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Young defends prorogation Rally for Democracy on Saturday 11 · Friday, January 22, 2010 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com Continued from page 1 in a number of good suggestions he will take to a meeting with the finance minister on Friday morning. Among his favourites was a suggestion that the government establish an Ageing Task Force to deal with economic issues related to seniors, including pension reform. On the cost-cutting side, members of the civil service were a target for several members of the Oakville audience. "It seems pretty clear now that public sector salaries have moved ahead of private sector salaries and really those should be closer in line," noted one man. However, Young said he believes cuts to federal salary and benefit costs should be done through attrition rather than layoffs. "My opinion is we don't want to start to slash and burn the civil service right now because our recovery is fragile," he said. One of the younger members of the audience of about 20 people also expressed concern with the federal deficit that Young estimated would be in the neighbourhood of $54 billion. "I have a lot of tax years to come," he said. "I know that personally I'm going to be dealing with this deficit for a long time to come." Young defended the government's decision to spend and noted that the Conservatives aim is to have a balanced budget by 2014. He said Canada will have the lowest deficit among G8 countries as a percentage of GDP. "We did what we had to do and it's had a www.paintitlikenew.com Join Us to Celebrate Our 2 Anniversary at Our New Location! nd Save up to $700* during February on select pairs of hearing aids! The Oakville Hearing Centre offers the very best in hearing healthcare.We are proud to provide only the highest quality products and services to our clients. Be sure to enter our February Prize Draw** for your chance to win a FREE pair of premium Widex hearing aids! 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"Somehow this issue has become really huge and I'm not really sure why except there wasn't much else going on," Young said, describing prorogation as "a normal administrative tool" used by prime ministers, including former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. "I don't know why you wouldn't expect that people would want to say something about this," argued one man. Another walked out of the meeting after having his comments cut short. In a letter Young handed out to the audience, he noted that the prorogation will allow reform of House and Senate committees to ensure "Liberals will no longer have a majority on these committees and unaccountable senators will no longer be able to overrule the will of Parliament." A handful of protesters outside the meeting carried signs reading Shamocracy, and flyers were handed out advertising a protest rally scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. across from Young's Kerr Street constituency office. A rally is being held in Oakville Saturday, Jan. 23 to protest the suspension of Parliament by the Stephen Harper government. The Rally for Democracy ­ Get Parliament Back to Work is at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Heritage Park, 337 Kerr St. (across from Oakville Conservative MP Terence Young's constituency office). The protest is open to anyone. "This is a multi-partisan event for people of all political stripes," stated organizer Brian Hopkins in a press release. "Regardless of who you voted for in the past, this is your opportunity to stand up for democracy and call on Terence Young to get back to work." Mervyn Russell, chair of the Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights, will be a keynote speaker. Other speakers will include James Ede Oakville NDP Executive member, Marion Schaffer -- Green Party activist, Willie Lambert -- Oakville and District Labour Council past President, and Kim Ford ­ local activist The rally will also include a short march through the neighbourhood. There are similar events taking place on the same day in 50 towns and cities across the country. Get inspired by Colour FEATURED IN THE EURODALE DREAM HOME AT THE NATIONAL HOME SHOW · FEB. 19-28TH · DIRECT ENERGY CENTRE WINTER BEDROOM FURNITURE SPECIAL* FREE Decorative Monogramming by Dove Grey Interiors with this ad *Minimum $250 order; offer expires March 21, 2010. $50 VALUE CUT AND SAVE CUT AND SAVE 905-631-REDO (7336) 1254 Plains Road East, Unit 1A Burlington