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OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, June 19, 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 Back to work Voters across Canada breathed a sigh of relief this week when Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff backed down from his threat to force a federal election. While some politicians and loyal followers in the Liberal, NDP and Bloc Quebecois camps may have looked forward to a summer election, it's safe to say that most of the voters in Canada weren't as keen about going to the polls instead of the beach. The Liberals may come to regret this turnabout. Although the Liberals would likely have faced a voter backlash over a summer vote, the ruling Conservatives and Prime Minister Stephen Harper may never be as vulnerable as they are now. There is ammunition galore to attack the Conservatives with on the campaign trail -- the economy's in the tank; the federal deficit is growing at an alarming rate; unemployment insurance (EI) is a mess; the isotope crisis turned into an embarrassing political crisis for the Minister of natural Resources, Halton MP Lisa Raitt and there is no clear timetable for when infrastructure spending promises will become a reality. Unfortunately for the Liberals, the timing is not right for Ignatieff and his party to call an election. He still needs to raise his political profile across the country, not to mention some campaign cash for himself and the rest of his party. In addition, a snap election now would catch many local riding associations by surprise and without a candidate. Unless the Oakville and Halton Liberal Riding Associations are keeping them a secret, neither one has yet to pick a candidate. Perhaps that's why Ignatieff backed off from his earlier demands for enhancements to unemployment insurance, a roadmap to eliminate the deficit, a plan for addressing the isotope crisis, and transparent accounting in infrastructure spending, and settled for a bipartisan panel to study EI. (Here's a thought -- let's have all panel members apply for EI.) Or maybe Ignatieff came to his senses and realized now is not the right time to bring the government to a grinding halt and waste millions of taxpayers' dollars on another federal election. Hopefully now that the bluffing and posturing is over, our federal politicians can get back to the job of finding a solution to turning this country around. 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 Oakville rabbi joins Darfur fast On Thursday, June 18, I join rabbis across the country in a fast of solidarity with the people of Darfur. My fast is one that thousands of people, from celebrities to politicians to activists to clergy from 35 different countries, have participated in since Mia Farrow started the fast on April 27. We fast to command the world's attention to the tragedy in Darfur and to demand the restoration of humanitarian aid to the people of Darfur and to the whole of Sudan. It has been almost three months since humanitarian groups were expelled from Sudan. Despite governmental assurances that Sudan will let in international NGOs and close the humanitarian gaps, the situation remains unresolved. Aid groups report that their efforts are gravely unsustainable and insufficient. Across Sudan, communities that relied on aid groups now suffer without adequate food, sanitation or medical supplies. Children will be disproportionately affected. Fasting is a traditional part of Judaism, used to focus the mind on the memory of a great tragedy or to express deep repentance. But this fast is different. It is meant to address a crisis happening in our time and is an active response to ongoing tragedy. We know that it is only our failure to act for which we will have to atone. For then the children of Darfur will slowly die, quick deaths at the hands of the Janjaweed, and slow deaths of hunger and disease. The United Nations is working to restore humanitarian aid to Sudan and to bring about lasting peace there, but they need an international community of leaders to help him. As rabbis around North America fast together, let us hope that our community of moral leadership will be replicated on the world stage and result in lasting relief and peace in Sudan. RABBI STEPHEN WISE SHAAREI-BETH EL CONGREGATION 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. Time to move forward in Ward 3 As a parent with school aged children living in Oakville, I sympathize with parents living through the Ward 3 public elementary school issues, but I have to say the issue is getting to me. While not directly affected by it, I am sick and tired about hearing about it. It's been a long and frustrating road and if decisions aren't made soon, the children affected will surely pay the price. Let's move on. Let's just admit we can't please everyone all the time and move on. Children are resilient (as we heard from the study) and any and all frustrations are surely children listening and learning that behaviour from their parents. We all have issues and views on things in our community, but I say enough time, energy and resources have been spent. Your children will thank you. ARLETTE EDMUNDS BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com Pud