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6 stouffville suntribune thursday march 112004 opinion publisher ian pr0udf00t telephone 9056402612 fax 9056408778 email jmasonyrngcom website wwwyorkregioncom editorial gouged patrons should have wine option york region restaurateurs want noth ing to do with the provinces proposal to ease restrictive liquor licensing laws its not often a business favours heavy- handed government restrictions on its operations but ifs not often regulations lead to fat profits but if the consumer ministry were to allow patrons to bring their own wine when dining out the restaurant industry could say goodbye to markups of more than 100 per cent apparently theres more money to be made gouging diners on the price of a bottle of wine than could be had by increasing the number of diners with a more affordable experience some people shy away from dining out altogether because the price of wine with a meal can double the tab many consumers just cant afford the luxury so having the option of bringing your favourite selection to dinner is being wel comed by many consumers the plan floated by consumer minister jim bradley in a speech to the ontario wine council isnt anything new bringyourownbottle options are main stream in other provinces such as quebec alberta and new brunswick that said however restaurant owners there are 15000 licensed to serve liquor in ontario insist byob laws will cripple their sales and cost jobs in the serving industry one toronto restaurateur said the plan would cost him the 20- percent profit he earns on liquor markup others note they invest a lot of money in their wine cellars some express concern about no longer being able to monitor the amount of alcohol diners are drinking despite it being their legal responsibility to do so however if restaurateurs had not greedi ly inflated wine prices over the years this plan likely wouldnt be in the works a few options could work harmo niously however restaurants could charge fairer prices for wine as well as offer a byob option with a nominal corking fee the government in turn could ease taxes on wine sold to licensed establish ments and write strict guidelines into its laws with emphasis on enforcing shared liability with consumers and restaurants and perhaps limiting the number of bottles per person allowed into an estab lishment letters to the editor students could twin school with needy in northern ontario re sharing the word photograph feb 28 we were thrilled to see the picture of summitview public school students cassie and matthew with books donated by their school through the efforts of ltgov james bartleman thousands of donated books are going to first nations reserves in northern ontario this picture raises the awareness of the trag ic situation that exists for thousands of people in our province imagine going to a school without many books or a library living in a community where a bag of milk costs more than 15 living in a community where mold and holes in the walls in your prefab bungalow are common sharing a threebedroom bungalow with 10 people of all ages living in a community where the drinking water is brown and smelly living in a community with one store that closes at noon and where fruits and vegetables are almost nonexistent living in a community with no doctor den tist or pharmacist living in a community where having a baby means flying to another place without your family the stouffville suntribune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number name and address the stouffville suntribune reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space write letters to the editor 34 gvic ave po box 154 stouffville l4a 7z5 email jmasonymgcom living in a community with an annual dog shooting day and your family witnesses its dog shot and living in a community with very few jobs and not much else to do these are just a few of the daily circum stances some of our fellow ontarians endure with little hope for change a profile of one reserve attawapiskat was documented in the toronto star feb 28 this is the reserve where our daughter and her family have roots what can be done allowing this situation to continue is disgraceful cassie and matthew are aware of this disgrace how about twinning with a school from the north lets keep the focus on this tragedy until it is corrected james bartleman has again made us aware we must not turn our backs again please let the politicians know that you want proper housing reasonably priced food and local jobs for northern ontarians lovanna and jim sanders stouffville suntribune a mctroland community newspaper 34 gvic ave 3rd floor stouffville ontario l4a 7z5 phone 9056402612 fax9056408778 classified 18007433353 distribution 9052948244 websitewwwyorkregioncom email jmasonyrngcom member ontario community newspapers association canadian community newspapers association ontario press council editor in chief business manager sales manager new business debora kelly- robert lazurko development distribution editor advertising director dawna andrews jim mason retail sales flyers general manager reporters nicole fletcher york region printing joan ransberryhannelorevolpe advertising director classified bob dean retail sales manager steve kane real estate events management gord paolucci director marketing promotions sales representative managing director real estate debraweller susan berry mikerogerson production manager pam nichols director of production john futhey shows manager stacey allen office manager distribution manager classified manager vivian 0neil barry black ann campbell off the top with jim mason gas pains rushed numbers and crashed hockey coaches they rattle my brain into a pinball machine and shake up my pocketbook nonstop questions why do we care so much about the nhl trade deadline and the plight of martha stewart and so little about the homeless and hungry in our backyard why reality television for the love of assistant coach keith acton why would someone pay 200 to watch a hockey game even if our beloved maple leafs are in it and other larger issues why did regular gasoline cost 13 cents more a litre on stouffvilles main street than 15 minutes south on markhams hwy 7 monday afternoon thats 1372 more to fill the tank in my mini van and if we were on the cusp of a price hike why was the difference 14 cents the next morning industry experts why do people leave a rambling threeminute phone message then rush the most important part the phone number is rattled off in mindnumbing speed leaving all but the best stenogra phers scratching their heads and painful ly replaying all 180 seconds why do hockey coaches insist on walking across arena ice in street shoes as if we dont have enough data on armourplated hockey players wearing blades and still suffering concussions minor hockey coaches in this province must wear helmets at practices but there are no rules eliminating the stu pidity of gingerly crossing the ice surface during the pregame in florsheims while helmetless and its such a long and safe route to walk the concrete around the cir cumference of the rink during warmup at a rep tourney final in stouffville sunday a player low- bridged a coach crossing the ice send ing him and his collection of water bot tles flying like wellhit pins at the stouffville bowl why readers ask are more restau- rants under construction on main street in westend stouffville because the franchise owners know this place will boom like nobodys business like the hungry birds waiting on hyr- dro lines they know something positive will happen and its all about a meal jim mason is editor of the sun- trihune