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6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday October 24, 2007 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: The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager Message needs to be heard Journalist Dianne Rinehart brought a message to Oakville -- one we should act on, abroad and here at home. Rinehart, invited by the Oakville Public Library, which is doing its part to educate the public, took her own cue from what she saw as a trend among social agencies on the world stage to support women's education. In 2002 she co-founded Give Girls a Chance. The agency, whose motto is Educate A Girl, Change the World, supports girls' education in areas where girls are least likely to obtain an education -- subSahara Africa, Afghanistan, and more. Yet, the agency directs half of its funds raised to educating girls here at home. Despite women's rights having made major gains in the last century, Rinehart warns that, in the scheme of things, less than half a century is not very long. She notes one major political shift could serve up great losses to women on all those fronts. Today's society can be complacent in thinking these rights are entrenched. However, reflect back on our recent election and ponder that just a little more than half a century ago, women were not able to cast a ballot. Women still need to make gains in the field of property ownership -- something banks weigh when cash is sought to establish a business. Not long ago, women weren't encouraged to seek post-secondary education. Rinehart's own mother tried to prevent her from going to school. Not long ago, women, if they did seek education, tended to be encouraged into caregiving or service fields and many still don't earn wages on par with men. Most of the world's illiterate population is female and much of it isn't their fault. Even in Canada, Aboriginal women are less likely to finish school than non-Aboriginal students. It's important for society to watchdog cultural equality and environmental regard, but it's even more important to ensure one half of the population -- no matter what culture or philosophy -- has human rights entrenched. As ATHENA Oakville prepares to celebrate outstanding women tonight who also do their part to help other women succeed, it is, as Rinehart said, not about putting girls over boys, but about bringing girls up to boys. 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 Bronte community represented on Amica committee After reading Andy Bruce's letter to the editor, Immediate neighbours of Amica development still upset, Oakville Beaver, Oct. 19 , I re-read the article to which he takes exception. Contrary to his assertion that "not one of those who spoke could be called neighbours" or that "none of them are even from the neighbourhood" all of us on the Amica committee are, indeed, neighbours. We are members of the Bronte community ­ it is our neighbourhood and Andy is being disingenuous at best to claim otherwise. In fact, two members of the committee represented immediate neighbours (Walton Memorial United Church and Church of the Epiphany) both of whom supported the development. Further, he asserts that none of us "even speak for any neighbours." This is hogwash and belittles the many neighbors in Bronte represented by those of us on the Amica committee. He refers to Karen Birkemeyer, who lives immediately to the north, as well as others on Bronte Road, who opposed the development. Although Ms. Birkemeyer was not specifically mentioned in the article, objections of the neighbors (including the letter writer, by name) were noted. In fact the article goes on to note the opposition of a fellow member of the Bronte Village Residents Association board. I believe the article and the accompanying headlines accurately portrayed the situation with respect to the involvement of the community in the shaping of this development. Amica approached the community willingly for feedback and help in designing the look of this project and we had the opportunity to shape this development. Presentations have been made to Town Council and the planning department and our community now awaits their final decision. Most community members are supportive while a few were and are still opposed to this development. In the end, the letter writer really does a disservice to both himself and others opposed to this development in attempting to ratchet up the emotional quotient by misrepresenting both the contents of the article, the process that was followed and the members of the Amica committee. Mr. Bruce really should have tried harder to understand the facts of this situation and to present his argument in a cogent and respectful way. BRIAN MILLER PRESIDENT, BRONTE VILLAGE RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com 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.