ONE MORE WIN FOR MONEY AND ONE MORE LOSS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Immigration and growth are money makers for some Canadians ie. developers & home builders. For the rest of us it simply means more crowding, more traffic, more environmental degradation and higher taxes. Today's front page story in the Local Section of the Waterloo Region Record is titled "Strasbourg Road extension approved". Local residents and environmentalists have been fighting this proposed road for eleven years. While its' route has been changed to minimize impact on a cold water trout stream and wetlands, nevertheless it will negatively impact the area.

The road alone will cost taxpayers $22 million. Then add in sewer, hydro, water services plus garbage and snow shovelling. This is why developers make money and the rest of us smucks pick up the forever future tax increases. Kitchener councillors are between a rock and a hard place. The federal level of government controls immigration and demands that lower tiers of government must make provisions for and accomodate ever increasing populations. Provincial legislation combined with the Ontario Municipal Board enforces and controls these demands.

The bottom line is that every community small and large are paying for the privelege of enriching the few. They are paying through their taxes and by living in a constantly degraded and overtaxed environment. This degraded environment also includes ever increasing sewage dumped into the Grand River and ever increasing demands for clean water, none of which is sustainable forever.