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6 t 6 3 j economisb suntrwunefuesddyjan 25 2000 stouffvifle tribune a metroland community newspaper 37 sandiford dr suite 306 stoufiville ont l4a 7x5 publishen ian proudfoot general manager alvin brouwer editor in chief brenda larson director of advertising debra wetter deputy editor debora kelly classified manager ann campbell editor julie caspersen retail sales manager stephen mathieu production director cherikay inside sales manager staceyallen distribution director barry goodyear business manager margaret fleming online publishing manager brian kirlik office manager vivian oneil letters anonymous helicopter gift not appropriate for police force re helicopter benefactor identity to stay secret jan 13 our police services board should not be accepting anonymous gifts of this magnitude that only the chief knows the identity ofthe donor is hard to believe the chief says appro priate background checks on the donor were made ifs hard to believe the chief conducted them all by himself others in the service must know or could hazard a reasonably accurate guess as to the donors identity justice must not only be served but must be seen to be served without public disclosure who is to know if the donor would not receive preferential treatment should it be necessary for him to assist the authorities in their inquiries i applaud the generosity ofthe giver i urge him to rethink the request for anonymity oth erwise the gift should be declined albert tatem unionville chretien not only one to blame for state of canadian economy re cartoonist should quit picking on chretien letters jan 13 larry israelson must be aware it was the mulroney government that started to elimi nate the deficit in 1995 the tories cut transfer payments to the provinces much to the cha grin of bob rae who ineptly thought that when the liberals gained office they would restore the funding rae soon found out that the liberals con tinued cutting only with a much larger knife does israelson forget it was the trudeau gov ernment with jean chretien as finance minis ter that got us into the mess and canadians still have a 600billion debt to deal with our booming economy in many ways is due to the mulroney government it removed the stupid hidden 13percent tax on our manufactured goods making our exports a better bargain in spite of the vehement opposition from the liberals and their friends in the media it signed the free trade agreement opening up larger markets for our goods opinion no doubt chretien did his bit by keeping us poor with our 70cent peso this makes our products cheaper still harris has done his bit as well by showing investors that the unions do not govern ontario the elected officials do regardless of the claims by the opposition health spending was 197 billion for 1999- 2000 an increase of 38 billion during the past five years and 22 billion more than the ndp 199596 allocation this was achieved regard less ofthe 7 billbn in cutbacks by the feder al liberals during the same time frame harris did this by cutting taxes not raising them jshaw markham plight of family farm highlighted at tribute concert on sunday jan 16 my family and i attend ed the family farm tribute concert at the air canada centre in toronto it was a concert aimed at educating the public about the plight of our farmers and foodland we were entertained by about 20 well- known canadian performers a lot of whom had experienced life working on a farm often their families had to sell the farm because they just couldnt make a living which is not at all surprising when you learn that the average canadian farmers annual income is only 14500 the fact that a farmer only gets four cents from the sale of a box of corn flakes could have something to do with that meagre return for hard labour and a large capital investment this amounts to a virtual subsidy for every canadian by the farm population its interesting that markhams council is encouraging the province to take 170 acres of class 1 farmland away from the farmer to force a cemetery on this rich agricultural land another scary fact is that only seven per cent of canada is foodland with the increas ing population not only here but around the world the need for foodland will be extremely great we must acknowledge our responsibility to steward this precious land this is best expressed by the farmer who declared we dont inherit the land we borrow it from our children the show also featured videos of farm life including one of the local community of cedar grove this area is prime agricultural land bor dering on the rouge park just north of the metro toronto zoo in the eyes of developers this is prime developing land but in the eyes of the farmer this is the quality of land they need in order to grow food to feed their families as well as us let us call on the government to ensure our farmers will be able to continue producing our food and are respectfully recognized for their contribution to providing us with one of lifes essentials preservation and environmental issues are the responsibility of everyone please get involved ifs your future too bernadette manning markham letters policy stoufiville tribune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number name and address the newspaper reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space write utters to the editor 37 sandiford dr suite 306 stouffviile ont l4a 7x5 email letttrsaaconsuncom stoufmle tribune serving the community since 1888 e3e13 dde canadian circulations 1 audit board member ontario press council canadian publications mall product sales agreement 1403419 subscription rates by mat t year 6955 liiesdays only stoufiville tribune published every tuesday thursday and saturday is one of the metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd group of newspapers which includes the ajavpickering news advertiser autston heraldcourier barrie advance barrys bay this week bolton enterprise brampton guardian burlington shopping news burlington post city parent collingwoodwasaga connection east york minor erin advocatecountry routes etobicoke guardian flamborough post georgetown independentacton free press kingston this vfcek lindsay this week midland penetanguishene minor milton canadian champion milton shopping news mississauga news newmarket- aurora georgina erabanner northumberland news north york minor oakville beaver oakville shopping news orillia today oshawawhitbyclaringtonpoit perry this week peterborough this week richmond hillthornhuyyaughan liberal scarborough mirror stoufiville tribune today seniors uxbridge tribune and city of york guardian phone 905 6402100 fax 90s 6405477 classified 18007433353 distribution 9056402100 telephone 905 6402100 fax 905 6405477 email newsroomeconsuncom jffifomfs tracy kibble plenty of other places for liberals to spend 20million handout the federal liberals are slowly wising up realizing canadians do in fact have brains industry minister john manley was forced to snatch back his 20rnillion handout for the countrys richest athletes last friday if it werent for the severe media and public backlash however the national hockey league and its millionaire play ers would be heading to the bank today at the expense of the average taxpayer and our meagre lifestyles the liberals are starting to under stand that its just not right to give our money away to people who just dont deserve it heck most people cant even afford to attend a hockey game because ticket prices are so high the liberals are starting to understand that ifs not right to give our money away to people who dont deserve it but now that we know the feds have a spare 20 million lying around and that we they are dying to give it away there are other uses that would benefit more deserving people for instance it costs families thou sands of dollars each year to register their sons and daughters for hockey and figure skating with the cost of registra tion equipment and travel many young kids are deprived of these experiences we can just imagine the parents explanations im sorry son but we cant afford to sign you up for hockey this year my canada pension plan payments alone are chewing another 75 a month out of my pocket since the liberals jacked cpp premiums this year my paycheque is just not keeping up to the cost of liv ing maybe next year im sorry sweetheart but figure skates are so expensive and gasoline prices are skyrocketing again i just cant afford to drive you to and from the com petitions maybe next year what made last weeks shotlived announcement even harder to bear is the fact the federal government spends a shameful pittance on its olympic ath letes the young men and women who represent our country around the world the 20 million should be redirected to qualifying hometown leagues so that impoverished children can hope to be a part of a team at least once in their lives or direct the money to our aspiring olympic athletes so that they can fulfill their dreams and our expectations around the world hockey is a passion for most canadians but a handout to the rich while the average suffer is just an insult