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6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday June 16, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com 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 Settlement provides relief The cheers you heard emanating from Town Hall yesterday were from Oakville councillors and staff members ecstatic over the possibility of reducing the length of the anticipated ninemonth north Oakville Ontario Municipal Board hearing in August. The groans you heard were from the lawyers and their hired experts over the loss of work. Seriously though, news that the Town has reached a settlement with a large portion of the landowners in north Oakville should be celebrated by everyone. Although no one's guessing how much at this moment, the settlement should shave off a healthy portion of the Town's predicted $13-million bill for the hearing. That's good news for taxpayers. In addition, the Town persuaded developers to hand over $10 million in development charges up front and to cough up an additional $5 million as a gift towards a sports complex in North Park. Also, the developers are handing over 145 hectares to the Town for its east/west Natural Heritage System. That represents about 25 per cent of the system. The remaining land for the system is held by the remaining developers, the Town and the Province. While the settlement doesn't completely avoid an OMB hearing, it will cut costs and may just cause the holdout developers to fall in line. After all, the remaining costs now have fewer parties willing to share their end of the hearing's costs. Best of all, the settlement has put the Town's North Oakville Secondary Plan (NOSP) before the OMB, rather than developers' plan. This is a major point in arriving at a made-in-Oakville solution. In announcing the settlement, Mayor Ann Mulvale had words of praise for everyone involved in this lengthy, and sometimes bitter, process including Town staff, the Province, and local advocacy groups such as Oakvillegreen and Clear the Air, which have pressured the Town not to cave into developers' demands. The process isn't over, but at least this settlement is a good sign that the end result can be achieved without taxpayers footing the bill for a length and expensive OMB hearing. 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 Family thanks community for their support in struggle against red tape We have had tremendous feedback to your article in the Wed. June 7, Oakville Beaver (Father wants to die in Canada), and we want to thank Howard Mozel and the Oakville Beaver for such a well-written and thought-provoking account of our story. Many people were touched by the article and have asked us what they can do to help. Simply receiving so many kind thoughts and messages has already helped to renew our faith in community and in the people of Canada, if not 'the system.' Just as Howard Mozel described him, my father-in-law, Ken Staton, is a quiet man, happiest while listening to classical music and working on his hobbies. He has worked hard for his entire life, and for their 52 years of marriage, Ken and Irene have enjoyed modest pleasures - Saturday night canasta games, walks on the moors near their home town of Bolton, occasional holidays in the 'Med' and, in recent years, watching their granddaughter grow up in their adopted home of Oakville. We live next to a public walkway in a neighbourhood teeming with dog-owners. Ken and Irene became a fixture of the landscape for dogwalkers as they sat on their patio, or worked in our garden, always taking time to chat with passersby. They love this country, our way of life, and the towns of Oakville and Burlington, and were grateful for every day (although they managed to suppress their enthusiasm when it came to snow!). Ken is a lover of all sports, and was a season ticket holder at Bolton Wanderers with my wife, Carole, as she was growing up, and he is taking in every game of the current World Cup. A big fan of cricket, he has grown to appreciate the art of baseball and the Toronto Blue Jays and loved a day out at the ballpark. Our first priority is to bring Ken home, where we can provide him and Irene, with the support of their closest family, and the comforts of their own home. For those who wish to do something more to help, there are essentially two ways: · Firstly, write a letter to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and let hem know how you feel about the situation. His address is The Honourable Monte Solberg, P.C., M.P., Citizenship and Immigration Canada, House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6. · Secondly, in the hope that we are able to overcome the immigration hurdle and bring Ken home, he will face the challenge of his medical expenses. At some point, he will need the care of a doctor, nursing Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com See Thanks page 7 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of 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 advertisements or decline.