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6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday August 16, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 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 Vice President and Group 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 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 MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA ANCHOR Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver is a division of Ontario economy needs more work Ted Chudleigh, Halton MPP ntario is again last in economic growth among provinces. Ontarians are taking their efforts, their Ted Chudleigh labour and their futures to Western Canada where the economy is booming and the future looks bright. It is a pattern that repeats again and again, those provinces which provide economic opportunity are led by fiscally prudent, right-leaning conservative governments. Of course, Alberta and Saskatchewan are beneficiaries of a wealth of natural resources, but their governments support policies that encourage development, growth and economic activity. Ontario used to be that way too. Policies supporting economic growth took Ontario from last among provinces in growth in 1994 to first in 2000. Policies, which undermine economic growth, have taken Ontario from first in economic growth in 2002 to last in 2007 and probably 2008. Made in Ontario limitations on our economy, coupled with serious international economic pressures, have taken their toll on our manufacturing base, which has lost 228,000 jobs in less than four years. I fear a recent easing in those pressures will give the McGuinty Liberals a false sense that our economy is near to finding its balance. It is not. International issues have not been solved nor have the root causes gone away. The international economy is far from finding its equilibrium. The Ontario PCs are in the process of putting together an economic summit, calling together business leaders, academics, labour and government leaders to work together to improve our economy in Ontario. There are steps that can be taken to improve our economic climate, to lessen the blows brought by international pressures and to help displaced workers. Premier McGuinty refused to call together such a summit, so we are compelled by necessity to proceed. The McGuinty Liberals appear convinced that none of Ontario's woes are homemade and so they are content to merely sit by, preach their `Don't worry, be happy' mantra and wait for the international situation to change and prosperity to rain down upon us like manna from heaven. I hate to burst their bubble, but Ontario doesn't have a divine right to a high standard of living. Ontarians built our economy and our prosperity through their belief that people gain success through hard work. The McGuinty Liberals have hidden the corrosion of our workforce by greatly expanding the public service. The result is that growing unemployment is masked and taxpayers are asked to fund ever-rising costs of government, which produce a diminishing value to society. There are a number of initiatives the government can undertake to improve Ontario's economic future such as lower corporate and business taxes, a reduction in the size of government and standardized regulations on business activity across all provinces. Currently some businesses in Canada are required to adhere to 10 different regulatory regimes of 10 different provinces. This can affect content, manufacturing, packaging and retailing of products and is, frankly, a daunting cost to businesses seeking to grow. I hope our economic summit will force these issues into public debate and will result in our government laying the ground work for a solid economy rather than one which appears to be determined to undermine the efforts of a generation of hard-working Ontarians. IAN OLIVER President Media Group Ltd. Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora EraBanner, 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 O THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION How to avoid sacrificing your Saturday for one lousy lens M y wife once took our boys bowling and bought a car. Seriously, she left home at 8:45 a.m. on a sunny Saturday for house-league bowling at 9:30 a.m. Evidently, at some point in the 45 minutes between leaving the house and arriving at the bowling alley, she bought a new car. She called me between games and gave me the news: "The boys are bowling well," she said, "Oh, and I bought a car." Frankly, I didn't know she was shopping for a car, but I was duly impressed with her efficiency. Desperate for a new vehicle, she entered the dealership, pointed at the car she liked, and said to a lucky sales person: "I want that one. In white." She said she'd be back to sign papers and then rushed off to the local Bowlerama. Conversely, I have a friend who squandered 17 successive Saturdays in search of a new lens for his camera. What can I say: he was a bachelor with few ties and even fewer obligations, so he felt free to squander -- to exhaustively explore the marketplace, diligently peruse all available products, weigh all the accompanying research, and take another week to waffle before finally taking the leap and buying a lens. I know this tale to be true because each week he'd call me with an update and to solicit my opinion. I was married with three fairly young children and, if I got a really bad itch, I was hard-pressed to find time to scratch it. So, when he'd tell me all about his Saturday and ask what I thought about the lenses he was considering, I admittedly was short on insight, empathy for his plight and patience. "Just buy the lens," I'd snap. Which lens? "Any damn lens. Just buy one and Andy Juniper get on with your life." Such as it is. He said he didn't like to make snap decisions. I said he should pull the trigger on the purchase. Before cameras became obsolete. This week I read in the newspaper experts are exhorting people to avoid snap decisions, while "extolling the virtues of sleeping on decisions to let the unconscious mind sort things out." According to the article, psychologists at the University of New South Wales and the University of Essex conducted experiments to determine how people choose big-ticket items like cars and apartments, and to see the best method of making important choices. The experts concluded that when facing a complex decision, "Careful, rational thought is still the best way to go." Balderdash. Most major decisions my wife and I have ever made were made in haste, before the demons of indecision and waffling what-ifs had a chance to set in. We even bought a house after seeing it for only 15 minutes. You see, we took a late-night tour through the beautiful abode, fell in love, and the next morning our agent informed us that another party was putting in an offer. What to do? Can you buy a house you've only seen for 15 minutes? We did, and it was the smartest decision we've ever made. Now, I'm not saying there aren't exceptions. If, for instance, you meet a knockout in an after-hours bar whose name, you're sure, is Bonny or Betty or maybe Gina or Wanda, and you're so head-over-heels in love you think you might get her name tattooed on your backside, or ask her to marry you that very night in Las Vegas, well ... maybe you should sleep on those notions. Otherwise, go for it. Go with your gut. That's why humans have instincts, to help them survive. To help them buy cars and houses in under 30 minutes and to save them from a lifetime of sacrificing Saturdays for one lousy lens. Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com.