Passport? The United States government now requires Canadians to produce a passport when entering the United States, not understanding perhaps that Canadians usually travelled to the States because passports weren't neeeded and holidays were a snap. So if you have a passport now, why waste away in the strip mall hotels of Florida and California where the lights of WalMart, and Wendy's compete with thermal inversion haze sunsets. Try the more exotic and enriching vacations that Europe, the Caribbean and Asia offer. And they don't have to cost any more... just shop around. Gift? Stuck with the Secret Santa thing? Need a gift that's not going straight to the trash?... Drop by the Snowsuit Fund office or the Agapé Centre and buy a tax receipt for that special somebody. Just make a donation, and they'll put the giftee's name on the receipt for you. Make someone happier when it's 20 below. Give someone that's down on their luck a decent meal. Or just enjoy the warmth that comes from sticking Revenue Canada. Why?   Why pay private operators to bus students to school, while at the same time paying subsidies to an unused municipal transit service? The Cornwall Municipal Government and the Ontario Provincial Government can end this contradiction of paying for a mushrooming schoolbus industry with your tax dollars, then paying to have our own transit system sit idle. $720 million is spent province wide each year (over 2 years that would pay for laptops and internet access for every student transported), reducing this by any percentage would be welcome. Cornwall Transit should be the provider of transportation for students (whenever possible) in the municipality. * Ridership would increase. * The transit service would be fully utilized. * Well paying driving and maintenance jobs would be created. * The province would save money. * Students would get in the public transit habit. Why?   Why pay headhunters to find medical professionals? Why send scholarship money to another community? Talk of awarding upwards of $25,000 as a medical studies scholarship seems to be an expensive and roundabout way to attract doctors. It doesn't seem right to send our cash to another community while we wait for graduation, and then... what if this kid is at the bottom of the class? Instead (if the city is going to spend this kind of money) offer moving expenses and paid rent for two years to a medical graduate chosen by a Community Hospital selection committee. We might pick one graduate each year for this two year assist, based on qualifications, needs, and potential to stay in the community. That seems at least as good a solution and: * No waiting and wondering. * The medical community chooses what is needed now. * The new doctor hits the ground running. * The money stays in the community. * The new doctor has time to put down roots.