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ADVERTISLNG 905-640-2612 CW 1-800-743-3353 Fu: 905 -640-8778 Th0 Sun-Tribune welcomes your let- ters. All submissions must be less than 400 words and must lnclude a dayllme telephone number, name and address. The Sun-THbune reserves the rl r to publlsh or not publls and to edit for clu- lty and space. mum to an Editor. m Sun-Woo 6290 Mel» St 8W. 0N Lu K37 is comprised of 100 community pubiications across Ontario. The York Region Newspaper Group also includes The Uberal. sewing Richmond Hill and Thornhill. Vaughan Citizen.The Era-Banner (Newmarket/Aurora), Markham Economist York Region Media Group community newspapers The Sun-Tribune, published every Thursday and Saturday. is a division of the Metmiand Media Group Ltd, a whoiiyowned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. Metroland Sun. Georgina Advocate, York Region Business Times, North of the City. yorkregiomom and York Region Printing. Classified Manager Bonnie Rondeau cmadarlaneG’ynng.com Stoufl'vflle Carolyn Norman mormanébyrmg. com DISTRIBUTION Circulation Supetvlsor Carrie MacFarlane jmuonflrmpcom Mike Banuille mbanuille®ynngcom daMmeyrmgoom brondeauOyrmgcom Manager Dawna Andrews Enmm Fdltot lim Mason jmasonébyrmgxom LETTERS POLICY Amamsmc PRODUCTION Manage: Sherry Day DISTRIBUTION 905-640-2612 INTERACTIVE MEDIA ”5-640- 261 2 uc 905-640-8778 EDITORIAL Mr. Carella plans to upload this information each month to his website until Labour Day, then weekly thereaf- ter until voters go to the polls. All cal hopefuls are free to do the same, voluntarily. And, more importantly, he will disclose before election day Oct. 25, when it matters most to voters, who contributed what money to his re- election bid. We’ve said it in this space before and we’ll say it again: Whether campaigns are being bankrolled by Satan or Saint Francis of Assisi, people have a right to know from where a candidate's finan- cial support is coming before they mark their ballots. The hustle and bustle of politicldng has begun municipally, with compet- ing candidates battling it out for public support and power. But at least one York Region politician is vowing to my the torch for transparent and open cam- paigning- Vaughan Councillor Tony Carella took a courageous leap this week when he announced he will not take corporate and union donations. His campaign will be totally funded by the people. For example, those who want to see development limited and more parks in their community would be uncomfort- able with candidates whose campaigns are heavily funded by developers. On the other hand, residents who are pro-development liker wouldn't want to throw their support and hard- eamed dollars behind a candidate who was funded to a large extent by contri- butions by eco-friendly groups. Opponents of full disclosure of donors often cite privacy concerns as a reason why they don't want to give up who contributed to their campaigns. But this is utter nonsense because under the Municipal Elections Act, can- didates must do exactly that anyhow â€"â€"just later. Granted, candidates who opt for openness, as has Mr. Carella, are taking a risk of political criticism about this or that donation, while their more secre- tive rivals escape scrutiny. That's why we challenge each and every candidate and incumbent munic- ipal politician in York Region to disclose their full list of campaign donors at the very least a week before the election. A slew of reforms to the way munici- pal elections are nm in this province were passed recently. but disappoint- ingly, the overhaul stopped short of mandating full disclosure on campaign donations prior to the big vote. So, York Region candidates. are you up for the challenge? Editorial Come clean before election day N1 N PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot However, in Guatemala, I spent some time outside a city called San Marcos and, before visiting, I was warned by a local to hide my flag, the very one that I had so proudly worn in the past. i spent five weeks in Guatemala last summer where 1 had been leading eight youths on a service and learning trip. I have had the privilege of travel- ling in the past and have always been honoured to wear Canada's flag on my backpack In the towns outside San Marcos, the Guatemalans living there feel they have been horrifically affected by Canadian mining corporations. On top of this, the mass migration of workers to the area has destroyed the social environment by introduc- ing brothels and bars and increasing violence and rape within the comâ€" munities. Canadian flag unwelcome by some Guatemalans These corporations have been accused of contaminating water sources around the mines with cya- nide used for their mining proce- dures. Extortion and threats are used against the indigenous peoples to encourage selling, they say. The Guatemalan people directly affected by these corporations are powerless to react. But we are not because it is our government's invest- ments in these corporations that keep them going and bring us as Canadians 1' felt insulted at first, but after receiving some background informa- tion, I began to understand why. Workers are constantly going missing in the mines without any investigation. Letters to the Editor L/PATMEILEf‘K-a "lo 50» mwat I believe, as members of a free democracy. we should not allow these corporations to treat other human beings in such an anti-democratic way. How can we enjoy our standard of living when it is sponsored by such dealings? ' MP lohn McKay has put into motion a bill of corporate social responsibility called C300 and it is designed to make Canadian corpora- tions in other countries play by the same rules and responsibilities of our own democracy. If you are at all interested in bringing social justice to the people who have been affected by these corporations for the benefit of our own pensions, please act to support Bill C300 or attend the free infor- mation night, which will be held at the Whitchurch-Stouffville Public Library in late January. Also, go to www.johnmckaymp. on.ca for petitions to send to our MP. Paul Calandra, or inquire at the library for details regarding the infomation night. into direct involvement with these atrocities through our pension plans. b What do you think of these issues or others? E-mail letters to the editor to jmason@ynng.com HAVE YOUR SAY, STDUFFVILLE JOHN WIDEMAN STOUFFVILLE Eamon IN Cum! Debora Kelly Robert lazurko I'm just driving arofmd in cir cles. Still, I need more help in this area. I could be giving myself the runaround at our roundabouts. (It brings back memories of moving from northwestern Ontario and trying to negotiate the street cars. police horses and pedestrian-acti- vated crosswalks of Toronto.) I treat roundabouts like I do revolving doors at office build- ings. Wait your turn and enter the circle. No butting in. Continue through to your exit and leave. Honestly, I don't know the rules and either do fellow motorists who commented on my round- about column of a couple of years back. The town hasn‘t returned my call from back then and I haven't noticed any courses in roundabout rules being offered. It's about that GPS you fired down the chimney at our place. Sure, it's fine for locating the near- est Subway shop or bail bondsman, but there are holes in the system. Others have different rules. including the pickup that skipped the que like a bad kid in the merry- go-round line and nearly took my bumper with him last month. Santa, just what is your policy on returns? The neighbourhoods off Millard Street east of Hwy. 48 don’t exist, according to that foolproof address finder you passed off on me. The little gizmo does have redeeming qualities, including giving precise instructions on how to enter and exit Stouffviile’s grow- ing inventory of roundabouts. (Either you have an upgrade, Mr. Claus, or you disappointed a pile of children on those streets last month.) Same for a high school gym in Fergus I was trying to find. No can find on the GPS, Santa. Sorry. Iim Mason is editor of The Sun- Tribune. Dumas Still driving around in Stoujfixille’s circles with Jim Mason Off The Top Nicole Fletcher Barry Black