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w w w . o a kv ill eb ea ve r.c o m O A KV IL LE B EA V ER W e dn es da y, D ec em be r 2 2, 2 01 0 6 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 Open 9-5 weekdays, 5-7 for calls only Wed. to Friday, Closed weekends The Oakville Beaver Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. OPINION & LETTERS 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@oakville- beaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. It might be time for Oakville Town Council to redraw Oakvilles ward map. The subject was first broached in Oakville Mayor Rob Burtons inaugural speech, which prompted mem- bers of Fair Vote Halton to respond favourably last week with a couple letters to the editor (Time to change Oakvilles Ward map and Oakville has outgrown cur- rent ward system) in the Oakville Beaver. The last time Town Council tackled this subject was prior to the 2006 municipal election when a citizens task force studying municipal boundary changes tabled a report calling for a radical change to the ward map. The task force recommended retaining the six-ward system. but running them in six vertical strips from Lake Ontario in the south to the Milton boundary in the north. Currently, there are three wards south of the QEW and three wards north of the QEW. Supporters of the proposal thought municipal boundaries that run from Lake Ontario northward would bring Oakville residents, communities and coun- cillors together with more of a town-wide focus. Detractors, however, felt the proposal would split apart existing neighbourhoods with shared concerns. In the end, the task forces recommendations were shelved. However, it is time to bring this issue back to the council table. There are currently more residents living north of the QEW than south of the highway, which means the northern wards are more densely populated than the southern wards. Ward 4 has about the same population as Wards 1 & 2 combined. This is only going to increase as the land north of Dundas Street is developed. Currently the town has one mayor and 12 council- lors representing six wards - one Town and Regional Councillor and one Town Councillor in each ward. Conceivably, the northern boundaries of the three southern wards could be extended northwards across the QEW, but we would prefer to keep the highway as a dividing line for Oakvilles ward map. For the sake of discussion, we suggest its time to redraw the ward map with two wards south of the QEW and four wards in the north. This solution would maintain the traditional and historical neighbourhoods in each ward, while address- ing the population imbalances that plague the existing ward map. We would like to hear your opinion on this subject. Please share your thoughts on this matter by sending them to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. NEIL OLIVER Vice President and Group Publisher of Metroland West DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief 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 con- dition 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 editorTime for new map THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: ATHENAAward THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIALMEDIASPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Canadian CirculationAudit Board Member Canadian CommunityNewspapers AssociationOntario CommunityNewspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America Energy Minister responds to Chudleigh The Oakville Beaver is a division of Pilgrms speedway Going to sleep is far from peaceful when you live on Pilgrims Way. Residents were awoken to a terrific bang last Friday night when a car mounted the curb, crashed through three trees and came to a stop when it hit a rock in the front of a garden. Fortunately, no one was hurt and luckily no cars parked in the driveways were hit, but the speeding vehicle is a write off as are the three trees. The place looked like a tornado had been though with car debris and branches strewn across three gardens. The driver will not be having a Merry Christmas. This is not the first time. Long time residents have mentioned to the Town of Oakville numerous times that this road is used as a speedway and speed bumps or some other method of traffic control are a necessity. Two summers ago, a Porsche veered across the lanes and landed on its roof in a front yard. Last summer a 30-foot light pole was knocked over. People who walk their dogs or shovel their driveways know they are taking a risk as cars speed by. Talking to the neighbors gathered at the scene last week, every one of them related stories of screeching tires and speeding cars at all hours of the night. When are we going to learn? When will the Town take this seriously? Are we waiting for these accidents to become tragedies when someone gets maimed or killed? Perhaps the Town should debate this serious issue rather than passing ill- conceived bike-lane restrictions. Oakville seems to be destined to becom- ing a bike-zone to the detriment of the vehicles (which actually pay to use the roads). When was the last time you saw anyone actually riding a bike in the bike lane? All it has done on Pilgrims Way, by removing the middle turning lane, is make it difficult for residents to back out during the rush hour and causes a back up when someone is trying to turn across the road. How much consultation or study was done before this misguided motion was passed? Wake up Oakville. Dont ignore this until you read about the next accident in the obituaries and come up with a way to slow down the traffic. GILL GODDARD, OAKVILLE 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 SARAH MCSWEENEY Circulation Manager DANIEL COLEMAN Regional Online Sales Manager Re: Who pays the bills?, guest column by Halton MPP Ted Chudleigh, Oakville Beaver, Dec. 16. Ontarios Long-Term Energy Plan is moving our province to clean sources of power while shutting down coal plants that pollute the air we breathe. Upgrading and modernizing our infra- structure is helping to provide reliable power to our homes and businesses. Thanks to our plan we are also seeing thousands of new clean ener- gy jobs for Ontarians. While Tory leader Tim Hudak and Tory MPP Ted Chudleigh may criticize these investments, they offer no plan themselves of how they would secure Ontarios energy future. The Ontario PC party would rather go back to the days when they drove coal generation up 127 per cent, and they oppose investment in clean energy. The McGuinty government understands that while these investments come with a cost, they are absolutely essential to a prosperous province. We brought in the Clean Energy Benefit to help Ontario families, farms and small businesses with the increased costs associated with these investments. Our government recognized that as we continue to recover from the global eco- nomic recession, Ontario families were feeling the pinch and were asking for a bit of help. We listened and we responded. Starting Jan. 1, 2011, the Ontario Clean Energy Benefit will take 10 per cent off every electricity bill, every month for the next five. This benefit means savings of $150 a year for an average household. But Tim Hudaks Conservatives including Halton MPP Ted Chudleigh said that Ontario families did not need this help and voted against the Clean Energy Benefit. The hard working people of Halton deserve better. I encourage residents of Halton to ask MPP Chudleigh why he voted against a 10 per cent deduction on your energy bill, why he is against helping the families, farms and small businesses he represents, and why he isnt fighting for cleaner air for your kids and grandkids. You can contact MPP Chudleigh at ted.chudleigh@pc.ola.org or by calling 905-878- 1729. To learn more about Ontarios Long-Term Energy Plan and the Clean Energy Benefit at www.ontario.ca/energyplan. BRAD DUGUID, ONTARIO MINISTER OF ENERGY