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6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday August 6, 2008 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: NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER President Media Group Ltd. 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 Presumed consent Organ donation. It's not exactly a topic for dinner time conversation but it is a subject that could heat up this fall when the Ontario Legislature resumes sitting. NDP MPPs Peter Kormos and Cheri DiNovo will introduce a private member's bill -- for a third time -- in the hope of having Ontario's legislators change the current system for organ donation. The MPPs are pushing a concept called "presumed consent" in which every eligible person in Ontario would be an automatic organ donor upon death unless they specifically opted out ahead of time. The system has been adopted in various forms in Europe but a report commissioned by the provincial government last year found little public support for presumed consent. Under the system we use now people who want to donate their organs can fill out a donor card and notify family members of their wishes. Family members, however, are asked to provide the final consent. Kormos argues this system leads to unnecessary deaths for those waiting on lengthy transplant lists. "As we speak, good organs are being burned or buried across the province because the province insists on maintaining its presumption system," he said. He's not wrong. About 4,000 Canadians are waiting for organ transplants and between 140-250 die each year before they get it. Yes, organ donation is a very personal choice, but presumed consent -- despite its opt-out clause -- takes the decision-making away from the family. While many Ontarians have no problem with organ donation, the fact remains, not enough of us take the time to fill out the donor card and make family members aware of the wish to donate. We wonder how many would bother to sign a form that allows them to opt out? This bill has good intentions and should not be brushed aside this fall as a matter of politics. It deserves serious discussion and debate and we hope much input from the Ontario public. Editor's Note: We would like to hear from our readers on this subject. Send letters to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. 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 I am responding to the article in the Oakville Beaver on July 26, 2008 and the letter from Kathy Recourt in the July 30, 2008 edition, regarding the Halton Catholic District School Board plans to rebuild St. Thomas Aquinas High School (STA) on its existing site at the corner of Lakeshore Road and Dorval. The Southwest Central Oakville Residents Association (SCORA) and Recourt have equally reacted without knowing the full story. With SCORA utilizing Oakvillegreen (using its website Shame on SCORA for playing environmental card against St. Thomas Aquinas and e-mail) to promote their cause, it is clear the environmental issues are the actual issues. Rather than vilify the Halton Catholic school board and STA, they should be applauding both of them for their active role in a green Oakville. The school board is committed to environmental progress and issues in all of its schools including STA through the school council, parent council, Aquinas Green Club and teaching staff. The St. Thomas Aquinas community has been actively lobbying for the rebuild of this school for many years. There is ample evidence to warrant this rebuild to enhance the education of the high school students of south Oakville. STA is an old building that has undergone numerous retrofits. It is outdated and not conducive to a proper learning environment. Students, with mobility impairments move from one section of the school to another may require the use of three separate elevators. SCORA and Recourt have stated that they do not want to stop the rebuild of STA. I challenge this statement as their actions speak louder than their words. The board has had multiple meetings (advertised in this newspaper) for public See Good page 7 This week's poll The Oakville Beaver has added a polling feature on its website oakvillebeaver.com. A new poll will be posted every Wednesday with the results of the poll published in the following Wednesday edition of The Oakville Beaver. This week's question is: Do you support a presumedconsent law to govern organ donation in Ontario? · Yes · No To vote visit oakvillebeaver.com Last week's poll: How many medals will Canada's athletes win at the 2008 Beijing Olympics? · 0: 9.52% · 1-5: 19.05% · 5-10: 38.10% · 11-15: 28.57% · More than 15: 4.76% Total votes: 21 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