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Pa ge 6 T hu rs da y, S ep te m be r 1 7, 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 Get ready! Letters to the editor 905-873-0301 Publisher: Dana Robbins General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@theifp.ca, 905-234-1011) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@theifp.ca, 905-234-1012) Managing editor: Chris Vernon (cvernon@metroland.com, 905-234-1020) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@theifp.ca, 905-234-1019) Classifieds/Real Estate Kristie Pells (realestate@theifp.ca, 905-234-1016) Advertising Sales Jenny Hawkins (jhawkins@theifp.ca, 905-234-1014) Jennifer Spencer (jspencer@theifp.ca, 905-234-1013) Rachael Scutt (rscutt@theifp.ca, 905-234-1015) Kelli Kosonic (kkosonic@theifp.ca, 905-234-1018) Classified Call Centre 1-800-263-6480, Fax 1-866-299-1499 classifieds@metroland.com Accounting 1-866-773-6575 Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@theifp.ca, 905-234-1021) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/photographer (emaher@theifp.ca, 905-234-1023) Composing Shelli Harrison (sharrison@theifp.ca 905-234-1017) 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. The Boomer generation has been a blessed breed. Those born between the years 1946 to 1965 were part of a demographic tsunami that grew into the richest and most influential age group in the history of this planet. They upped our standard of living, increased our mortality rates, and continue on today in the guise of grey power, a group that has dined out on trillions of dol- lars in wealth handed down to them from their parents, and further plumped up by an economy juiced up by super-inflated stock markets. In the Boomer generation's time, the pill was intro- duced to make contraception possible for billions of women of child-rearing age, and even as the male Boomers aged, another kind of pill was introduced to help with sexual dysfunction. There's now a female ver- sion. And as Boomers move into later life, another pill is being introduced to help them exit this planet gracefully - without pain and suffering. On Feb. 6, 2016, physician-assisted death will become legal in Canada. Up to this point, there have been serious moral questions about assisted death, but the Supreme Court ruled that the Criminal Code's prohibitions on assisted suicide no longer apply "to the extent that they prohibit physician-assisted death for a competent adult person who consents, and has a grievous condition that causes intolerable suffering." There are some serious misgivings about the new law. A physician cannot be compelled to hasten a per- son's death, but a patient's rights outweighs those of a doctor. While a pill for dying seems to follow events in other parts of the world, questions need to be answered. What is intolerable pain? Who determines a patient's capacity to consent? If a doctor is not onboard with this, then who will train others to administer the drugs or the pills? When Feb. 7 arrives, a whole batch of new legal, ethi- cal and moral questions will need answering. Not only are potentially thousands of lives at stake, but so are billions of dollars that will be bequeathed from one generation to the next. For aging Boomers, it will be a most compelling issue. While a poll commissioned by Dying With Dignity says the majority of Canadians (84 per cent) support the right to die, the actual administration of the act is fraught with problems. While some doctors balk at offering up their services to assist death, doesn't a patient's rights outweigh his or her right of refusal? Open discussions on the issue should be taking place right now on the federal election circuit. OPINION Attention Gamers: Do you like to be scared out of your wits? Do you like stories where the underdog hero fights against a super villain who is trying to subjugate the world? Want to play a game that might be virtual reality or might be your real terrifying future? Here's a simple but scary game: Google the name "Harper" with a collec- tion of other names. To get started, Google "Harper Lynton Crosby". You will probably come across a character known as the "Master of the Dark Political Arts". Try "Harper Arthur Finkelstein" and you may find "The Merchant of Venom". Here are some other names to pair with "Harper": Leo Strauss, Friedrich Hayek, Milton Fried- man, Tom Flanagan, "Calgary School". See if you can figure out what these peo- ple are up to. That is enough to get you going, but don't wait too long. Forbidden knowledge may disappear from the internet after the next election. Politics can be a scary game Cartoon was offensive Of course, there is a lot of nonsense on the internet, so part of the game is for you to decide what is total fantasy and what re- quires further investigation and thought. Is there a conspiracy? Will something horrible actually happen to you if you don't act to prevent it? Is the man who tells you, "Be very afraid" trying to trick you? If you find the game boring, then quit playing it. If you get sucked into the game and get very frightened, then talk to your friends and other adults you respect. Maybe you will end up doing some- thing very important, like voting. This game ends on Oct. 19, 2015. Stephen Barrett, Elora I am offended by the cartoon labelled 'Liberal' which appeared in my commu- nity paper. (Sept. 3, 2015). I can only hope that it is one in a series of creative partisan cartoons, featuring each of the federal party leaders, high- lighting a controversial election strategy or talking point each week. Or perhaps this cartoon was bought and paid for by MP Michael Chong? You could give the other parties nega- tive cartoon space too. Use party colours and smear the name of the party in the correct font across the top. I eagerly await the next cartoon-- will it be orange or green? After all, my community paper is not called "The Conservative Free Press". FYI, some people feel that those words just don't go together. Karen Skidmore, Halton Hills Letters must include the author's name, address and daytime phone num- ber. 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: cgamble@theifp.ca Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 77, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Letters policy