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ECL, wnat WET Lr, tw ARE RN SO YE TR, SO Oe RG, 5,5 "A Family Tradition for 126 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, June 16, 1992 - 9 Letters io the editor Keep up the good work To the Editor: The Star edition of June 2, 1992 carried a letter from Har- vey and Joan Graham, Purple Hill, stating the positive ap- proach he and his wife take as cattle producers in protecting the environment and the eco- system that they can control. The Grahams should be rec- ognized and congratulated for their enlightened approach to agriculture. For too long farm- ers have been unaware of the damage that their activities were doing to the environment. This is starting to change as farmers are beginning to show real concern by initiating prac- tical steps to protect our natural resources. This initiative should not go unnoticed. Those of us interest- ed in the preservation of the en- vironment and the quality of our rural life-style should sup- portour farmers in their efforts. In turn the agricultural commu- nity may be able to add their support to environmental is- sues normally outside their areaofinterest. The environment belongs to all citizens of Scugog - it is our natural heritage, inherited from those who lived before us. If we don't work together to pre- serve our environment we will have a lot less to pass on to our children. Keep up the good work, Har- vey and Joan. You're setting a fine example! James E. Byers, President Scugog Citizens' Organization for the Preservation of the Environment Gold-plated pensions - To the Editor: Most Members of Parliament should be ashamed of them- selves. They claim that Bill C-55, now before parliament, makes their gold-plated pension plan fairer. The truth is that this bill is nothing but a cynical, deceptive shell game. Once the politi- cians' flash and trickery is over, all of the lavish benefits of the MPs' pension plan remain the same. A leading, independent pension expert has attacked Bill C-55 as a "waste of time". For instance, under Bill C-55 MPs could still leave office after only six years and immediately start collecting pensions for life regardless of their age. These fat pensions would still start at about $18,000 per year and would still have unlimited pro- tection against inflation. What's really outrageous is that the great majority of our MPs seem to see nothing wrong with clinging to these lavish perks when 1.5 million Canadi- ans are out of work and 2 mil- lion are on welfare! We urge your readers to con- tact their MPs and press them to not only scrap Bill C-55 but to fundamentally reform this rip- off of the Canadian taxpayer. National polls find unprece- dented disrespect for MPs. They have earned that disre- spect. Let's hope they try to earn our respect back by doing the right thing with their pen- sion plan. Sincerely, David Somerville President, National Citizens' Coalition Gary Edgar responds To the Editor: I'm responding to your article in which you quote fellow Island resident Joel Aldred as being "extremely appalled and upset" with the newspaper articles which referred to my address to the Scugog Historical Society on May 28. I was asked to speak to this group about the history of the Mississaugas of Scugog, what is currently happening on our First Nation and what I saw in the future for us and for Native people in general. As I indicated to the group assembled, I don't pretend to be any kind of a his- torian and it is unfortunate that much of our history is not re- corded. What I attempted to do was to give some general back- ground on the Mississauga Na- tion and to point out some of the injustices that have been done to our people since the time of the European's discovery and settlement in this country. That Mr. Aldred doesn't feel we had "been hard done by" in- dicates to me that he is grossly out of touch with what has hap- pened in the past. I didn't cry about it, I just pointed it out. That's why 1 feel a person should not comment on some- thing when they weren't even present to hear what was said. In that regard, I also find fault with Mr. Hvidsten writing the article when he wasn't present at my talk either. The reporter from the Port Perry Star who was there did a creditable job of reporting in my opinion. The question of the land is one area covered in the article prepared by the Historian and Chief Negotiator for the United Indian Councils (of which the Scugog First Nation is one of nine First Nations), Dr. Ian Johnson. This article also ap- pears in today's paper. As for farming, my father George has told me on many occasions about the Elliott and Johnson farms in the early 1900s where mixed farming was practised with the help of teams of horses and buildings to accommodate the animals and harvests. We are currently looking at two crops that are presently being researched and tested for possi- ble planting on our farmland. In the meantime, we do rent the space to Mr. Frew who takes good care of the property. When Mrs. A. Aldred pur- chased the farm in the early '50s, that property was sold so that our housing could be reno- vated, added to, or in one case, be built. The fundraising has begun for our Community Building. We are adding on to our exist- ing building (which can be de- scribed at best as "cramped") in order to save money. The mod- est addition will include addi- Turnto Page 11 NOW OPEN SUNDAYS lam to 4 pm b0 IT YOURSELF DO-IT-YOURSELF Swi ng-N-Slide = EAGLES NEST Includes Labour and Hardware '254." 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