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Prescription billing illustrates OHIP funding woes Dear Sir: The talk today is of excessive costs re patients billing O.HLP. for unnecessary visits. Adding GST to book sales damages education and culture Dear Sir: New Prime Minister Kim Campbell has a chance this month to correct one of the most serious and unpopular errors of the Mulroney government. Campbell should remove the first tax on readâ€" ing ever imposed in Canada. Millions of Canadians have said so. The GST is the first federal tax ever imposed on books, magazines, or newspapers. During the Conservative leadership campaign, Campbell repeatedly said that eduâ€" cation is essential to Canada‘s future. Last fall, the federal governâ€" ment released a white paper stating that literacy and education will be the keys to maintaining our econoâ€" my and standard of living in the Is a 7% tax on reading material worth endangering our country‘s future prosperity? Our international competitors understand the importance of readâ€" ing. That‘s why most refuse to tax reading. In fact, Canada has by far the highest taxes on reading materiâ€" al in the Group of Seven industrial nations. Most industrialized counâ€" tries â€" including the U.S., the U.K., Mexico, Ireland, Australia, and Switzerland â€" do not tax reading at all. We understand the government‘s need to collect tax revenue. There is clear evidence, however, that the GST has reduced reading in Canada and threatens our future prosperity. In our view, at the very least, regional health department officials should tell the wife of the man filmed in the washroom with the AIDS man, for her own protection. We would hope the husband would be forthcoming about his sexual indiscretion but there‘s certainly no guarantee that will happen. Failure to act in this case puts the woman of this particular man in grave danger of contracting a disease that is, ultimately, a guarantee of death. And since it‘s the duty of the police to serve and protect the population at large, they should be protecting an innocent victim, especially since they know who she is. The murky area in this case is whether or not the other women should be similarly notified. This is a hard one since only one man was seen to have sex with the AIDS infected man. But who‘s to say whether or not that infected man had previously had sex with other men at the park? In times gone by, charging men committing sexual acts in public, would have been no big deal but AIDS has complicated the issue for these men, most of whom are not permanent members of the gay community. The women involved with the men should be told and told now. In October 1990 â€" before the GST was passed by Parliament â€" and again in December 1991, Prime Minister Mulroney promised to review the GST on reading after a year, and to remove it if it had reduced reading. Reading material was the only commodity he singled out as deserving such a review. The police have basically washed their hands of this subâ€"issue in the case and officials point to the Halton Medical Officer of Health as the best source for the information to originate. Apparently the infected individual had relations with only one man in the two weeks of police surveillance. But there is no way of knowing how many men in the list of those charged, had previously engaged in sex acts with the AIDS$ victim. So what should happen? So the question now raging around this case is who, if anyone, should tell the wives of those men filmed as having sexual relations with the infected man? This is all pretty basic stuff but in this case, there is an added twist...a potentially deadly twist. One of the men involved had AIDS and committed suicide after being charged. There are a few reasons for this including the impact such information would have on the accused‘s family. This aspect is even more germane in this case since all but 11 of the men are married. Also to be considered is the possibility that police could drop charges against one or more of the men for a variety of reasons. Too many people wouldn‘t see that in the press and the man‘s family would still have to undergo the kind of scrutiny as those guilty of the charges. Removing the GST from reading would also solve the expensive headache the tax has become for the government. The Department of Revenue has found it impossible to collect GST on magazine subscripâ€" The names of the accused were released for publication to the various media in the Oakvilleâ€"Hamiltonâ€"Toronto areas. This newspaper, along with the other southern Ontario media outlets, has chosen not to print the list. ~ OPINION Charges have been made before but nothing on the scale of recent days when Halton Regional Police pressed charges against 46 men, most of whom were from the Oakville, Mississauga and Hamilton areas. hen men are caught performing sexual acts in a public place, some newspapers have published their names, particularly if the person(s) were supposedly ‘pillars of the community‘. Here in Oakville, the community has had to deal with a continuing probâ€" lem with men using the Shell Park washrooms in Bronte, as a meeting place for homosexual encounters. Here is an example of what the EDITORIAL Tell them qmgstommchugingforanidw tical prescription. When I started taking a drug several years ago, I will have to conâ€" tinue on it for possibly the rest of tions mailed from outside Canada. After two years of increasinglyâ€" expensive efforts by Revenue, 72% of U.S. magazines refuse to collect the GST from Canadian subâ€" scribers. This means a 7% price advantage to American publishers over Canadians, and an absurd wasted expense to the government. Literally hundreds of thousands of Canadians, including many of your readers, have written to the former Prime Minister and every MP to oppose the tax on reading. Both opposition parties have pledged to remove the GST from reading if they form the next govâ€" emment. My gripe is why we can‘t have locks on the pumps at the gas staâ€" tions here in Oakville and across Canada at the self service stations. I have a 29â€"gallon tank in my van and it takes me about 10 minutes to fill up. In Oakville I have to stand there holding the pump until it‘s comâ€" pletely done. It‘s about $50 worth of gas. I was just travelling across the states and in every station in every state I was in they had locks on the pumps so I could be checking my oil, washing my windows, doing something else besides standing there watching the numbers go by, and my gripe is why we can‘t have locks at all selfâ€"serve stations. We‘re all adults. I think we can handle locks. Scott Apted A reminder that people can still participate in the Oakville Beaver‘s Weekly Poll â€" Are you in favor of permitting longer trucks on our highways?â€" by calling Phone Alone 845â€"5585, box 5008 to cast their ballots. And there is still time to respond to the Question of the Week â€" Should newspapers name men charged by police for committing sex acts at the Shell Park washrooms recently? â€" by calling Phone Alone 845â€"5585, box 5012. PHONE CALL845â€"5585 | SPEAK YOUR MIND | Got a gripe? Give us a call. Readers are invited to express their opinion on a topic of their choice by calling 845â€"5585, box 5250. All callers are allowed 45 secâ€" onds to express their opinion and must provide their name, address and phone number for verification. A cross section of the responses will be published in next Wednesday‘s Oakville Beaver. my life, 1 decided to save the costs of going to a doctor every 75 days and saving the billing charges to O.H.LP. for a doctor‘s visit. 1 insistâ€" ed that my doctor give me a preâ€" Campbell can show a commitâ€" ment to Canadian education, literaâ€" cy, productivity, and culture by zeroâ€"rating books, magazines, and newspapers under the GST. We are asking Canadians to write again to Prime Minister Campbell. Remind her that this tax continues to damage Canadian eduâ€" cation and culture, and continues to threaten our future prosperity. Canada should follow the lead of the many countries who have removed taxes from reading as an investment in their future. Jacqueline Hushion Chairperson Don‘t Tax Reading Coalition The Oakville Beaver welcomes your comments. All letters must be signed and include the writer‘s address and phone number. Letters should be typed, doubleâ€"spaced and addressed to: Letters to the Editor, The Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 "For many Canadians, Ottawa is OZ." â€" KIM CAMPBELL 467 Speers Road, Oakville, Ont. L6K smm Classified Advertising: 845â€"2809 Circulation: 845â€"9742 or 845â€"9743 845â€"3824 Fax: 845â€"3085 AKUILLE BF THE OAKVII ly to the Canadian taxpayer. Is this a way we want to do business in this province? Let‘s get after the real people who are making our health care system overpriced. I do realize that most people in this province are covered for drugs on a medical plan, but that is noâ€"excuse for the drugâ€" gists to overcharge. Looking for a larger trough My question is this... Does it cost the consumer an additional fee for the same thing each time he is to purchase a similar article? Why then are these druggists allowed to charge a fee to the consumer and O.HLP. for a similar product? Our governments are quick to blame the doctors for the costs of the medical fees they charge, but what would happen if doctors charged a patient double for a second visit? It would be cheaper for me to go to my doctor each time I need this prescription renewed, but more costâ€" scription for multiple refills. I had this prescription filled on April 29th of this year. On July 27th of this year, I had the prescription filled exactly the same, only the dispensâ€" ing cost had doubled. I questioned the druggist on the cost, and she informed me that each time the preâ€" scription is filled the cost is rated on the number of times the prescription has been filled. Good feeding hogs always placed their front feet in the trough. Through this maneuver, they could control a large space of trough and, as they raised their heads to swalâ€" low, this elevated position allowed them to survey other troughs that may have had bigger spoils. Dear Sir: The actions of municipal politiâ€" cians in Oakville, and elsewhere, as we approach a federal election, reminds me of my youth on the farm. One of my jobs was to feed the hogs. Politicians, retaining their local positions and perks while they seek to feed from the larger federal trough, brought these memories back. LP BEAVE R.J. Robertson Keith Simpson Robert Glasbey Advertising Director Norman Alexander Edilor Geoff Hill Circulation Director Teri Casas Office Manager Tim Coles Production Manager Ian Oliver Publisher & W By opposing Bill 124, LL. Davies reminds us of the pressing need to be constantly vigilant regarding the abuse of power by governments. If we regard ourselves as intelligent, then surely we must insist upon the right to make intelligent choices. How dare the government eliminate that option, particularly in the absence of a reasoned argument! Arguments that helmets reduce health care costs are specious. Medical treatment for injuries sustained by pedestriâ€" ans and motorists far exceeds care given to injured cyclists. Why single out cyclists for special consideration? Indeed, one can just imagine the hue and cry from an outraged public obliged to wear helmets when walking or driving a car. Outfitting the province‘s cyclists with helmets at an average cost of $40 each will cost in excess of $90,000,000 with tax. Add to this replacement costs arising from loss and damage. Unfortunately, much of this expense will be shouldered by those least able to afford it. By their very nature, laws infringe upon our rights and freeâ€" doms. This is acceptable providing such laws satisfy both conâ€" ditions set out in Section 1. According to the Charter, a law must be reasonable, and the limitation it seeks to impose demonstrably justified. Bill 124 fails both tests. Dear Sir: In criticizing LL. Davies‘ opposition to mandatory bicycle helmets, Leslie Scott misses the point completely. Davies rightâ€" ly argues that Bill 124 is a bad law, since it violates our freeâ€" dom of expression guaranteed under Section 2 (b) of the Charter. Effective October 1st, 1995, the freedom to ride a bicycle without a helmet on public roads in Ontario will no longer exist. At no time did our provincial legislators advance a case subâ€" stantiating the need for mandatory helmets. In fact, only a tiny percentage of Ontario‘s estimated two million cyclists suffer serious injury. The majority of these do not involve the head. Merely proving that helmets protect against head injuries is insufficient to justify forcing them on an entire cycling populaâ€" tion. Helmet law stops freedom Afghanistan/Pakistan Iran/iraq Angola Namibia Nicaragua Central America Haiti E1 Salvador Iraq/Kuwait Western Sahara Cambodia Croatia/Bosnia/Macedonia Somalia Mozambique U.N. Operation LETTER OF THE DAY Idwatch | THERES No PlAce Distributing | News Adve Collingwood Aoton Free _ Rd,, Oakville ting Lid. group A:)vvulug. Ba M‘ Peter Pellier 1J 1993