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Pa ge 6 T hu rs da y, F eb ru ar y 26 , 2 01 5 - T he IF P - H al to n H ill s - w w w .th ei fp .c a The Independent & Free Press is published 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. The Independent & Free Press is a member of the Ontario Press Coun- cil, which is an independent ethical organization established to deal with editorial concerns. For additional information or to file a complaint, contact info@ ontpress.com or call 416-340-1981. The Independent & Free Press Salute the brave Letters to the editor As measles spreads across the North American continent. Do you agree vaccinations should be mandatory? • Yes, for the safety of everyone (79%,) • No, it's a parents' decision (21%) WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) 905-873-0301 Publisher: Dana Robbins General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@theifp.ca) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@theifp.ca) Managing editor: Chris Vernon (cvernon@metroland.com) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@theifp.ca) Classifieds/Real Estate Kristie Pells (realestate@theifp.ca) Classified Call Centre 1-855-415-8237 classified@theifp.ca Accounting 1-866-773-6575 Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@theifp.ca) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@theifp.ca) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@theifp.ca) Get the latest headlines delivered to your inbox by signing up for our twice weekly electronic newsletter. Go to www.theifp.ca and click on 'Newsletter sign-up' at the bottom of the homepage. Vaccines don't cause autism Letters must include the author's name, 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 Anonymous letters will not be published.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: cvernon@metroland.com Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 77, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Letters policy What a winter it has been. After a mild begin- ning, long fingers of cold air have reached mercilessly down from the Arctic, and brought temperatures to this area that are the same as those in northern Alaska and Nunavut. It's no surprise that this month is tied, with February 1904, as the coldest February on record. For those of us who travel in a comfortable vehicle from one heated garage to the next, with an occasional frosty moment hauling groceries in the supermarket parking lot, the cold might seem like a novelty. Snow squeaks underfoot, the stars shine brilliantly in the pristine winter sky, the uncov- ered face tingles with pain after a few minutes. It's the picture-perfect Canadian winter that the rest of the world imagines for us, even when so many of our citizens live in the rela- tively mild cradle of the Great Lakes. But for those who actually must work or travel while exposed to these temperatures for longer than a few minutes, these past weeks have been a real test of our fortitude. And so we salute the garbage and recycling collectors, the construction workers and the people-- volunteer and professional-- who maintain outdoor skating rinks. We tip our hats to the crossing guards who routinely stand for an hour or two in the freezing weath- er to allow vulnerable children to cross busy streets so they can get to and from school safely. We honour the police, firefighters and emergency workers who are there when we need them, whether that's to direct traffic in an emergency or to search for hours for a doomed little boy in Toronto who somehow wandered outside wearing just a shirt and a diaper. For these people, the difficulties of weather are just part of the job. There are the people who work night shifts at convenience stores and gas bars and have no other way to get to work but to walk. They all know, better than anyone, that life goes on, even when it's cold outside. I am appalled that the Feb. 19 Letters-to- the-Editor section of the Georgetown In- dependent provided a forum for Adrian Visentin to spread the proven lie that vaccines cause autism. This myth began with a now totally discredited 1998 study by former British doctor Andrew Wakefield. I say he is a former doctor, because he was stripped of his medical licence due to his study having been proven to be a total fraud. Since then, numerous studies have been done, trying to see if there is a link between vaccines and autism, and every single study has shown that there is no such link. The only "medical expert" still push- ing this lie is Playboy playmate Jenny McCarthy, and anyone who bases their child's medical treatment on Jenny Mc- Carthy's expertise is incredibly foolish. For your paper to further this lie is totally irresponsible and you owe your readers an apology. Mike Baker Vaccines carry toxins as a preservative OPINION Hooray for Adrian Visentin for writ- ing such a succinct and reasonable letter to the editor about vaccines.  As a wellness consultant I see many families with various toxicity issues.  Vaccines carry one of the most frequently found toxins which make people sick -- namely mercury -- in the form of Thimerasol as a preser- vative in vaccines.  Babies immune systems are just not developed enough to take that much toxic load.  If people think that there is no ev- idence, just go to some very highly respected research done by Dr. Mark Geier and David Geier that show the connection between autism and vaccines.  If you want to read it, go to www.jpands.org/vol8no1/geier.pdf. There are numerous articles in the archives of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxi- cology  www.iaomt.org. Government only responds to the greatest pressures and best funded lobbies.  If you read Shiv Chopra's book Corrupt to the Core, it will open your eyes to what Health Canada's agendas are.  Oksana M. Sawiak, Integrative Wellness and Detox Centre