile Sign Association thet it could axpect a- challenge on constitutional grounds. Burlingten businessman Don McPliail claimad the bylaw was contrary te Canada'. Charter of Riglits. Mchail also arguad that adsting signe are protactad undar Ontario'e Municipal Act as a lagal non-conforming use. But in a report te council, Town staff concluded that the bylaw did not violate the Charter of Riglite in that the reguletione appiiad "fairly and aquitably within the community." McPhail's Municipal Act argument was not addrassad. Workshop about equal opportunity On Ma-di 5, the Durham Region Equity Network will hold a workshop on "Equal Opportunity Plan." Bruce Drewett of the Ministry of Educetion and Training, Anti- Racisyn Equity and Access Division, will provide an overviaw of the plan and outlina the supports available in the plan, sucli as Human Rights Code complience. Hlie presantetion wil ha followad by a group discussion on how ta procead with equity in the absence of legislatian. The workshop will be hald et tha Oshawa Holiday Inn, noon ta 2 p.m. Registration begins et 11:45 a.m. Thle coat of tue luncheon and warkshop i. $30 par persan. Further information ie availeble by contacting Cathy Lloyd et tue City of Oshawa (905436-5663) or Valarie Jane. et the Town of Pickering (905-420-2222). To ragister, contact Lloyd by Mardi 1. The impetus for McTaague's bill had its origine in a vigorous letter-writing campalgn undarteken by Whitby resident Linda Runible lest year. Ruxnble'e nephew -Stuert Herriott dled of massive head injuries on April 21, 1994, two day. efter falling out of lier van wlifle she was menoeuvaring the vehicle on the drlveway te give Stuazt end other chlldren more roo mte play. Stuarts parents, Tim and Judithi HerrIott, consented te the use of hie organe for transplant efter their son dled. Rumble then took it upon herseif te increase public awareness of organ donation and sent letters to politiciens of ail stripes' and government levaIs seelng support. MèTeague seized on Rumbla's suggestion of a privata member's bill as' one posslbility -and put forward his proposaI. last feul. Rumble then wrote aIl MNs in support of Md'aagues efforts and did flot receive one negative response. "»I had gotten several back saylng they would support tt," she said. "Once the proceas starte agein, I will do it over." Rumble also intenda to contact organ donor organizations acrose Canada and encourage tliem te lobby on behalf of McTeague'e 1b111 and te notify residents In thair respective provinces te *do tha sanie. Runible added that Durham Centre MPP Jim Flahierty plans on, seeking Premier MikaýHarris' support for official recognition of Ontario residents who donate organs. This will llkaly ba in the form of a certificats or ecroîl that nill be given te the donors' families, she said. jMcTaague, maanwhlle, would appreclate recaling letters from either organ recipients or the frmilies of donors. He will use their "sterles" when Itocomes tima te ask his colleaguas te back hi. bull once again. RRS reerecePoints Contribution deadline: Feb. 29, 1996. Contribution limit: 18 per cent of your 1994 earned income, minus your pension adjustment, if any, to a maimum of $14,500 for 1995 tax year ($13,500 for 1996 tex year). You may be able te contribute more if you have carryforwardsa from previous years. Check your 1994 notice of asssment or oeil theRevenue Canada 'TIPS'Iune. Maimum overcontribution was reduod te 2,000 iiilast year's, budget. A penalty of one per cent per month applies to amounts in exoess of this limit. If you had overcontributed prior te the new limita,, you must reduce your overcontribution -te $2,000 l>efore any new RRSP contributions can be made. Foreign content: The limit is 20 per cent of the book value of each difference plan. A self-directed RRSP must be used (e.g. mutai fund BS?, brokerage RS?, etc.). For tex purposes an investinent is either 100 per cent Canadian or 100 per cent foreign. You can actually get more than 20 per cent foreign content. Here's how: $10,000 invested Wn ABC Mutual Funds BS? as follows, $2,000 in ABC Far East, $8,000 in ABC Canadian Growth. The ABC Far East Fund invests 100 per cent1 outside of Canada and ia our foreign fund. The ABC Canadianfund invests 80 per oent in Canadian companies and 20 per cent in foreign companies. It still qualifies as Canadian, but we have effectively increased our foreign holdings te 36 per cent of the total. In Kind contributions: If you don't have the money te, put in your RRSP, dont fret. Perbaps you have a stock or a mutuel fund that you own outside the RRSP. If you have a self-directed RSP you can just hand over the share certificates and you will gat a receipt for the value the day they go into your RRSP. Example: You bought $3,000 worth of ABC Canadian fund some time ago. It is now worth $6,000. If you put the shares of ABC Canadian fund inte your eelf-diractad RSP, two'thinge, wili happan. Firet, you wili gat a raeipt foi a $6,000 RRSP contribution tbat cen be used against your 1995 income tex year. Second, you will have te, report a capital gain of $3,000 (in this exemple) on your 1996 income tex raturn. Ceil yourfinanciei planner te ensure you are making.themoat efficient use of your money.. Derek Dutka is a financial consultant in the Whitby/Osrhawa area.