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7 | The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,July 30,2020 theifp.ca Rent soft water Starting at$9.95 *for first three monthsmth .com 5 Mountainview Road North, Georgetown 905.877.6242 - info@culliganwater.ca sleep dentistry available New Patients Welcome Family and Cosmetic Dentistry Marketplace dental Centre Georgetown Marketplace Mall 905-877-CARE (2273) • www.georgetowndental.com HOURS: Monday & Wednesday 8:00am - 8:00pm • Tuesday & Thursday 8:00am - 6:00pm • Saturday 8:00am - 3:00pm Proudly Serving Georgetown Since 1994. It's about trust. Our re- lationship with our read- ers is built on transparen- cy, honesty and integrity. As such, we have launched a trust initiative to tell you who we are and how and why we do what we do. This article is part of that pro- ject. We knew there would be some backlash. We knew there would be anger. But we also believe we did the right thing. Earlier this month, Halton Regional Police re- vealed that the body that was discovered near a Mil- ton intersection was that of a 16-year-old Brampton boy, and that detectives were investigating the grisly discovery as a homi- cide. Police later revealed the teen died of a gunshot wound. But, they added, "at the request of the fami- ly, police will not be re- leasing the name of the victim." While we are extremely mindful of and sympathet- ic toward the family, who is grieving the worst trag- edy imaginable, we also understood that without the name of the victim in this story, the impact to ef- fect change in our society and shed light on an ongo- ing issue - in this case, gun violence in the GTA - would be compromised. The notorious Marco Muzzo case is a prime ex- ample of how the issue of drinking and driving was magnified by media re- porting on the heart- wrenching agony that Jennifer Neville-Lake and her husband Edward Lake had to endure after losing their three children - Dan- iel, 9, Harrison, 5, and Mi- lagros, 2, and their 65- year-old grandfather Gary Neville - in the horrifying crash. As I've said before, any time we, as journalists, can put a face or faces to a story, whether it is a trage- dy or one exploring a con- troversial issue, it paints a more complete picture for our readers and brings greater attention and pub- lic awareness to the situa- tion. By telling our audience the name of the victim, the school he went to, what he enjoyed and what he brought to this world (in this case, a love and talent for basketball were among his many passions), we were able to further hu- manize this horrific case, instead of leaving him as a mere statistic. Some readers were up- set with our decision to publish the teen's name, which we learned through legal sources and later on through social media, where several friends, classmates and teachers were grieving the loss. "It disgusts me that the media went against the wishes of this child's fami- ly," one person wrote on Facebook. Others, however, sup- ported our decision. It was Justice Deena Baltman who said in open court, while revoking a publication ban on the name of a three-year-old girl and her mother who killed her, that "without the names of the accused and the victim, it is more difficult to engage the public and encourage in- formed debate about the issues at play." Vancouver police offi- cer Brian Montague, in his former role as the force's media officer, said naming a homicide victim has strong public value. "We believe you can't be murdered anonymously, that the public has a right to know some of the details around a homicide," he told the Toronto Star. "As a police department, you don't want to be seen as trying to hide a homicide in your city." With social media be- coming so prevalent in our reporting, we carefully weigh whether publishing certain information truly is in the public's interest. We also have to consider the legal implications, as there are, in certain cir- cumstances, court-im- posed restrictions on pub- lishing names. It's our hope that the more people who know the name Ezekiel Agyeman - the 16-year-old Brampton boy whose body was found in Milton - the more it will aid in the social conversa- tion surrounding effecting change. The hunt for suspects continues. Louie Rosella is the online editor for inside- halton.com and theIFP.ca. We welcome your ques- tions and value your com- ments. Email our trust committee at trust@met- roland.com. WHY WE FEEL IT'S IMPORTANT TO PUBLISH NAMES OF HOMICIDE VICTIMS OPINION WITHOUT A NAME OR A FACE, THE IMPACT TO EFFECT CHANGE AND SHED LIGHT ON AN ONGOING ISSUE - IN THIS CASE, GUN VIOLENCE IN THE GTA - IS COMPROMISED, WRITES LOUIE ROSELLA LOUIE ROSELLA Column Forty years ago this summer, Terry Fox ran through Georgetown on his Marathon of Hope. Only a few photographs of that hot July day have survived. In one, Terry can be seen waving to sup- porters at the intersection of Highway 7 and Winston Churchill Boulevard. An- other shows Terry, his vi- sor failing to keep the in- tense sun off his face, gri- macing in pain as he be- gins the uphill climb toward Brampton. Terry was running east through Georgetown, a rarity in his cross country run, because he had just completed an arduous trek through southwest- ern Ontario during a heat wave. He had added the ex- tra loop in order to maxi- mize his media exposure and fundraising opportu- nities. Terry was determined. He was running with a purpose. Adding hun- dreds of kilometres to an already Herculean task was worth it to him, as long as it meant more money for the fight against cancer. As he passed through our town, he was heading back to his original route so that he could again head west, so that he could head home. Two years later, a film about Fox's Marathon of Hope was shot in George- town, and in the subse- quent 38 years, George- town has hosted both com- munity and school-based Terry Fox Runs while rais- ing close to half a million dollars for the Terry Fox Foundation. This year's Terry Fox Run will of course be dif- ferent. There will be no in- person event. Instead, participants are encouraged to visit terryfox.org. There, they can register for the virtual run, make a donation and pledge to run their own route on September 20. The 40th annual Terry Fox Run will happen in Georgetown, in a unique way, even amid adversity. That, would make Terry Fox proud. STEPHEN DAME ORGANIZER, GEORGETOWN TERRY FOX RUN LETTER FOUR DECADES LATER, TERRY'S LEGACY LIVES ON