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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1994-06-29, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, lune 29, 1994 Publisher: Jim Beckett News Editor: Adrian Harte Business Manager: Don Smith Composition Manager: Deb Lord Advertising; Barb Consitt, Theresa Redmond news: Fred Groves, Catherine O'Brien, Ross Haugh Production. Alma Ballantyne, Mary McMurray, Barb Robertson Robert Nicol, Brenda Hem, Joyce Weber, Laurel Miner, Marg Flynn Transportation: Al Flynn, Al Hodgert Front Office & Accounting; Norma Jones, Elaine Pinder, Ruthanne Negrijn, Anita McDonald • • 00,01AN COM yi inion Publications Mail Registration Number 0388 SUBSCRIPTION RATES CANADA Within 40 miles (85 km.) addressed to non tetter carrier addresses 630.00 plus 82.10 G.S.T. Outside 40 muss (65 km.) or any tetter carrier address $30.00 plus 830.00 (total 60.00) + 4.20 G.S.T. Outside Canada 899.00 (Includes 688.40 postage) Published Each Wednesday Morning at 424 Maki St., Exeter, Ontario, NOM ISO by J.W. Eedy Publications Ltd. Teleph ons 1-519-235-1331 fi li.T. IR10S210S35 EDITORIAL Hot Lessons The prolonged heat wave that has hit the area, besides the discomfort it has caused, ought to have hit us also with a few meaningful lessons. We will begin to understand how ex- treme heat - as well as extreme cold - can kill, as it did more than 400 people recently in India. Perhaps some of us will begin to un- derstand the working habits of all those 'lazy' people who live in hot climes. If we were half -way smart when heat and humidity hit the oppressive range, we'd copy those habits such as coming to work earlier in the morning and either having a rest in the heat of the day, or working through and leaving work mid- afternoon. And surely we will be reminded of the importance of our water supply and na- ture's air -conditioners - trees - which make our urban and residential areas liv- able. Letters to the editor The Listowel Banner Waste reduction requires team effort ... policy working because of the co-operation of the residents and businesses... Re: Waste reduction program Dear Sir: The waste reduction program has been operating for a year now. Despite its bumps and warts, the Town's citizens deserve a pat on the back for their efforts to reduce waste. Everyone knows the environmental benefits to proper waste management: - reduced groundwater pollution, - reduced land consumption - preservation of resources (recycling means re- using our natural resources) - reduced air pollution. However, do you know the financial implications of consuming our landfill space too quickly? I sug- gest that the cost of establishing a new landfill site is horrendous. Here is a typical breakdown: (1) costs of studies to obtain environment approv- al - $I.4 million (2) Cost of environmental hearing (if appealed) - $1.5 million (3) Site design - $1.5 million (4) Site development/ preparation - $1.0 million Total (including hearing) $5.4 million. Add operating costs to this and you will under- stand that landfill costs have gone out of sight. Why? 1 suggest a number of reasons: (1) the level of analysis and site preparation re- quired by Provincial legislation is extremely de- manding; (2) appeals frequently happen (nobody wants a landfill site for a neighbour); (3) people create far too much garbage (pollution of groundwater and air is thc primary result while stringent legislation is a secondary result). Exeter has a landfill site that "technically" is at ca- pacity. Following approximately $130,000.00 in study costs, we hope to obtain permission to expand within the same property. The town is very fortunate to have a landfill site (which the studies, we hope, will show we can use for many more years). Let's assume for argument's sake that our study proves that the site can accommodate 15 years of garbage disposal at pre -conservation rates of pro- duction. Our waste reduction program ($2. tags, blue box, cardboard recycling, composting, metal recycling) now has a proven track record. Based on recent rates of landfill space consumption, Exeter can turn 15 years capacity into 30 years. The savings in tax dollars will be enormous if we continue the waste reduction program. The truth is that Exeter Council's policy has been working because of the co-operation of the residents and businesses. Unfortunately, a small minority of people have been letting the rest of us down. There has been some illegal dumping to avoid the $2. tag system. Others have placed household garbage that should be tagged out with large garbage pickup. We have learned that some have dumped old ap- pliances (eg. stoves) and brush onto other peoples' property just to be rid of it. That strikes us as rather a strange thing to do especially when one considers that we will take appliances at no charge if they are delivered to the landfill and that the brush can he collected at large garbage pickup, again at no cost. The council believes in pulling together to solve problems. The waste reduction program is an exam- ple of an entire community "working smart." To those who are with us. T say thank you and keep up the good work. For the few who aren't con- vinced of the merits of our program, please read this letter again and join the team. Yours very truly, Bruce Shaw A DIRE WARNING THAT MIGHT ACTu4LLY WORK. No heroes have been identified so far in the row over same-sex rights, but the opposition Liberals clearly are being painted as the vil- lains. The New Democrat government, as even its fervent admirers have finally conceded, badly mismanaged its attempt to give homosexual couples the same rights to employment benefits and adopt children as heterosexual couples. The NDP made not even the slightest effort to educate the public before introducing its bill proposing the fundamental changes, although there had been little previous discussion of the issues in the legislature- Governments commonly bring in white pa- pers or draft bills qp much less contentious is- sues so they can be debated and public opinion obtained before they commit themselves. The NDP's over -ambitious bill raised homo- sexuals' expectations unfairly. When the NDP realized it lacked support and offered at the last minute to scrap large chunks later if only its critics would vote to keep it alive now, it was offering a post-dated cheque none could have accepted. And when police and security guards using unnecessary force pushed, prodded and hurled understandably dejected and peacefully demon- strating gays out of the legislature building af- ter their hopes crashed, NDP MPPs stayed out of sight and made no attempts to intercede for those they had misled. None even protested later at this further hu- miliation of gays, because it was done under the auspices of and NDP speaker responsible for security. But the NDP probably will retain and even strengthen its support among gays in an elec- tion, because at (east it tried to extend their rights. The Progressive Conservatives, who opposed same-sex legislation unreservedly, as they did in winning a byelection in March, will gain some strength among the large segment of the public against it. The Tories are not being criti- Ability to make own decisions As I sat down at my desk - Thursday morning I noticed an enlarged Free Press newspaper clipping had been taped to the front of my computer. I didn't even need to look at the mes- sage scrawled across the top be- fore I knew it was the handi- work of my fellow reporter Catherine O'Brien. The headline of the article read: Increase in smoking the first in 30 years. The subhead read: Women smokers are bringing up the numbers. Be- low that Catherine had written, "we don't need men to abuse us we can do it ourselves - right Erin" (I think this was a little dig at my past two columns) Anyway, 1 proceeded to read the article. According to the Canadian Press, tobacco use is on the rise in Ontario and women account for most of the new smokers. Six percent more women 18 and older are smoking this year, and they blame this on thc avail- ability of cheaper cigarettes. A York University senior sci- entist was quoted as saying that the increase for women is con- sistent with the fact that the low- er income of women makes them more price sensitive than men, and are more likely to react to tax cuts. Though I was surprised to dis- cover that women on the whole had started smoking more, I was not surprised when I read why. It was, after all, part of the rea- son that I began smoking. The tax cut allowed me to go from being a 'I only smoke when I drink' smoker to a more fre- quent smoker. I was always smart enough to know that I couldn't afford five dollars a pack, but heck, what's three? I also justify myself by saying that not only does my mother and all of my friends smoke, but I breath in carbon monoxide la- den air anyway. In fact, I heard the other day that margarine can give you cancer. Hey, the sun itself is going to be a big killer this decade. Many of you may be thinking excuses, excuses. But I realized that by age 19 - almost 20 - I havc thc ability to make my own decisions, unlike when I was caught smoking at age 16 by mom and dad. True to the nature of a report- er, 1 started to think a little more about cigarette tax cuts. It seems to me that the types of repercussions we are experi- encing should have been easy enough to predict. It is a fairly simple theory that says if prices go down, sales go up. So, what was the government really thinking when they mas- terminded this whole trap? Perhaps they were killing two birds with one stone. They put an end to smuggling, for now, and they also managed to get a whole new segment of society addicted to smoking. That seems like an extra bang for the buck. Sure they put on a good act by creating all of these anti- smoking laws, but just like the prohibition and illegalization of marijuana, people always seek the things that are forbidden. Read George Orwell's 1984 if you would like to explore this idea further. Most of my gov- ernment conspiracy theories are rooted in Orwell's writing. However, until I find a little news clipping about eating too many chocolate donuts, and drinking too much coffee to tape to Catherine's desk, I think I'll just go have a cigarette. Liberals being painted as the villains cized much even by the bill's supporters, be- cause they are seen as a declared enemy which merely stuck to its guns. The Liberals are bearing the brunt of public criticism. Premier Bob Rae blamed Liberal leader Lyn McLeod for the bill's defeat. Gays marched with an effigy of McLeod they planned to burn, but no effigy of Tory leader Mike Harris, although he would not concede them an inch. Gays picketed a Liberal office and shouted 'shame on Lyn' and 'we hate McLeod most'. The Campaign for Equal Families says it will follow the Liberal leader wherever she goes to voice concern at her 'betrayal' of gay rights. The factual history is that McLeod in a by- election last year in a riding with many gays urged Rae to 'act on the issue of the extension of family and survivor benefits to samesex couples.' After the Liberal candidate was elected, she voted for his private member's bill to provide these benefits. McLeod refused to support the legislation the NDP eventually introduced, arguing legitimate- ly it would have gone further by allowing same-sex couples to adopt children and desig- nating their partners as 'spouses.' But the other parties and much of the media took the simplistic view that McLeod had sup- ported same-sex rights once and now opposed them and thus had flip-flopped the NDP and Tories spent more time accusing the Liberals of reneging than debating the legislation. But in the end McLeod fli flopped anyway. She could have offered to support another bill limited to giving same-sex couples the employ- ment rights she pressed for earlier, which the NDP would have had to approve. But the Liberal leader became alarmed at the resentment the same-sex issue stirred and de- cided it would be safer not to offer anything even though it meant abandoning her earlier proposal for partial rights -- the Liberals are not entirely miscast as heavies.