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6 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday, October 30, 2002 EDITO RIALS AND LETTER S THE OAKVILLE III: HI I! IAN OLIVER Publisher NEIL OLIVER Associate Publisher TERI CASAS Office M anager 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax; 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 337-5610 Circulation: 845-9742 JILL DAVIS E ditor in Chief MARK DILLS Production M anager KELLY MONTAGUE Advertising D irector RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography D irector STEVE CROZIER Circulation D irector ROD JERRED Managing Editor Metrdand Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alfiston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance. Barry's Bay This Week, Bolton Enterprise. Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post. Burlington Shopping News, City Parent. CoHingwood/Wasaga 6onnection. 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City of York Guardian , THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FO R: Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association * Canadian Community Newspapers Association B K ONW^TTE RF L Y $m m . 0 T/h< © fOft B U SIN ESS»CBJ.!NCe LCOME^P r AOONtm J V 3 0 J in g e B ett F u n d | oakville g a lle ries] O A K V IL L E jratsPT? MUM SKY Suburban Newspapers of America ® jjr T h eO s fc v d te .M rfto na n dD isln d wag For safety's sake The leaky faucet that has been drip ping bad public relations for the provincial government since the E. coli disaster in Walkerton is going to be shut off by Ernie Eves' govern ment. Or so the premier hopes. Eves and Environment Minister Chris Stockwell announced Tuesday that the Conservative government is introducing legislation to better pro tect Ontario's drinking water. The Safe Water Drinking Act, says Eves, takes into account the recom mendations made last January by Dennis R. O'Connor in his official, report on the E. coli disaster that killed seven people in 2000 in Walkerton, Ont. If passed, the proposed act will mandate licensing and accreditation for all drinking water testing laborato ries, ensure all operators of drinking water systems are certified and appoint a chief inspector to oversee inspection policies, training of min istry inspectors and frequency of inspections and annual reporting. Eves says his government consulted with the public and various stakehold ers in drafting the proposed legisla tion and will continue to do so as it's sent to government committee this fall. Those who want to get involved should contact their MPP. While Eves claims the crux of the proposed act stems from O'Connor's report, the proposed rule changes con tained within it seem based on com mon sense. Water testing facilities should be licensed, all inspectors should be cer tified and there most definitely needs to be a hierarchy in place to ensure the summer Walkerton experienced two years ago is never repeated. There's little chance the public will tolerate even one more death caused by someone sipping a cup of tap water. Nor should they. And perhaps there's a lesson in fore shadowing here for the provincial government. Prior to the Walkerton disaster, there was a government-led deregu lation of the water industry - a process not unlike what's happening now with the province's electrical power supply Before Walkerton, no one in Ontario imagined tap water could kill you. Just like it is seemingly implausible now to suggest de-regulation of any publicly-held utility, such as hydro, could also one day lead to tragedy. We applaud the government for tak ing meaningful steps to safeguard Ontario's water supply. But we're also encouraging it to ensure that lessons learned from the Walkerton tragedy won't have to be re-learned as de-regulation of pub licly-held utilities continues. E R N IE EVES/ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Hydro rate increases direct result of Conservative policies I was pleased to see your editorial of Oct. 30 in which you highlighted the spiraling hydro rate increases that all Oakville consumers have just witnessed on their most recent bills. As you rightly pointed out. these rate increases are a direct result of the energy policies of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party lead by current Premier Ernie Eves and of which Gary Carr is a loyal member. It would be convenient, but inaccurate to blame Oakville Hydro, which is owned by the citizens of Oakville. I can attest that our Hydro is a very well run organization, staffed by professionals and guided by a Board of Directors comprised of Oakville citizens with the best interests of the com munity at heart. I applaud your efforts to distinguish between the two. The real blame lay squarely at the feet of Mr. Carr, Ernie Eves and the Progressive Conservatives. As a newspaper with a fine journalistic staff, I know first hand that you research issues fully before printing articles. What is puzzling in this instance and given the his tory of this issue is why the rate increases appear to come as a surprise to both your selves and our current Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament Gary Carr? The rate increases were predicted by most if not all-independent observers as the Tories implemented this policy. The Conservative hydro policy was passed with this knowledge readily at the disposal of all, including the media. I absolutely support the editorial stance you have taken in which you urge your readers to protest this poorly drafted and expensive legislation. It is especially refreshing to see both Halton citizens and small business rebel to the point of organized protest against such an unjustified price increase. I would personally urge others to join the protest or start their own. The contempt by which the Ernie Eves P.C. government has treated ordinary Oakville consumers should not go unpunished. Mr. Carr's petition calls for a freeze on rates for one year. If pundits are correct this would conveniently get us past the next Provincial election. What do you think might happen to hydro rates if the Eves government gets another mandate and the rate freeze was lifted in 12 months? Take a look at our severely under-fund ed public school system, highway gridlock, urban sprawl eating away our greenland, downloading of expenses to the property tax base causing local tax increases and ask yourself if this government is capable of true leadership anymore? Ask yourself what sort of leadership allows this type of hydro rate increase to happen in the first place? The Oakville Provincial Riding Association maintains a volunteer run web site at www.oakvilleliberal.com. It gives ready access to our long-standing energy policies, which differ greatly from those of the Ernie Eves/Gary Carr PC party. The policies of a Dalton McGuinty led liberal government call for better account ability and not the unfair price gouging we have just witnessed. Oakville voters have some choices to make. Firstly, under the circumstances I would encourage them to sign any petition o f protest, even Mr. C arr's. The rate increases are simply unfair and a huge detriment to homeowners and competitive small business. Secondly and more importantly, I would suggest they seriously examine the energy policies of all political parties prior to voting in the next provincial election. KEVIN FLYNN ONTARIO LIBERAL CANDIDATE-OAKVILLE On Oct. 24 I attended a meeting at Halton Region to hear the Draft Report on the issue of emergency shelter being built in Oakville. This was the second meeting I attended, and despite the facts the Report made about the critical need for a shelter in the community, there were members of the community who complained about the threat to their property values. It is sad to see such narrow-minded people exist in a town of such wealth. It reflects poorly on our communi ty that people with so much are unwilling to give to those who have nothing. It eclipses the fact that there are so many in Oakville who are generous. As a member of the 10 per cent that live below in the poverty line in Oakville, I have been lucky enough to be connected to people and agencies who are more than willing to help my daughter and I through a difficult time. 1 have lived in Toronto, and I strongly believe I would not have had as much help there as I have had here. Let's not forget that decades ago, the same arguments about property values were made when visible minori ties wanted to move into white neighbourhoods. Same argument, different group. It is time to put people before property values! I only hope that the powers-that-be in the community of Oakville will finally see it this way and build this badlyneeded shelter. SANDRA MACKAY LETTER OF THE WEEK Choose people over property values Jane Doe's presentation. informed and insightful Re: "Why Publish Such Rubbish?"(Letter to the Editor, Oakville Beaver, Oct. 23) As a member of the Management Board of the Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention Services (SAVIS) of Halton who was in attendance at the fundraising dinner featuring "Jane Doe", I am writing to respond to the above letter. While the writer is obviously offended by a statistic cited by Jane Doe in her discussion, unfortunately he is reacting to one brief comment made during a very informed, moving, empowering and insightful presentation. Jane Doe spoke from her heart and from her own personal experience of being raped by a strange man in her own apartment. Sadly, her experience is not an isolated one. Women and men who are knowledgeable about the issues related to sexual assault do not need statistics to remind them of the painful realities. Quoting numbers does, however, offer some support for the qualitative data that serves to educate those who may not be as aware. I cannot defend or dispute the particular statistic causing so much concern to the writer of the letter, as I am not sure of the source. However, I can offer several more, which may add context to the very complex and disturbing incidence of sexual assault in our communities. Both men and women suffer from violence, however most stud ies indicate that violence against women tends to be more severe. For example, women are more likely to be beaten, choked, and sex ually assaulted than men and they are five times more likely to need a doctor to treat their injuries. According to Statistics Canada, only six per cent of sexual assaults are reported to police, however it is reported by Canadian Crime Statistics that in 1998, 82 per cent of victims in reported cases of sexual assault were women and 96per cent of the accused were men. In 70 per cent of these incidents, the victim knew the accused and 62 per cent of these victims were under age 18. This does not mean that all men are "bad"; men who do com mit sexual and physical violence against women come from all economic, ethnic, racial, age and social groups and do so to exert power and control over women. A very disturbing study of dating violence in Canadian colleges found that 60 per cent of males said they would commit sexual assault if they thought they would not get caught. These statistics shed light on the vastness of the problem, but they cannot open our eyes to the true emotional, physical and psy chological damage caused by the crime of sexual assault. Hearing and learning about the impacts and the experience of those who have been violated can help to do so. There are many things that men and women in our communi ties can do to become part of the solution, however the first step is becoming aware of the problem and its causes. Public forums and media coverage are helpful tools to those of us who volunteer and work to raise consciousness on these important problems. Minimizing or denying the seriousness of the issue is not construc tive and in fact can be damaging to those whose experience deserves support and validation. As for the writer's statement that Jane Doe's comments spread the message that "a lot of women are victims", I did not hear that message in Jane Doe's story. In fact, she does not describe herself as a victim of sexual assault but as a woman who has been sexual ly assaulted. It takes awareness and understanding of the issues sur rounding sexual assault to truly understand the subtle difference. KAREN BRIDGMAN-ACKER Pesticide ban necessary J. Wilson has unrealistic expectations for education on its own (Education better than regulation,Letter to the Editor Oct. 25). Experience with smoking and seat belts has shown that education must be coupled with regulation to be effective. The citizens who wish to listen have already adopted a pesticide free environment that is safe for all living creatures. The problem is the citizens like the author, who don't seem to care what consequences their actions have on those around them. The moratorium on spraying by the town this past season has provided a safe place for all of Oakville's res idents, young and old, to walk and play. Congratulations to the town! Let's see if we can keep it that way. Educate and ban the cosmetic use of pesti cides! J. KAY Pud Wo u ld You u k e t h e m in A B o n u . o r o n By STEVE NEASE I W AS O N LY , a m ft# break- W DDIN6.' ^tterTO M O R^ We welcome your letters The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published, letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Road, Oakville, On., L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish any letter.