The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

OPINION Muzzling a maverick The only surprise about this week's ouster of Garth Turner from the Conservative Party of Canada (CCPC) caucus is that it didn't come sooner. The Halton MP has repeatedly challenged Prime Minister Stephen Harper on everything from revisiting same-sex marriage legislation, to the threat of climate change and the banning of media from military funeral services for Canada's Afghanistan casualties. Most recently, Turner raised the ire of fellow MP Omar Alghabra by questioning whether Canada should bear the cost of evacuating Lebanese residents who hold dual citizenship but haven't live here in years. On Wednesday, less than nine months after Turner helped the CPC earn one of its 124 seats on the way to a minority government, the party unceremoniously gave him the boot. The official word from Ottawa is that he is suspended "indefinitely" for breaching caucus confidentiality by posting information on his Internet blog and in interviews with reporters-- an accusation Turner denies. Still, Halton's MP is being punished for doing what too few of today's politicians have the courage to do-- keeping his word and speaking his mind. Turner is a study in contrasts. On one hand he follows a simple political philosophy where he places voters ahead of his party and the establishment. On the other, he sees the value of today's technology in getting his message to the people and their's to him. His website (www.garth.ca) is light years ahead of most MPs, utilizing blogging and podcasting to share ideas, opinions and updates with the people who elected him. We wrote earlier this year: "Those who voted for the MP with the expectation that he would blindly follow the PM's every lead have only themselves to blame for supporting a candidate without reviewing his campaign platform." The sentiment still applies-- and extends to those who chose to turf Turner for being accountable for his pre-election promises. While becoming an independent MP may not be Garth Turner's first choice, it' accurately describes the politics he preaches and practises. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Region must stand up to Province Dear editor, We see what global warming is doing and it's not a pretty picture, yet we continue to add to this destructive effect by allowing uncontrolled growth. It's akin to selling tickets for the Titanic after she hit the iceberg. We are just being plain foolish by doing what we are doing to ourselves for we most certainly know what the effects will be. Increased growth equals more homes, more cars and thus more pollution that leads to increased global warming, it's that simple. What we are doing will not only be felt in our time, it will be the legacy we leave our children. Halton Region is now going through the initial stages of preparing to develop a "Durable Halton Plan" which they say is building our future. What a future! They say that we will have to double the population of Halton. This kind of growth will clearly lead to the type of development that will gobble up farmland, drain greenspace, and pollute our badly needed water sources. With double our current population we'll have more highways and many more cars on our roads that will double our pollution levels which will rapidly increase the destructive effects of global warming. Growth equals increased global warming. Halton says it's the Province that's forcing them to do this. If this is the case, we then need to stand together and clearly say: enough is enough, we will not allow this type of selfinflicted destructive growth to happen in Halton. In this regard, our regional council need to loudly represent those that elected them and to not just do the bidding of the provincial government, they must stand for what is right for the citizens, the wildlife and the environment of Halton. Bob Beyette, Campbellville Reader's letter shows need for diversity march Dear editor, Concerning the letter of Matt Penny (October 4, 2006). I would like to take this opportunity to thank Teri Doell, Delta Hillyard and the POSSE organization for their involvement in the Diversity March and their tireless work with our youth concerning issues of addiction, mental health, homelessness, sexual health promotion and crisis intervention. Mr. Penny asserts that the Diversity March is irrelevant in Georgetown. Six percent (about 3,000) members of our community are non-European descendants and about two percent (about 1,000) are homosexual (Statistics Canada, 2001). Mr. Penny has shown with his letter that intolerance and ignorance exists in our community. He demonstrated the need for the promotion of diversity through efforts such as the Diversity March. Mr. Penny refers to our "historic downtown" as a place not for the promotion of social awareness. Does he realize that several alcohol-serving establishments are there? Booze is fine, but social awareness is not? Mr. Penny admits that he is baffled. Surely, I am not the only resident that believes him. Michael Xanthios, Georgetown Grateful daughter urges drivers to pay attention Dear editor, On Monday, October 9, (Thanksgiving) my dad was driving to the convenience store in Glen Williams. Unfortunately he didn't make it there. While driving, he was hit by truck on 22 Sideroad. The force of the collision caused my dad's truck to roll over in a ditch and it is a miracle he is okay as his truck was totalled. It was a real thankful Thanksgiving Day for me and my family and it made me realize how precious life is and how we should all be thankful for the people in our lives. I would just like to remind all drivers to be aware of their surroundings... it could cost someone's life. Natasha Pavlovic, Georgetown