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HALTON TRANS TR NSMISSION (905) 559 SPEERS R ROAD, UNIT #3 dentistoakville.com den 842-0725 905-842-6030 90 www.carstaroakville.com 547 Tr T afalgar Rd. 905-8457579 SNA NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR 2010 ONTARIO'S TOP NEWSPAPER - 2005-2008 Sports 2212 Wyecroft Rd. 905-847 -2595 A member of Metroland Media Group Ltd. Vol. 50 No. 26 "USING COMMUNICATION TO BUILD BETTER COMMUNITIES" THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012 24 Pages $1.00 (plus tax) Crime rate Hands on dips to a record low By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Overall crime in Halton took a historic nosedive last year with Halton police reporting a crime rate decrease of 10.4 per cent. The 2011 crime rate is the lowest since Halton Region was created in 1974. In a statistical summary unveiled during Thursday's Halton Regional Police Service Board meeting, police stated 1,259 fewer criminal offences occurred in 2011 (13,678) than were recorded in 2010 (14,937). That's an 8.4 per cent drop in the crime rate -- 10.4 per cent when Halton's population growth is factored in. In Oakville, over that period, police said the crime rate was down 11.4 per cent while the rate for Burlington was 9.5 per cent, 15.7 per cent in Milton and 2.9 per cent in Halton Hills. "When a community that is already as safe as Halton sees this kind of significant decline in criminal offences, it speaks volumes about how effectively everyone, including the police, the public, our community partners, and the media are working together for public safety," said Halton Police Chief Gary Crowell. However, violent crime in Halton -- homicide, attempted murder, sexual assault, assault, robbery and abduction -- rose slightly by 0.1 per cent (2,511 incidents in 2010 to 2,569 inciSee Accident page 3 Affordable ff housing is needed now By Christina Commisso METROLAND WEST MEDIA GROUP Waiting until 2014 to implement new housing initiatives is too long for the thousands of Halton residents waiting for units, says one local housing advocate. "My impatience and eagerness is nothing compared to the people living down at Sixteen Mile Creek," said Garth Brown of Affordable Housing Halton, as the Region unveiled a timeline last week for its comprehensive housing strategy. It was to go before regional council this week. "For all the good work the Region has done in acquiring the data, we have the information that we can move forward and find soluGarth Brown tions today, rather than waiting, which will only extend the challenges of those already suffering," said Brown. Halton has until 2014 to finalize a 10-year plan to address housing and homelessness, according to Ontario's Housing Services Act. The timeline presented at last week's Health and Social Services Committee indicates Halton will take that time, with a plan to do public consultation in 2012, seek final provincial approval in 2013 and put the plan in action in 2014. "There is no need for more hours of public input. You have all the material from abundant reports and testimony reflecting today's real need for more housing affordable to all. The need for public consultation has passed," charged Brown. "The need for public education See Region page 10 MICHAEL IVANIN / OAKVILLE BEAVER CULTURAL EXPLORATION: Palermo Public School student Adil Nawaz creates an Inuit sculpture from clay as he participates in a variety of cultural workshops held through the day at the school during a recent celebration of cultures. In the evening, parents visited the school to watch performances and sample a variety of cultural cuisine. For more photos, see page 9. 905-844-2949