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6 Independent & Free Press, Wednesday, August 15, 2007 OPINION The price of peace It's probably a safe bet that no one was more relieved with Environmental Review Tribunal hearing officer Knox Henry's ruling Monday than Halton Place general manager Megan Krueger. Henry upheld Niagara Escarpment Commission permits for two events-- the AAC National Dog Agility Trials and the Canadian Country Classic Equestrian Tournament-- dismissing appeals from five Halton Place neighbours who argued, among other things, the events caused too much noise and traffic and were more of an entertainment nature than agricultural. Had the shows not gone on, Halton Place would have faced thousands of dollars in fines, a prohibition from Equine Canada from hosting a similar event for a year, not to mention the embarrassment of cancelling two national competitions only days before they were to be held. With 550 dogs scheduled to take part in the agility competition (which begins tomorrow), cancellation of the event would have inconvenienced hundreds of people. That said, the complaints of Halton Place's neighbours should not be summarily dismissed-- as some Halton Hills councillors seemed to last month. To that end we are glad that Krueger intends to meet with neighbours tonight (Wednesday) in an effort to open the lines of communication and offer proactive solutions to any problems that may develop. Henry's ruling-- and the whole process-- should also be an illustration as to how important it is that facilities such as Halton Place-- and anyone for that matter-- follow the proper rules and procedures in securing permits and permission for hosting events. Halton Place is a wonderful venue to host topnotch "agricultural-based" events and is an asset the town can promote. There is no reason why it cannot be a good neighbour as well. www.independentfreepress.com Phone: 905-873-0301 Fax: 905-873-0398 Steve Nease STAFF DIRECTORY Publisher Ken Nugent Advertising director Steve Foreman (sforeman@independentfreepress.com) Retail advertising manager Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@independentfreepress.com) Managing editor John McGhie (jmcghie@independentfreepress.com) Distribution manager Nancy Geissler (distribution@independentfreepress.com) ADVERTISING Advertising co-ordinator Jennifer Christie (jchristie@independentfreepress.com) Retail Sales: Jennifer Spencer (jspencer@independentfreepress.com) Adam Spinney (aspinney@independentfreepress.com) Andrew Key (akey@independentfreepress.com) Amy Sykes (features@independentfreepress.com) Real estate: Sue Spizziri (realestate@independentfreepress.com) Classifieds: Kristie Pells (classified@independentfreepress.com) ACCOUNTING Rose Marie Gauthier, Michelle Wimmer EDITORIAL Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@independentfreepress.com) Ted Brown: Photography (tbrown@independentfreepress.com) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@independentfreepress.com) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@independentfreepress.com) PRODUCTION: Mary Lou Foreman, Kevin Powell, Shelli Harrison, Dolores Black, Debbie MacDougall LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Government policies hurting Canada Dear editor, I am a senior-senior Canadian. The Canada I have grown up in has been a wonderful country, a truly great example of what a country should be for its citizens and for the world of nations. Sadly, things have changed to the detriment of our citizens and our neighbours. The next generation of Canadians will not be able to enjoy the Canada of my generation, and the next generation, our grandchildren, will find life as a Canadian even worse. I believe that what has caused this state of affairs are the corrupt practices of too many of our politicians and the corporations that do business in Canada or with Canada. I believe that legislation such as the North America Free Trade Act (NAFTA), the Security, Prosperity Partnership for North America (SPP), Atlantica, and the Trade, Investment, and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA), the opaqueness of our federal and provincial governments regarding the nature and the consequences to Canada and Canadians if this sort of legislation is enacted, and the apparent unwillingness of our media to report on these issues, is responsible for this deplorable state of affairs. In saying the above, I must also say that Canadians as a whole must take a great deal of the blame; we elect our politicians but we do not manage them. We do not take the time to telephone them on these and other issues nor do we write letters to them or to the media to raise our concerns in the hope that a revealing light will be cast upon some of the more nefarious pieces of legislation that may be slithering through our halls of parliment. This head-in-the-sand attitude on the part of Canadians must stop or Canada will become a vanished country along with all of the social benefits that we have left that Canadians are still enjoying. In my opinion, Canada MUST abrogate NAFTA, she MUST put a stop to the formation of any more TILMA agreements, she MUST declare water as a human right and not an additional commodity that corporations can use for more profits, and she MUST return to her peacekeeping role in the world; she MUST NOT use our military forces as combatants in unlawful wars unless we are directly attacked. In addition, Canada MUST put a stop to becoming a mirror image of the United States. Our federal government MUST follow an independent path in world affairs as directed by the wishes of a highly informed public. I also believe that if we do not reverse the current trends in our federal policies, Canada will fast become the Austria of North America. Don Parker, Georgetown Something bugging you? Send us a letter! Letters to the editor must include an address and daytime telephone number. Unsigned letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 200 words and may be edited for content and/or length. Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1 E-mail: jmcghie@independentfreepress.com Renounce use of fur, reader urges Dear editor, Have you, the reader, ever seen footage of a fully operational fur farm? I have, and I was horrified by what I saw. Seeing that awful footage is what motivated me to write this letter. If I can cause one fur wearer to renounce fur forever, this will have all been worthwhile. Animals on fur farms are kept in tiny, filthy wire cages for all of their short, miserable lives. Once they reach the predetermined size and weight, the animals are killed. In order to preserve the "value" of their pelt, they are killed in ways that do not damage their fur. Animals on fur farms may be gassed, poisoned, electrocuted, drowned, or bludgeoned to death. Because of the unreliable methods used to kill these poor creatures, many are simply stunned, and wake up during the skinning process. I will never forget the horror I felt when I first saw PETA's revealing undercover video on fur farms. For more information on the horrible cruelties endured by animals raised for their fur please visit FurIsDead.com Zoe Franks, Acton THE INDEPENDENT & FREE PRESS The Independent & Free Press is published every Wednesday and Friday at 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown Ont., L7G 4B1. It is one of several newspapers published by Metroland Media Group Ltd. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with reasonable allowance for signature will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the acceptable rate. 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