Who's the 'small group?'

I find myself somewhat confused when I see a letter to the editor referring to a small group which is opposed to the installation of sewers in King City.

When the subject of sewers was first raised, the community reacted almost immediately, filling the high school gym with standingroom only meetings with the "no"s drowning the small group of developerfriendly supporters. In subsequent elections, no candidate for mayor or council candidate running on a pro-sewer platform has ever obtained a plurality in King City, leaving one to wonder what part of the word "no" they don't understand.

I still recall the evening I arrived at the community centre a little late and could not get in due to overcrowding as residents, hoping to obtain some control over the massive development which follows the big pipe, were anxious to view the alternatives. Following that meeting, everyone was left scratching their heads when we learned that the Regional health officer had written a letter to the province pushing for the big pipe over a communitybased system, hardly part of her mandate.

By far the saddest time for democracy in this township was the election in which the Mayor, scraping in by the narrowest of margins, found herself outnumbered at council and took her case to the Region. Surveys indicate o0nly

15 per cent of the population put any trust in what politicians say, leaving them at the bottom of the barrel, just below used car salesmen. In most jurisdictions, 70 per cent of the population will not even bother to vote, rather than legitimatize a process that is controlled by small groups, not taxpayers. Promises, such as the reform or elimination of the unelected Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), which have not been kept, render community plans not worth the paper they are printed on.

How many of these experts saw the impact of sprawl ($2-to-$3 billion in lost productivity due to gridlock), insufficient doctors and hospital waiting lists, insufficient electricity and water, the cost of providing public transit to subdivisions that resemble rabbit warrens, etc. It doesn't seem to matter any more what the majority vote for.

E. Millar, King City