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22 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday October 8, 2008 All residents should feel like a part of the community, and should be able to actively participate in community life. MOTHER TONGUE {B-} In 2006, 25.3% of the Oakville population spoke a mother tongue other than English or French, compared to 27.2% of the population provincially. www.oakvillebeaver.com 2006, donations in Oakville were 40.0% higher than the national average ($250) and 12.9% higher than the provincial average ($310). The median family income in Oakville however, was 65.3% higher than the provincial average in 2006. COMMUNITY BELONGING {B-} In 2005, 69.5% of the Oakville population 12 years and over reported a strong or somewhat strong sense of community belonging. This compares to 64.4% at the national level and 65.5% at the provincial level. VOLUNTEERISM {C+} In 2004, the volunteer rate of people 15 years and older in Oakville was 46.2%. This is lower than the Ontario provincial rate (50.4%) and higher than the national rate (45.3%). The rate more than doubled from 2000 when it was 20.0%. This increase may be due in part to the mandatory 40 hours of volunteer service required by all high school students beginning with the class of 2003. BELONGING BAND LEADERSHIP FEDERAL ELECTION VOTER TURNOUT {B+} Voter turnout for the 2006 Federal Election in Oakville was 73.9%. This is higher than the national average (64.7%) and the provincial average (66.6%). MUNICIPAL ELECTION VOTER TURNOUT {C-} For the 2006 Oakville municipal election, voter turnout was 35%, compared to 30% in 2003. CHARITABLE DONATIONS {C+} With the median charitable donations of donors amounting to $350 in Arts, Culture, and Heritage should be nurtured and accessible to all in the community. DEVELOPMENTALLY VULNERABLE CHILDREN {C+} A survey done about kindergarten students in 2006 found that 14.1% of five year olds in Oakville were developmentally vulnerable in Communication and General Knowledge. This is 10.2% lower than the Halton rate. 71.2% of homes had exposure to internet services, compared to 64.1% nationally. HIGH SCHOOL COMPLETION RATE {C+} In 2006, 14.2% of the Oakville population (15 years and over) had not completed high school. This is lower than the provincial average (22.2%) and lower than the national average (23.8%). LEARNING B- GOING TO THE LIBRARY {B+} In 2006, 70.3% of Oakville grade 10 students reported living within walking distance to a library, compared to 54.0% in the rest of Halton. When asked whether they had been to a neighourhood library in the past 12 months, 61.3% of grade 10 students in Oakville said they had, compared to 48.4% in the rest of Halton. GETTING ONLINE {B+} Between 2006 and 2008 the percentage of households that reported spending on internet services in Oakville increased 21.8%. In 2008, People should be able to get where they need to in a timely, accessible, and eco-friendly manner. GETTING TO WORK {D+} Of the Oakville residents who commuted to work in 2006, 80.7% got to work as either a driver or a passenger in a vehicle. Fewer than 5 percent used active modes of transportation (biking, walking, etc.), and 14% rode public transit. PUBLIC TRANSIT USE {C+} In 2007, a survey found that 43% of Oakville respondents had used public transit in the last year, including GO Transit. 22% had used it in the last month. GETTING C AROUND Mode of Transportation to Work 2006 Last Time Used Public Transit 2007 Never Over a year ago Car, Truck, Van as Driver - 74% Public Transit - 14% Car, Truck, Van as Passenger - 7% Walked or Bicycled - 4% All Other Modes - 1% Within the last year Within the last six months Within the last three months Within the last month 7% 6% 8% 22% 26% 31% Everyone should feel and be safe in their homes and neighbourhoods. KIDS WITH WEAPONS {D+} In 2006, 8.5% of 10th graders in Oakville reported carrying a weapon for defense or use in a fight in the past 12 months. In the rest of Halton, 9.6% of 10th graders reported doing so. FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONSE TIMES {C+} the same time period. Other crimes, such as prostitution, offensive weapons, and other criminal code offenses decreased 31.3% between 2004 and 2006 in Oakville. SAFETY C - From 2001 to 2005, Oakville Fire Department's average response times for `all response types' increased from 5 minutes 11 seconds to 6 minutes 1 second. The accepted standard response time for a fire department is 6 minutes 30 seconds. Response times for `fire and medical-resuscitation' calls in 2005 averaged 5 minutes and 31 seconds. VIOLENT, PROPERTY, AND OTHER CRIME RATES {D} From 2004 to 2006, violent crimes increased by 7.5% and property crimes increased by 8.8% in Oakville. Provincially, violent crimes increased by 1.5% and property crimes decreased by 5.2% in People and the environment should co-exist to the benefit of both and the detriment of neither. TREES IN OUR TOWN {B-} A survey in 2005 found that there were approximately 1.9 million trees in Oakville, and 43% of them were owned by the Town of Oakville. These trees filter 22,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide and 172 tonnes of criteria pollutants each year. 2004 1932 1500 2005 1969 2006 2102 1137 423 1030 418 389 Property crimes per 100,000 residents Other crimes per 100,00 residents Violent crimes per 100,00 residents daily residential water use per capita in Oakville increased by 0.8%, against the trend of national decline (1.3%) and provincial decline (8.8%). SMOG DAYS {D-} Smog is a form of air pollution. It is a mixture of different substances, but the two main ingredients are ground level ozone (8h Ozone) and particulate matter (PM 2.5), both of which can aggravate lung problems. Over the 2001-2006 period, Oakville ranked second worst of the 15 Vital Signs* Communities for ground level ozone days and fourth worst for particulate matter days. OAKVILLE'S ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT The Ecological Footprint of a typical Canadian city is now 7.5 hectares per person. The Town of Oakville, at present rates of consumption, needs 11,250 km2. Oakville is about 12 km X 10.5 km = 126 km2, so its footprint is about 89 times the actual area of the city. Courtesy of Dr. Harvey Shear. ENVIRONMENT C OAKVILLE'S ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT CANOPY COVERAGE {C+} In October 2006, Oakville's trees created a canopy cover of 29.1%. The target in Oakville is to have 40% canopy coverage by the year 2046. Canopy coverage is important as it helps filter out harmful pollutants from the air. WATER USE {C-} In 2004, the daily residential water use per capita in Oakville was 332.0 liters, lower than the national average (336.5 liters) and higher than the provincial average (260.0 liters). Between 2001 and 2004, the average * For more information on these 15 communities visit www.vitalsignscanada.ca