The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, May 8, 2015 | 6 We need to talk One in ve Ontarians under age 17 has a mental health disorder that signi cantly impairs their ability to function in the community. Mental health issues among youths and children is forecast to increase 50 per cent internationally by 2020. Halton Regional Police Chief Stephen Tanner says service calls related to mental health and suicide were almost 25 per cent higher in 2014 than in the two previous years. This is what was heard at an Executive Breakfast in Support of Mental Health for Children and Youth held this week, during both Mental Health Week and Children's Mental Health Week in Ontario, to provide a glimpse at the future of mental health treatment in Halton. Staggering. Problematic. Of grave concern. All in a eld where many are working feverishly to bring the topic into the light, just so we can all discuss these issues, never mind get treatment, without fear of labelling, prejudice... the dreaded stigma. Everyone had best get past all this to address what is a great need, amongst the general population and particularly affecting our young people... our future. Organized by the Reach Out Centre For Kids (ROCK), in partnership with Halton Regional Police, the event peered into the future -- while noting it is our future generation that is in need of greater support when it comes to mental health. Ron Rodgers, CEO of Reach Out Centre for Kids (ROCK), which provides mental health services to children, said there are signi cant gaps in the mental health services, particularly for children six years of age and under, and for youths transitioning from youth mental health services to adult services. That's really the full gamut of our young population. Those at the breakfast also heard Tanner say police should not be expected to deal on their own with mental health issues under the banner of policing. Law enforcement and mental health treatment may certainly cross paths, but no one should mistake law enforcement as mental health services. We should take notes from Rodgers. Following extensive community consultation, he is advancing a trio of priorities he believes will help those seeking treatment for mental health issues in Halton. These include pathways into, between and from core mental health services -- not lengthy waiting lists, duplication of services or the ability to fall through the cracks. Everyone must be on the same page when it comes to the validation and alignment of child and youth mental health service targets and everyone should know the capacity of services available in Halton. Police are also working with ROCK to develop a formal protocol to assist young people in getting the mental health services and supports they need in the time they need it most. It will see frontline of cers contact the ROCK crisis line to get help for youths in crisis right away. It's a good place to start... and antiquated beliefs that mental health issues are not spoken about, does not t into the equation. As a society that values its youths, the next generation, our future, we owe them no less. Editorial "Connected to your Community" Letters to the Editor 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington ON L7L 5Z1 General Inquiries: (905) 845-3824 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 Volume 53 | Number 37 The Oakville Beaver is a division of Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Vice­President and Group Publisher of Metroland West Regional General Manager NEIL OLIVER DAVID HARVEY JILL DAVIS A hockey net submerged in a stormwater management pond after the winter ice melts. | submitted photo Halton Region Editor in Chief Advertising Director Keep hockey nets out of the ponds My wife and I live in Westmount Oakville (just by Dundas and Postmaster). There is a storm water management pond just by our house where we walk our dog daily (Falling Green Road). This past winter, people had hockey nets on the frozen pond and were playing hockey and skating on it. Once the ice started to melt, they just abandoned the nets. They also left shovels, pop bottles and other assorted garbage on the pond. We would pick up what garbage we could when we were on the pond walking our dog, but there were three nets in total, some in poor shape left out on the ice. I started to call the Town when the pond was partially frozen. They told me they would send someone out, DANIEL BAIRD Managing Editor ANGELA BLACKBURN RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Business Manager Director of Production I would wait a few weeks and call again and be told they had to get "equipment." I called a few weeks ago and got a similar story. When I called one time, they told me the pond is not managed by the Town (strange as they have a sign with rules what you can't do on the pond -- ice hockey is not on it). I called again today and now they say they don't have equipment -- I left a voicemail for yet another person. I can only see one of the nets as the other two must have now submerged. There is one quite close to shore and looks to be about halfway visible. I may even try and get that one myself and see if I can get it to shore if they will then pick up. see Working on p.9 SANDY PARE MARK DILLS MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager Director of Distribution CHARLENE HALL KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager Proud Official Media Sponsor For: Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member Liberal candidate rebuts MP's rebuttal Re: Letter from Terence Young published in the April 24 edition of the Oakville Beaver For the bene t of your readers, I feel compelled to correct what I believe to be misinformation contained in this letter. The constituents of Oakville are intelligent and discerning, and they prefer that we provide them with facts. When Mr. Young suggests that casual remarks captured by the media should be construed as policy commitments by Justin Trudeau, he is, I believe, doing the public a great disservice. Over the past year, Canadians have heard clear and reasoned viewpoints from Mr. Trudeau regarding a variety of issues, such as management of the economy, scal policies, Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association military missions in Iraq and Syria, Canadian liberty, and Senate partisanship. There should be no confusion over where Mr. Trudeau stands on these issues. Similarly, the Liberal Party's six policy platforms have been available for many months on the party website, and these give a clear indication of the type of priorities that will be promoted during the upcoming election. Mr. Trudeau has been very clear, also, on the subject of income splitting. His point is that this policy is extremely costly -- at a time when the Canadian economy is barely recovering from the Harper government's astoundingly high budget de cits in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 -- and fails to assist lower income families who need it most. see Voters on p.9 Proud Official Media Sponsor For: 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, 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington ON L7L 5Z1 or via email to ablackburn@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. 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.