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pAÃ"MOEMe HTYFM EPUES!%,WEDNE89DAYJULY 15ý, 199 Tue only Whitby Newspaper owned and operated by Whitby residents fr Whitby resîdents! Pubiished everyWednesday by 677209 Ontajrio Ic. at 131. Brock St. N., Whitby, Ontarlo Li N!5S1 Phone 668-6111 Torontç LUne 427-1834 Doug:'Andelrso - Publi sher-' Maurice Pither - Editor *Alexandra Nartin -,ProductionMage 2nd Class Postal Registration #05351, *Unifair criticism, BRo.Stevenson Drhm ing'MP With many Canadiens feeling. as they ,do about their elocted reretatives, on. could say that targel politicians thos. days 1 s bik.shootlng fishin a barrel.. Those cf Lus ln pui' lc f.cn't really complain about that. We knew, or sh ould haveknown what w. were getting into when wo stood for election. There1 are times, however, whenri 1feel:t's necessary to protost the ufiaines f some critlcsm directed aur way. These comments are prompted by recent advertlsements and letters-to-the-oditar by' David Somerville, of t 'he National Citizens' Coalitioncoderning ilmemerIfaliaent for thoir 'gold-plaed dpension plan' ýwih 'lavlsh ben.efi'which Irip-offthe Candian taxpayer Colourfùl language that. Right here 1 should explainthat I don't personally q uaifyfor the pension pOlan, cannot for another three years, and it certainly wasnt'a factor in 'my- running forpal iaret. UI 'd remalned ln My successful prafessionai career, 1h'vave much, b9tter saiary and pension lan. and my lvng exponses would b. considerai less« thanthey are currently. As Weil.- l'mon. c fseveral MPs iwho bolleve the pension. -provisions should b. changed. 've stated prelously that'no one should colléet benefits until at least age60,an that no former MP should reoive'a pension while also gettlng a salary from i the' federal payroll, assome now do. An independentgroup,,wilI be reviewing the MPs' pension plan, and I trust àt wiII rocommond such sensible chanes. What bthers me ýabout the National Citizens' Coalio is.that It takes a few carefully selected examples, generalizes on them to far-u extremes, and then draws conclusions which, while they mako a good scare story, simpty aren't warrantod by the facts. h's implied that the plan was cookod-up'in the current- parliament.' though W was establishod in 1952 and has- not been chaige substantially since 1970. An MP has.ta b. elected for six years to qualfy for, a pension, but it's notexplalned that fewer than hall the members of any parliamont hold off ice that long. R's noît mentionod that MPs contibue -il1per cent cf their sair to the pension fund - about $7.000 annually - aconsiderably hmgher percentage than In most privae sector.pension schémes. The, govern1à memaches thos contributions, as Rt does for other, nublil service pensions and that's the only cost to taxpayers. Wth rnr ccum'ulated over the yearsthe pension fund ls in surplus by more than $40 million~. -Today some 325 ,former MPs are riclvng pensions, cf whom only 'six get more' than',$50.000, while.173 - tesutantial majorty,-- have'annual bonef ts cflesthan $15.000. The National Ciizens' Coalition.has used Hon.,Pernin Beatty as an example cf how lavish the plan is, on the basis that, if he retirod tomorrow he'd colect over a million dollars, durlng- the rest, cf. his Idfe. He also was the youngest W o ver elected, to, quali -for a pension, and could have startodccllecting maximum benefits five yearsego. However -he's still an MIR, serving ln- a senior cabinet position, 'and by adIl aàppearances has 'no Intention of leaving Parliament for a good* many years te corne. Beatty, ,at age 42. is subsanially bolow the averag age for members in.the present House of Commons, which is 51lyears. At the-,other end cof .t1he scale is -Stan Darling, MP for, Parry Sound-ýMuskcka, 'stili -going 'strong at 'age 8Bt Thon ýthere were cases' ike former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, who paid into the pension plan for -much cf- his adut "Ie, but, nover colected a nickel in benefts, becaâue he died while -an.MIR and his wife prodeceasod hlm. There are'sevoral MPs who are over 65 and still sorving their constituents. lit could bo argued that, in_,doing se, they're si taxpayers'. monoy. If retired they'd bo colloct nga nin hile somoone else aIse would bo getting pald an MP's fl alaryfor representing theliconstftuency.* The'.,MPsI"pension plan isnt a recent. inyention. Obvious*y R needs, tightening up. 1 also think some cf theo comments made about lit are grcssli miseading. Fundraising raffle winner To the Editor On -bohaif of-theKIGneftt Club et Whitby, I wauld 1k. ta thank ail those who purchasod ralffe ickets for our' draw fer' fundralslng, towards child àuu oré vetion., SThe dmru ashold onune 19 i. Thé wWnnr cf thé limltld..édition pnt, 'Stand by -Mso,' by~ Joan HeaWey was Mark Ronaud c f Whitby. As a 'résult of this draw, we "are donatlng $110 each te CÃ"enant Flouse ad hé DistresaCentre Durhamrn ' kid' ne lénniférDura To the Edîtor: 1 arn writinig this loUter ta pubiiciy t hank -al c f : the, peaple .-who supported'the protest on Highway, 12 on Friday 'a.nstý, the dump sites prepcsed for, Scugog Township, and ta oulin e my viows on the issue of waste disposai. We achieved aur objective - ta inform the public. and government that wo are not gin ol'acta dumfp site in Scugog. Ruth Grier anid the NDP govornmont are taking a very cioso-mindoed approach .ta this issue. The best way, to dispose'of garbage ...is the Most envlronmentally friondly way and that way doos: not. include ýa landf 111 site. -; Thore - are toc many alternatives which we have ta make. the government pursue. They- will not even consider those approachés' and I believe that is wrong. We. need a mulpronged approach: 1. Recycle: Most of us know about rocycling * *'cans, -bottlest, newspapers, cardboard and'wood. We9 ais e noo.tarecycële more plastic, 'diapors adunwvanted household applianc ,es -and furnture. Markham nd " Peel have plastic rocyclingi why don't we?' The, diaper manufactures clalm that their.,product le rocycloble, se the ýgovernment must 1m ake* them rnOrvide the facilities ta do ýse.« Unwanted items cen b. placod in a special, section, et the transfer station wifh peoplo who want such. items allowed ta corne and take them. Once a woek this area would thon b. dispesed of, 2. Reduce: Aswhh, recyclinig most cf us know wihat.an b. done here., I aise believe manufactures should b. required by law toadhere ta strict guidelines restricting themr from placing produots in containers in othor,' packçaging to fool the, consumer that the. product la larger than R actuaily is. 3.- Incinerate: Msh. Grier and the, Ministry cf Environment refuse to' consider this ~Issue, y et I n theý United -States and Europe this method, has -had great. success. Inceneration plants provide, ompioymîent and incentlve for people te recycle. Theyaise can provide onergy. They- can bumn wth virtually no affect on the onvrioanment and the technology 18' lmprovlng ovoy day. 4. Kirkland Lake«. At the -Quoees Park protest officiais from Kirkland Lake repeated their, plea ta the gevemnment ta sËend tIhem the gCba et ono avail They want kt gs. Grier says that eut. cf sight is out, ef -mmd. She weuld rather déstroy farmiend. Putting. the garbage ln abandoned mines would provide a great fimandiai windftall te Kirkland Lake. Not only would they 'rocelve money tram the areas praviding - the garbage, but, they could- tap the methano gas -ta produce olectricity and croate more jobs with the plant and even soîl the, hydre back ta the local power autharity. 1 have cnly briefly tauched on these issues but 1 wanted ta inform the average -persan that thare are alternatives ta landf ilîs. Maybo then 1 wan'get people saying Iwe have ta pout a dumpsfte .sam*ewherew when I ask for support. Thore are enough -,alternaétives, ýeven .more' than 1outlined ,'above thatff combined cen eliminate the need for ever, making another landf 111 site in Canada agaîn. Evory citizen 'ln, the Township and the entiro Greater Torânto Area needs te show, the, goenmeht1 that they are not, ngte accept the creatlon'of the FBili 143 and the. ontîr Ie-notion. that the only solution te aour garbage crisiàsisa landfill., 'We have ta fight this whole, process as well as flphting ,the sélection. of aur sites in Scugog.. Den't bo apathetic. That's what the, government wants becauseiR makes their job. a lot sasier. The next time there is,.a général public meeting or protest rally make sure youI go and 'got your neighbour ta gIo. Rt ls the ,least, you cen de. And Pu a. greenýrlbbon eéverywhere to show you support us. Maureen Hall Port.Perry Membor of PES (Preservlng the Environmelnt of. Scugog Inspport of Labour.refo'rms To thé Edîtor: 1 amn writing. as ans member Of the ýWhitb Chambor of Commerce who supports, the. Ontario gavernment's proposed referm to the Labour Relations Act., .,ýAs abusiness p orson,- 1an employer andias aý lawyer whe defends Individual rights, I applaud the governmont on, this .long, overdue. 'initiative. The',structure and nature of Ontario's1 economy has changed since: the last labour. ýlaw1 amrendmoints in 1975. We now have a service-baaed eccnomny where a vider'varlety of people. ýý including part-time warkors, *professionals, -do mosticl- retail and financial sectcr workers, ned .the -protection that. unions and collective bargalning provide. ,Employer, too, will 'bonefit frmbottor *communication n ropresetiaion of employe viows. If Otrai te gât e ut cf this receion, R« wiII -'b.' by way of co-peatonand better employes ,motivation 9 -increase productivity ithe ýwo klace. T he new- act' encourag etat adeliminates the voet.onflicf causedby the use' cof outalde roplacemont labour OuY!inglawful strikes. Proceduresi before the Labourý. Relations Board wil b. stteamrlined' ta save çosts and speed up dispute reselutian. Iblieve *the pacodlbu law changes will boënoffR Ontario as, a whole- and promate Innovation, efficiency, safety and -falrness i n, aur wcrkplaces. Murray Mlskln Whltbyý $Mdson »eptions' in letter To thé Edîtor:- -1 very seldom respend to letters ta the editor, however, TAfee comlelled ta do '»lse oon -this' 1 ýrefer ta Mms. McKnight's letter publishod in the June 24 edition of the WhitbyPro. Press. 1 feel the misconceptions ,in her letter ms b. corrected.ý 1mrs,. McKnight states that the Town of Whltby council refused ta hou> ~~ he inayway. Iwuld lk te make t.clear that it was thraugh the effertse et -councillar Marce Brunelle .at -the Region works committe. and et régional c'ouncil thalt Iwas asked to -resie leh ......... ....................- matter. 1 wasIeased that we wero able te d wth these -peepleý reasnably and reoeve the issue. As far as Graywood Deveiopment Lfd. is onrcerned., Mrs, MKn ht need, not ý'praise, them, but- rath r should extend her thanks'ta the existing. water and sewer users, 'who have p errnitted Mrs. NMcKnight te have h er free hook- up. In conclsion, the matter would have been, resolvd et a much, earlier, point in time had Mms. MeKnight usod the rules proporly. rather than abuse them., * Gary Home RégIonal chair ïy 4 * 'I - -' **~ -, ----------------------------------------------------* -,. so ths i.o ., There are alternatives to. la'ndfill'