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6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday June 16, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com 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 NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director TERI CASAS Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production 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, MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver is a division of Growing strong with the people Kevin Flynn Oakville MPP here is, as my parents told me, no alternative for hard work. I was reminded of that when I was reviewing our achievements over the past session of the provincial legislature, which ended last week ­ the last session before the next election. When our government took office, the Conservatives had misled the Ontario public about the provinces finances and a $5.5 billion deficit. Together we've eliminated that deficit, introduced our second balanced budget, and we're on track for five consecutive balanced budgets. Our schools were combat zones under the Conservatives. The previous government had made enemies of teachers, alienated parents and shortchanged children. Ontario students lost 26 million learning days because of strikes. Under this government's watch there hasn't been a single teacher's strike, and our children haven't lost one day to teacher's strikes -- not one. Unlike the Tories, The McGuinty Liberals believe in working with communities, not around them. That's why our government is investing $20 million across the province, and $646,201 here in Oakville annually, to help school boards in Oakville, and Halton, reduce or eliminate the fees youth and community groups pay to use Ontario's schools after hours. During my years on Town and Regional councils I constantly pushed for Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) reform. As many residents know, Oakville has seen its fair share of disappointing and frustrating OMB decisions. Under the old Tory rules, it seemed as though communities were regularly on the losing end of appeals and decisions. The reforms introduced by the McGuinty government took effect Jan. 1, 2007, and will provide more tools and resources for communities to either avoid OMB hearings entirely or have confidence that they will be treated fairly should a hearing be necessary. Back in 2003, healthcare was on life support -- hospitals had been closed, necessary procedures cancelled and funding for services denied. The Conservatives fired nurses by the thousands and refused to even measure wait times for important procedures ­ let alone reduce them. Today, while there remain challenges to address, particularly with respect to the rapid growth we are all experiencing in Halton, the healthcare sector is on stronger ground and we are rebuilding the system after years of cuts and neglect. Construction is either completed or underway at more than 100 different hospital sites across the province. In addition to a new hospital on the way for Oakville, the McGuinty government is reinvesting in our community's healthcare capacity. We're hiring 8,000 nurses across the province. In addition, half a million more Ontarians will have a family doctor. Plus, we're not only measuring wait times for the first time ever; we're making them public, and we're constantly working at bringing them down. IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. 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 Kevin Flynn RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America T THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION See MPP page 7 Celebrating fathers who seem to get smarter every year "I won't lie to you, fatherhood isn't easy like motherhood." -- Homer Simpson men, Homer. Fatherhood is not easy. At least, not like motherhood! Particularly not in this day and age. Once upon a time about all a father had to be able to do was club a Mastodon, grab the dead beast by its hairy ear, drag it back to the cave and yell: "Kids...dinner!" Nowadays a father has to be able to actually make meals ­ club sandwiches as opposed to clubbed sandwiches -- and pack lunches and change diapers and tutor offspring in mind-boggling math and coach sports and be a raw-raw cheerleader and a role model and a mentor and a child psychologist and a doctor and a nurse and a best-buddy to kids who are not always grateful, or at all appreciative. As the role of fathers naturally evolves so does the degree of aggravation ­ sorry, I meant to say the degree of satisfaction -- that can be derived. "My father was an amazing man, the older I got, the smarter he got." ­ Mark Twain It's true, a father's intelligence (or ludicrous lack thereof) can A only be measured on a sliding scale. I remember when I was but a tyke, I was certain my father was a genius. I hung on to (and agreed with) every word he said. Seriously, I thought my dad was the smartest guy in the whole wide world and that he knew way more about everything than anybody, with the possible (albeit improbable) exception of God. Andy Juniper Then I became a teenager and suddenly the words out of my father's mouth ­ the insight, the advice, the dandy dad-isms ­ all turned embarrassingly inane: words that were once sheer genius were now just goofy. And I clearly remember the look I used to give him when he'd say something that I believed to be exceptionally dopey, particularly if he said it in front of my friends; I remember the look clearly because my kids now offer me that exact expression three or four times a day, much to my exasperation. Finally, I grew out of my teen years and eased (ever-so-slowly) into adulthood. At some point I became a father, three times over. And as I wrestled with all the mysteries of fatherhood ­ as I drew on knowledge unwittingly absorbed from my father to help me through dilemma after dilemma -- I realized that my dad had gone full circle: from genius to dodo bird and back to genius. My father passed away 11 years ago. That's 11 years that I've had to miss him, 11 years of considering and appreciating all he did for me and all he meant to me. That's 11 years of wishing he were still here so I could thank him one more time and tell him that time has made me realize that he really was a thousand times wiser than the younger version of me ever gave him credit for. My father wasn't perfect, but I'll tell you he made the job of fatherhood look, well, almost easy. "Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soapon-a-rope." -- Bill Cosby Sunday is Father's Day. A day to celebrate fatherhood, to pamper pops and shower him with gifts that he can use in the shower (ah, more soap-on-a-rope!), and to remember those fathers who are now hanging out ­ tinkering and puttering ­ or hiding out in the great garage in the sky. Happy Father's Day. Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com.