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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, April 27, 2012 · 6 Opinion & Letters 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 -- Open 9-5 weekdays, 5-7 for calls only Wed. to Friday, Closed weekends Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The Oakville Beaver THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Canadian Circulation Audit Board Member THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America Canadian Community Newspapers Association ATHENA Award Neil Oliver Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The OakvilleBeaver is a division of David Harvey Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief Daniel Baird Advertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor 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 Thin victory Ontarians won't be heading back to the polls anytime soon and we have NDP Leader Andrea Horwath to blame or thank -- depending on your viewpoint. Premier Dalton McGuinty and Horwath hammered out a deal behind closed doors that would see a two per cent wealth surtax on 23,000 Ontarians earning $500,000 or more a year. The NDP-driven initiative was accepted by McGuinty's Liberals, once again proving McGuinty can't be believed when he promises voters no new taxes. For Horwath, this was hardly a shining moment to speak of. While her `tax-the-rich' scheme certainly sounds appealing to the average person, let's keep in mind a couple things: First, those high-wage earners likely earned their money by taking financial risks to start businesses that now offer employment to others. Second, there are many in that tax bracket who perform specialized jobs requiring specialized skills. They likely paid their dues along the way to their hefty income. Third, many economists believe this tax will bring in less than the $470M the NDP claims that it will. As well, all this additional cash will go towards paying down the $15.2-B deficit and not to any pet NDP programs. The Liberals were forced to add $242 million in funding for childcare, $20 million for northern and rural hospitals, and boosted welfare and disability benefits by one per cent at a cost of $55 million in other moves to appease the New Democrats. Then, after wresting these concessions from McGuinty, the NDP's 17-member caucus chose to abstain from voting on the spending plan, allowing the Liberals to defeat the Tories 52-37 on the motion. Were the NDP-forced changes not even palatable to the NDP? Horwath had McGuinty at her mercy and could have pushed for more cash for a jobs action plan, particularly with the unemployment rate expected to stay above seven per cent until 2015. Certainly no one wanted another election, but one could have been avoided, and this budget vastly improved, with a little creativity on the part of Horwath. Letter to the editor Association thanks Damoff for her actions Re: Oakville saying no to casinos, Wednesday, April 18, 2012, The Oakville Beaver The Ontario Charitable Gaming Association (OCGA) represents the majority of charities and non-profits that fundraise through charitable gaming in Ontario. The charities at Delta Bingo Oakville are OCGA members. We have worked diligently over the past six years with our government partners, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, and with our private sector partners through the Commercial Gaming Association of Ontario to bring about significant changes and initiatives for the charitable gaming industry. These efforts include the Revitalization of Charitable Bingo that we pressured the provincial government for in order to improve the fundraising opportunities for thousands of charities across Ontario by modernizing the industry. In a nutshell, our initiative is about supporting local charities by turning existing paper-based games into their modern equivalent and nothing else. This opportunity has been offered to all existing bingo centres and their charities across the province with the approach being one of offering standard commissions and standard agreements with Ontario Lottery and Gaming to all stakeholders. We wish to publicly thank Councillor Pam Damoff for her sincere efforts over the last two weeks to bring a greater understanding of the impact of this initiative to Oakville Council. See Charities page 9 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@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Help prevent rabies shots I am hoping you will print this letter in an effort to prevent my son from having to undergo a series of painful rabies shots. On Thursday, April 19, at approximately 5 p.m., my son was bitten by a dog while on the north sidewalk of Glenashton Drive between Sixth Line and Central Park Drive. I am trying to track down the owner to confirm if the dog has its current rabies vaccination. Otherwise, my son will require a series of painful rabies injections as early as April 29. As most know, rabies is a deadly viral infection spread by infected animals. At the time of the incident, my son was riding his longboard along the sidewalk when he approached a woman walking her leashed dog. As my son approached, the woman gave way See Searching page 9 Pud By Steve Nease neasecartoons@gmail.com 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.