MAILBOX 7 ~ Friday, February 23, 1990 - North Shore News FAINISTER MUST ACT Action on milf pollution possible now OPEN LETTER TO JOHN REYNOLDS, MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT Thank you for attending our public meeting on Dec. 17. We would like to respond to some of your comments and make some recommendations. Your answer to a number of people who demanded an end to il- legal pollution from our pulp mills was that ‘‘we cannot make changes overnight."" We understand this. We also understand that the changes necessary to convert to environmentally safe methods will require careful planning and major construction, At the same time there are some changes and commitments that your ministry could institute now. © Mills must immediately restrict their output to their designed operating level. * Ministry of the Environment (MOE) must notify mills that all deals and variance orders to exceed permits are off. ® MOE must charge and publish names of all mills exceeding per- mits. ® MOE must commit to a goal of zero discharge of organochlorines and other pollutants. *MOE must commit to govern- GST letter contradicts Dear Editor: The letter from Chuck Cook, MP, espousing the virtues of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is nothing less than a series of con- tradictions when one knows the facts. He states ‘the GST will improve the overall! fairness of the tax system.’’ How can this be when, under the GST, the business sector pays virtually no tax but under the Federal Sales Tax (FST) system they paid $9 billion out of the $18 billion collected in 19897 Mr. Cook further states that “the present federal sales tax damages Canada’s ability to com- pete with foreign-made products.”* If this is so then why has the Mulroney government increased the FST rate from nine per cent in 1984 to 13.5 per cent effective June 1, 1989, a full 50 per cent increase in the taxation rate over the five- year period. How can Mulroney, Wilson and Cook justify tax increases of this Why can developers burn? Dear Editor: I wish it was true that all out- door burning is prohibited in the District of North Vancouver as you reported. Unfortunately this is Not so. There is a ban on outdoor burn- ing for ordinary taxpayers but big developers do not come under such restrictions. They can and fre- quently do receive permission to burn debris from land clearing, casting a pall of smoke over the neighborhood. I have made numerous attempts to make this bylaw uniformly ap- plicable, but no such luck. Council just couldn’t bring themselves to do something the big developers would not Eke. Had council the courage to state that the law applies equally to all, then these developers would have long ago found a way to dispose of the debris and maybe even made some profit out of it. But why should they, when district council lets them get away with burning? Ernie Crist, Alderman District of North Vancouver Check drivers not cars Dear Editor: Why are the police wasting their time and our tax dollars doing vehicle safety checks? A set of working’ turn signals does not mean that the driver will use them. It does not mean that the driver will not zoom from lane to lane trying to get ahead, Just because a car has headlights or a parking brake, does not mean that the driver will use them as needed. Plus steaks, Pastas, Salads & House Specialties Guitarist Saturday Brunch Wednesday Evenings dine by the beautifui Open 7 Days & Nights a Week. 2427 Marine Drive, West Van. Why don’t the police use their time more wisely? Why not spend more time in traffic looking out for those unsafe drivers we so often see? Get the people running yellow lights, speeding and other- wise endangering lives. Roadblocks are fine to check for drunk drivers, but checking the car itself does not address the prob- lem. Kathy Rysiew North Vancouver bates. EE Lon LES LSI Harpist Sunday Brunch Harp Music. 926-8838 magnitude if there was a danger that it might damage Canada’s ability to compete, either domestically or in the export mar- kets? On January 1, 1991, if the GST is implemented, can Mr. Cook guarantee that prices will drop proportionately to the amount of the FST that no longer has to be paid by the business sector? A tax system that forces the business sector to continue to pay their fair share of tax on all pur- chases unrelated to the manufac- turing process, as they do under the Federal Sales Tax system, would enable a reduction in the GST rate from seven per cent down to 34 per cent. Most Canadians, I believe, would accept this form of taxation as the alternative to the FST. R.B. Gri: North Vancouver 1985 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3 Diamond Blue/Biue int. 58,000 kms. local. One owner. All books & records. Stk. P1097 Offered ar $28, 600 1985 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3 Arctic White/Burgundy int. 78,000 kms. Local. All books & records. Stk. $434A Offered at $27, 800 1985 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3 Beige/Palomino int. 87,600 kms. “Heated seats”. All books & records. Offered at $27,800 Stk. 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