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economist suntribune thursday july 25 2002 stouffville tribune a metroland community newspaper 34 civic ave stouffville ont l4a 7z5 publisher ian proudfoot editor in chief debora kelly director of advertising debra weller editor classified manager jim mason ann campbell production manager retail sales manager pam nichols stephen mathieu distribution manager inside sales manager barry black stacey allen electronic business manager robert lazurko communications manager john futhey office manager vivian oneil editorial changes needed in healthcare attitudes according to the demographic pundits trouble lies ahead there are too many old peo ple primed for retirement and not enough young people to replace them in the work force canadas 2001 census clearly identified the trend that declining numbers of workers mean an inability to support the pensions and health care needs of an increasingly aged population the reality is todays senior citizens are active healthy productive members of society sixty per cent of canadians aged over 65 have no disability with a very small proportion living in nursing or retirement homes long- term care accounts for about 1 per cent of canadas gross domestic product is it such a crisis the numbers of young peo ple and seniors will be about equal by 201 1 what is clear is we must abandon the alarmist and damaging notion anyone aged over 64 is a burden on society a firmer grasp of reality is required to begin planning sensibly for the aging of our population human resources minister jane stewart has indicated ottawa will consider extending the retirement age past 65 whats to consider mandatory retirement must be abolished if a person is able and wants to continue working past 65 he should not be prevented from doing so retirement policies must be more flexible ending the penalties in taxation facing older people who choose to work parttime and col lect partial pensions our pension system must be overhauled as has been the case in europe where the aging trend eclipses ours our health care policies must be altered countries with populations older than ours are shifting the burden of chronic health care to the people who will need it workers in japan for instance begin buying longterm health insurance in their 40s more emphasis must be placed on the pro vision of home care rather than much more expensive institutional care unfortunately in ontario we have been witness to the insidious attack of longterm health and home care program funding we have nothing to fear from aging itself but in not preparing for it its not only our country but ourselves that must adjust to this new picture of growing old certainly we have to learn to love our grey hair opinion letters to the editor premier eves stand on gay marriages disturbing gutless open letter to premier ernie eves and markham mppdave tsubouchi we are writing to you as concerned citi zens ontario voters and ontario progressive conservative party members about the dis turbing and gutless position taken by the provincial government regarding the bizarre lower court decision of july 12 ordering a change in the definition of marriage given that the majority of marriage cere monies are performed in churches and other religious institutions religious free doms are under threat if this decision is left to stand the ruling also defies the will of the feder al parliament as most recently expressed in two allparty motions that define marriage as between a man and a woman to the exclu sions of all other kinds of relationships given that the principles of the ontario pc party include a we believe inthe rule of law and f we believe in the values of the family we find it difficult to understand your position that marriage as it is currently defined is not worth preserving or defending furthermore your decision for the province not to appeal the ruling demon strates your willingness to allow for judge- made law richard judi van seters unionville new developments will leave stouffville gasping for water is everyone happy despite the rain earlier this week we have water restrictions that in effect ban all water ing including lawns washing automobiles etc meanwhile whitchurchstouffville council is dealing with a proposal to approve 921 residences the total number of dwellings proposed in the seven developments cur rently before council is 5036 stouffville residents will be in a 10-year- plus dustbowl if these development propos als receive approval make no mistake you will be adversely affected i seriously question if the mayor and council have the mandate of the voters to proceed in making a decision for or against these proposals the mayor has indicated this could be his last term if you care about the future ofwhitchurch- stouffville then attend council meetings and voice your concerns if you are not there it could be considered a vote of confidence for council to proceed with approvals if there is no massive support for the con cerns raised by the few objectors then the residents of vvnitchurchstouffville will get the town they deserve two hundred con cerned residents out of a population of 20000 is insufficient john pander stouffville letters policy stoufivule tribune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number name and address the newspaper reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space write letters to the editor 9 heritage rd markham ont l3p1m3 email fetterseconsuncom stouffville tribune serving the community since 1868 he3 gpc canadian circulations audit board member ontario press council canadian publications mail product sales agreement 14034 19 subscription rates by mail 1 year 6955 thursdays only stouffville tribune published every thursday and saturday is one of the metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd group of newspapers which includes the ajaxpickering news advertiser alliston heraldcourier barrie advance barrys bay this week bolton enterprise brampton guardian burlington shopping news burlington post city parent collingwoodwasaga connection east yorfr mirror erin advocatecountry routes etoblcoke guardian flamborough post georgetown independentacton free press kingston this week lindsay this week midlandpenetangulshene mirror milton canadian champion milton shopping news misstesauga news newmarket- aurora georgina erabanner northumberland news north york mirror oakville beaver oakville shopping news orlllia today oshawawhitbyclaringtonport perry this week peterborough this week richmond hillthomhillvaughan liberal scarborough minor stouffville tribune todays seniors uxbridge tribune and city of york guardian phone 95 6402612 fax 905 2941538 classified 18007433353 distribution 905 2948244 distributioncconsuncom telephone 905 2942200 416 7987624 fax 905 2941538 email newsroomeconsuncom dave teetzel i 1 1 l i i t i t t r t- iultt4 t i t t ntlis agency takes teenagers off streets and into auto shop this week our attention is rightly focused on the thousands of enthusiastic spiritfilled teens lining the streets of toronto but what about the youth in our own streets the ones who are homeless beaten down on drugs and unsure of how to get themselves out of their predicament even if they want to a threemonth study in winter 1999 found 500 homeless people in york region about 25 per cent were younger than 15 more than half were under 25 the problem is most visible in down town newmarket where kids have been known to crash on rooftops and in wooded areas at night and hang out on main street during the day but its also on main street that an initiative is under way to turn the trou bled kids of today into the purposeful worldchangers of tomorrow youth unlimited is an international agency that serves highrisk youth and its york region director steve klassen has been working in newmarket for about three years staying on the streets too long can only lead one place one youth said of his 20 friends from the street all but two are now totally sketched which means their brains are noticeably dam aged by drugs in many cases whats keeping these kids down is a lack of life skills they are unemployable largely because they have no idea of what it takes to function in a work environment reasoning the only way kids will learn how to hold a job is by working youth unlimited is developing an auto recycling company it will take donated junker cars fix and clean them up and send them to auction houses the teenagers who work there can earn money learn a little about auto mechanics and a lot about basic skills vital to holding a job but youth unlimited is not primarily a vocational guidance program it is a christian mission the most important part is the heart of the teen mr klassen says to turn them back to our lord and saviour jesus christ many people might be uncomfort able with a workplace that evangelizes young people i believe as youth unlimited does that turning around a messedup life takes a miracle literally if you believe this program is what york regions troubled teenagers need to get back on track there are plenty of ways to help out they need a location they need cars and of course they could use money most importantly they need people willing to get involved in the lives of young people you need a heartbeat that cares mr klassen says you can reach youth unlimited at 19052523262