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6 economist sun stoufiville tribune thursday july i 1999 s stouffville tribune a metroland community newspaper 37 sandiford dr suite 306 stoufiville ont l4a 7x5 publisher- ian proudfoot general manager alvin brouwer editorinchief advertising director business manager brenda larson regional editor brian kirlik debra weller classified manager stephen mathieu margaret fleming office manager vivian neil editor tracykibble distribution director barry goodyear jeditomal lets celebrate canada day in style most of us are enjoying a holiday today a chance to sleep in catch up on the yard work play with the kids maybe take in a community barbecue or fire works display but for the average canadian canada day is a pret ty lowkey celebration especially compared to the orgy of highvolume patriotic hoopla that emanates from south of the border three days later its not that we dont love our country every bit as much as our american neighbours ask most canadians arid theyll tell you about the beauty of our land and their pride in the accomplish ments of the many great canadians and they will mention the many great symbols of canada the beaver the last spike the bluenose the columbia icefields the parliament buildings the cn tower the list goes on theyll talk about the quality of life we enjoy here the booming economy a healthcare system that is open to all a lifestyle that is the envy of many nations but if s more than those material things that makes canada great we enjoy rights and freedoms and a day- today sense of peace that many in this world can only dream about sure we complain and we bickerbut deep down we know that in many other places complaining and bickering could get us killed so we appreciate what we have its just that flag waving isnt usually our style it seems the only time we stand up and make a lot of noise about our nation is when its threatened after a narrow victory for national unity prime minister jean chretien encouraged canadians to get to know their country better and promised initiatives to helpus maybe on just this one day of the year we should throw off our canadian reserve a little bit wave a flag and sing o canada really loud not just that murnbly upmoving thing you do at the hockey game then tomorrow when the party is over go back to your polite reserved canadians ways but in that quiet manner commit yourself to preserving our canadian way of life participate in our democratic process and that doesnt just mean voting it means educating yourself about the issues speaking your mind letting politi cians know where you stand and keeping them accountable get involved in your community and support char- ities that look after your neighbours when they need help teach your children about this country its history its traditions and the many different cultures that make it special and reach put to new canadians and help them integrate smoothly into our society buy canadian whenever possible and support our artists and creative people too whenever and however you can make your contri bution to canada and not just in the form of income tax yesit seems hokey and silly and obvious but we should never forget that canada works because of us if canadians forget our history and struggles stop caring about one another become vio lent arid fractious and uncooperative this great nation would fall apart overnight this country has weathered many challenges over the past 132 yearsand it will no doubt face many more in the next millennium every day that we make this gigantic experiment work is worth celebrating today lets do it in style opinion the best of nease letters to the editor council should listen to residents not cao if you should see mayor wayne emmerson or members of council around town please ask them the fol lowing questions why is the proposed librarypool complex being built in a field called south park destroying our current park why are we wasting money tax dol lars to the tune of 200000 to 300000 for roads and parking when this money could be used to build a firstclass library and pool if the the library remained on main street and the pool was located at the recreation complex why has the library been down sized and will not meet the needs of the residents now or in the future why build the proposed librarypool complex in an isolatedloca- tion when it does not benefit residents instead it carries no savings just addi tional costs why do councillors think the pro posed librarypool complex is their pro ject it belongs to the residents why do we need a cao merlin dewing at a 102000ayear salary plus expenses and benefits and time off dewing is only responsible for 54 1 employees and an operating budget of 15 million and he is the highestpaid cao in york region for a municipality of comparable size these are only a few questions to ask this council i am sure residents have many more emmerson and council just dont get it give your heads a shake and listen to the residents for a change not your cao our 10200bayear man bryan millsip stouffville owners of 407 praised for opening hwy 48 exit congratulations to the new owners of hwy 407 for taking the initiative to open the twokilometre stretch between mccowan road and hwy 48 despite the whining of some local politicians the new exit hasnt caused major traffic problems r from what ive seen during my trips on the highway there havent been any problems murrayyack tribune letter policy letters should be no longer than 400 words and must include the writers full name address and a daytime telephone number so authorship can be confirmed anonymoustetters will not be published letters will be edited for clarity and space limitations please send to letters to the editor- stouffville tribune 37 sandiford dr suite 306 stouffville ont l4a 7x5 doug devine decline in minor hockey makes pro woes trivial at the risk of sounding very-un- canadian on canada day i cant think of a single reason why canadas nhl hockey teams should be getting any tax breaks from local provincial or federal governments i can however think of many rea- sons why all three levels of government should be scrambling to subsidize minor hockey organizations across the country in the twilight zone of canadian pol itics our socalled leaders are lining up to subsidize the millionaires running and playing the game professionally but are doing almost nothing to improve the access cost and quality of minor hockey canadas six nhl teams began this charade by whining over their com bined losses of 170 million between 1996 and 1998 true to their canadian roots the owners insist the only solution to their i money woes is to have the government bail them out through annual tax subsi dies totalling about 60 million the sorry state of professional hock- ey north of the border is entirely our fault and if something isnt done soon the rriillionaire owners will simply pack up and leave for more lucrative markets in the united states and then well be sorry wont we but wait i if were going to throw 60 million a year into subsidizing our national pas time shouldnt it go to the level of hock ey that needs it most if so is there any one outside of politics and thenhl that thinks the most deserving level is at the top s between the desperate shortage of ice time the outrageously high cost of registration and our increasingly warm winters the declining state of minor hockey in this country makes the pro- fessional woes seem trivial by compari son there was much handwringing last saturday when only nine of die first- round selections in the annual nhl entry draft were canadians only one of whom came from southern ontario long considered the worlds mecca of hockey talent and player developmerit but not only was the draft a chilling reminder of our disappearing domi nance of the hockey world it also made it clear that those of us who love the sport have far more to worry about than losing a few canadian nhl teams reversing that trend is a much more worthy objective for our politicians especially those who seem so intent on throwing away tax dollars stouffville tribune serving the community since 1888 the stouffville tribune published every tuesday thursday and saturday is one of the metroiand printing publishing and distributing ltd group of newspapers which includes the ajay pickering news advertiser aliiston heraldcourier barrfe advance barrys bay this week bolton enterprise brampton guardian burlington shopping news burlington post city parent collingwoodwasaga connection eastybrk mirror erin advocatecountry routes etobicoke guardian flamborbugh post georgetown independentacton free press kingston this week lindsay this week maikham economist sun midlandpenetanguishene minor milton canadian champion milton shopping news mississauga news newmarketaurora georgina erabanner northumberland news north york mirror oakville beaver oakviile shopping news orillia today oshawawhitbycfaringtonport perry this week peterborough this week richmond 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