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OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, June 5, 2009 · 6 OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 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: NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of 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 SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager Whistler a luxury Given the state of our economy, we find it difficult to justify 14 municipal politicians from Halton jetting to the posh resort community of Whistler, B.C. this weekend. The group -- six representatives from regional government, four from Oakville's council and two each representing Milton and Halton Hills, will be attending the annual conference of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). The local contingent -- including Halton Region representatives Gary Carr (chair), Carol D'Amelio (Burlington), Keith Bird (Oakville), Barry Lee (Milton), Jane Fogal (Halton Hills) and Clark Somerville (Halton Hills), Oakville's Allan Elgar, Alan Johnston, Ralph Robinson and Mary Chapin, Milton's Gord Krantz and Colin Best and Halton Hills' John Hurst and Moya Johnson -- is two delegates larger than that being sent by the City of Toronto. Only one of the Halton delegates -- Clark Somerville -- is a current member of the FCM's board. When Halton's regional government is preaching fiscal restraint -- including a recently passed plan for a tax rate freeze in 2010 to assist residents who are hurting financially -- sending 14 delegates seems to contradict the message. While the total cost for the trip won't be known until the Halton team returns, Milton has budgeted up to $2,500 for each of its delegates, Halton Hills about $2,200, while Oakville delegates will expense their trip as part of their annual individual expense budgets of $3,700. Halton Region budgets a total of $15,000 to send six to the FCM conference and 10 delegates to the Association of Ontario Municipalities (AMO) conference in Ottawa this August. As Burlington Councillor Jack Dennison observed, "It's (Whistler) not a cheap place to fly to nor find a bed in." Oakville Mayor Rob Burton justified this year's contingent by noting, "In the past, I think there's been a tendency to just send one person and say it's taken care of." We agree with Burton that Halton and each of its lowertier municipalities must be represented at the FCM conference, but question whether, in these difficult economic times, it would have been better to send six -- regional chair Carr, FCM board member Somerville and one delegate each from Oakville, Burlington, Milton and Halton Hills. While it is vital Halton has a voice at the conference -- Halton will be looking for other municipalities to support its resolution calling for the U.S. legislature to repeal `Buy American' provisions that are harmful to Halton exporters, plus there may be an opportunity to influence Canada's Minister of Infrastructure John Baird to invest in hundreds of millions of dollars of Halton projects -- we still can't shake the feeling the trendy locale of this year's gathering may have influenced the number of politicians offering to attend. 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. Letter to the editor Mom makes her son proud with birthday gift Even on your birthday, you can do the giving. That's exactly what my Mom, Sue Wright-Dykstra, did this past weekend. And it shouldn't come to me as a surprise. But for some reason, after 28 years of my life, I'm still always amazed at how much she enjoys giving to others. To celebrate her 50th birthday, she hosted a party at our family home in Oakville. The party was themed Women Inspiring Women. In lieu of gifts, all she asked for was the company of her friends and that donations be made to a Kenyan woman, Grace, who lives in poverty, has HIV and is raising her eight children without their dad. My Mom found Grace through a foundation called Living Positive. For someone to organize, host and pay for an event on their birthday, all in an effort to help someone, who is in dire need of help, is truly inspiring -- to women, and men alike. The evening was a huge success. It was attended by more than 60 women and raised $2,740 for Grace and her children -- enough money to send all of her children to school for two years, to start her own business and have extra money for food and living expenses. The success of the night brought so much joy to my Mom. And for me, it reaffirmed that your birthday truly is, and should be, a time to do whatever makes you happy. Even if what makes you the most happy, is helping others. On behalf of my Momma, thank you to everyone who attended the party and made a donation, big or small. And to the men who helped at the party, thank you as well. A proud and inspired son, JAMIE WRIGHT-DYKSTRA 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. You can't blame it all on all the dogs Over the years, I have read numerous complaints from Oakville residents about people who don't pick up after their dogs. As one of many dog lovers in Oakville, I agree: anyone who doesn't stoop and scoop is inconsiderate. However, I'd like to point out a few things to those who may make dog owners miserable with their dirty looks. Most dog owners do pick up after their dogs. We shouldn't all be tarred and feathered because of a few people who don't. I'd like to know if you are the parents of the kids who break beer bottles and leave glass shards all over the paths for us to step on. And firecracker remnants on the soccer fields. And cigarette butts. And throw out juice boxes and lunch packaging (on school property, no less)? See We page 7 Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com