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

Ian Oliver Publisher Robert Glasbey Advertising Director Norman Alexander Editor Geoff Hill Circulation Director Teri Casas Office Manager Tim Coles Production Manager : Halloween falls on a Sunday this year. Should Halloween be held on Sat. Oct 30th instead? What we have here is the classic and cowardly act of a politician who doesn‘t have the guts to talk about full independence. Instead he still talks about a sovereign Quebec that would be a separate entity from Canada but still hold onto the finanâ€" cial safety net of Ottawa. Monday was the time for the other leaders who represent more than 75% of Canadians, to call Bouchard‘s bluff. He and Parti Quebecois leader Jacques Parizeau may lead Quebec into independence, but not some kind of neverâ€"neverâ€" land concept of sovereignty association. Reform leader Preston Manning has voiced the views of many Canadians in his approach to Bouchard and his party...you‘re either in Canada or you‘re out. ing Monday night‘s debate when he talked about Quebeckers going their own way...well sort of. He still wants to use our monetary and social infrasâ€" tructure and even Canadian passports. B loc Quebecois leader Lucien Bouchard is a fraud. That became apparent durâ€" If Bouchard and Parizeau want to lead Quebec into separation so be it but it shouldn‘t be on the backs of those Canadians who still prefer to remain within conâ€" federation. The decisive point in the 1984 debate between shortâ€"lived Prime Minister John Tumner and new PC leader Brian Mulroney, was when Mulroney dragged Turner on the carpet over a raft of patronage appointments made by former PM Pierre Trudeau, as Trudeau was leaving the party. "I had no choice," said Turner. "You could have done better," said Mulroney. And so nine years later the script is just about the same, only some of the playâ€" ers changed. Here is Prime Minister Brian Mulroney leaving office in a so very American entertainment extravanganza while at the same time, dealing out a list of patronage appointments to make even Pierre Trudeau blush...and that‘s going some. Mulroney could have done better, much better. He, like ex Ontario Premier David Peterson, was swept into power with majority governments but it soon became clear that both men would rather spit on the public than serve the poor The lesson in this kind of political larceny continued again last week. The six month old Nova Scotia Liberal government, which decimated the Progressive Conservative incumbent government on a platform of no new taxes, to the surprise of no one, did exactly what it said it wouldn‘t do. The province‘s finance minister instituted a series of tax grabs making Nova Scotians one of the most taxed groups in the country. Add to that an average unemployment rate of 15% and rising, and it‘s easy to understand the hopelessness that Nova Scotians feel. In perhaps the most cruel joke to be played on all Canadians, on Oct. 25th, votâ€" ers will have to determine who will disappoint them less. In the current campaign, In or out? Is it any wonder that Canadians don‘t trust politicians? Is it any wonder that they‘re viewed more as snakeâ€"oil pedlars than trustees of the public purse? So when the likes of Jean Chretien says he‘ll beat down the deficit; don‘t believe him. When Kim Campbell says she‘ll eliminate the deficit in her term of office; don‘t believe her. When Reform Party leader Preston Manning says he won‘t instiâ€" tuted an abilityâ€"toâ€"pay multiâ€"tiered medical system; don‘t believe him. ometimes it seems that our federal politicians have nothing but contempt for the very people who elected them to their exalted positions. And this stateâ€" ment continues to be borne out in the current election campaign. We have the spectre of Prime Minister Kim Campbell talking about how she will end the waste in her government...the same government of which she was a cabinet minister and one that has had two majority governments. Even if she is sinâ€" cere, who can believe her? . CALL845â€"5585 ; Loser‘s game Results of the poll will be published in oc i _ the next Friday edition of the Oakville '5585 ; Beaver. RESULTS OF LAST WEEK‘S POLL | 467 Speers Road, Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 Classified Advertising: 845â€"2809 Circulation: 845â€"9742 or 845â€"9743 845â€"3824 Fax: 845â€"3085 Collingwood Connection, El Guardian, Geomown npmdanv Acion Free Press, Kingston This Week, Lindsa is Week, Martcham Economist and Sun, Stouffvile/Uxbridge Tribune, Milton Canadian Charmn Mississauga News, Newmarketâ€"Aurora Eraâ€"Banner, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Onilia Today, Oshadeth/ This Week, Pdomomtm This Week, Richmond Hill Thomhil/ e All material published in the Onhvih Beaver is proloasd by Any reproduction in whole or in part of this material is strictly forbidden tho consent of the publisher. . Should the legal drinking age be raised to 21 years of age as has recently been suggested? Cast your ballot by calling 845â€"5585, box 5008 to vote. Callers have until 12 noon Thursday to register their vote. S Lid gioap of newepapere whoh robane Nows Adoriser banke Atraice. Guwden Sningon Fou ‘$§ Te people at Oakville‘s fiveâ€" yearâ€"old food bank are hopâ€" ing this Thanksgiving that food drive makes the difference so people don‘t go hungry this winter. "This is it," said Laura Watson, of Oakville‘s Fareshare food bank, located in a warehouse space on Speers Road. "We have to collect enough to get us through until our next drive at Easter. And we‘re hoping that peoâ€" ple will be as generous as they have in the past," she said. At the Fareshare building, volunâ€" teers are gearing up for a busy few days, sorting through canned goods and powdered milk, and placing them in large piles under bold headâ€" ings. Canned goods await sorting alongside volunteers and organizers arranging food pick ups from fire stations and grocery stores. The overall goal, of course, is to feed the almost 1,100 people who walk through their doors every month. Although there are 3,000 regisâ€" tered families at Fareshare, Watson says the constant number of people hovers around the 1,100 mark. And despite economic predicâ€" tions the recovery is underway, she and the other volunteers â€" at Fair Share, there is absolutely no paid staff at all â€" just see more and more demand for the local food bank. "They keep saying it (the recovâ€" ery) is underway, but we don‘t see it here," she said. She did say the demand has been levelling out recently which she and the other workers are looking as a positive sign. A little lesson in compassion at Thanksgiving "Because we always say we‘re the only business in Oakville that keeps hoping we‘ll go out of busiâ€" ness!" she said with a laugh. Watson, herself, admits the perâ€" ception of Oakville as an affluent community can often create skeptiâ€" cism about the need for a food bank. "I‘ve even had friends of mine say with surprise they didn‘t realize there was a food bank in Oakville," she said. It is sobering to think that there are 1,100 people out there in supâ€" posedly affluent Oakville going hungry every month. And according to Watson, she hears stories all the time from teachers who see an increasing number of kids going to school who haven‘t eaten. In the past, the food bank has collected up to 60,000 pounds worth of food â€" a figure she is hoping this year‘s Thanksgiving drive will match or even exceed. The drive begins today and ends on Thanksgiving Monday. "It‘s amazing the groups in this community who do a little bit here and there for us, from hockey clubs to church groups, to just people dropping by wishing to help out in some way. It may not be a huge donation, but it‘s thoughtful." This year, while the food bank appreciates any donations, they parâ€" ticularly list things like canned stews, canned meat, fruit, and juice One of the reasons past drives have been so successful â€" although this past Easter there was a drop in donations â€" is the ease of just fillâ€" ing up a big and dropping it off. as being needed. My own kids, who can manage to gobble with the best of them, are entering into the spirit of the food drive â€" listing the items they think should be in the bag we‘ll drop off this week. In my most suitable mother voice â€" the voice almost guaranâ€" teed to elicit rolled eyes and yawns from a worldâ€"weary six and fourâ€" year olds â€" I tell them of the juices, the peanut butters, and the fruit that we can get for our bag. "And what about Xâ€"man cereâ€" al?" asks Drew, ever on the alert for anything remotely nonâ€"nutriâ€" tional. Drew gets set to bargain and haggle with the best of them. We settle, after a period of conâ€" cessions, for another kind of graâ€" nola while he grumbles about no one getting anything in a box of granola. Kate, on the other hand, is busy working out on a small piece of paper the best way to buy a turkey. A turkey, for heaven‘s sake. So grab a bag, fill it up a little bit, and drop it off to the fire staâ€" tion. It‘s that simple. And rememâ€" ber...no Xâ€"man cereal. Finally, we figured out the bag, eventually doing what we should have done at first, and using the suggestions provided by the food All in all, a pretty effortless task, to be sure.