The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

10- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, Oct.4, 1994 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" b § I ETTERS Mississaugas should be applauded To the Editor: Today, In my mailbox, I re- ceived a letter from Mr. Alex Shepherd (M.P. Durham) re- questing that I fill out his (or is it his?) survey regarding the much talked about gambling ca- sino already approved for Scu- gog Island pending environ- mental studies. His cover letter, both in con- text and tone, clearly demon- strates his negative feelings re- garding this venture but his actual survey is, to me anyway, extremely biased. Mr. Shepherd suggests in his letter that he "would like to know what you think of a gam- bling facility being built on the Island." He then begins the sur- vey asking you to clearly reflect your views...."totally opposed, need more information, and no opinion." Why has he left out "in favor of?" As this is the box I would have crossed off to "clear- ly" let him know how this resi- dent and taxpayer feels. I feel that this survey is very unprofessionally structured as people like myselfthat are in fa- vor of the casino, will indicate 'need for more info" and then Mr. Shepherd (and others) will read between the lines suggest- ing that far more people are con- cerned and upset...which may not be the true picture at all. Had this survey not projected such a predominant negativity, Applaudes column To the Editor: Hooray for J. Peter Hvidsten, your publisher, who last week felt strongly enough about the Quebec situation to speak out. So often caring people are re- luctant to air their views for fear of being ridiculed, or con- sidered racist or bigotted. So too are Canadians, as a whole, re- luctant to give up their expected soft approach to others or their ideas. Well I, for one, agree with Mr. Hvidsten and have reached the stage where I could care less what Quebec does and have no desire to help them achieve whatever it is they want to achieve. I just wish other con- cerned Canadians would not be so bashful about their feelings on this subject. And I just hope the federal government does nothing fur- ther to try again to appease this unhappy and confused prov- ince. No matter what we do, it is never enough and it appears it never will be. Claire McIntosh Port Perry 8" Tortiere Meat Pies I would have taken the time to fill it out thoroughly and for- warded on to the writer. I would like to have filled in the block stating that am "in favor of," so he clearly understood that, and then, in the comment area, I would have stated that I would like more information on how it may (and not will, as survey states) affect people living on the Island. The most amusing part of Mr. Shepherd's letter is his state- ment, "I will leave it up to you whether or not you put your name and address on the (his) survey." Is he suggesting that this is such a tremendously hot 1ssue if it proceeds, that you or I may be in some kind of trouble if "someone" or "some group" sees that we are positive to the casi- no? " Mr. Shepherd, of all people, should realize that we, as Cana- dians, live in a great country that allows us to express our- selves without fear or conse- quence. Both he and our so- called "Island defenders" against the casino, should know that Port Perry residents, living on and off the Island, are more than capable of forming and ex- pressing their own opinions and do not appreciate manipulation by others. I am in favor of the gambling casino largely because it will of- fer employment, add tax dol- lars, assist community funding, increase other local business 00 27 per box 75%, $825 vy vr vw Silver Platter Cocktail Tarts revenue and generate further awareness in our great commu- nity as a tourist attraction. I, like others, am concerned about traffic along the Island road and how the facility may affect the environment. Rather than form a committee, I discussed my concerns with Chief Edgar, of the Mississaugas of Scugog Is- land First Nation and having done so, feel assured that nei- ther he nor our provincial gov- ernment would proceed with construction if this project would cause any hardship to our Island community. I know I will hate the addi- tional traffic on the Island, but the pluses far out number the minuses when I consider the revenue this business can and will bring to our town and re- gion. The Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation should be applauded for their efforts in this project, particularly Chief Edgar. He has taken much abuse by "some" in our local pa- pers but has held his ground be- cause he believes this will bene- fit us all, not just the First Nation. Scugog Township needs some radical thinking to pro- mote new business in the area if we expect our youth to stay....otherwise, we will all be heading out west where the jobs are. Dave Halligan, Fralick's Beach MP appreciates assistance Last week I sent out a sur- vey to residents of Scugog Is- land, the purpose of which is to solicit their views on the proposed gaming facility to be built on the Island. While licensing of gaming facility are within the juris- diction of the province I am concerned that there has not been adequate information about the facility presented to area residents. As a policy being pursued on other native lands in Can- ada, as well the fact that na- tive self-government is .in some ways central to this matter, I believe that this is an issue important to the fed- eral government and the peo- ple of Scugog Township. The survey refers to differ- ent classifications of support (opposed, need more infor- mation and no comment). In addition the survey allows for other forms of comments which would of course in- clude the respondents sup- port of the facility. . Obviously it is not a so called "statistically correct" survey but it will allow me to gauge the degree of concern related to the planned facili- ty. Your assistance in this matter will be most appre- - ciated. Yours truly, Alex Shepherd, MP (Durham)- 5° Tortiere Meat Pies rs TSE $825 vv ow oe oe oe . LE J LI BY | LE A J UN J 12 pkgs. . Fa Te --e--------