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6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday August 29, 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 Where is the leadership? Political reaction to the deadly contamination of meat products at a Toronto-based Maple Leaf Foods plant has been predictably uninspiring Instead of seizing the opportunity to demonstrate sensitivity and leadership skills, some of our elected officials in Ottawa have engaged in finger pointing while others have practically patted themselves on the back. In the almost two-week period since the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) issued its first warning that Maple Leaf Foods products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes -- a bacterium commonly found in soil, vegetation, animal feed, and in human and animal feces -- opportunism has ruled the day, with one notable exception. As news broke that a food-borne outbreak of listeria was responsible for multiple deaths, federal Liberal health critic Carolyn Bennett was quick to offer condolences to families affected and was just as swift to blame her Conservative opponents. "My heart goes out to all those families affected by this terrible outbreak of listeriosis," she said in a news release, adding "I'm sure that all officials involved are working their hardest to ensure the health and safety of Canadians, but this incident highlights the dangers of the Conservative decision to abandon key food inspections, and cut funding to critical food safety programming." Meanwhile, Conservative Health Minister Tony Clement had the gall to suggest to an Ottawa news conference that the Maple Leaf Foods recall demonstrated the effectiveness of Canada's food safety systems. "The surveillance system picked up a problem that was occurring and allowed us to respond efficiently and effectively to an emerging public health issue," he said. We doubt loved ones of the 12 (and counting) Canadians whose lives were cut short by listeriosis would agree that the system that is supposed to prevent human illness from tainted food is a well-oiled machine. Within days of the contaminated meat recall being linked to multiple deaths, several law firms swooped down with notices of class action suits on behalf of those who became ill from consuming the meat products and -- in at least one case -- those who only purchased the tainted meat. Meanwhile, Maple Leaf Foods has publicly accepted blame for the listeria outbreak, apologized to all who have been harmed and extended sympathies to families who lost loved ones. We feel that they have done their best in what is ultimately a no-win situation. When a health crisis of a national magnitude occurs, ordinary Canadians count on their leaders to provide a calming influence, creative solutions and assurances that measures will be taken to ensure it won't happen again. Instead, what we've been fed is an unhealthy dose of listeria hysteria, fuelled by some who would view this tragedy as an opportunity for political -- even financial -- gain. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 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. Highway robbery for parking at hospital Re: Letter to the Editor from Mike Hall, Oakville Beaver, Aug. 27 re: Parking Costs at hospital need to be reevaluated Kudos to Mr. Hall for refusing to pay the "highway-robbery" additional charges. I had a similar experience to Mr. BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com Hall's several months ago when attending the hospital for an MRI but, in my case, I grudgingly paid the additional $2.50 with the intention of writing the hospital administration and suggesting that they consider some form of grace period to allow for minor delays of possibly even a much as five minutes. Unfortunately. I did not follow through and allowed them to "pick my pocket". Will our letters bring any results? It is very unlikely. If I were a betting man, I would bet this suggestion will be ignored by the hospital administration as will Mr. Hall's suggestion of a discount for seniors MAYNARD MILLMAN Pud Recent changes to The Oakville Beaver's e-mail service have resulted in changes to e-mail addresses of some staff. Oakville Beaver employees who used to be contacted @haltonsearch.com can now be reached @oakvillebeaver.com. For example, Managing Editor Rod Jerred can now be reached at rjerred@oakvillebeaver.com. For additional staff contact information, visit www.oakvillebeaver.com and click on the Contact Us tab. 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.