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OPINION More trash talk While Halton Region Chair Joyce Savoline has made it clear Halton has no intention of becoming an easy solution to Toronto's waste woes, it's easy to understand how outsiders might have recently reached a different conclusion. Ever since Michigan began getting tougher on out-ofstate trash-- making it possible that truckloads of Toronto's garbage will soon be turned away at the border-- Halton leaders have feared that years of foresight might provide Ontario's largest city with an easy way out. In April of 2004, then-provincial Environment Minister Leona Dombrowsky sent Savoline a letter stating that she could not excuse Halton's landfill from being a potential emergency site to take Toronto's trash. The correspondence had a galvanizing effect among Halton regional councillors, who vowed to protect the landfill's lifespan through a series of waste diversion initiatives. In the more than two years that have passed, regional council has been the model of consistency on the topic of extending the life of Halton's landfill for our region's waste. Halton council was back to a defensive posture again last fall after it became known the province had been secretly compiling a list of Ontario landfills that could accommodate one million tonnes of trash per year from Toronto, York, Peel and Durham regions. At the time, inside sources said Halton's landfill in Milton could be on the list since it's one of the few in the province large enough to take extra garbage should Michigan close its border. Once again came the loud and clear message from regional council-- Halton doesn't want the GTA's garbage. Earlier this month, the region's consistent, hardline policy appeared to soften ever so slightly. In announcing the possibility of Halton building an energy-from-waste (EFW), long-term solution to the finite lifespan of its landfill, the region noted that Ontario Environment Minister Laurel Broten had provided written confirmation that Halton Region has approval under the Environmental Assessment Act to implement an EFW facility. One potential scenario includes Halton building an EFW large enough to take waste from other regions. Given Halton's past reputation as a municipality with room to spare in its landfill, it's not hard to understand how the region's EFW announcement would be viewed by other GTA municipalities as a solution to their problem. If Halton wants to ensure it won't get dumped on by the likes of Toronto, it should consider building an EFW capable of handling only as much waste as our region produces. While Halton may not be eyeing Toronto garbage, regional councillors can be sure that Toronto and other GTA municipalities with serious waste management issues have never stopped eyeing Halton. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR `Stroke of Power' walk a big success Dear editor, The "Stroke of Power" walk on May 27-28 was a huge success. With my community's support, I accomplished the two objectives for my walk: to raise funds for Erinoak Children's Centre and to show anything is possible. I would like to thank Mayor Rick Bonnette and councillors for seeing me off, Town staffer Paul Stover's help with publicity, Kelly Withers help with permits, the City of Mississauga, Eric Anderson from Business Computers Network for designing a website, my neighbours Hans and Ingrid Wolter for designing the poster, Dave Butler, my contact from Erinoak, Humber Students Federation for preparing the banners and Young's Pharmacy for use of its community window display. I also want to acknowledge the co-operation of the Halton and Peel Regional Police Services and a special thanks goes to Const. Heather Morrow of Peel Police for helping make the walk that much more fun. I sincerely thank all the wonderful people who donated money in support of Erinoak Children's Centre as a result of this walk. Lauren Boyce, Georgetown Median should remain Dear editor, I agree with Anne Rogers-Kaczor (Median supporter's letter was insulting, Aug. 16 letter to the editor). I, too, wrote a letter to the Town saying we should keep the centre median. It adds to the character of our little downtown. Tell Mr. Harley that we also make money on renting out downtown space because of the median. How much time does Mr. Harley spend in our little downtown? I am there every single day, and no, I don't work in downtown Georgetown, so it's not like I have to be there. I think it's something that makes us a bit different and when I drive back from Acton, whether during the day or at night, I love seeing our town centre with either its Christmas lights or flowers or flags on the poles. Who decided who the "insiders" and "outsiders" were, Mr. Harley? If he wanted to argue the point, he should have rounded up more support, and not by insulting those of us, who use the downtown, with a petition against the "Berlin Wall". Mr. Harley, let the rest of enjoy the historic look of our downtown. Debra Hayes, Georgetown Privatization puts democracy at risk Dear editor, Our Canadian democracy is in jeopardy! Our society is under attack by an extremist ideology. I have noticed patriotic sentiments published in your newspaper recently coinciding with Canada Day. Yet it is ironic that such expressions of patriotism were made in light of our federal and provincial constituencies' overwhelming support for the extremist ideology mentioned. We voted for it! Privatization is a direct assault on democracy. Putting public services and resources into the hands of the private sector robs us of our money and robs us of control. Do not be fooled by the arguments for privatization. The bottom line is that corporations become wealthy from such arrangements with no risk to them and all the risk to us. Consider the disasters of electricity privatization in Alberta and California. The ideology we voted for is corporatism. If corporations take control, we will no longer have a democracy. What we will have is fascism. Michael Xanthios, Georgetown Vandal is welcome to get wirecutters back Dear editor, If the person who cut a hole in my wire gate on Thompson Drive (big enough to crawl through) would be good enough to call me, I will return the wire cutters you left behind. The next time you lose something over the fence, please knock on the door and I will open the gate for you. Margaret Helson, Georgetown