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"A Family Tradition for 131 Years" LETTE S EE ---------- Disgusted by deal To the Editor: I am writing to express my disgust with the recently rati- ~ fied "deal" between doctors and the Ontario government. The deal gives Ontario doctors more than $1 billion extra over the " next three years. At the same time hospitals are closing and thousands of health workers are losing their jobs. It is apparent that the greed of doctors is jeopardizing the fu- It's time to From Page 6 And we say to ourselves, "Maybe they're right... maybe Scugog really is polluted." If we care what people think about the lake - and we should, if for no other reason than the impact that the lake's publicim- age has on local property values and on tourism income - we should do what we can to fix things up. Don't let people tell you it's a polluted lake. Tell them it's the greatest wildlife habitat out- side The Metro Zoo and that wild animals don't live in pollut- ed lakes. Tell them about the Muskoka Lakes, which in the 60s were nearly as murky and et HR ture of our financially burdened health care system. What is perhaps even more alarming is the fact that the On- tario government has dealt away accountability, as we the taxpayers and patients will now be further subsidizing the doc- tor's malpractice insurance pre- miums. In other words, we, the patients, will be paying for the negligence perpetrated against us by careless physicians. with doctors In their negotiations for more money and less accountability, doctors (as well as the Ontario government) have betrayed the public interest. Decreased ac- countability can only result in more lost lives, and I for one re- sent our health and our very lives being used as bargaining chips by doctors and politicians. Adrian deBoer, R.R. 3, Uxbridge stand up for Scugog full of fish as Scugog. They're now so polluted by acid rain that the lake water is crystal clear, and nearly devoid of fish. Virtually nobody even bothers to drop a worm in Lake Joseph, Lake Rosseau or Lake Muskoka anymore. Demand that our local gov- ernment use whatever powers they've got to get tough on the people who throw garbage into Scugog. No other lake I know has even a tenth of the amount of floating trash that we do. The sterile, polluted Musko- kas are spotless. So is Georgian Bay, the Bay of Quinte, the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River, and our closest The birth of a nation To the Editor: With Canada Day just past, this would be an appropriate time to reflect on The Battle of Vimy Ridge in April of 1917 as the defining event on Canada's road to nationhood. In the first week of April this year, a contingent of more than 100 prominent veterans trav- elled to the Canadian Monu- ment at Vimy Ridge to com- memorate the 80th anniversary of the battle. Canadians, fight- ing as a single army for the first time, focused attention on the recognition of Canada as a full- fledged member of the world community. The War Amps is not extol- ling the virtues of war. Our Nev- er Again Program is the strong- est indication of this. Canadians have no difficulty in accepting that Vimy Ridge was the major launching pad of our ascendency as a nation. Let us once again reflect upon the significance of Vimy as we cele- brate Canada on this, the 80th anniversary of the day we went from colony to nation. Cliff Chadderton, Chairman, National Council of Veteran Associations neighbors, the Kawarthas. Even Simcoe and Lake Ontario make Scugog look like a cess- pool in comparison. : Let'simmediately ban fishing on the causeway. It's a major source of floating garbage, and no number of new garbage con- tainers is going to fix the prob- lem. Make it the law that every boat rented- on Scugog (and there are a lot of them) must be equipped by the owner with an on-board, fixed, closable gar- bage container. Instruct our boat-based po- lice to fine anyone they see lit- tering the lake...no warnings. Pick up floating garbage if it's not too much trouble for you. And, of course, make sure that you yourself have not been sucked into a lazy attitude about tossing the odd pop can or sandwich bag into the lake. I know I've done it once or twice, and kicked myselffor it. For my part, I admit that I've been tolerating the Scugog put- downs more than I should. May- be because I know that a poor image helps to keep developers, cottagers, holiday traffic and major boat trafficaway. Or may- be because, murky or not murky, garbage or no garbage, it's still the most interesting lake in Ontario. But still, I wish the lake were as beautiful as I know it could Peter Langmuir, Port Perry 4 5 by Jeff Mitchell TIME FOR MPPsTO GROW UP FOR SHAME: Hope MPPs, during their abbreviated summer break this month, are able to give a little thought to a report that came out last week. Feedback coming to Queen's Purk from teachers shows that they're rethinking and even avoiding taking kids to the Legislature, because of all the boorish behaviour going on among our elected representatives there. 'A report sent to the government reveals that teachers are dismayed by the heckling, cat-calling, and general unparliamentary behavior occurring during debates. And it singles out government members as the worst offenders; they shower their meagre opposition with such | abuse that the message from the benches across the floor is barely heard. A visit to Queen's Park used to be a highlight of high school government classes. And now teachers don't want to take kids there, for fear they'll be witness to rude and disruptive behavior. Maybe detentions would help? TV UH-OH: Word finally came through via the fax that the Tories are going to put TV Ontario, the province's publicly-funded television station, on the privatization block. Educational TV's all fine and good, say the Tories, but it doesn't generate a whole lotta cash. And that's what it takes to ensure survival in these times. TVO will be looked at to see how it can become self-sustaining. All of which means that Polkaroo could soon be sending out resumes. | I's a tough time for public broadcasters -- just ask the folks at the CBC, if anyone picks up the phone -- and you have to wonder how long subsidized networks will continue to be. Too bad. Another bit of quality Canadiana, got rid of in this fire sale of a decade. : KEEPING ABREAST: So far, so good on the bare breast issue, here at least. I've heard reports of topless sunbathing in Palmer Park, but so far -- it's early in the summer yet -- nobody's called to scream at the editor over it. Not that we won't print opinions on the issue, but | kind of feel things are a bit overblown, don't'you?. Top offender is the Toronto Sun, with its leering, snickering, adolescent slant on the issue. It's not often I'll brand another newspaper's approach to a story offensive; but the Sun has repeatedly taken the low road on this one. Shame. (And no, | don't buy the damned thing). WHAT'S THE GOOD WORD? ...Our backlog of letters | has cleared up, meaning the wait's not so long for you to get your opinion on our pages. : Let us know what's on your mind, eh? EE ---------------------- a new trend to the 100 or more golfers required to make every tournament a financial success. C 'As funding dollars become more and more scarce, g there's a real dilemma for all organizations which S$ require funding to survive. » The groups who will be most successful will ugog ultimately be those who come up with the most of - creative and inovative ways to raise money. ~The vho can encourage the public to dig deep <ets and willingly hand over the funds - face. had a great Canada Day. ten Monday, and forecasts for: nd too promising, so | can only ns go off without a hitch. 8 cancelled due to Frank Fielding on b 1997 Citizen of the Ye them for some