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stouffville tribune a metroland community newspaper 9 heritage rd markham ont l3p 1m3 economist suntribune thursday fib 24 2000 opinion telephone 905 2942200 fax 905 294i538 email newsroomeconsuncom publisher ian prondfoot general manager alvin brouwer editor in chief brenda larson director of advertising debra welter deputy editor debora kelly editor julie caspersen production director cheri kay 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 editorial province must ban moraine development enough is enough its time to ban develop ment on the oak ridges moraine last night richmond hill council was expected to endorse a plan clearing the way for developers to finish covering that towns portion of the environmentally sensitive moraine with subdivisions our newspaper went to press before the meeting began assuming richmond hill council has again dropped the ball on protecting the moraine its time for the province to step up to the plate under the richmond hill plan developers will be allowed to build as many as 17000 homes on a 3500hectare swath of moraine cutting eastwest across the entire town this despite the fact opponents have been lining up for years to beg council to block development on the moraine everyone from local mpps and residents to scientists councillors and the towns planners argue the best way to protect the moraine is to allow some development on it while enforcing strict environmental controls on the developers and they insist trying to ban development poses a far greater threat because the ontario municipal board would overrule them and approve development with no controls but those arguments appear to be losing a bit of their validity judging from two recent comments by key officials first a letter from the municipal affairs ministry called for tougher environmental controls and a wider natural corridor then omb official james mills insisted richmond hill council is not helpless in deciding the fate of the moraine but since it appears richmond hill council is still too timid to stand up to the developers and say no its time for the province to take charge only the province has the power nec essary to declare the moraine offlimits to developers and turn it into a park opponents of the park plan argue it will cost the government at least 1 billion to buy the land from the current owners but that esti mate is based on values greatly inflated by the potential for development declaring the land permanent open space will reduce that value that may anger developers who have been buying up moraine land for decades in the hopes of getting it rezoned but land specula tion has always been a risky game and this is clearly one time the developers must lose news item ottawa amoitaces the encl of the thousand dollar bill- v letters to the editor comparing todays gas prices to last years add fuel to the fire re fuming over gas prices feb 17 staff writer mike adler writes about the impact rising diesel prices are having on local trucking firms the quote attributed to mike skelton operations manager for skeltontruck lines that diesel prices have risen from 21 cents last year to 62 cents is deceiving when comparing todays price with that of a year ago you must compare apples to apples the price of 21 cents excludes taxes while 62 cents includes taxes taking federal and provincial taxes 18 cents out of 62 cents takes that price closer to 44 cents in other words his companys diesel costs have dou bled not tripled as your articles implies in the past year with so many people believing everything they see or hear these days your reporters must be certain that every word they put into print is 100percent accurate please do not add more fuel to an already volatile situation michael whill thornhill gay rights billboards should be banned along with election signs re complaints registered on gay bill boards jan 27 we wholeheartedly support markham mayor don cousens position with regard to the signs and his decision to withdraw his support whether its not a choice is fact or fiction and many thoughtful people have differing views the signs unnecessarily escalate feel ings when in fact we should be working to reduce them as for us wed be happy with no signs for any reason but particularly at election time james boehmer stouffville oak ridges moraine should not become part of our past one of the many charms of york region towns lies in their proximity to natural sur roundings yet over the years richmond hill council has systematically obliterated most of its farmlands bunding houses irrespective of any modifications to the infrastructure and has not only displayed an acute incompe tence for urban planning but a total disre gard for nature the difficulties with urban planning might lie with the population explosion of late but at the dawn of this century it is utterly inex cusable to pursue a development project that directly and obviously poses a very real threat to the oak ridges moraine history will damn those who damn the oak ridges moraine ryan mitchell richmond hill letters policy stoufivillelribune 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 9 heritage rd markham ont l3p1m3 email ittrs0econsuncom stouffvirie tribune serving the community since 1888 eb3 ddb canadian circulations 1 audit board member ontario press council canadian publications mail product sales agreement 1403419 subscription rates byma j year- 16955 besdayj only stoufmpe tribune published every tuesday thursday and saturday is one of the metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd group of newspapers which includes the ajaxpickertng news advertiser alliston heraldcourier banie advance barrys bay this week bolton enterprise brampton guardian burlington shopping news burlington post city parent collingwoodwasaga connection eastwrk mirror erin advocatecountry routes etobiooke guardian flamborough post georgetown independentacton free press kingston this week lindsay this week midlandpenetanguishene mirror milton canadian champion milton shopping news mississauga news newmarket- aurora georgina erabanner northumberland news north york mirror oakvide beaver oakvide shopping news orillia today oshawawhitbyclaringtonport perry this week peterborough this week richmond hilltbomhillvaughan liberal scarborough mirror stouffville tribune today seniors uxbrklge tribune and city of york guardian phone 905 2941200 fax 905 2941538 classified 18007433353 distribution 90s 2948244 debora kelly right to bear arms does anything but protect people it gives me the creeps ted morton is vowing to contin ue the battle in the courts against canadas gun control bill launch ing a new lawsuit within the next few months that argues the federal law infringes on the right to liberty guaran teed in the charter of rights thats just a little too wave-the-stars- andstripes godblessamerica for me there is an epidemic of slaughter in american streets lets look at the facts last year nine people were killed with guns in holland 12 in australia 18 in japan 20 in france 31 in england 35 in sweden 108 in canada and drum roll please close to 40000 people were killed by guns in the us in one year in americas gun culture the the right to bear arms is a fiercely protected constitutional right but as the figures prove owning guns hasnt protected us citizens on the contrary its god bless canada if you ask me this week the supreme court heard the arguments of morton and other gun control opponents not to mention seven provinces and territories includ ing ontario that the 1995 firearms act should be struck down because the licensing of firearms is a provincial not federal responsibility ottawa backed by progun control organizations police chiefs and the city of toronto insists it has the right to pro tect public safety canadian law has required licensing and registration of handguns since the 1930s the new law extends that law to shotguns and rifles which account for more deaths than handguns do should the guncontrol opponents lose this battle plan b kicks in what ever is necessary to tie this legislation up in the courts morton has declared no rational person thinks gun con trol will prevent all senseless murders and injuries and tragic accidents or prevent the wrong person from getting a gun if he really wants one nor will criminals be lining up for firearm licences or to register the guns they smuggled across the border for goodness sake certainly a rational person knows well simply owning a gun does not a criminal make there are lawabiding citizens who own guns including farm ers hunters and gun collectors advocates of the gun control law argue licensing can help screen out peo ple who might use a weapon to harm themselves or others and mat a registry may help track down weapons it just seems so simple to me you own a gun you register it whats the big deal what has a responsible gun owner to fear from this law if theres any chance this law will increase public safety one iota im for it