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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, January 21, 2010 · 6 The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 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, Metroland West DAVID HARVEY Regional 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 WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com Canada to shine on world stage Lisa Raitt, Halton MP, Minister of Labour ith a new year comes new opportunities -- this year more than ever before. In 2010, it will be Canada's time to shine on the world stage. In June, Canada will host world leaders both at the G8 and G20 summits, which will provide a tremendous opportunity to promote Canada's values and interests globally. We will prove Canada is the best place to invest in the world, insist on action against climate change and encourage freedom, democracy and human rights. Of course, in less than a month, Canada will welcome the world in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. A few weeks ago, I was on hand with many of you as the Olympic torch passed through our community. Standing there, watching not only the flame, but also observing our community coming together to support our athletes, was nothing short of inspirational. We have the best athletes in Canada. They are being cheered on by the greatest fans in the world, all of which bodes well for our chances in Vancouver. Canada will also continue to be an economic leader. Recently, Prime Minister Harper announced that the next phase of our Economic Action Plan will be launched with a Throne Speech on March 3 and a budget on March 4. In preparation for this, I recently held a series of very successful town hall budget consultation meetings to hear directly from you, my constituents. I would like to thank each and every one of you who came out to the meetings to participate in the discussion. Because of the consultations held here in Halton and across Canada last year, our government was able to develop and deliver Canada's Economic Action Plan, which many have credited with protecting families and stimulating the economy. So far, you have made it clear that the economy remains Halton's top priority. It remains ours as well. The theme of the new session will be continued implementation of the Economic Action Plan, returning the federal budget to balance once the economy has recovered and building the economy of the future. If you were unable to attend these meetings and wish to make a contribution, please contact my office so your suggestions can be submitted. I would like to close by wishing you, your family, your friends and especially our athletes all the best for 2010. Go, Canada go. Lisa Raitt RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America W THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION MICHAEL IVANIN / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER A BIG HELP: John Jules, top left, president, and Frank Linheaeart (third from left), of PJ's Pets, present a $50,000 cheque to Julie Jelinek (second from left) of the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides, which is headquartered in Oakville. The cheque presentation was attended by families from the first Autism Assistance Dog Guide class. The donation from the pet store is the result of a fundraising campaign for the Foundation's new Autism Assistance Dog Guide program, which took place in stores across Canada last November. To be or not to be: did William Shakespeare even exist? S cholars (and by `scholars' I'm specifically referring to people with way too much education and time on their hands) have become preoccupied with proving that William Shakespeare, the man often considered to be the greatest writer in the English language (or, at least, a close second behind Danielle Steel) did not exist. Actually, they do not contend that poor Will never existed as a person, but that he may not have existed as a prodigious playwright. They say that the man known as William Shakespeare -- a purportedly poorly-educated merchant/actor from StratfordUpon-Avon -- did not pen the 38 plays, 154 sonnets and innumerable poems that have long been attributed to him. They say the man who came to be known as England's national poet, The Bard of Avon, whose works have been translated into more languages and received more airtime than Abba, received credit where credit was not due. Alas, two years ago, in a Declaration of Reasonable Doubt, distinguished British actors Sir Derek Jacobi and Mark Rylance doth asked how a man with a Grade 6 education could possibly have written so transcendentally about subjects as diverse as law, astronomy, horticulture, medicine and foreign languages without aid of education or the Internet. This declaration has been signed by more than 1,700 people, including academics, actors Jeremy Irons and Michael York (who you may remember as Basil Exposition in the Austen Powers movies) and Danielle Steel. Andy Juniper So, if William Shakespeare did not pen what is considered to be the greatest single canon of Western literature, then the obvious question becomes: who did? It's a question that causes the nose hairs of scholars to stand on end. And it sends them (the scholars, not their nose hairs) scouring over the works attributed to Shakespeare, scrutinizing each line in search of clues of authentic authorship, just like Beatles fans once scoured the band's lyrics in search of clues as to whether Paul was dead. Contenders/pretenders to Shakespeare's throne include all the usual suspects: Edward De Vere, The 17th Earl of Oxford; Christopher Marlowe; William Stanley, The Sixth Earl of Derby; Hank The Haberdasher; Ed the Apothecary; Fred (from Fred's First Bank of Oxford); and, of course, Danielle Steel. Now, a new contender has emerged on the Shakespearean scholarly landscape and, according to the Globe and Mail, "the nominee is a complete shocker: Amelia Bassano Lanier, a conveso (clandestine Jew) and the illegitimate daughter of an Italian-born Elizabethan court musician." One British Shakespeare scholar goes so far as to insist that if Bassano was not the author, she was definitely a collaborator. It's all fascinating food for thought and fodder for great debate. Some Shakespeare fanatics steadfastly back the Bard. Some side against him. And still others say that it matters not who wrote the plays, but, rather, that we simply admire the works for their depth, beauty and timelessness. I believe it was Shakespeare ­ or, perhaps it was Danielle Steel ­ who wrote: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet." Amen, brother. Or, ah, sister. Andy Juniper can be visited at www.strangledeggs.com, contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, or followed at www.twitter.com/thesportjesters.