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•T he I FP • H al to n H ill s •T hu rs da y, J ul y 11 , 2 01 3 6 OPINION Every hockey player, figure skater, lacrosse player, and recreational attendee at the local arenas should be standing up and giving an O to Fernbrook Homes and Saputo. Both corporations have stepped forward and shown leadership in the community that they do business in by contributing $200,000 each to the $2 million Stay at Home and Play in Halton Hills campaign. The two join TransCanada Corp., which donated $200,000 last fall. "Saputo, their employees and families have been very generous supporters of our commu- nity for many years. This exceptional contri- bution of $200,000.00 in support of the Stay Home and Play Campaign is evidence of the important role Saputo plays in Halton Hills," said Finn Poulstrup, Campaign Co-Chair. Danny Salvatore, President & CEO of Fernbrook Homes, which has been build- ing in Halton Hills for 25 years, said, "Our support for the Mold-Masters SportsPlex Twin Rink Expansion is our way of showing that Fernbrook Homes is very committed to building active and engaged communities." While the three corporations will be rec- ognized with the three of the four ice pads at the Mold-Masters SportsPlex named af- ter them, their legacy will actually live on in the generations of Halton Hills residents who will now be able to play on an ice pad in their own community. The existing fa- cilities were operating beyond full capac- ity requiring many residents, teams and programs to go "out of town" for the space they need. The campaign has now reached the $1.4 million mark with the $2 million goal in sight. For information on how you can support the Stay Home and Play in Hal- ton Hills Campaign please contact Chris Hobbs, Campaign Director at 416-606-7525 or email stayhomeandplay@gmail.com. The Independent & Free Press is published Thursday and is one of sev- eral Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copy- right. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The Independent & Free Press Everyone is a winner Steve Nease Letters to the editor The following letter was filed with The Independent & Free Press for publica- tion. Dear Mayor Bonnette, Last night (June 27) saw the opening of the "Locally Grown" show at the Hel- son Gallery. (New Town curator) Judy Daley was there to welcome local artists and introduce us to the facilities. Later we were served refreshments down- stairs. It is a wonderful show in beau- tiful surroundings and all those partici- pating are proud to be part of it. We wish to express our sincere thanks to you and all those who made this fine event possible. Gratefully, Inge Kremer (Editor's Note: The show continues until Sept. 8) Letters policy 905-873-0301 Publisher: Dana Robbins General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@theifp.ca) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@theifp.ca) Managing editor: John McGhie (jmcghie@theifp.ca) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@theifp.ca) Classifieds Kristie Pells (classified@theifp.ca) Accounting Rose Marie Gauthier Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@theifp.ca) Ted Brown: Photography (tbrown@theifp.ca) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@theifp.ca) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@theifp.ca) The Premier set the date for five byelections in Ontario. If a byelection was held in Welling- ton-Halton Hills today would you vote... • Conservative (54%) • Liberal (19%) • NDP (15%) • Green (9%) • Other (3%) WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) Artist is grateful for Gallery show Seniors unhappy with Provincial cuts Letters must include an 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: jmcghie@theifp.ca Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Dear editor, We are writing with respect to the April 18th announcement by Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews wherein she unveiled her government's plans to "invest" $156 million to "improve ac- cess" for "more seniors" to receive phys- iotherapy. In her remarks and accompanying news release, Matthews leaves out that physiotherapy is to be delisted from OHIP coverage effective August 1st, 2013. In fact, according to government websites, Ontario regulation 552 has al- ready been amended-- with no public consultation whatsoever. The Minister also left out the part about how under the current system, seniors in long-term care homes can re- ceive up to 100 treatments per year, and 150 in exceptional cases. This has been in effect since 2005-- the last time the Liberal government tried, and failed, to delist physiotherapy. In her more re- cent announcement, Matthews makes no such service level commitment. Even more disturbing is her promise that there will be "more" physiothera- py available in clinics. By committing $44.5 million to treat 150,000 seniors, the government has allocated a paltry $300 per person, or 12 treatments at a funded rate of $25 per treatment. Cur- rently, seniors can receive up to 50, or up to 100 treatments, depending on their condition. To say that more people will get some degree of physiotherapy may technically be true; to suggest that any person will receive more just isn't true. They will receive less. Finally, the most glaring omission in the Minister's announcement is any ref- erence whatsoever to how the $156 mil- lion stacks up against the current fund- ing levels. The current OHIP providers, the Designated Physiotherapy Clinics Association, has been advised that the total expenditure for the fiscal year ended March 2012 was $172 million, and that for the fiscal year ended march 2013, it was some $200 million. Obvi- ously, the Minister left these details out of her announcement for political rea- sons-- her $156 million announcement is a de facto cut to existing funding. De- spite the clever messaging, the numbers just don't support the Minister's claims that this is an increase. Sincerely, Residents at Lakeview Villa, Acton