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rps] John B. McClelland, Valerie Ellis editor : John B. McClelland office manager : Sibylle Warren published by : Scugog Citizen Publishing Ltd. OCNA Member C + THE SCUGOG CITIZEN an independently owned and operated . weekly community newspaper, is distributed, free of charge, to over 13,500 homes and businesses in and around Scugog Township. Subscriptions sold outside Scugog Township. CNA sales : Thom I Doran, Jennine Huffman, Bob Osborne reception : Janet Rankin production : Tanya Mappin, Valerie Ellis feature writer : Heather McCrae "Proud Canadians, proud to call Scugog Township home. CCNA i) (#CNA conan CCNA Verified Circulation Controlled 54 WATER ST., PORT PERRY, ONT. L9L1J2 B Phone : (905) 985-6397 Fax : (905) 985-1410 | [EDITORIAL] 4 | Leave Hydro future | in hands of the people The Power Workers Union (PWU) of Ontario has come out swinging in ' the wake of the announcement last week by the Harris government that the Board of Directors at Ontario Hydro will be reduced from 22 to eight members. No sooner had that announcement been made Jan. 10 when that those Hydro directors who got the axe are either 'known or suspected" to be opposed to any move to sell the giant utility to the private sector. \ Indeed, one of those directors fired last week is John Hydro board in August, 1994. The others are Mike Cassidy, Kealey Cummings, Jin Hinds and Jim MacNeill. | The PWU goes on to charge that most members of the Macdonald Committee looking into the possibility of privatizing Hydro have conflicts of interest because of close business ties with corporgtions that could stand to benefit if Hydro was sold to the private sector. The PWU singles out chairman Donald Macdonald as a di of several d to the private power generation business such as Trans Canada Pipelines, Alberta Energy Co., Siemens Electric and Celanese Canada. He is also a director of CIBC, owner of Woody Gundy which could stand to make large commissions on the sale of Ontario Hydro. Other committee members with conflicts, according to the PWU, are Robert Gillespie, CEO of General Electric; Darcy McKeough, (a former Tory Cabinet Minister) and director of Consumers Gas; and Jan Carr, an executive with Acres International, an engineering firm that works heavily in lconstruction of power plants. Obviously there are some major ideological differences between the PWU, the bers of the Macdonald C: the PWU issued a statement charging among other things . Murphy, president of the PWU who was appointed to the | HERE COMES OLICE GO UNDERCOVER TO CATCH © » ILLEGAL SNOWMOBILERS... o o ° ° ---- | SHOULD © Ie LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Civil servants have good ideas To the Editor: I am pleased to see that my letter in the January 3rd edition of the Scugog Citizen was responded to in the January 10th edition. Although the response did not come from the Ontario Taxpayers Federation, and the present Mike Harris government at Queens Park, But the underlying and most fundamental element in all this is really quite simple: should Ontario Hydro., the world's largest public utility be sold in whole or in parts to the private as a question the people of Ontario must decide. Ontario Hydro has been generating and providing power to the province for 96 years and has consistently provided this power at a cost among the lowest of any jurisdiction in the industrial world. , Can the private sector do the same job and build'in a profit margin to reflect at least a return on investment. The vast majority of power in Ontario is generated at nuclear plants, which because of the safety factors are incredibly expensive to build and maintain. Do we really want our system of nuclear plants in the hands of the private sector? That's an ideological question that should be answered by the people of this province and nobody else. Does Ontario have problems now? Of course. Does Ontario Hydro need a major overhaul? Of course. Does Ontario Hydro need to tighten its belt fiscally and examine all phases of how it does business? Of course. But are these reasons to place it on the auction block? Mo We believe very ly that g as fu the well being of all 1 of in Ontario as safe, reliable ie relatively inexpensive electric power is better left in public hands. We have i quibble if the Ontario government wants to reduce the number of Hydro board members from 22 to eight in the interest of saving money. We wonder about the PWU charge that the deck is being stacked by the make-up of the Macdonald Committee. We would strongly suggest that if the sell-off Hydro is part of - the agenda of the Harris government that the people of this province first be kept informed and more important that the ultimate decision be put in the hands of Ontarians. To put it bluntly, the thought of the private sector running Pickering and Darlington nuclear plants, handling radioactive materials and then finding a way, to safely dispose of the Vase i8 more than just a bit unsettling. as requested, it did catch the attention of former Township of Scugog Councillor: David Dietlein. . It was encouraging to see that Mr. Dietlein agreed with some of the ideas expressed in my letter, including, the value of cost saving measures initiated by government workers. Similarly, Mr. Dietlein agreed as I do, some non-efficient government services should be privatized. However, if Mr. Dietlein took exception to what I expressed, the true intent of my letter may have been missed. The intent of my letter was to express that it is important for government workers to "take pride in their jobs and to provide a quality service to the public." : It was not my intention, as Mr. Dietlein suggests to encourage government workers to "punch a time clock, mindlessly follow rs, and count your years to etirement." Similarly, it is unfortunate that many / government workers have had their "entrepreneurial spirit ground out of them." However, it is my belief, that Mr. Dietlein's perception that civil servants don't have "the guts" to challenge the current done in conjunction with its workers, is the ultimate answer to ensure that the prescribed cost saving measures are complied with. Yours truly # « Gord Gettins Caesarea Put end to urban sprawi To the Editor: One of the key findings in the Golden Commission will come as no surprise to rural taxpayers: urban sprawl is unaffordable. Since the inception of Durham's Regional Government rural taxpayers (including Scugog) have been forced to subsidize, through massive property tax increases, urban sprawl in the south. The more the Region approved sprawling subdivisions, the higher our property taxes went up. Now finally an independent study done for the task force on municipal reform says that sprawl is too costly and it must be curbed. Farmers could have told them this years ago. If Mike Harris wants to reduce taxes to stimulate the economy he should put an end to sprawl by cutting its massive government subsidies. This would help reduce the provincial debt and allow municipalities to reduce taxes. Common sense. Yours truly R.G. Almack : 3 R.R.1, Blackstock 'Why spend tax bucks for sports stadiums? To The Editor: the comfort and enjoyment of the Money b alway available for well off, including highly paid building big sport di for 11, hockey and basketball the main purpose, of making a players. We should not forget lot of money. The Air Canada those who are not as fortunate. Centre for the Toronto Raptors is now in the final stages to be developed. Players afe paid exorbitant wages, ani ticket prices have skyrocketed. It will be good public relations and gratifying to set up feeding and housing=eentres for the h y st is not an te one. When given the chance to p their work envi government workers will provide amazing results, As noted in my previous letter a leaner, smarter governrent, 1 nd street people. Many buildings in Toronto and other cities in Canada and the US are empty. The faceless people are usually lost in the uffle. Millions of dollars is spent for A poor tax should be added to all players wages, stadium development charges and sports ticket sales instead of the GST. That money. could then be used for feeding and housing centres. These are the signs of the times, and are not likely to go away soon. : We feed and house criminals who had a choice, The unfortunate have no choice. Are our priorities mixed up? Herman van der Veen . Oshawa \