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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, Ja nu ar y 4, 20 18 | 6 The Georgetown Independent & Free Press, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corpora- tion. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 80 community publications across Ontario. The Independent & Free Press is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the newspaper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca newsroom@theifp.ca IndependentAndFreePress @IFP_11 ABOUT US The Independent & Free Press 280 Guelph Street, Unit 77 Georgetown, ON L7G 4B1 Phone: 905-873-0301 Classifieds: 905-234-1016 Fax: 905-873-0398 Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 200 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Delivery For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail ssoles@metroland.com or call 905-234-1019. CONTACT US Publisher Neil Oliver General Manager Steve Foreman Retail Advertising Manager Cindi Campbell Regional Managing Editor Chris Vernon Regional Managing Digital Editor Robyn Wilkinson Distribution Representative Iouliana Polar Classified/Real Estate Kristie Pells Regional Production Manager Manuel Garcia Production Shelli Harrison WHO WE ARE OPINION • EDITORIAL • • LETTERS & COMMENTARY • It was a year to remember and a year that many of us might like to one day forget. In 2017, much of that memorability, of course, has not much to do with us here, at least not directly. When Donald Trump took office as the 75th presi- dent of the United States of America, many of us felt a shock of familiarity: not so long ago, Toronto's mayor's office was occupied by a politician not so very different from Donald Trump. There may not have been questions about Russian involvement in Rob Ford's election in 2010, and neither did the late Ford abuse Twitter as Trump has. The stakes were not as high for us in the four years following Rob Ford's election as they are in the year following Donald Trump's election: nu- clear war was never a possible outcome. Now, in the year that America spent reeling and divided under the Trump pres- idency, Toronto has regained equilibrium under three years of the relatively sedate and inclusive John Tory mayoralty. But smooth sailing is far from guaranteed. When 2018 dawns, we will be faced with choices on not one but two levels of government. There will be a provincial election first, in which we decide what to do about Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne's government - hold course on another term, or try out the Progressive Conservatives or New Democrats - then just a few months later, another municipal election. So 2018 is going to be a year of profound choice in this town and this province, and by the end of it, possibly, profound change. It won't be a matter of watching the Americans and crossing our fingers on election night to see which way that change moves us. In 2018, it will be up to us. Two elections will keep voters busy in new year The stakes were not as high for us in the four years following Rob Ford's election as they are in the year following Donald Trump's election: nuclear war was never a possible outcome. Airports threaten neighbours' sleep Canada's major air- ports, particularly the big hubs, have been growing rapidly and will continue to do so forever, it seems. Should there be limits to their growth?The Canadian hub cities are Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. But Toronto is in a league of its own, expected to reach, or ex- ceed, 45 million passen- gers by the end of the year, about twice that of runner-up Vancouver with about 22 million. Montreal and Calgary are in the 16 to 17 million range. The annual passenger growth rate in the past two years is in excess of 5 per cent, and at this rate, it won't take long for traf- fic to double. But passen- ger traffic is not the only thing that's going up; car- go traffic has also been steaming ahead. Sleep deprivation has become a major concern in hub-airport communi- ties, as some airports have gone from no night flights, save for life- threatening emergen- cies, to ever-increasing night flights. Not only that, daytime opera- tions, which used to be from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., at all airports, have expan- ded by two hours, from 6:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. of the next day at Canada's largest hub, where the busiest 15 minutes of the day are from 6:30 to 6:45 a.m.! There are many un- wanted wake-up calls during the night in hub communities. Our hub airports will continue to grow by de- priving airport commu- nities of their sleep. This is not the just society that Pierre Elliott Tru- deau championed when he was prime minister. Now, ironically, the air- port that bears his name is being sued for sleep de- privation - a serious so- cial injustice with signif- icant health consequenc- es. Sleep deprivation is a form of torture, and our governments are tortur- ing hub communities by letting airport operators do as they please. Toronto's airport communities are also making their voices heard. But will the new Prime Minister Trudeau have the intestinal forti- tude of his father and fight for social justice rather than give in to lob- byists with deep pockets; or is the just society only a concept that's come and gone? Antonio Natalizio l MORE ONLINE Read all our published letters at theifp.ca Letters to the Editor See what our readers are saying about the issues that matter to them. www.theifp.ca/letters