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economist sunsuntribune politics saturday oct 25 2003 13 ive watched john webster in action in this community oyer the years from his work on themafkhaven foundation to the board of trade to our milage festival he has wholeheartedly supported and promoted this community in my opinion the best candidate for ward five is john webster gord london regional councillor elect john webster councillor a strong voice for ward five to volunteer to donafejor for a lawn sign call 905472r3 122 mp honoured alldnrockfederd minister of industry speaks at a dinner held in honour of oak ridges mp biyon wilfert thursday at the premier ballroom in richmond hill mr wilfert is parliamentary secretary to me minister of finance and has served the region for almost 20 years staff photosteve somerville reelect khalid usman ward 7 councillor 9054708111 wwwkhalidusmancom new location dr bill webber chiropractor has moved to 121 main street north markham moore chiropractic buildins 6472967001 6 years of experience in sport injuries musclejoint pain headaches acupuncture orthotics mmm 1 reduce traffic gridlock asthe largest municipality in york region markham is experiencing traffic gridlock today it is only going to get worst unless something is done toronto and the greater toronto area will see their population grow by three million people during the next 20 years toronto and the gta are the economic engines of canada but we must realize that we are competing with chicago new york los angeles and other american cities for economic prosperity an urban strategy that includes transportation and transit for the gta must involve all three levels pf government we dont need a three billion dollar highspeed rail link between toronto and montreal until we can move people at higher speeds within the gta keep taxes low duringthe 2003 budget process some members of council said that we must increase taxes because of the growth there will be 4000 new housing units built in 2003 in markham with this volume of growth markham should be able to reduce taxes v capital projects cant be funded soiely from the- property tax base to build the necessary infrastructure urban centers need some of the funding that is now flowing to the provincial and federal levels of government we must take a look at the growth models for markham and the region to ensure that they are selfsustaining existing resident should not have to fund growth through continuous yearly tax increases development must pay its way the town has given consideration to paying one half the costs of constructing underground parking in new proposed highrise apartment and office buildings this means the existing taxpayers will foot the bill for growth allowing greater density was encouraged for better land utilization and to make it economical for builders to construct a more compact urban form as a regional councillor i will press fori legislation that ensures better land use stops i urban sprawl and encourages developmentthat promotes rapid transit build regional rapid transit system we need york regions transit system to be integrated with the ttc and go transit at present a trip from markham to downtown toronto cantake more than two hours on public transit transit system needs to be planned wellfunded and aggressively implemented we heed to build a highspeed transit system that works for the 7 million people who make up the gta area plus the 3 million additional people who will arrive here during the next twenty years the federal government collects between 7 and 10 billion dollars annually in a gasoline excise fax very little of this tax money is spent oh transportation infrastructure- ontarios portion of the gasoline excise tax needs to be returned to the province and directed solely at fundinga highspeed integrated transit system we 1 should demand nothing less we need to plan the future its where well live the rest wour lives email jimjonesjonesformarkhamcom 9054779929 wwwjonesformarkhamcom