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PAGE 6, WHrTBY FREE PRESS, WEDNIESDAY, JANUARY 3,1990 VOICE 0F THE COUNT TOWN The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby resîdents. Pubiished.every Wednesday By 677209 Ontario in. Phone: 668-6111 )~jÇ1668-6112 668-6369 Doug Anderson Publisher 131 Brook Street North, P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. LUN 5S1 2nid Maurice Pither Editor Peter Irvine Advertising Manager Alexandra Simon Production Manager JClass Postal rAegIstration #05351 When Whitby council members considered the shape of things to corne iocally 1i*n 1990 and beyond, they reviewed the 1989 year during which much of the planning for the next decade was'ether laid down or discussed. The, eighties saw considerabie growth in Whitby, and the off iciai plan that was formed years before was, on occasi1on, ii-suited ta that eightes',growth, and it was even considered outdated. 1989 saw the beginning of the review. of the officiai The nineties plan that will guide Whitby through'the nineties. Whether, development wiIl occur at the same pace as In'the past decade remains to be seen, depending on the economy, but its a good bet that growth wili steadily continue. Whftby, despite belng what one councilior describes as ."dan, expensive place to live," is generaliy, Wel- regarded as a communty "and many projects of1 the nineties InvolVe recreation, se'rvices 'and redvelopment 'of existlng areas (downtow >n) and structures (Centennial Building) that will make it even better. Gulded mostly by an Inadequate officiai plan, but wlth usually sound Town. staff ýand council 'action, Whlt by enjoyed nice growth ln reent years. Soon ail will be ln place so that we can expect even better In the next decade. ýeeeeee odddddddddd ed ýjidd::ddd: ... ddddddd: eeeý :.:eeý' .......... -i edeý :dddd-:ý ................ ..edd ýee :-:dddddd ....... ... ........... d: 'ddddd M d: d !ýýeeee:ý: ý:ýee . ............ idd. ............ eeeeeeeeeeee: Me demi -:ddddddd: Sas . ........ .. . .. .............. e si: moi 9m: eý- ýjeeee:ýeee:j:je:je: >.-- -3. d mil lm '89 experiences As we look back on 1989, it is interesting to reflect on the years experiences. 1989 was a year of many challenges for the government, and for myself, personally. On the governiment side, while a lot of progrees was made on many issues and the economy continued to improve in moot sectors, it is clear that there is much that remains to be done. Personally, the past 12 months also brought a variety of experiences, many of which were rewarding and challenging. Overail, I will rememnber 1989 as a year of many achievemrents. On Dec. 19, Finance MinisterMichael Wilson revealed the details of bis new (LST package. In hie statement in the House, the minister explained that the changes, many of which were recomxnended by the House of Conimons Standing Committee on Finance, are consistent with the governiment's objectives. For your information, I will outline somne of the changes put forth by the minister. The key change to the proposed GST will lower its rate from 9 per cent to 7 per cent. The 7 per cent rate will raise almost $6-billion less in goverrnment revenues each year. Therefore, a number of measures were announoed to offset this revenue losa. To promote greater efficiency in govrernment operations, the President of the TIreasury Board recently announced measures that will save $700-miflion per year. These measures include the sales of two government aircraft the losing of some parliaxnentary restaurants, travel restrictions, continuation of the federal department's budget freeze, a fr-eeze on construction expenditures in the National Capital Region, and the amalgamation or closing of some governiment agencies. The reduction of the GST rate from 9 par cent te 7 par cent. would yield the greateat benefit te high-income Canadians. However, ini order to ensure fairness in the s"stem, the surtax on high-mncome Canadians will be increased from 3 par cent to 5 par cent. In addition, the threshold for the high-incomne surtar will be lowered from $15,000 of basic federal tax annually to $12,500 of tax. Only taxpayers with incomnes in excess of about $62,000 will beaffected.. The large corporations tax wil be increased te raise about $200-niillion in additional revenues annually. In addition, a proposed reduction of the niiddle-income tax rate as proposed under the 9 per cent GSI' will be scrapped. Even without this incomne tax reduction, middle-income earners will pay less under the 7 par cent package. Elimination of this measure will contribute about *700-million te reducing the GSI' rate ftom 9 par cent te 7 per cent. I believe that the reduction of the GSI' rate from 9 par cent te 7 par cent will benefit Canadians right across the country. The fact that Mr. Wilson adopted the lower rate and many of the Finance Conunittee's other suggestions, demnonstrates the useful role we play in ensuring that the views of Canadians are recognized. Now that the rate is set, we can set our sights on replacing the existing federal sales tax with the 7 par cent GST, arvlin 1 QQ1 LETTERS The Whitby Free Press welcomes letters to the Editor on any subjeet of concern to our readers. Letters shotld be brief and to the point - rarely more than 300 words. Ail letters must be accompanied by the namne, address and phone number of the writer; however, on request, your name may be withheld fromn publication if we agree that there is a valid reason. The paper reserves the right to reject or edit ail letters. Send to: The Editor, Whitby Free Press, Box 206, Whitby, Ontario Mucli support for lighting show To the editor. An open letter to the residents of Durham Region. Sunday Dec. 17 was quite a night! We turned on 5,000 Christnmas tree lights at the "flick of a switch" during the third annual 0H00 Chri stmnas Light and Sound Show ... and we feel great! Not because we tumed on some lights, but because we raised just under $6,000 for the Gift of Christmas Food and Toy Drive in aid of the less fortunate of the Durhamn Region. We couldn't have done it without you, the generous citizens of Durham Region, who gave from your hearts during our live broadcasts and to' our 0H00 Durhamn for our electrical and technical needs and the use of the trees at the Region's head- quarters. Congratulations, Durhamn! You did it for us and we thank you. t is support like this that makes our station's motto ... "Durham's Voice ... by Choice" that much more meaningful. We thank you for joining us to celebrate with the General Motors Çhoir's Christmas carol sing. You enjoyed hot choclate, coffee and cookies, compliments of Loeb's Ajax Marketplace and the, presentation of a cheque for just under $6,Ã"O00tu the Gift, of Christmas Foodand Toy Drive. Then, Gary Herrema, chairman Of the Regional Municipality of Durham, 'Thicked the switch" that turned on 5,000 lights to brighten the lives of the less fortunate of the Durham Region. Thank you Durham. for a heart-warming Gift of Christmas 1989. Sinoerely, Dave Hughes General Manager JToe (Conrad) Frech.ette Program Dire&ýor/ Promotions Manager rr~ ~ i ~i4 e ~1- w Wishing Well at the Oshawa I Ii1>Iift.ISlui Ifeiieiusi SA Centre. We couldn't have done it . without the support and co-operation of the management To the edîtori. A big thank you also to the and staff and the most generous staff of the store for their time donations of the employees of This is a thank you note to ail and effort. General Motors, Lasco Steel, the people who so generously Thank you again, and God Acustar, and Darlington Nuclear contributed'to the food drive at Bless. Generating Station. We couldn't the Gilbert St. Liquor Store. We Sinoerely yours, have done it without the collected over 1,000 lbs. of food for Bill Myers (Manager) generosity of the media of the the Salvation Army and Rose of Liquor Store Durham Region for the publicity, Durham Home for Women. 111 Gilbert St. E. and the Regional Municipality of Whitby w ý'We survived '89 landfihl site discussion, maybe it will be