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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, June 3, 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 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 The Oakville Beaver is a division of Guest Columnist Inside Ottawa scoop Terence Young, Oakville MP irst, I'd like to thank the Oakville Beaver for providing me with this space to tell you what's going on in Ottawa. I get letters. When I get more than 10 on one issue I know it is a big concern for you. So here's the `Inside Ottawa' scoop on a recent batch of these issues. Terence Young Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has used his EtobicokeLakeshore MP budget to send a number of partisan bulletins -- "10 percenters" -- to every home in Oakville. An all-party agreement has now banned the practice of sending these into other ridings, saving the taxpayers millions. Next, the Hill reporters want access to highly detailed budgets of MPs through the Auditor General's office. I agree with openness and so does my party, so we will work out a procedure with the Auditor General to allow a performance audit of The House of Commons, while never invading the privacy of my constituents. It will be a fourth level of oversight on MPs' spending. Most discretionary MP expenses are made on our personal credit cards. There are no MP Visa cards. There are now three levels of control on MP expenses: MP's staff, the Finance Branch and independent outside auditor KPMG. What happened in Britain with MPs expenses could not happen here. The controls are very strict: If I take a constituent out for coffee, staff insist on an itemized bill or it won't be paid. Even frequent flyer points must be used for parliamentary business. There is some confusion about the HST. Please be advised the introduction of the HST is purely a provincial decision made by Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty. By Canada's constitution, our government could not refuse to allow Ontario the same right to harmonize the PST as the other provinces. Premier McGuinty could have made the HST revenue-neutral for you by lowering the PST and overall amount of the combined tax from 13 to 11 per cent (or less). Newfoundland reduced its PST by 4 per cent when it harmonized in the early 1990s. The Ontario Liberals believe in higher taxes and higher spending. They introduced the largest tax increase in Ontario's history in 2004 -- the Ontario health tax. They have increased spending by more than 60 per cent since becoming the government and our home electricity rates will soon be double. They have also recently increased the prices at the LCBO. Our government has decreased your taxes in many ways. We lowered the GST, as promised. from seven to five per cent. Average Canadians can take advantage of the Tax Free Savings Account, Children's Fitness Tax Credit, Public Transit Tax Credit and reduced taxes on pensions. Student bursaries and scholarships are no longer taxed. The average family now saves about $3,000/year on taxes under the Harper government. Is our `lower tax' policy working? Growth in our economy is now 6.1 per cent -- the best in 10 years and the best in the G8 nations. More than 300,000 new jobs have been created since last fall. Canada is, and will increasingly be, the place to invest, growing our economy greater than any time in our history. F WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com Suburban Newspapers of America Media Group Ltd. RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville ATHENA Award ERIC RIEHL / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER UNITED: Scotiabank branches from Oakville and Mississauga held a community event at Sherdian College recently where Scotiabank branch members presented a cheque to the United Way of Oakville for $27, 000. Modern Family tops a memorable year on the little screen ith next week's airing of the finale of Glee, the 20092010 TV season will be officially over (well, more or less officially over), and we will all be free to remove the remote control from our clammy clutches, release ourselves from the bonds of the boob tube, and go outside and actually get a life. While it may not have been a momentous season, it was surely memorable. It was the season that saw Lost finally get lost after six hot-and-cold (and continually cryptic) seasons. The season that saw Simon Cowell bid adieu to American Idol, after piloting the karaoke contest through nine unprecedented ratings-busting seasons. It was a season in which some shows found their groove (the aforementioned Glee, which I personally despise, and Chuck, which I love), while others jumped the proverbial shark (the much-hyped Parenthood). And it was the season that gave us a nutty new family to follow. For many critics and casual viewers, any discussion of the TV season begins and ends with the so-called mockumentary sitcom Modern Family, ABC's breakaway hit. In the evolution of television comedies, Modern Family is hugely indebted to the lategreat Arrested Development in terms of style, content and beloved quirkiness. W The cast is incredible. Ask 10 viewers to name the actual star of this show, and you may well get 10 different responses. For me, it's Ty Burrell who plays fabulous Phil, the misguided, middle-aged father who thinks parents should friend their children, rather than discipline them. In Phil's words, he favors "peer-anting" over parenting. But, then, Andy Juniper Phil also says: "I'm the cool dad, that's my thang. I'm hip, I surf the web, I text. LOL: Laugh Out Loud. OMG: Oh my god. WTF: Why the face?" Cue the eye-rolls of each of his three kids. Speaking of great casts and pedigree, Parenthood -- a midseason replacement that had everyone in TV land drooling in anticipation -- had a shot at being special, but instead settled for clichés in both characterizations and plot. I wanted to like this show, I really did. But I believe I watched my last episode when, in the finale, the writers pole-vaulted the shark when they had the show's matriarch and patriarch discuss daddy's infidelities in front of the entire extended family (how far can you suspend disbelief?). Oh, and then Pops pulled out a ukulele (you read that right) and serenaded Mom with a mouldy old Herman's Hermit's song. The scene was so painful, I actually felt sorry for the actors. On the other side of the coin, I feel happy for Zachary Levi and the cast of Chuck (recently renewed by NBC for another season). This season rocked. To the point where there were mumbles around the Juniper Compound of this arguably being the best show on TV. Finally, if you are simply unable to put the clicker down and get on with the summer version of your life, there's still Friday Night Lights. Having run on Direct TV in the U.S. over the winter, the show's fourth season is now airing on NBC, logically enough, on Friday nights. Critically acclaimed -- winner of a Peabody, an Emmy and a Television Critics Award -- the show is still struggling to find an audience. But those who watch it, love it, and they are a fiercely loyal group. Via Internet interventions, they've saved this classic show from the scrap heap. Twice. Talk about must-see TV. Andy Juniper can be visited at www.strangledeggs.com, contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, or followed at www.twitter.com/thesportjesters.