Dear Editor: The B.C. “Ministry of Children and Families has allocated immediate funding to serve the needs of 75 Chinese “refirgee” juveniles at a cost of $8,200 per per- son/per month, for a total monthly bill to taxpayers of $615,000. These needs include the services of round-the-clock translators, authentic Chinese food and English language training. That $8,200 2 month would reduce the wait lists for mentally handicapped adults living at home by providing: B 12 adults with a day pro- gram (at present, a three-year wait list in Vancouver alone); “B35 adults and their families north shore news MAIL Funding for di with badly needed respite care services (a five-year wait list); % 13 adults with an After 3 p.m. program (a benetit to working parents especially}; @ 1.5 group home place- ments. We, the families of mental- ly handicapped adults living at home, are the pioneers, the veterans, the taxpayers of Canada. For more than half a cen- tury, we have been subjected to ongoing hardships while our sons/daughters suffer the long term effects of systemic funding cuts to basic support services e.g. appropriate day programs, respite care, resi- dential options, health and emergency services, etc. The millions of tax dollars isabt Box in savings generated by our opting to care for our sons/daughters at home, instead of placing them in government residential care are now being frittered away by an uncaring provincial gov- ernment whose cop priority should be to eliminate the lengthy wait lists, thereby ending the discrimination and degradation that our sons/daughters are experienc- ing. It is nat characteristic for us to ask for handouts but as we ourselves grow older, we need the helping hand of both the government and the com- munity to improve the quality of life for our aging adult chil- dren. It has been facctiously sug- ed needed gested that) perhaps our sons/ daughters should Jand in leaky ships on the shores of their own homeland in order ro qualify for immediate fund- ing of their needs. Alas, the lives of our Canadian children, including those with perma- nent mental disabilities, are far too precious to be placed in jeopardy. Instead we urge our fellow Canadians to join us in lobby- ing both the federal and provincial governments for immediate adequate funding to meet the needs of our men- tally handicapped sons/daughters, who cannot speak for themselves. Gwen Lee Janice Reithofer spike@teamsters3 1 .ca Natives enjoy tax-free inequity in Canada Dear Editor: Re: Federal jobs come tax- free for natives (The Vancouver Sun, Aug. 19). ' We take strong exception “to the divisive favouricism shown to native persons in . our incorne-tax system. It is inconceivable that natives off- reserve are drawing six-digit salaries from the taxpayer, while making no tax contribu- tions to the system. This bla- tant form of racism has to stop immediately, and those recipi- ents have to start paying their fair share. This is evident: when we have a family member, who is a single working parent, and because of inequities in our system such as this, is required to take a second job so she and her children can enjoy a lifestyle that includes an occa- sional holiday. We can only hope that our elected representatives will somehow force an appeal on 18 Pemberton Ave. this most unfair decision, and also an appeal of a similar decision of federal Judge Karen Shariow, who made a similar ruling that if native persons have to leave their reserve for employment they are exempt from paying TALKING $85-7195 laze) | Try us again for the first time INFORMATION NIGHT - Meet our instructors Learn about our courses Tuesday, September 14, 7 to 9 p.m. Library Building, Rooms 321-322 ‘Refreshments Available 7 PLUS “Attend a free workshop from * 7:30 to 8:30 p. m. EMPLOYMENT & CAREER INFORMATION LBI94 | COMPUTER QUICKSTART 15319 INTRODUCTION TO DRAWING 1LB196 Cex ex Cay ilano es ‘College ~ CAPILANO: Coutese. _ CONTINUING EDUCATION “2088 Pu alt Way North Vancouver, 8C, V7} 3HS Tel: 984-4901 Web:www.capcollege.bc.ca/continuinged income tax. 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