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December 29, 1994 The Oakville Beaver, published every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, at 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, is one of the Metroland Printing, Publishing Distributing Ltd. group of suburban . newspapers which includes: Ajaxâ€"Pickering News Advertiser, Barrie Advance, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Collingwood Connection, Etobicoke Guardian, Georgetown Independent! Acton Free Press, Kingston This Week, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist and Sun, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Milton Canadian Champion, Mississauga News, Newmarketâ€"Aurora Eraâ€"Banner, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby This Week, Peterborough This Week, Richmond Hil/ThornhilWaughan 6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER ~OPINION Ian Oliver Publisher Robert Glasbey Advertising Director Norman Alexander Editor 467 Speers Road, Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 Geoff Hill Circulation Director glgsss-lzf?gdzzdvz?n)s(mg%a?g%g Teri OMcc Manude fl?era'ies'c?mo{:?;hggdw"% Oaknville Beaver is protected b i duction i + malerial pul i9 . Circulation: 845â€"9742 or 845â€"9743 Tim Coles Production Manager of in partof iis raiens ts shoty micacihe hie publarer, _ _ . 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 categorize and reject advertising. in the event of typographical error, advertising goods or services at t| e wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to sell and may be withdrawn at any time. Money mantra he big news in 1994 was the election of a new federal government under Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien. It was paralleled by the anticipation of a 1995 provincial election in Ontario. Both governments had one overwhelming problem...crushing deficits and accumulated debts that threatened to cripple both Ontario and the nation. In the end, both Prime Minister Chretien and Ontario Premier Bob Rae were unable to deal with the crisis effectively. The answer to the federal problem, in typical Ottawa fashion, partially came through downâ€"loading fiscal responsibilities to the provinces. This cynical approach improved the federal perspective but seriously affected Ontario‘s ability to deliver services. So in response to this action, there was an equal reaction from the province. They cut grants to municipalities and that has placed undue pressure on Ontario towns and cities, many of which are dealing with rocky economies of their own. But the chain of irresponsibility ends with the lowly taxpayer. For this most pitiful of creatures, there is no escape. Doing more with less, is the new mantra of government and what that means in human terms has yet to be computed. What we are seeing is a federal government lurching into a new year still with no firm idea of where it‘s going or how it‘s going to get there. It has no time lines on deficit reduction, despite finance minister Paul Martin‘s claims to the contrary. For like all governments, the problem is not the amount of money coming in but the amount of money going out. It‘s a simple concept that still eludes Ottawa and Queen‘s Park. But we doubt it will escape the voters of Ontario next year. Fine tuning ust when you thought the provincial government had exhausted all posâ€" sible tax options, comes word that we‘ve something new to look forâ€" ward to in the new year. The Attorney General of Ontario has decided to tack a surcharge onto all fines under the Provincial Offences Act. These include such things as liquor offences and driving offences except for parking. For fines of less than $50, the surcharge is $5 and for fines of $1,000 or more, the surcharge is 20 per cent. And while the AG‘s office says the fines will be used to "support vicâ€" tims‘ services" we can‘t wait for an accounting next year on how the govâ€" ernment used the money. Look for some excuses by the province that they had to divert funds to other areas. Ontario politicians have a long history of doing this kind of thing. A small fraction of the millions of dollars raised through car licence fees and taxes aren‘t plowed back into road work...the cash is used for general use. A similar kind of thing is happening to photo radar. Originally set up to make the roads safer, the province has been astonished at the amount of cash coming into government coffers. The province‘s response? Lower the limit deemed acceptable for speeding to 10 km over the limit. You can almost hear the money dropping into the provincial treasurer‘s till. It‘s all something to look forward to in the new year. ~LETIERS The Oakville Beaver welcomes your comments. All letters must be signed and include the writer‘s address and phone number. Letters should be typed, doubleâ€"spaced and addressed to: Letters to the Editor, The Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, Ont. L6K 3$4 Dear Sir: Certain issues are clearâ€"cut. By their very nature, they defy all attempts at equivocation. A perfect example is the application by Canatom Inc. to establish a radioactive waste storage site in Oakville. For painfully obvious reasons, this request needs to be vigorously opposed. Whether naive or merely disingenuous, councillor Linda Hardacre‘s comment that Canatom‘s initiative "doesn‘t appear to be any risk or danger to the public‘"‘ (Beaver Dec. 21st, page 1), exhibits breathtaking hubris. Surely she can‘t be serious! Clearly, a very definite elements of risk exists. Danger lurks simply by virtue of the human fallibility factor, not to mention the intiâ€" mate world of human affairs, the notion of failâ€" safe is but a figment of the imagination. The grisly effects of radiation exposure are wellâ€"documented. By succumbing to the folly of invincibility, we recklessly invoke the fiendish duet of mishap and mayhem. History reveals that either one is fully capable of significantly raising the misery index. Canatom should be told, in no uncertain terms, that they are not welcome. Instead, let them transport their deadly cargo directly to the permanent disposal facility and bypass Oakville entirely. Peter Pellier Federal Liberals have a challenging year ahead of them Dear Sir: The extended honeymoon that Prime Minister Jean Chretien and his Liberal government have been enjoying for the past year will likely end abruptly in 1995. That‘s because next year Mr. Chretien will actuâ€" ally have to make decisions. Since he came to power, the Prime Minister has More police presence needed in Bronte Dear Sir: Pertaining to the meeting hosted by the Community Consultation Committee at the Bronte Legion recently, I attended this meeting to gain further insight of the events of Oct. 30th and 31st. To my surprise, I found out that Oakyville has 12 police officers on duty during a regular shift. If I‘m not mistaken, this means there is one police officer for every 10,000 citizens. Also, the amount of officers on duty were justiâ€" fied by previous years events. Well sir, I‘m no rocket scientist, but are the preceding scenarios leaving our town wide open for disaster? The mesâ€" sage I got from business owners and residences, at the meeting, was that they would be more than happy to pay a few more dollars for extra police to keep the peace. There seems to be a general feeling among our community leaders that there is a world of differâ€" ence between our town and that of our neighboring cities. I cannot be labeled as being well informed, but I do read newspapers and watch some televiâ€" sion, and the picture I get is that our society has become more numb to violence and its increasing onslaught. Knowing this, I would be inclined to increase, rather than decrease, our peace officer force. Shaun Teague Little tact in speaker refusing Chamber ‘gift‘ Dear Sir: Re: The October After Luncheon Speech by Mr. B. West; The President and tact in telling Oakville busiâ€" nessmen, some of whose busiâ€" ness preâ€"date that of Walâ€" Mart‘s, to find themselves a new niche and not to try and compete with Walâ€"Mart. Also, Oakville‘s instituâ€" tions, such as the Mayor‘s office, the Oakville Branch of | C.E.O. of American Based ; ECOLINE ig I have been attacked for my /# é§fi 3 observations by both Ms f % Heather Kerby, president, Oakville Chamber _ of Commerce and, of course, also by Mr. West â€" full titles menâ€" tioned before. Both claim, rightfully so, that I did not attend the luncheon. Of course not, I never claimed that I did. My critique was based on reports in two papers, one of which being the Oakville Beaver, whose accuracy in gporting local events I never | I cause to doubt. But the facts remain. Mr. , as Chief Executive and esman of an American pany showed very little Caring for Our Lan 4 | Removing ] party stains â€" 4 Commercial stain removers ] may contain toxic solvents. If you‘re quick and clean the spot while it‘s still fresh, often all you ] need is water. Make sure it‘s cold ] â€"hot water may set the stain. ] For more stubborn stains, ~~~~._ A here are home remedies ) 27 A which won‘t pollute: J e WINE: Soak up excess with clean ] cloth; douse with club soda or sprinkle A with salt, baking soda or cornstarch. ] e EGG YOLK, CHEESE: Sprinkle with ] salt before washing. 2 i e BLOOD: Sponge with cold water. O i e CHOCOLATE: Sponge with @W club soda, then warm water. i| e GREASE: Cover with baking soda A or cornstarch, brush off after one hour. §Source Ontario Waste Management Corporation _ the Canadian Club, and also, the Oakville Chamber of Commerce have practiced this graceful custom long before the birth of Walâ€"Mart, south of the border, to honor their guests with a small token of appreciation. It is too bad that Walâ€"Mart‘s management in the U.S. find it necessary to adopt a policy forbidding their staff, as well as, their executives, to accept any gifts including offiâ€" cial mementoes â€" such as the one presented to Mr. West, but of course, "There were no free lunches." I wonder... did Mr. West pay for his lunch? Peter Tesar been content to put off the tough decisions and to talk instead of act. In 1995, the time for talk will be over. He will be challenged as never before to do something about the soaring national debt which threatens to cripple Canada‘s economy. Simply put... he can no longer stall on this crucial issue. It‘s put up or shut up time. However, given the government‘s rhetoric of late, it seems more likely that any Liberal spending cuts will be little more than tokenism. After all, Finance Minister Paul Martin says he will be conâ€" tent with a $10â€"billion spending cut over the next two years. That amounts to only about 4% of proâ€" gram spending over that period. Such a lackluster attack on the deficit would likely give international investors the jitters. These are the same people to whom provincial and federal governments owe about $313â€"billion. That represents 44% of all the goods and serâ€" vices that Canada produces. The more nervous lenders become, the higher interest rates go. Higher rates, of course, mean slower economic growth and fewer jobs. The carrying cost of the federal government‘s debt â€" now about $40â€"billion per year â€" would also rise. Such developments would certainly knock a few points off Chretien‘s poll numbers. He‘d lose even more public support if he opts to raise taxes next year, an option he has never ruled out. Canadians are in no mood for new taxes, and any politician would add to that burden only at his political peril. An especially unpopular move would be if the Liberals decide to tax RRSPs, which millions of Canadians who don‘t have pension plans, use to provide for their retirement. David Somerville President The National Citizens‘ Coalition Reaping what we sow Dear Sir: Having followed the various letters on youth crime written recently, I‘d like to say that if we "cared" before "thinking and reacting" we would understand that the solutions must not only by punishment driven. How do we as a community prevent youth crime? You must look at the whole picture, one of the symptoms of our changing society â€" stress, media violence, etc., is youth crime. So as we focus our attentions only on punishment, we continue to ensure that youth crimes grow. I‘d like to share with you some sobering statistics that deal with a segment of our population that are not well understood, and for whom, getting services is so difficult as we indiscriminately cut our education and medical budgets. This being the 10% of our populaâ€" tion that have learning disabilities. 60% of our young offenders have learning disabilities. 50% of people incarcerated have learning disabilities. 50% of teenage suicides are individuals with learning disabiliâ€" ties. 70% of the learning disabled will suffer from depression at some point in their lives. These individuals are at high risk for drug and alcohol abuse and unemployment. If 10% of the population is the learning disabled, why do we have such a gross exaggeration of dysfunction amongst this group? There are three things that will happen to a person with learning disabilities. 1. They do not get the help they need and will externalize their frustrations through violent behaviors. 2. They do not get the help they need and will internalize their frustrations by becoming depressed and suicidal. 3. They get the help they need and learn to cope with their learnâ€" ing disabilities by becoming selfâ€"sufficient individuals. Obviously, based on the above statistics, item number three eludes most. People who have learning disabilities are of average to above average intelligence, yet they have a neurological disorder that results with them learning very differently from the masses. We must teach them using the ways they can learn. Learning disabiliâ€" ties are specific to the individual and, therefore, the services and programs will vary amongst them. Some of our greatest minds have come from individuals with learning disabilities â€" Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill, to name few. Would these people have survived the system today? Probably not. In the lifetime of these individuals, it is a pay now or pay later situation. It is better to build strong lives than to only mend broken ones. Yet, who takes responsibility for the above statistics, nobody is willing. We are all responsible, as it takes a community to raise a child. We are, certainly, reaping what we sow. Sheri Levyâ€"Abraham President Learning Disabilities Association of Halton Accident confirmed faith in human kindness Dear Sir: My daughter and I would like to thank the staff at the Oakville Volkswagen dealership for being so kind to us after we were involved in a minor accident on Kerr Street on if we were okay when the accident occurred and stayed to give a statement to the police. We always hear about negaâ€" tive human behavior in the media, so I wanted to point out how very kind and generous people are when help is needâ€" Dec. 10th. They came right out and offered us a place to ed. wait until the police officer arrived (as well as, coffee to calm my nerves, as I was shaken by the ordeal). Also, a big thanks to the man who came over to us to see Thank you, again, to all that got involved. It confirmed my faith in human kindness. 8. Leitch +