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For 10 years, York Region was saddled with an unfair policy known as GTA pooling. under which it sent about $75G million to 'Ibronto to help pay that city’s housing and social service costs. For years, politicians have said, if only York Region didn’t have to send $90 mil- lion a year south of Steelw, we could use that money to provide quality social services and take care of our own. b A public workshop will be held at 9:30 am. Feb. 28 in the seminar room of the York Region headquarters on Yonge Street north of Eagle Street in Newmarket. b You can give your input on the budget and how the region should use the $13.3 million in GTA pooling savings this year. At the time it was introduced, om mayors warned it would drive taxes sky high. There was no accountability, Toronto spent the money from the 905 regions however it pleased, without having to demonstrate it was actually spent on social services Then, last year, Queen’s Park announced the hated policy would end. GTA pooling would be phased out. A1 a meeting Feb. 28, you’ll get your chance to say what you think should be done with the $13.3 million the region will “save” in the first year ofthe pooling phase-out. Our payments to Toronto will drop every year until 2013. Chronically underfunded social ser- vice providers could well argue they are entitled to the money, given how often their plight was invoked as an argument to keep pooling dollars in York Region. Mayor Wayne Emmerson brought it up again last week during budget talks This year, the regional budget calls fan a 6-per-cent tax increase. One option on the table is to use it as a butler against tax hikes. We could knock down this year’s increase by 2 per cent using all of the$133 million. This year’s pooling savings aren’t a lot of money in the world of municipal budgeting. although it's $4 million more than York has allocated for growth-relat- ed costs, such as new police officers and transit expansion, this year. But your opinion is wanted now. You can set the direction and priori- ties now. Take that opportunity. Other options include replacing deteâ€" riorating infrastructure, program spendâ€" ing or a combination. lETTERS P0ll(Y The Sun Tribune welmmes your letterx All mhmissinns must be lea than 400 words and muet include a davflme telephone number. name and addreex. l‘he Sun 'h’ihlme reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space Letters to the Editor. The Sun-tribune 6290 Main St. Stouflvllh, GM LM IG7 > Visit www.york.ca for information. Help set slmtegy for pooling fimds imason.yrmg.com Stauflh'lIeSun-Tribml’lhumhx Feb. 7. 2008 HAVE YOUR SAY Editorial INTERACTIVE MEDIA Marketing 8: Advertising Manager Dawna Andrews dandmu.c@_yrrng. mm immnnfil‘vrm; Enmmw Editor lim Mason ‘0 "1 Wear helmets on slopes, not just hockey rink Re: Don’t look now, but..., page 1 photograph, Feb. 2. Last yeai’s death of Kasey Thompson, a 12-year- old Manitoba boy who died after striking his head on the snow, illustrates the dangers involved in tobogganing. Helmets aren’t just for hockey, Stouffville. While I like seeing pictures in our local newspa- per of families enjoying all the activities that winter in Stoufiville has to offer, I do cringe a bit when I see that none of the children or adults tobogganing in the pictures over the last couple of weeks were wearing helmets. Food bank overwhelmed by donations from across community Please consider strapping a snowboarding or hockey helmet on the little ones before giving them that push at the top of the hill. The executive and volunteers of the Whitchurch- Stoufiville Food Bank wish to thank the commu- nity for the overwhelming supply of food, gifts of money, personal care items, hats, mitts, scarves and socks in support of the food bank through out the Christmas and New Year's season. This community is amazing in the many ways it reaches out in love. . We received help from schools, churches, busiâ€" Classified Manager Ann Campbell ammphollfi‘yrmgmm ADVERTISING Retail Manager Stacvv Allen :nllpnfi‘yrmgmn SEW-Tribune PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot 6290 Main St. Stwflvile, ON. MA 167 mMefionmm Letters to the Editor JASON WILSON S TOUFFVILLE Assistant Classified Manager Bonnie Rondmu hmndm Ilél‘yrmg. mm PRODUCTION Team Leader Sherry Dav sdawnfvrmg. mm NWOKSTOURNEY nesses, corporations, service clubs, banks, stores and many individuals. Each gift enabled us to be a blessing to many families. There are some goods, however, that we are unable to accept by law. Please check for the following things before donating them: 0 Products beyond the expiry date. 0 Cans that are corroded. 0 Cans that show signs of bulging. 0 Severely dented cans. 0 Damaged packages. 0 Unlabelled goods. 0 Home-made products, including jam and cookies. Do you have an opinion on a story, letter, col- umn or editorial in The Sun-Tribune or another topic of local interest? We’d love to hear from you and print your thoughts in paper. Send letters to the editor to Jim Mason at: 0 jmason@yrmg.com or; ' 0 6290 Main St, Stouffville, 1AA 1G7 Keep letters to under 400 words. Include a daytime phone number, for crinfirmaâ€" tion purposes only. For more information, call 905-640-2612 HIS ' *3 A. l rod-1w! Busmass MANAGER Robert Lazurlco Id!“ Ennoa 1N CHIEF Debora Kelly ESTHER POWELL WHITCHURCH-STOUFFVILLE FOOD BANK We love mail (Llas‘ificd DISTRIBUTION 905â€"640â€"261 I 2 ADVERTISIN( 905â€"640-261} icd: 1-800743 x: 905-64087 EDITORIAL 905~640â€"26l x- 905-640â€"8' IUD/22 Duuacmn Mm“; Mann a Wows)! lohn Futhey 43-3353 A York Region Media (imup Community newspaper The Sun-Tribune, published every Thursday and Saturday. is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd, a wh0l|y~owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. Metroland is comprised of 100 community publications across Ontario. The York Region - Newspaper Group includes The Liberal, sewing Richmond Hill and Thomhill, Vaughan Citizen. The Era-Banner (Newmarket/ Aurora). Markham Economist Sun, Georgina Advocate. York Region Business Times. North of the City, yorkregioncom and York Region Printing. Dumcmn, CIRCULATION Svs'mus Lynn Pashko DlnEcmn, Anvumsmc You REGION PRINTING a. mmu'nou GENERAL MANAGER Ban), Black Bab Dean Maybe because it came out of last year’s election campaign. I didn’t want my vote bought with a day off. It’s just that this whole Famin Day, the new mid-winter holiday in Ontario, has a bad odoux to it. It rings of the federal govemment’s one-time plans to obtain an island in the Caribbean, like we would all like to buy a cottage in Muskoka. The Caribbean annexation never happened, just like Family Day shouldn’t have. It's as if we are so inflicted with cabin fever that we need a day off to remember summer is more than four months away. Poor, cold Canadians. After all, Victoria Day, the Civic holi- day weekendand Labour Day are noth- ing more than excuses to drive north and stock up on fireworks and beer. (Apologies to anyone who has toasted Queen chy or attended a labour Day parade.) If Dalton McGuinty wanted to hon- our a group of Citizens with a proper holiday, he didn’t have to look far. nouaay, he won't have to look tar. Remembrance Day used to be a most meaningful day off in this province. School was out and businesses were shut down, at least until after the 1 1 am. memorial services. And we knew why we were not at work or school. Why not bring it back, Dalton? But Family Day it is for 2008? And I can't help but think of Peter Griffin and the crew on the Family Guy ’IV show. There is precedent for a vacation that means more about nothing than Sein- feld ever did. Or Dalton McGuinty and his election promises. ‘ Wake me up when it's over. Mark me absent. I will not show up for work Feb. 18, but I will do it under protest. I have nothing against not setting the alarm for a Monday morning. I’ll gladly have that second cup of coffee in my Green Bay Packers pyjamas and leave the neck tie in the closet. lim Mason is whim of The Sun Tribune. 15 Family Day the best you’ve got, Mr. McGuinty? 'SHW-Ti'ibune with Jim Mason Off The Top