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6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday June 2, 2006 OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: IAN OLIVER Publisher WEBSITE Oakvillebeaver.com NEIL OLIVER Associate Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor KELLY MONTAGUE Advertising Director DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Manager TERI CASAS Business Manager MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, Caledon Enterprise, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian Hats off to a Canadian first Our hats are off to everyone involved in Halton's latest diversity initiative the Emergency Services Information to New Canadians (ESINC) program. ESINC is a joint effort of Halton Regional Police, Halton Emergency Medical Services (EMS), the fire departments of Oakville, Burlington, Milton and Halton Hills, as well as the Halton Multicultural Council (HMC) and Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Considering the rapidly changing face of the public in Halton the program is an invaluable tool in breaking down cultural barriers. The program -- a first in Canada -- besides helping explain the role of emergency personnel to new Canadians has many other benefits to the community. Under the ESINC program, emergency services personnel such as police, firefighters and paramedics personally teach how to access their services and the roles they play in the community. Many things we take for granted, such as dialing 911 or receiving emergency assistance for free, are foreign to ESINC students. Instructors also inform the students about fire prevention measures, the need for child car seats and water safety regulations. In addition to providing them with valuable -- and even life-saving information -- the program personally introduces the students to emergency services personnel. In some countries, the relationship between the public and emergency services personnel is less than trustworthy. Hopefully, that perception will be dismissed as the students mingle with the police, firefighters and paramedics serving as their instructors. The program, however, is not just a one-way street. Emergency personnel benefit from the program by mingling with newcomers to Canada and learning what perceptions and misunderstandings they may be dealing with. "We are also educated in return by knowing what their needs and concerns are," said Halton Regional Police Chief Algar. "It goes both ways." Perhaps the most important benefit is that the lessons learned from both sides of the teacher's desk in the ESINC classroom could save a life. The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Trafalgar and Dundas would be better choice for new hospital site Editor's note: This letter was originally addressed to Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn and forwarded to The Oakville Beaver for publication. Re: New Oakville Hospital Site at Dundas and Third Line As a resident and former chair of the Oakville hospital board I was present earlier this year when you and Minister Caplan announced plans for a much needed new hospital in Oakville. This news was well received. The province has been considering donating a 50-acre site at Dundas and Third line that is in the ORC land assembly that is in an area slated for open spaces and park land. This would be a wonderful gift. However the proposed site is as far away as possible from the current site in central downtown Oakville and very far away from southeast Oakville and the Clarkson neighborhoods where a higher proportion of the senior population resides. Town planners have indicated that Trafalgar and Dundas would be an excellent site for a new hospital. This would cut the distance from the existing hospital in half compared to the Third Line site. It would be more centrally located to the existing population and to the proposed growth in the north part of the town. Services would be more readily available for a new hospital. Transportation by road and public transportation would be at its best. Just look at a map of Oakville and it is easy to see why this is a superior location. This brings me to my point. Any gift of land to the Town and the hospital should be exchangeable for land at a more appropriate location. It is important to ensure this flexibility in the gift from the province. This is an opportunity for health services to be more accessible to both new and existing residents of out Town. If you have any doubt about where the best location is for a new hospital just ask our hospital administrators. My hope is the province will provide for flexibility with their gift of land to our community. TOM ALTON Pud Conflicting views on front page I was struck by the divergence of the two lead articles on the front page of The Oakville Beaver, May 24 edition. On the one hand, I read about the Ontario Municipal Board's proposal to allow the building of 300 condo units on the former Shell House property, against the Town Council's desire for no more than 27 dwellings. On the other side of the page is an article in which the Halton District School Board decries the lack of funding from Queen's Park for the building of new schools to accommodate Oakville's ever-expanding population. What in God's name are those officials thinking! Do they not consult with one another? Perhaps their collective solution will be to put a fleet of barges in Lake Ontario with portable classrooms on board, because there will be no more land available on which to build new schools. BILL SHARP BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com