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6 economist suntribune thursday august 15 2002 s stouffvifle tribune a metroland community newspaper 34 civic ave stouflville ont l4a 7z5 publisher ian proudfoot editor in chief debora kelly director of advertising debra weller editor jim mason classified manager ann campbell production manager pam nichols retail sales manager stephen mathieu distribution manager barry black inside sales manager stacey allen electronic communications manager john futhey business manager robert lazurko office manager vivian oneil editorial smog reduction must be high priority the air we breathe is smelly dirty and dan gerous to our health york region ranked among the worst areas in ontario for air quality this week above toronto and hamilton in a ministry of environment air quality index reading released monday york region scored an alarming 59 monday which soared to 64 tuesday meaning air qual ity is poor that means local residents are at greater risk of eye irritations breathing prob lems and developing lung damage and heart disorders than those living in areas such as thunder bay where air quality is good while local governments cant control air quality for all of ontario the latest air quality advisory emphasizes the need for politicians to step up efforts to promote better air earlier this year newmarket markham richmond hill stouffville and the region com mitted to measures to reduce greenhouse gases and smogforming pollutants newmarket will pass a tough antiidling bylaw for vehicles and create a response plan for town employees and contractors on days with poor air quality markham has instituted a smog alert plan and is making town buildings more energy efficient while 2000 was cool with york registering three smog alert days the ministry has record ed 20 smoggy days in 2001 and 15 this year and with the environment ministry build ing smog detection equipment in newmarket to test york and durhams air quality more accurately its apparent the issue is finally earning widespread political attention since poor air kills nearly 2000 ontarians a year according to the ontario medical association its clear changes are needed ministry meteorologist dr david yap said air quality changes constantly due to trans- boundary pollution a fancy term for whichever way the wind blows coalfired power plants are taking the heat for much of ontarios pollution woes and while its easy to demand more tax dollars be spent to update equipment anyone who uses electrici ty contributes to the poor air problems as air quality becomes unbearable energy capacities are reaching record proportions which in turn puts greater demand on the very plants pumping out he pollution with a provincial election about a year away ifs time to make environment issues top priority at all political levels opinion letters to the editor more development will make stouffville suburban nightmare five years ago i moved into a small old home in the rural community of musselmans lake since that time development in stouffville has been frightening to behold i had hoped to escape the suburban wasteland forever but it expands ever north ward like an oozing fungal growth on my latest bicycle journey through town i saw an advertisement for a soontoopen outlet of a restaurant chain how many junk food joints can a town like stouffville sup port not many i would imagine so i can only presume these projects indicate specu lation future develpment will be rampant and unstoppable i strongly suspect this years water ban is yet another sign of unchecked and poorly planned development in the region the weather has been no worse than in recent summers and yet this is the first full water ban ever the real change in water use is that now there are brand new golf courses and mon ster homes sprouting up everywhere what ever happened to the proposed preservation of the oak ridges moraine i see no evidence of that in and around stouffville if development is not halted soon stouffville will become the suburban night mare i tried to leave behind ingridschmelter stouffville anonymous complainant had no sensitivity kindness over the last month or so my husband along with our neighbour and a few other kind hearts have worked endless hours in sweltering heat and humidity to build a shed in our back yard the shed which stands between our two homes looks like one but is divided in two inside it is esthetically pleasing with vinyl siding and a shingled roof however unbe known to us it doesnt comply with town bylaws after completing the shed i received a knock on my door from a town of markham employee saying one of the neighbours lodged an anonymous complaint regarding the shed to our disbelief we have to tear it down please understand we hold no grudge toward the town it was evident the gentleman who was the bearer of bad news felt badly for us if the person who lodged the complaint had any sensitivity or kindness he or she could have approached us before completion and we would have gladly complied but ifs clear this person chose to watch us waste our time energy and money just to please himself to the person who has ruined all this i say rather than wasting your time on other peo ples properties perhaps you can look at the condition of your own home lcrupi markham letters policy stouffville 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 utters to the editor 9 heritage rd markham ont 13p1m3 email lettendeconsuncom stouffville tribune serving the community since 1888 beeia dde canadian circulations 1 audit board member ontario press council 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 ajanpickering news advertiser alllston heraldcourier barrie advance barrys bay this week bolton enterprise brampton guardian burlington shopping news burlington post city parent collingwoodwasaga connection east york mirror erin advocatecountry routes etobicoke guardian ftamborough post georgetown independent acton free press kingston this week lindsay this week midlandpenetanguishene mirror milton canadian champion milton shopping news mississauga news newmarket- aurora georgina erabanner northumberiand news north york mirror oakvilte beaver oakville shopping news orillia today oshawawhitbyclaringtonport perry this week peterborough this week richmond hillthomhillvaughan liberal scarborough mirror stouffville tribune todays seniors uxbridge tribune and city of york guardian phone 905 6402612 fax 95 2941538 classified 18007433353 distribution 905 2948244 distributioncconsunxom telephone 905 2942200 416 7987624 fax 905 2941538 email newsroomeconsuncom dave teetzel york commuters caught in middle of gas tax squabble the bright side of an open rift in the federal liberal caucus is new ideas are finally being voiced by federal politicians the down side is these guys seem deter mined to divide the country the same way they are dividing themselves take the dogfight over transport minister david collenettes suggestion gst or gas tax money be dedicated to help cities particularly with public tran sit finance minister john manley quickly shut him down declaring he would not increase gas taxes to pay for municipal programs city dwellers are likely to cheer mr collenettes efforts to at long last pro vide a steady source of transit funding but those in rural areas most of whom will never have public trans portation in their home towns are going to be less than thrilled at paying even more for fuel right between these two factions sits york region our regional politicians have com mitted to creating a reliable seamless transit system that will take 7 million trips a year off our burdened roadways the proposed fiveyear plan will increase operating costs to more than 49 million in the next five years more than doubling percapita transit costs to 40 the region is to spend more than 200 million on transit over five years so you could say york region might be able to use a cut from federal tax money but the idea is bitterly opposed by the current prime minister the current finance minister and many provincial governments most notably quebec not that the federal government is adverse to sending a little cash the way of local governments from time to time but that money comes in the form of onetime jobcreating infrastructure programs that tend to coincide with fed eral election calls we dont need to pay any more tax on gasoline were already paying 147 per cent provincial gas tax 10 per cent fed eral excise tax and 7 per cent gst every time we fill up the feds get 5 billion a year in taxes from gasoline and spend about l44th of that on transportation infrastructure so maybe theres a little room in that pot for a dedicated transportation fund whats really lacking is the political will mississauga mayor hazel mc- callion hit the nail on the head when she pointed out most mps never receive a call from a constituent demanding their support for urban transit so they dont attach the same priority to it as they do the squeakywheel issues if we want funding to improve public transit reduce traffic and cut down on smog our first step is to ask our next step is to keep asking until we get some action