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6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday March 3, 2007 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 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. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Commentary Guest Columnist Dion welcomes debate Garth Turner Halton MP When I first walked into Stephane Dion's office a few weeks ago, he was in deep discussions on the sunset clauses of the anti-terrorism bill. At the time, this was a nascent political issue on the national landscape, but he was intensely interested in what he was hearing. I heard him say he wanted to conGarth Turner sult, hear what caucus members had to say, and to think. A week or so later I was polled by Dion's office for my thoughts on extending two provisions of the act which had been never used, and which granted the police extraordinary powers to detain and question people without charging them. I oppose giving the state that blank cheque, I said. Over the next couple of weeks at national caucus, I sat and listened to a major debate take place between those who believe these powers are necessary, and those who find them dangerous. I delighted in hearing this. It was the first issue-driven and passionate ideas-centric discussion I had experienced in a caucus room since being elected again in January of 2006. I really admired the people who lined up at the microphones on either side of the historic Railway Committee Room where caucus is held, to argue their points. They were articulate, compelling and knowledgeable. The protection of the state versus the protection of the individual was a constant theme. I also admired Dion, sitting there listening, taking notes, patiently soaking in what 22 speakers had to say. It was what I would have expected from a leader at the head of a national caucus, full of experienced MPs from all over a vast country with 100 different points of view and millions of constituents to represent. It was the role of a leader to listen to Canadians, distill the best path forward, establish a consensus and then defend that position. And the contrast with my months in the Harper caucus was extreme. Old friends there tell me that no discussion was allowed on the anti-terrorism bill. The PM's Office determined what the government's position would be, and then MPs were told how to vote and what to say. Their offices were issued with talking points that called Dion a weak leader. "Stephane Dion's decision to withdraw support for his own party's anti-terrorism legislation could interfere with the Air India terrorism investigation," those memos said in a patent fabrication. And this, sadly, "Stephane Dion is prepared to deny justice to the families of the Air India tragedy and jeopardize the safety of Canadians." But the current Air India investigation is not impacted one whit by the anti-terrorism bill vote, whichever way it goes. That's a lie. The police are actually not involved in that inquiry. The Dion position, to let provisions die which were intended to sunset after five years, is exactly what legislators intended when the law was written. And let's not forget what the Supreme Court told us in ruling that our current practice of charging people, locking them up and not even telling them what their crimes might be. It's unconstitutional, the Supremes said. That's not what Canada is all about. Well, I don't think Canada is about a government which is openly lying about its political opponents. Or a prime minister using terrorism victims as a pawn in the coming election campaign. Or increased police powers which override human rights. In war, maybe. In peace, never. I am sure most people in Halton will take the time to understand who is telling the truth and where the political mischief hides. Mr. Harper and his ministers are using the Air India inquiry, its victims and the War on Terror to systematically shred Stephane Dion at every opportunity. All I can tell you with certainty is that I have just witnessed a process of thoughtful decision-making in the Liberal caucus of which I was proud. No wonder it scares the Conservatives. IAN OLIVER Group Publisher NEIL OLIVER Publisher TERI CASAS Business Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ROD JERRED Managing Editor WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com Metroland Media Group Ltd. includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Caledon Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, 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 RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION He has intestinal upheaval and he'd like to thank the Academy Unlike others in our fair province, I've got gas. Now I realize you probably don't want to read about something as indelicate as intestinal upheaval as you mug your morning coffee, but perhaps you'd like to hear about what made me unique in a province currently running on petrol-pump prayers, and fumes. It started Sunday night. Rumblings to the east, west and south of the navel. You see, amongst other odd and insidious ailments, I suffer -- silently and stoically, like John Wayne, when I'm not crying like a colicky baby to my wife -- from spastic colon, a disorder that produces symptoms ranging from abdominal discomfort to overall despair. And while stress does not cause this condition, it can ignite its symptoms. And Sunday night I was stressed. Sunday night I got myself all in a flap, a real lather. I consider myself a quasi-creative type, you see. And as such, I like to think of myself as a denizen of a grand, ungated community -- a utopian artistic enclave open to writers, dancers, artists, photographers, musicians, actors, maybe a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model or two, and all other inspired and imaginative souls. Sunday night was the night designated to celebrate the most economically viable and ultimately visible sect amongst those creative souls, that being big-screen thespians. Sunday night was The Academy Awards. Dutifully, I tuned in. Heck, I even watched the Red Carpet (a.k.a. The Snoozefest With Seacrest) with my wife (doubtlessly impressing her with my abundant interest and arcane knowledge of women's fashion: advising her on whose Andy Juniper frock looked fabulous and who would be best advised to get the frock out of there). And then I watched the actual Oscar show. That is, four-plus painful hours as the alleged cream of this illustrious creative crop lulled the near-billion worldwide viewers into a stupor with their unimaginative and, in some instances, idiotic outpourings. "I'd like to thank those most important to me, not necessarily in order of importance. My agent. God. My entourage. My manager. My accountant. My manicurist and pedicurist. My girlfriend, Bernice. My personal savior ­ oh, I already mentioned my agent. (Cue kill-speech music). Oh, oh, and who am I forgetting? Oh, my wife and my kids..." I know I should not have taken this personally. I should have laughed at the irony of these alleged creative souls putting on a marathon show so embarrassingly bereft of creativity, of so-called winners being unable to come up with an original thought or quip ­ hell, Alan Arkin actually read cue cards! Seriously, this is the best you can come up with? Still, I took it personally. And it was more than enough to cramp my colon. It was four-plus painful hours of my life I can never retrieve. Around midnight I got to thinking that what the night needed was a little irreverence, a little Bill Murray ­ surely Bill must have made a movie in '06? -- or a little Sasha Cohen, or even young Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine herself), anything to breathe some fresh air into this lifeless event. Chauffeuring the kids into the city for school on Monday morning, I was grumpy from having stayed up half the night to watch the Oscars, until the bitter end. Once in town we began noticing the closures. One gas station after another. Out of gas. My daughter, the worrier, wondered: "Do you have gas, dad?" "I watched the Oscars last night," I replied, "and I took them personally. Don't you worry, hon, dad's got plenty of gas."