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

Pa ge 6 T hu rs da y, A pr il 30 , 2 01 5 - T he IF P - H al to n H ill s - w w w .th ei fp .c a The Independent & Free Press is published Thursday and is one of several Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The Independent & Free Press is a member of the Ontario Press Coun- cil, which is an independent ethical organization established to deal with editorial concerns. For additional information or to file a complaint, contact info@ ontpress.com or call 416-340-1981. The Independent & Free Press Brown has the stuff to lead Letters to the editor 905-873-0301 Publisher: Dana Robbins General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@theifp.ca) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@theifp.ca) Managing editor: Chris Vernon (cvernon@metroland.com) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@theifp.ca) Classifieds/Real Estate Kristie Pells (realestate@theifp.ca) Classified Call Centre 1-855-415-8237 classified@theifp.ca Accounting 1-866-773-6575 Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@theifp.ca) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@theifp.ca) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@theifp.ca) Get the latest headlines delivered to your inbox by signing up for our twice weekly electronic newsletter. Go to www.theifp.ca and click on 'Newsletter sign-up' at the bottom of the homepage. CAShh says thanks a lot No matter which way you lean politically, you have to give Patrick Brown credit. The three-term Barrie MP is turning heads across the province-- and the country-- as he vies for the leadership of Ontario's Progressive Conservative Party. Thought to be a long shot when he launched his bid last fall, Brown is now, according to a recent poll, a few points ahead of lone contender Christine Elliott just two weeks away from party voting. While Elliott, elected to the provincial legislature in a 2006 byelection, has the backing of party stalwarts-- including endorsements this week from Rob and Doug Ford-- Brown has turned elsewhere for support. And it's working. After four straight election losses, it's clear the provincial Conservatives need a new direction, Brown contends. A growing number of supporters agree. If elected leader, Brown vows to turn to the party for direction, consulting with members before major pol- icy direction is set. It's a vastly different way of governing than what we see today at the federal level. We can't help wonder if serving in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's top-down caucus helped plant the idea for this different way of thinking. Brown's ideal is sinking in with Conservatives across the province-- lifelong Ontarians and those new to the province and the nation who want to be heard. With the latter group, Brown has made strong gains. "You are never going to win urban Ontario if you don't build bridges and relationships with cultural communities," Brown stresses. He has built those bridges, not just with an ethni- cally diverse cross-section of supporters, but with youth, unions and others who have traditionally felt marginalized by the party. No matter which way provincial Tories vote next month, the party is vastly different now than it has been. It has grown exponentially, with almost 67,000 new members, to whom Brown claims to have sold the vast majority of memberships. He has promised change and no matter who is selected to lead, the membership will demand it. If Ontario's PC Party truly wants to take on the entrenched Liberals next election, a new approach is necessary. Patrick Brown has the vision to lead that charge. It is time for CAShh's annual residen- tial campaign. Look for us walking and knocking on doors on your street in the month of April. Give generously and know that your support will be helping your neighbours. Call us if you can volunteer to help during this special month. CAShh wishes to thank the commu- nity for all their support over the past 15 years. Your efforts at fundraising, can- vassing, driving, donating, and volun- teering have enabled us to provide hope and practical support to cancer patients and their families free of charge. We sup- port the whole family with the services we provide. Transportation to and from treatment centres is our main service and expense (36 per cent of our budget). Our phones are busy daily, accommodating the many requests for transportation. Patient park- ing reimbursement is also available. Our drivers lend their time, friendship and support to the cancer experience. Thank you to the person who found my daughter's cell phone April 25 on Prin- cess Anne Dr. She was biking home and the phone fell out of her bag. Not only were you honest and not taking the phone, you ac- tually took the time to put it in a Ziploc bag for protection, label it and put it back where (I'm assuming) you found it. You are truly a thoughtful and considerate person. Again, thank you. Shelley Carr, Georgetown OPINION Kind act was appreciated The benefits of our relaxation pro- gram (Reiki/Reflexology) go a long way to comfort the soul, help patients return to health or deal with the devastating side effects of treatment. We will also loan or purchase equipment (canes, walkers, bathroom aids, hats, wigs, etc.) and rent hospital beds. When needed we provide palliative care assistance and home support on an assessed basis. CAShh is committed to its mission of supporting cancer patients and their families in Halton Hills. We also support the concept of a hospice in Halton Hills, and will use our reputation within the community to advance this initiative, but only through separate arm's-length groups. Once a hospice has been built then CAShh will contribute the funds we have set aside for this purpose. Un- til then CAShh is exploring funding ad- ditional services that will support hos- pice/palliative care to cancer patients in our community. Your help to keep Halton Hills a spe- cial community is appreciated. Sheila Smith, Director of Operations Cancer Assistance Services Letters must include the author's name, 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: cvernon@metroland.com Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 77, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Letters policy