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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 9, 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. Following the economic turbulence of 2009 our message to readers at this time last year was to fasten your seatbelts as we headed into 2010. As it turns out the past year was not as rocky as many had feared it would be. There was no federal election. The stock markets rebound- ed. The previous years stimulus packages, both here and abroad, appeared to help right the listing economic ship. Automakers again started talking about profits rather than restructuring and the closing of dealerships. Canadas real estate market appears to be settling into a balanced state, according to fig- ures released by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Sales in November 2010 were up for the fourth month in a row, but are well off the highs set a year ago. CREA expects sales numbers to remain fairly stable through the first half of 2011, but they could come under pressure when interest rates resume their expected climb in the second half of the new year. While it is of little comfort to anyone out of work and looking for a job, the national unem- ployment rate appears to be trending downward. Last month the rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 7.6 per cent, the lowest since January 2009. Since November 2009, employment has risen by 318,000 (+1.9 per cent). Even the job situation in hard-hit Ontario brightened last month as the employment level rose by 31,000, pushing the unemployment rate down 0.4 percentage points to 8.2 per cent, the lowest since January 2009. While 2010 certainly had its rocky moments, it appears we weathered the storm. Heres to smooth sailing in 2011. 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 editorSmoother ride ahead in 2011 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 Pilgrims Way needs speedy resolution The Oakville Beaver is a division of Chudleigh responds to energy minister Re: Energy minister responds to Chudleigh letter to the editor, The Oakville Beaver, Dec. 22. Regarding the 10 per cent rebate the McGuinty Liberals are offering hydro consumers did- nt ask for a bit of help, instead they cried uncle as Minister Brad Duguids government was, and still is, bleeding them dry. The promise of clean energy jobs in Ontario will never material- ize; no matter how many times the minister and premier wish it to be so. Certainly their outsourced con- tract with Samsung will bring Ontario jobs to South Korea. Ill save people in Halton the need to call my office yes, we voted against the governments benefit because it was too little, too late and perpetuates the wrong approach to hydro in Ontario. Huge subsidies for wind and solar projects that have never worked in any jurisdiction, all laid on the backs of Ontarians fighting a serious and systemic recession, is foolish. We do support clean energy for Ontario, despite the ministers assertions, however we favour the proven technology of nuclear power, which actually supplies the province with about half its cur- rent generation needs. Unlike the Liberals plan, nuclear plants actually produce power even when there is no wind or sun, on calm days and at night. And they produce power for a rea- sonable cost that wont bankrupt Ontario families. Wrapping himself in the flag of cleaner air does a disservice to Ontarians. We all want cleaner air its just that we know we dont have to pay foreign companies billions to get it. TED CHUDLEIGH, HALTON MPP 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 The issue of speeding vehicles on Pilgrims Way continues to be a source of concern for those of us living on or near this roadway. As other contributors to The Oakville Beaver have suggested, changes need to be made to the layout of this roadway. Some non-bicycle riders suggest that the bike lanes be removed, while those who bike, suggest that its too dangerous to use them due to the speeding vehicles. In order to address the speeding issue, I have written to Ward 4 Councillor Allan Elgar, and to the Towns traffic department, and sug- gested that a traffic control (stop sign) be located on Pilgrims Way at Montgomery Drive. The reasoning behind this request is because school buses make stops just west of Montgomery Drive on Pilgrims Way, and turn onto Pilgrims Way off Montgomery Drive. In addition, this would slow traffic down before the long curve, where the impaired drivers managed to drive onto the sidewalk and front yards. I was informed by Dave Bloomer, commis- sioner of infrastructure and transportation services for the Town of Oakville, that he would have the engineering department look into the possibility of installing a traffic con- trol, based on certain criteria. I hope that waiting for a fatal accident to occur, before installing a stop sign, is not one of the criteria. I also hope the people involved in studying this issue are not the same ones who made the changes to Pilgrims Way in the first place. The only positive action, which has already been taken, is by the Halton Regional Police. After installing a traffic monitoring device for about 24 hours, their officers started to enforce the speed limit in the area where the two accidents had occurred. I hope that the Town does not waste a lot of time and money studying this matter, and comes up with a viable solution to the prob- lem of speeders by slowing down the traffic. TERRY J. OLIANSKI, OAKVILLE While it is little comfort to anyone out of work and looking for a job, the national unemployment rate appears to be trending downward.