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t- vfedy y tl 9 jl 143 kv i j stoufitllethtjurrr a metroland coriimunity newspaper 37 sandiford dr suite 306 stouffville ont l4a7x5 publisher ian proudfoot general manager alvin brouwer editor in chief brenda larson director of advertising deb fa weller deputy editor debord kelly news editor rick vanderlinde production director cherikay distribution director barry goodyear online publishing manager brian kirlik classified manager ann campbell retail sales manager stephen mathieu inside sales manager stacy allen business manager margaret fleming office manager vivian oneil letters jones is an independentthinker i do not know markham mp jim jones motives for his recent political moves but i do know that they were not the actions of a traitor as letter writer chrys pelegris implies the people of canada elected the liberals because the liberals said they would get rid of the gst they lied that is traitorous brian mulroney when he was prime minis ter told his tory mps to ignore the wishes of the people and only vote with their personal conscience on the death penalty that also was the act of a traitor directly interfering with democracy maybe mr pelegris wants trained sheep who blindlyobey their leader despite what the people of this democracy want i personally prefer independent thinkers and if i disagree with their ideas i wont vote for them just ask ousted liberal mp john nunziata how well the party system works in canada george adams i markham streets and sidewalks are for everyone to enjoy 1 read with disbelief the ongoing letters back and forth regarding the problems joggers are causing for walkers on sidewalks get real guys as a jogger of 15yearsormore i have encountered manypeople on sidewalks and have found everybody to be polite and courte- ousbdth my husbahdand i will either go siri- gle fie or right off the path to accommodate walkers we are in response- greeted with smiles and nods of courtesy 1 the streets and sidewalks are for everyone to enjoy arent there enough pressures in life without finding negatives in a leisurely stroll- lets all try to be just a little more accorn- mbdatirigtoward each other iirreshfish i i thats our great lakes fish counter kimeckersley unionville smoker has ho jight to harm health of others in his letter to the editor mounir sahyoun trotsout the usual argument about tobacco being a legal substance justifying his socalled right to indulge anywhere he pleases but he hasjio right to expect me to put my already impairedhealth -7- fromyears of smoking atfurther risk despite the big tobacco companies propa ganda alleging secondhand smoke is not harmful their research is blatantly biased the true scientific evidence shows second hand smoke in an enclosed area is more harm- ful than direct smoke by all means mr sahyoun continue with your addiction but believe me the price you pay down the road might be less pleasurable than your present temporary gratification just keep your poisonous fumes away from me percy barber markham how can we trust harris government on health care re witmer knows where health funding is needed most column by brenda larson july 25 i found this article most amusing how and why should we trust health minister elizabeth witmer to administer additional transfer pay- ments when it is the mike harris government that created the healthcare crisis in the first place by closing needed hospitals firing nurs- esand technicians and cutting certain medical procedures from ohip funding the harris government has given no guar antee additional funding will be used directly to fund health care or that it will not introduce a twotiered medical system this government wasted millions of dollars on tv commercials with fabricated numbers in a bid to make it look like the federal govern ment was to blame for our healthcare crisis i dont trust the harris government to receive additional funding without guarantees of bailing us out of our healthcare crisis i have not heard witmer or our representa tive in thomhill tina molinari discuss how they plan to use additional funding to improve patient care larry israelson thornhili local newspaper should keep its nose out of federal politics re editorial july 13 as a local newspaper you should stay put of federal politics i will read the toronto star to get your liberal views of our liberal nation canada might be a liberal society hot a liberal nation or country your editorial also mentioned canadian alliance leader stockwell day might be more appealing to- the younger generation hopefully not because i am 70 years of age an old dp and i am still looking for someone who can straighten out canada please stay out of politics it is not your job evon enckevort stouffville family friends helped family the toliopoulos family would like to express our sincere gratitude and thanks to all our family neighbours and friends for their outpouring of love kindness and generosity when we lost our home in a fire thank you all so much from the bottom of our hearts special thanks to barb amadori sharon and richard forbes maurice and christine arsenault vaughan and arta judy royal and the staff of buttonville public school tom marcia leigh jason lauren toliopoulos markham letters policy stouflvillethbune 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 hot publish and to reditqrclarityandspace- write letters to the editor 37sahdiforddrsuite306- stoufmjfeonll4a7xs- stouffville tribune serving the community since 1888 canadian circulations audit board member ontario press council stouffville tribune published every tuesday thursday and saturday is one of the metroland pnnting publishing and distributing ltd group of newspapers which includes the ajavpickering news advertiser alliston heraldcourier barrie advance barrys bay this week bolton enterprise brampton guardian burlington shopping news burlington post city parent collmgwoodwasaga connection east york mirror erin advocatecountry routes etobicote guardian flamborough post georgetown independentacton free press kingston this week lindsay this week midlandpenctanguishene mirror milton canadian champion milton shopping news mississauga news newmarket- auroia georgina erabanner northumberland news north york mirror oakvilie beaver oakville shopping news orillia today oshawawhitbyclarlngtonport perry this week peterborough this week richmond hihttiornhitlvaughan liberal scarborough mirror stouffville tnbune todays seniors ltxbridge tribune and city of york guardian canadian publications mail product sales agreement 1403419 subscription rates by mall year 6955 luesaays only phone 95 6402100 fax9056405477 classified 18007433353 distribution 905 6402100 f l f iirirtm9tmffjstm telephone 905 6402100 v rr fax 905 6405477 email newbr6omstoufftribcom debora kelly parliamentary system stifling canadians right to have a say hce every four years or whenever a prime minister gets the whim to call an elec tion we get a chance to havebursay then the voting booth door slams shut on our fingers so much for democracy the montrealbased think tank institute for research on public policy released a major study last week enti tled strengthening canadian democracy the views of canadians that revealed canadians want the par liamentary system reformed more than 80 per cent of the 1200 respondents want to see more free votes in the house of commons yet perhaps in typically canadian fashion our discontent with the way government functions respondents rated their satisfaction with government at 58 per cent arid with politics at 53 per cent certainly hasnt resulted in any grassroots uprising the decidedly unsexy une3gytopic of parliamentary reform isnt stirring the passions of the electorate by any means in fact this treatise may have you nodding off already and the cry for reform already sounded by the canadian aliiancefed- s eral tories and bloc quebecois has failed to capture the imaginations of canadians yet our house of commons has become a lawmaking cowboy who doesnt need no stinkin badge enforc ing the power that lies within the prime ministers office public debate if it occurs at all is pointless on highprofile issues the ones the public cares about such as gun con trol the gst pay equity tobacco taxa tion compensation for the victims of hepatitis c and extending legal benefits and obligations to samesex couples the pmo imposes its will on the house waving the premise of the hon dence vote in the air party whips ensure backbenchers toe the party line and they do rather than face being voted off the island but come on does every vote threaten the governments tenure democracy has been whittleddown to mps concerned only with their own political survival choosing to ignore their conscience and constituents wish es when voting in the house the survey goes a long way in explaining why canadians lack confi dence in their socalled representatives our right to have a say in the system and boy do we have that right is being violated lets not resign ourselves to the situa tion rather than allow interest groups and fringe parties to expressour anger and frustration at being muted lets push for reform lets restore our faith in the system and the timing is ohsoright with an lextionj6ominginthe wings