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6 stouffville suntribune thursday feb 8 2007 1r tes suntribune 6290 main st stouffville on l4a7z5 wwwyorkregjoncom publisher fcm proudfoot editor in chief director interactive director advertising marketingpartnership debora kelly media technology distribution director justness manager john futhey barry black debra wetter robert lazurko director circulation york region printing systems general manager lynn pashko bob dean editorial proposed act would put bite on secrecy suntribune t he way our local governments do business should now be more open thanks to recent leg islation that gives citizens a new tool to challenge closeddoor council meetings as reported in this paper changes under the act that governs municipalities make it possible for people to challenge a councils decision to discuss matters behind closed doors while this is a good first step it simply doesnt go far enough for one thing this change only deals with municipal councils and their com mittees other public institutions such as hos pital boards school boards police ser vices boards local health integration net works and the ontario municipal board either operate under rules that allow them to exclude anyone they want from meetings for any reason or offer the pub lic no way to challenge decisions while these institutions have a huge impact on the lives of people in york region there are still no consequences for a council that breaks the law other than a public report that confirms they did one ontario mpp has introduced a private members bill the transparency in public matters act that would force meetings of the above institutions as well as local councils to be open to the public and would also allow citizens to stand up for their right to know how decisions are made if passed this act would allow ontarios information and privacy com missioner to disallow any decision made during an improperly held secret meet ing citizens across york region get frus trated when they are stonewalled by the very organizations created to work on their behalf to have real democracy and protect the publics right to attend meetings and learn about what is being done in their name ontario needs strong enforceable laws that make it not only easy but in many cases possible for everyone to par ticipate in the process the transparency in public matters act goes a long way toward making that a reality its death on the other hand would do nothing to stop the disenchantment many people feel about the political process queens park would do well by all ontarians if it gave this act two thumbs up aurora mayor phyllis morris said it best the publics business should be conducted in public we couldnt agree more if i smoke i dont get dstm01d by the kids ih1he backseat k letters to the editor food bank grateful for abundance thanks to christmas drives the executive and volunteers of whitchurch- stouffville food bank wish to thank the communi ty for the overwhelming support during the christmas season and into the new year we have an abundance of food to satisfy needs for the next several months to all who have provided help in the giving of time money or food we sincerely thank you our needs have been met and those who feel the need to use the food bank have been well provided for this community is amazing in the many ways it reaches out in love we received help from churches schools busi nesses corporations service clubs banks and many individuals each enabling us to be a blessing to many families esther powell whitchurchstouffville food bank would we tolerate conditions in northern ontario schools after christmas stouffville lion tom winters gave us two boxes of childrens articles to send to attawapiskat ont a cree reserve on james bay the articles arrived in the community and are being distributed to the children in the ele mentary school these students have been in portables for seven years their school was condemned in 2000 their new school has been put on hold until 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 6290jv1ain st stouffville l4a 1 g7 email jmasonyrngcom or fax 9056408778 2016 or 2017 would we tolerate this situation down south do we think this is the best learning envi ronment for our fellow ontarians no gym no library heating problems infestations of mice and over- crowding the reality is canadas government funds first nations schools in northern ontario at the rate of 50 per cent compared to southern schools no wonder the united nations is offering international assistance to our fellow ontarians shame we thank the lions for their gift and the school supplies and sports equipment sent by stouffville united church and st marks roman catholic church in recent years we need canadas government that means us to fund schools on reserves as provincial governments do for every other school in this wealthy country york region public school boards budget for 200607 is 893 million four c17 planes cost 34 million lovanna jim sanders stouffville off the top with jim mason showing class in the face of bigtime tragedy the driver of the mega suv in the nofrills parking was not alone in mak ing a profound impact on my weekend apparently i upset him with my choice of parking spots to the point he flashed a singlefingered salute as he thundered by my much tinier truck i could be wrong but i dont think he was telling me i was no 1 guess i didnt realize he was eyeing the spot from two rows away and it was nt exactly yorkdale shopping centre on christmas eve there were other spots open pal on the flip side was a woman on cnn saturday morning a reporters microphone in her face she was standing in the rubble of what had been her family home of four generations the tornadoes that ripped through central florida friday left her homeless but she was smiling so sweetly ever grateful for finding the family bible complete with the names of her ances tors in the heap of brick and drywall everything else can be replaced she said so matter of factly if anyone had the right to flip the bird or lash out with a string of expletives it was her and her neighbours who lost relatives and friends in the sudden storms same for the families of the five boys killed in a stormy crash in georgian last month including the fitzgeralds of stouffville the day after the crash some of the parents visited the friends of the deceased to comfort them morgan fitzgeralds family took the time and the love to thank this commu nity in a message posted on the sign at bridon motors they phoned the suntribune to thank us for the coverage of morgans funeral so did some of morgans friends somehow losing a job a super bowl wager or even a parking spot pale by comparison jim mason is editor of the sun tribune letters policy the suntribune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number name and address the suntribuncrcserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space letters to the editor the suntribune stouffville on l4a7z5 jmasonyrngcom editorial editor jim mason jmasonyrmgcom interactive media marketing advertising manager dawna andrews dandrewsyrmgcom advertising retail manager staceyallen sallenyrmgcom classified manager ann campbell acampbellyrmgcom assistant classified manager bonnie rondeau brondeauyrmgcom new business development manager mike rogerson mrogersonyrmgcom production team leader sherry day sdayyrmgcom fdsflg canadian circulations ccab editorial 9056402612 fax 9052941583 advertising 9056402612 classified i8007433353 fax 9052941538 distribution 9056402612 suntnbune a york region media group community newspaper the suntribune published every thursday and saturday is a division of the metroland media group ltd a whollyowned subsidiary of torstar corporation metroland is comprised of 100 community publications across ontario the york region newspaper group includes the liberal serving richmond hill and thornhillvaughan citizen the erabanner newmarketaurora markham economist sun georgina advocate york region business times north of the city yorkregioncom and york region printing