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Ian Oliver Publisher Robert Glasbey Advertising Director Norman Alexander Editor Geoff Hill Circulation Director Teri Casas Office Manager Tim Coles Production Manager h in uie Praing, Foplonny 5 j ille, is one of the land Printing, ishing i i Ian ouver Puthher Lid. group g; suburban ne;:papersGwhichm incéu" s: Aja;â€"qucwg WE Advertiser, Barrie Advance, on Guardian, Burlington Post, Colli Robert Glasbey Aduerfismg DireCtOT â€" Connection, Etobicoke Guardiflr:?p' etown Indrme lent Acton Free Press, Kingston This Week, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist and Sun, m oi o n on e td i etâ€"Aurora Eraâ€"Banner, 0 irror, Oakvi ver, Orillia ff Circulation ector Today, Oshawa/Whitby This Week, Peterborough This Week, Richmond HilV Teri Casas Ofl‘u:e Manager Thornhil/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror. All material published in the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. An Tim Coles Production MGNGGET _ mproduaion in whols or in part of this matorial is sinally forbladen wihout the consent of the publisher. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to calegorize and reject advertising. in the event of typographical error, advertising goods or services at the wrong price, goods or services ising i ty an offer to sell and may be withdrawn at any time. should come as no surprise. Social Contract and other budget considerâ€" ations have forced the move. The decision will see seven civilian jobs eliminated but the Halton Regional Police Association believes the decision is only the beginning of a trend that will likely see future layoffs in the ranks of police officers. The closure of Halton Regional Police stations to residents overnight, Paul La Course, administrator for the association, says that more cuts will probably continue over the next two years at least. The work done by these civilians will impact on the efficiency of the police and if the load is shifted to officers, it would mean more of them will be doing more paper work and less policing. And since Halton has one of the highest officerâ€"toâ€"resident ratios in the province, according to La Course, that‘s not a positive sign for any resident in the region. as unimaginative as the solution sought by the previous Tory adminisâ€" tration and the Liberal government before that. When looking at ways to cut our deficit, Finance Minister Paul Martin looked into his creative thinking bowl...and found it empty. The nation‘s money man is reportedly looking at a 7 per cent increase in Unemployment Insurance (UT) premiums paid by workers and employers. Thc federal government‘s latest response to the country‘s deficit crisis is The reason Martin is considering such a move is due to the $6â€"billion deficit in the UI fund and it needs money. Unfortunately, the government doesn‘t understand economics and to further burden the very businesses that produce jobs and therefore taxes and therefore reduces UI claims, is obscene. In even contemplating the move, the government has ignored the pleas of businesses, already reeling with the costs of payroll taxes. The solution, as with all too many government answers to problems, will create only more economic problems. _ If the hike goes through, and there now seems little doubt it won‘t, workers will be paying as much as $1,245 in UI premiums in the coming year. This is a doubling of the premiums in the last five years alone. And if that number is scary, business officials doing some number crunchâ€" ing of their own, say the UI contributions by employers have risen 471 per cent in the past 13 years. That‘s no way to give businesses an incentive to add more people to the workforce. In fact, such punitive measures will actualâ€" ly force businesses to look even more closely at their staffing levels. And with the current binge of ‘downsizing‘ going on throughout the country, the new initiative will only put more pressure on the UI fund. The town has undertaken a plan to improve Coronation Park. What do you think should be done to improve the lakeside facility? One improvement that could be made is to get rid of the geeseâ€"they make that park very unpleasant. Remove the geese and all their droppings so that my six grandchildren can enjoy the park today as my four children experienced when they were young. Today, you can‘t walk barefoot, you can‘t put down a picnic blanket, you can‘t play on the beach or swim in the water, all because the park is so fouled with the droppings from the geese. What solution? Closing shop 467 Speers Road, Oakville, Ont. L6K 354 845â€"3824 Fax: 845â€"3085 Classified Advertising: 845â€"2809 Circulation: 845â€"9742 or 845â€"9743 \QUESTION OF THE WEEK If federal funds are made available by the federal government for local construcâ€" tion, what projects do you think should be a priority? Give us your opinion on this topic by calling 845â€"5585, box 5012. All callers are allowed 45 seconds to respond and must provide their name, address and phone number for verification. A sampling of the best answers will be published in the next Weekend edition of the Oakville Beaver. Hillary Bulleid N.C. Brown You have to go to other countries to really appreciate what we take for granted, here in Canada â€" to Ingolstadt in Germany, say, where the famous Blue Danube flows, not so very blue after all â€" more like a turgid brown scar across the landscape. Or the Rio Grande between Mexico and Texas, a river so polluted you wouldn‘t want to put your foot in it, much less your tongue. J A \\\\\\ I think of those desecrated landmarks and remember a nameless river in the nameless depths of northern Quebec where I went canoeing not so ................ Canada, of course has umpteen gazillion tons of water. We‘ve got Niagara Falls and Kakabeka and Nahanni and uncounted rivers full of pure, sweet water coursing over our rocks and bogs, pouring into bigger rivers and ponds and lakes and oceans. And about to become more sacred â€"â€" our good Uncle Sam is looking our way and licking his lips. ver stop to think what a sacred, precious comâ€" modity your everyday, run of the mill drop of water is? Not spectacular like a rainâ€" bow, or awesome like a lion‘s roar or a whitetail‘s leap or a newborn‘s yawn...but sacred nonetheless. We‘ve got the water and the U.S. wants it Water, water, everywhere nor any drop to drink. Coleridge Twenty countries are offiâ€" cially listed as "waterâ€"scarce" meaning that they can supply iss less than 1,700 cubic metres per _ _ Derson, per year. so That‘s the breakâ€"even point, 1+ «1n,case you‘re interested, Above,â€", ed A hundred years ago you could have cupped your hands into just about any body of water in this country and drank your fill without a worry. This is progress? It‘s not just Canada either. As a matter of fact, we Canucks are better off than most. Experts reckon that by the year 2025, one of three people on this planet will be living in a counâ€" try suffering from a shortage of fresh water. long ago. And watched in wonâ€" der as my Cree guide scooped a ladle full of water from the lake we were crossing in a canoe â€" scooped it up and drank his fill, runnels of water streaking through the stubble on his chin. Such a natural act, stooping and scooping a bellyful of water from Mother Earth. So natural â€" and now so utterly lifeâ€"threatenâ€" ing to most of us on this planet. We‘ve poisoned our own water. It isn‘t fit to drink until it‘s been chlorinated and fluoriâ€" dated and filtered and distilled. Of course, thanks to Brian Mulroney and his bastard stepchild NAFTA, that‘s not a problem any more. No matter whose water it takes. j And here in Canada? Well, we live next to a neighbor that believes it has the Godâ€"given right to raise avocados in the deserts of California. No matter how much water it takes. Provided you happen to be American. 3 CÂ¥AAA It‘s not a problem that we can afford to wax theoretic over. In China, more than 200 cities are already chronically short of water. Water tables under Beijing are dropping onel to two metres every year. The city is already lining up supply sources more than 1,000 kiloâ€" metres away. The experts predict that durâ€" ing the next three decades as many as 50 more countries will qualify as "waterâ€"scarce" â€" which means they‘ll be looking at schemes to import water, no matter how hareâ€"brained. Plans are afoot already to haul iceâ€" bergs from Antarctica, and tow gigantic plastic bladders of lake water from waterâ€"rich nations to waterâ€"poor ones. 1,700 cubic metres per year, you‘re probably showering and not worrying about all that soapy water going down the drain. Below 1,700 metres, you‘re carrying a canteen. ez