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6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday March 7, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: (905) 632-4440 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 DAVID HARVEY General Manager 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 ANCHOR Circ. Manager Breath of fresh air While we wholeheartedly support the Ontario Liberal government's plan to ban smoking in cars with children, we wonder how in the world it will be policed. Is it realistic to expect law enforcement officers to be on the lookout for smokers with young passengers, or will fellow motorists be asked to be the eyes -- and nose -- of this new provincial law? Will children exposed to secondhand smoke in the family car face the prospect of testifying against a parent in court? The province's decision to propose a new law in the spring legislative session is a no-brainer considering the startling data provided by provincial health officials. Children who breathe second-hand smoke are more likely to suffer Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, asthma and cardiac disease. Second-hand smoke kills more than 300 Ontario residents every year. "We know that this is harmful to children -- one hour of second-hand smoke in a car is the same as giving kids an entire pack of cigarettes," said Premier Dalton McGuinty in a Wednesday news release announcing the proposed law. "We need to do everything we can to keep our children safe and healthy." Frankly, we find it impossible to comprehend how an adult could expose any child to second-hand smoke. It's about as abusive an act as an alcoholic parent feeding a youngster liquor. With the present and future health of Ontario children at stake, we hope the punishment for breaking this law will be substantial. The deterrent of a hefty fine and possible jail time for repeat offenders will be needed if it is to have any real impact. There are some who believe government should not be in the business of legislating common sense. However, there are also times -- remember seatbelts? -- when the failure by some members of society to exercise common sense leaves our elected officials feeling obliged to intervene in the interest of public health and safety. This is one of those times. 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 North Park plan best way to solve soccer field shortage Editor's note: The following letter was sent to Gil Penalosa, Executive Director, Walk & Bike for Life, and forwarded to the Oakville Beaver for publication. We thank you for raising your concerns over the planned development of North Park and specifically the 17 soccer fields that are currently considered as part of phase 1 (2010), phase 2 (2014) and phase 3 (2018). Your open letter in the Oakville Beaver (Feb. 22) suggested that North Park wasn't a good concept and that soccer fields should be included in local/neighbourhood parks. This is not a choice between one or the other, as we have been assured by Town staff and council that both will be part of the planning and development of North Oakville that will take place in the next 15 years. As a valued volunteer soccer coach within our house league program, you are aware of the shortage of fields that the Club has been facing for a number of years. We have had several discussions in this regard and you have been of great help to us in the construction of the first state of the art all-weather turf field at River Oaks last year. Your input contributed to avoid some of the mistakes made in Mississauga. The shortage of fields in Oakville is actually the single most important issue facing soccer players and the only reason why 900 kids were on a waiting list last year. This shortage has been estimated at over 50 fields for the current level of participation and will only increase with the projected population growth for North Oakville. In Oakville, soccer is a community phenomenon as one out of every three children plays the beautiful game; making the Oakville Soccer Club one of the largest soccer clubs in the world with over 11,000 registered players and 2,500 coaches and volunteers. The Club was extensively consulted by the Town of Oakville at every stage of the development and planning of the North See North page 8 Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com Preserve waterfront access Re: Big plans for old estate, Oakville Beaver, March 1 A recent proposal submitted for approval to the Town of Oakville concerning the future of the property located on Oakville's waterfront and known municipally as 1502 Lakeshore Rd. has moved me to respond. I have the unique distinction of having lived on the property for many years, which gives me a profound understanding of the issues at stake. For over 100 years, the various property owners (the See Preserve page 9 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.