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economist sunsuntribune saturday jan 15 2005 pinion suntrihune a metroland community newspaper 34 civic ave 3rd floor stouffville on l4a 7z5 publisher ian proudfoot editor in chief debora kelly business manager robert lazurko director production interactive media john futhey advertising director distribution director marketingpartnerships retail flyer sales nicole fletcher advertising director classified real estate events management cord paolucci circulation barry black director circulation systems lynn pashko director debra weller york region printing general manager bob dean letters to the editor region not after headlines re regions 500000 tsunami dona tion simply wrong guest column by bruce annan jan 13 while i appreciate an individuals right to an opinion i would like to correct several inaccurate points regarding the regions decision to donate 500000 to aid tsunami relief efforts a donation on behalf of all york region residents in our nine area municipalities contrary to mr annans opinion the donation was not done merely through an informal telephone poll of regional councillors the matter was discussed in an email to all members of regional council and then raised at the regions regularly scheduled finance and admin istration committee meeting jan 6 with 12 members of regional council in attendance the committee enjoyed a fulsome debate on this important issue in the end the committee voted unanimously on the donation request ing the money be issued immediately regional council will ratify this deci sion at its jan 20 council meeting this was not a political decision to garner headlines members of regional council recognized the seriousness of the disaster especially in relationship to the residents of our region who continue to be affected by this tragedy to suggest an underlying current is at play through this donation or the two agencies where the funds have been directed is offensive regional council has worked hard to build healthy reserve funds to assist with our organizations future the term political slush fund merely demon strates a lack of business acumen our council continues to provide appropriate funds for york regional police services public and rapid transit social services and affordable housing public health and emergency medical services in addition regional council contin ues its 63million commitment to york regions three hospitals toward their cap ital expansion plans we continue our work to create a safe healthy and caring community for resi dents and businesses york region is a character community and 1 am proud our residents have been able to assist in a time of need billfisch regional chairperson ceo the regional municipality of york seniors appreciate lights tour a big thank you to markham council and york region transit for providing seniors with their annual tour of christmas lights in markham our resi dents did their best to celebrate a big surprise came on daniel court where several children and their mothers boarded the bus and served homemade cookies and hot cider it was then on to the adults centre for hot chocolate doughnuts and entertainment a lovely way to end an enjoyable evening margaret campbell markham tsunami relief demonstrates humanitys ability to give w hen a wall of water crashed across the shorelines of several asian countries on dec 26 it was a powerful reminder of just how vulnerable humanity can be to the forces of nature especially people living in developing countries dramatic and devastating the tsunami left at least 150000 dead millions homeless and caused billions of dollars in damage fortunately the world has responded with an enormous outpouring of support within days of the disaster politicians in developed countries began to announce aid packages donations from die public have been even more remarkable in fact some aid agencies have even stopped accepting relief money specifically for the tsunami disaster because they simply dont have the capacity to spend it on the ground in the afflicted countries but in all our efforts to bring some hope to those suffering we must not forget the devel oping world needs our help every day those living in poorer countries do not often have access to the services and infra- david suzuki structure we take for granted at the best of times they may not have healthy food medical services clean water or sanitation in times of crisis what little these countries have to protect their citizens can easily be overwhelmed we also must not forget the tsunami isnt the only humanitarian crisis facing the devel oping world today last year more than 15 million africans died from aids every year more than two million people die from tuberculosis and one million people die from malaria most of them in developing countries these diseases are part of the rea son nearly onefifth of children born in sub- saharan africa will not live past the age of five the tsunami has also taken the spotlight off other longsuffering regions such as sudan and uganda millions of refugees in these areas are still living in squalid camps such camps are breeding grounds for the same dis eases experts are concerned could become rampant in areas affected by the tsunami because of a lack of sanitation none of this is to say that countries suffer ing in the wake of the tsunami dont need our help they do but the tsunami was really a sobering reality check our world is unpredictable and disaster could strike any time often hurting poorer regions the most yet one glance at the list of casualties from the tsunami and it becomes clear the disasters reach goes far beyond asia canadians swedes americans and those of many other nationalities also died since the disaster there have been calls for a better tsunami early warning system that seems obvious but warnings are only useful if they are heeded and we are getting all sorts of warn ings about the future we continue to ignore we were told for example coral reefs and mangrove forests helped buffer coastlines from damaging waves yet many such ecosystems in the indian ocean were lost to development in recent years ecosystems that may have offered protection to some areas from the tsunami scientists are also continuing to warn us about the effects of climate change especially on developing nations that lack the infrastruc ture to respond to more frequent severe weather events rising sea levels and changing precipitation patterns unfortunately while the developed worlds response to the tsunami disaster has been heartening our response to climate change has been tepid at best its not that humanity lacks the capacity to respond obviously judging from recent events humanitys capacity for compassion can be profound its just unfortunate that it takes a tsunami to trigger it me the nature challenge and learn more at wwwdavid- suzukiorg letters policy the simtribune welcomes your letters submissions must be less than 400 words and include a daytime telephone number name and address the suntribune reserves the right to publish or not publish and edit for clarity and space utters to the editor the suntribune 34 civic ave box 154 stouffville on 14a7z5 i t t t editorial editor jim mason jinasonymgcom assistant editor news frank king jkingyrngcom administration office manager vivian oneil voneilymgcom i il11 j 1 i t production manager pam nichols pnicliolsyrngcom advertising classified manager aim campbell acampbellyrngcom managing director new business flyer sales dawna andretvs dandreivsymgcom new business manager steve kane skaneymgcom managing director real estate mike rogerson mrogersonyrngcom events management shows manager stacey allen sallenymgcom editorial 9056402612 fax 9056408778 advertising 9056402612 classified 8007433353pax 9058531765 distribution 9052948244 teuton ctaiitions l 1 aucm bowl mttntxr ontario p ojdb councs suntribune a york region newspaper group community newspaper the suntribune published every thursday and saturday is a member of the metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd a whollyowned subsidiary of torstar corporation metroland is comprised of 70 community publications across ontario the york region newspaper group includes the liberal serving richmond hill and thornhillvaughan citizen the economist sun markham the erabanner newmarket aurora stouffville suntribune georgina advocate york region business times north of the city yorkregioncom and york region printing i