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mu4ii stouffvflle tribune a metroland community newspaper 9 heritage rd markham ont l3p 1m3 opinion telephone 905 2942200 fax 905 2941538 email newsroomeconsuncom publisher ian proudfoot general manager alvin brouwer editor in chief brenda larson director of advertising debra welter deputy editor debara kelly editor julie caspersen production director cherikay distribution director barry goodyear online publishing manager brian kirlik classified manager ann campbell retail sales manager stephen mathieu inside sales manager staceyallen business manager margaret fleming office manager vivian oneil letters cartoon about cigarette pack labels part of the problem after viewing the cigarette pack warning labels cartoon by steve nease jan 27 1 must confess to a feeling of cynicism and despair for the human race as a whole is the cartoon a statement on how the non smoking public views the smoking public having shared my sisters valiant battle for the last five months with lung and brain cancer due to cigarette smoking and watching her decline into the final stage of this devastating disease i can only hope that we as a caring society can find a solution to this serious prob lem unfortunately my sister passed away feb 4 i think the cartoon is part of the problem not part of the solution daisy edwards markham cartoonists sense of humour appreciated by reader re cartoonist should quit picking on chretien jan 13 thank you thank you thank you for having an excellent cartoonist like steve nease work ing for your fine paper he definitely ranks on top with the best in this country i have never found him to be unfair to any one any group or politician he always seems to hit the nail right on the head with his draw ings this is an indication that he has great knowledge excellent background research and an open mind toward things going on around him he has all the knowledge and good humour that letter writer larry israelson seems to be missing as long as chretiens liberals have been in office they have done absolutely nothing for this country but raise taxes what a record it is chretiens liberals who make hidden taxes like extra pension fees go through the roof even so they are floating in billions of tax payers hard earned money it simply boggles my mind how people can be so blind and unknowing if a government hasnt done absolutely anything for the aver age canadian how can anybody in their right mind call that good government even though the muchneeded money from ottawa is missing to pay for health care ontario premier mike harris and his conservative government managed to cut taxes to the average worker over 60 times that in my eyes is good responsible government steve nease please keep up the good work most of your readers im sure are looking for ward to your great sense of humour in the next edition of the paper heinz nitschke markham approval of new pool complex raises quality of life in stouffville i would like to thank town council for approving the building of a new recreational complex i am especially looking forward to the availability of a yearround swimming pool it will serve the needs of many people of all age groups programs for seniors are going to be in greater demand as our population of seniors increases as well as the need for swimming lessons for babies children and adults as well as recreational swimming there are three retirement communities already plus nursing homes within whitchurchstouffville there are also many younger families moving to stouffville this town has a history of generosity for projects which enhance the quality of life for all its citizens i am proud to be a member of this community and applaud those who give so much of their time and talents to make this town such a good place to live and raise bur families susan snooks stouffville delivering woodchips publicizes effort needed to save moraine re woodchip warnings circulated feb 12 thank you to reporter mike adler for the inspiring article dozens of volunteers partici pated in the threeday woodchip party and helped create more than 16000 tiny woodchip bags that will soon make their way to the doorsteps of richmond hill residents the goal is to encourage people to oppose the destruction of the oak ridges moraine and attend a special council meeting to con sider the proposed redesignation of 7000 acres of moraine land from rural to urban the meeting will be held feb 23 at the sheraton parkway hotel in richmond hill it will take a huge outpouring of public opposition to persuade richmond hill coun cillors to change directions but it can be done the decisions made on this swath of green- space will affect not only the people of richmond hill but also the citizens who live in markham stouffville and beyond for now we face the daunting task of deliv ering 16000 woodchip bags which we hope will be distributed every day this week and into next weekend anyone wishing to help can call save the rouge at 7803938 ramonawall save the rouge valley system letters policy stouffville 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 letters to the editor 9 heritage rd markham on l3p1m3 email letters9econsuncom stouffville tribune serving the community since 1888 eel3 dde canadian circulations 1 audit board member ontario press council canadian publications mail product sales agreement 1403419 subscription rates by mail 1 year 6955 tuesdays only stouffville tribune published every tuesday thursday and saturday is one of the metroland priming publishing and distributing ltd group of newspapers vnich includes the ajaxpickenng news advertiser alliston heraldcourier barrie advance barrys bay this week bolton enterprise brampton guardian burlington shopping news burlington post city parent collingwoodwasaga connection east york mirror erin advocatecountry routes etobteoke guardian flamborough post georgetown independentacton free press kingston this week undsay this week midlandpenetanguishene mirror milton canadian champion milton shopping news mississauga news newmarket- aurora georgina erabanner northumberland news north york mirror oakvilie beaver oakvitle shopping news orillia today oshawawhitbyclaringtonport perry this week peterborough this week richmond hillthomhillvaughan liberal scarborough mirror stouffville tribune todays seniors ibbridge tribune and city of york guardian phone 905 2942200 fax 905 2941538 classified 18007433353 distribution 9052948244 debora kelly canada may face americanstyle healthcare crisis during my annual winter get away in south florida im not used to seeing much news about canada in the pages of the daily newspaper there except for the year when the quebec referendum loomed that story obviously appealed to the americans boston-tea- partycivil war sensibilities this months trip was different like us americans are in the midst of an intense debate about their healthcare system and when talking health care the pros and cons of canadas system often enter the discussion judging by letters wjiters in the fort lauderdale sunsentinel our health care system is lauded for its accessibility yet americans for the most part seem to believe it comes with a hefty price tag only us whipped canadian tax payers would be willing to bear one thing americans have been tak ing advantage of is the affordable pre scription drugs here where the price of medication is 60 per cent lower than in the united states taking into account a favourable exchange rate on the dollar it certainly is worth the trip to canada for those who cant afford or are unwilling to pay the high price of drugs for the most part it seems to be rec ognized that canadas universal health care system for all its merits is not the answer to us woes yet the country one of the wealthiest in the world has acknowledged it is not acceptable that a reported 44 million of its citizens have no medical coverage while others have only partial coverage and some have problems with their health mainte nance organizations but on returning home its hard to be smug one story in the daily newspa per details the desperate shortage of radiation therapists in ontario alone 1400 breast and prostate cancer patients are on a waiting list for treat ment facing waits ranging from four to 14 weeks some patients are opting to be treated in the us for which the ontario government picks up the tab leaving support systems behind while we in theory have a universal healthcare system in reality for the growing number of canadians on wait ing lists health care is as inaccessible for them as it is for the millions of americans who cant afford coverage and now i read a futurist is predicting that within the next 17 years ontarios healthcare budget must grow by 45 per cent thats a mindboggling 95 bil lion to meet the needs of aging boomers hiking taxes or trimming other programs wont cut it here clearly our system is in need of dra matic reform if it is to offer accessible quality care to canadians in the future our dilemma is no different than the americans in that sense