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

6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday August 23, 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 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 Turner survives challenge No matter how you feel about Garth Turner, the recent attempt -- by a faction of Conservative party members who oppose same-sex marriage -- to oust the outspoken Halton MP exposes a disturbingly ugly side of Canadian politics. Like an episode of Survivor, some party members Turner described as members of the "righteous right" were apparently prepared to cut him loose despite the fact he had delivered the Conservative Party of Canada a much-needed seat in Ottawa last January. Last week came news from Turner that a move was afoot to challenge his candidacy for the local riding next month. Fortunately for him, the lead candidate to stand in the way of securing the riding's candidacy has since publicly stated that there isn't enough time to mount a successful challenge. Seven months ago, Turner helped the Conservatives defeat Liberal incumbent Gary Carr in an election night race that was as tight as that of the battle between Conservative leader Stephen Harper and Prime Minister Paul Martin. So what has changed? Turner suspects that his stance on the current law regarding same-sex marriage is at the core of the attempted overthrow from within his own party. Prior to last January's election, he publicly stated his support of a traditional definition of marriage, adding that he could not see overturning the recent legalization of same-sex marriage without "a very good reason." Turner's position on same-sex marriage is likely not the only thing that's been eating away at some party faithful. Almost as soon as his Jan. 23 victory was confirmed, the outspoken MP began to describe a sort of maverick role he would likely have in Ottawa. In a meeting with editors from Halton-based community newspapers he predicted he would not be embraced by Harper. When cabinet appointments were announced, Turner's name was indeed absent from the list. Since then he has created controversy for his party by opposing Harper's ban of the media from military funeral services for Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan and, more recently, criticizing the use of taxpayers' money to rescue dual-citizenship Canadians from Lebanon. He has been consistent in speaking his mind -- even when it goes against the party line. Although the MP accurately predicted his approach would, at times, not be popular within his own party, it's unlikely even he could have seen a challenge coming so soon. 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 Coalition Party's argument based on false assumptions I would like to reply to a letter ( Christian activists are fighting for open democracy, Oakville Beaver, Friday, Aug. 18) written by Giuseppe Gori, the leader of the Family Coalition Party of Ontario. In this letter pertaining to the issue of homosexual marriage, Gori stated two different claims that I must take issue with in hopes of exposing blatant rhetoric or fallacious reasoning. Well within Gori's writing, he states that certain lobby groups in cahoots with a Liberal government have "changed the foundation of society (traditional marriage) without a free, open vote from Canadians." Indeed, it is true that homosexual marriage was permitted without a Canadian vote, but yet Gori presupposes exactly what needs to be argued; he needs to make the effort to show that manwoman marriage is the "foundation of society" and not simply state that it is. Until then, Gori is merely promulgating baseless claims in hopes of his readers presupposing what they cannot afford to presuppose. Gori also needs to recognize that not every issue in Canada is at the mercy of the majority vote of the Canadian population -- the protection and recognition of minority rights is one of the cornerstone features within a free and democratic country, which will continue to be so at the expense of the masses. I certainly hope this particular claim of mine can be said as a simple truism and needs not to be supported by further writings. Lastly, I also take issue to Gori's claim that freedom "from morality and false equality will destroy society as we know it." It is not that I deny or affirm that society would face destruction if individuals were free from morality, but yet I find myself objecting to the nature of the claim in context with the letter. It seems as though Gori is either stating or implying that same-sex marriage advocates wish to be free from the morality of others. This is not true at all because it is far too sweeping; it is not morality we wish to be free from, but one particular legislating moral claim that homosexual marriage is wrong. I am at a loss as to how Gori came to believe otherwise. I also wonder if Gori feels he also wishes to be free from morality, since he apparently does not wish a legislating moral imposition that same-sex marriage is not wrong? I feel that if Gori wants to make progress, he ought to put forth the effort to properly support his claims and accurately paint the picture of his opponents. If not, let me thoroughly clear the air: we do not wish to destabilize the foundation of society and we certainly do not aim to be free of morality. Anything else that contrasts with this position is mere mudslinging rhetoric and should be neglected, henceforth. M. JORDAN 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. Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com