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•T he I FP • H al to n H ill s •T hu rs da y, J ul y 18 , 2 01 3 6 OPINION What does it take to stop a parent or guardian from leaving a child unattended in a blazing hot car? Last month's tragedy in Milton that claimed the life of a beloved toddler should have served as a wake-up call to all individuals entrusted with the care of a baby or youngster. Apparently that message didn't seep through to the man (actually we have another name for him) who left his in- fant daughter in his parked vehicle while he or- dered a sandwich at an Oakville shopping centre Sunday morning. It was hot and humid but that didn't prevent this person from walking away from his parked vehicle and precious nine-month-old child. It doesn't matter if you think you are only go- ing to take a few minutes to shop or, in this case, order food-- for heaven's sake leave the child at home or take them with you into the store. That's pretty simple and logical. Yet, here we are again writing about someone who just didn't get it. Fortunately for the little one, a group of con- cerned citizens had an emergency announcement made in the store for the father to please return to his vehicle. According to Halton Regional Po- lice, the group angrily berated the father until of- ficers and EMS arrived. The child, who was sweating profusely and crying, was unharmed. The outcome, though, could have been so very different. The baby's mom came to the scene to take charge of her daughter. The father is now facing a charge of child abandonement. But really, how many deaths, investigations, charges and convic- tions are required for people to use something called common sense? Every year, we warn pet owners not to leave their animals locked in sweltering cars. Now it seems, we have to warn parents not to leave their kids/babies unattended. You have to wonder about a society where ordering a sandwich pos- sibly takes precedence over the care of an infant. 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 No-brainer Steve Nease Letters to the editor Dear edtior, Recently, Brent Rathgeber, MP for Edmonton-St. Albert, resigned from the Conservative caucus on a matter of principle. In his words, "I could no longer stand by people who had mor- phed into something that he had gone to Ottawa to replace..." Buried in the mountain of their own scandals, government business has ground to a halt. Everybody is talking about the Senate expense scandal. Meanwhile, our economy is being hollowed out by a tsunami of multinational corporate decisions to move good paying Canadian jobs to cheaper jurisdictions. Look no further than the loss of 331 jobs at the A.O.Smith factory in Fergus. Where is Welington-Halton Hills MP Michael Chong in all this mess. Does he represent his constituents or does he stand with the party whip? Is he our man in Ottawa or is he Harp- er's man in the House of Commons? I feel the people of Wellington-Hal- ton Hills deserve an answer. Michael Chong should do the right thing and resign from the Conservative caucus and follow Rathgeber's courageous lead in these most trying times. We deserve better than this. Robert Sevigny, Hillsburgh Wellington-Halton Hills NDP 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/Real Estate Kristie Pells (classified@theifp.ca or realestate@theifp.ca) Accounting 1-866-773-6575 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) What's your opinion of this summer's weather so far? • I love summer, no matter the weather (63%) • I prefer winter (19%) • Get me on the fastest plane to the sunny Caribbean (18%) WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) Chong urged to quit Tory caucus Dog-gone stupid move by pet owner Canada Day thanks 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, This letter is to the owner of the blue SUV who thinks it's okay to leave your dog in the car. I do not believe, that when a heat alert is issued, anyone could possibly think it is okay to leave a pet in the car. It was 32C, not including the humidex, and taking into account it was a closed car- how would you like it if someone did this to you? How dare you verbally attack me for calling you out on your most outra- geous and blatant act of animal cru- elty! You have a lot of nerve yelling and swearing at me like that in middle of the Giant Tiger parking lot. You were wrong! My only remorse is that I did not call the police instead of animal control (who unfortunately did not ar- rive in time). But be forewarned: next time I will call 911 and report you! To all the other shoppers who walked by and ignored this poor dog in the car barking… shame on you too! Name withheld (for safety concerns) Dear editor, Thank you volunteers for anoth- er outstanding Canada Day event in Glen Williams. The decorations, parade (my highlight every year-- the volunteer Acton Citizens' Band), strawberry tea, pet show, children's games, duck race and so much more! Your dedication, energy, and passion made this a memorable day for those of us who celebrated Canada's birthday. Gerda Potzel, Georgetown