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6 Independent & Free Press, Thursday,July 21, 2011 OPINION Ask questions For some, the lead-up to a provincial election-- set for Oct. 6-- is better than the weeks before Christmas. As a child, Christmas came with the "Santa's watching you" threat to ensure obedience. As a voter at election time, there are no threats, only promises to ensure support. The season of giving has begun. Premier Dalton McGuinty and the Liberals celebrated two years of public employee wage freezes (unless you work for eHealth) by opening the vault. Check out the 13.5-per-cent wage increase over four years the OPP got. This came on the heels of a three-per-cent hike for OPSEU members. Both are obvious attempts to buy support for the October election. The Liberals also pushed through a plan to loosen liquor laws, citing overwhelming public support. While the Opposition points to this as a lame attempt to divert attention from the Liberals' shortcomings over the past term, opponents also believe votes can be bought with inane vows. It wasn't long ago Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak mused about the days when he could buy a beer in Ontario for $1 a bottle. Neither party gives voters much credit when election fodder is the price of beer and expanding where you can drink alcohol. To think these are among Ontario's most pressing issues is laughable. There are issues that extend beyond the partycrowd vote, though. The PCs are also promising an extra $6.1 billion in health care funding. Is there a better way to attract votes? Everybody wants better health care. And the NDP came out early pledging to eliminate the HST from electricity and home heating bills. But those kinds of investment won't come without a cost and, so far, specifics are lacking. There's only one way to find out-- vote them in. Unfortunately, plans are often altered or cancelled under a mandate and there's nothing voters can do until the next round of vote bidding begins. So it's important to look past the seasonal wish lists and tell candidates what you want now. It's never too early to start asking. 905-873-0301 Publisher: Ken Nugent General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@theifp.ca) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@theifp.ca) Managing editor: John McGhie (jmcghie@theifp.ca) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@theifp.ca) Classifieds Kristie Pells (classified@theifp.ca) Accounting Rose Marie Gauthier Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@theifp.ca) Ted Brown: Photography (tbrown@theifp.ca) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@theifp.ca) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@theifp.ca) Letters policy Letters must include an address and daytime phone number. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 150 words and may be edited for content and/or length. Publication is not guaranteed. Email: jmcghie@theifp.ca Steve Nease Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Letters to the editor Water wisely, resident urges Dear editor, Last week the mayor in his monthly column asked us to water the new trees that were planted by the Town-- this is necessary in the dry weather as they are young plants-- but around town there are big signs reminding us to water carefully. I have noticed that most lawns are like mine-- brown-- and it will turn green when it gets a good watering, and, if not, I will look for another solution. What really bothers me is seeing lawns being watered-- daily-- around 3 p.m. when it is the hottest, so most of the water evaporates immediately. The sidewalks and streets also get a watering at the same time. The reason this bothers me is that I came from a country where droughts are not uncommon, so when water is scarce, the last thing to see it is the garden, and if vegetables are watered they get handwatered. At this point in time, water seems to be "freely available" but there will come a time when the world outside of Canada wants our water and we will need it and it won't be there. Please water respectfully-- your lawns will return. Sally Miller, Georgetown `Dig' a costly waste Dear editor, Re: Steeles Avenue dig turns up items from historic settlement, June 23. Lisa Tallyn wrote a very nice article, including a photograph, on how the `Steeles Avenue dig turns up items from historic settlement'. Four people are shown working. They are mandated to complete 130 to 140 test pits. The taxpayers of Halton Region and Ontario are paying for this work as requested by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture. In my view, this is an absolute waste of taxpayers' money. Having to dig for stuff that was discarded 200 years ago makes no sense. There was no earthquake and no volcano in this area that would have suddenly buried the Village of Hornby. Anything they can find there, they can just as easily find at the local land filI site. At a time when many people are struggling with high and rising costs and high and rising taxes, it makes no sense to me to spend their money on make-work projects like this. Peter Scholz, Georgetown Efforts applauded Dear editor, I would like to thank our mayor, councillors and Halton Region council members for having the integrity, courage and vision to support the opposition to the GTA West Corridor 4-3 proposal in a 19-2 vote. The vote confirms their dedication to ensure the Official Plan for the area is respected as well as trying to preserve precious agricultural lands and leave a legacy for generations to come. I applaud you and your efforts but I know this is just the first hurdle in a long fight with the MTO. The postcard campaign has achieved great success and the residents of Halton Hills have embraced this initiative and will continue to fight. Let's keep this a great place to live with safe local produce, clean air and controlled growth. Wendy Bruchal, Halton Hills WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.independentfreepress.com) An east-west highway corridor (Option 4-3) that would run through south Georgetown (between 5 and 10 Sideroads) is under consideration by the Province. Which east-west option is more palatable to you? · Widen Hwy. 401 (57%) · Option 4-3 is fine (24%) · No highway expansion at all (19%) The Independent & Free Press The Independent & Free Press is published Tuesday and Thursday and is one of several Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.