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

www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, August 13, 2015 | 16 Young defends early sign placement and issues challenge continued from p.14 Council agreed not to make the changes. The new election sign ban on regional roads caused some confusion with Conservative incumbent in the Oakville riding as Terence Young briefly lost a few improperly placed signs as municipal workers removed them. "There is a new bylaw and we had no details about it and of course, the election was called on a weekend when Town Hall was closed," said Young. Members of local Liberal candidate John Oliver's campaign quickly drew the Town's attention to election signs Young's campaign had put up over the civic long weekend without the mandatory $200 deposit being paid to the Town. Young said because the election was called over a holiday weekend, it was impossible for the deposit to be paid until business resumed after the weekend. Young said his campaign manager has since met with a representative of the Town to iron out the details of the new rules. The Town of Oakville held an open house on Thursday to educate candidates about where exactly election signs are allowed. Anyone who missed this meeting can contact Service Oakville at 905-845-6601 for election sign information. Young has since called on all candidates in Oakville not to use election signs during this campaign, stating that if everyone agrees, he will take down the ones he has already put up. "We are concerned with the risk of collisions with stopped vehicles when volunteers are placing and repairing signs alongside our roads where traffic is busy and moves quickly," said Young in a letter to the other campaigns. "The signs can be unsightly, especially when vandalized, and are not recyclable." He also noted campaign funds used to buy signs could be better used to communicate directly with voters regarding policies and platforms. Oliver's campaign declined Young's offer calling election signs an integral part of helping voters make their democratic local choice on Election Day. "Given that the issue of placing election signs on Town property was recently upheld by the Town of Oakville, we feel that it is not the place of federal candidates to suspend a practice that the public feels is important to democracy and the electoral process," wrote Fiona Fraser, Oliver's campaign manager, in a letter to Young's campaign, which was shared with the Beaver. "John Oliver supports the right of the Town of Oakville and its citizens to create and uphold bylaws they see fit." Oakville NDP candidate Che Marville's campaign echoed these sentiments. "Che Marville and the Oakville NDP respects the bylaw decision regarding election signs made by the Town of Oakville at a recent meeting," said Brenda Buchanan, campaign manager for Marville. "We feel strongly that the use of election signs is a positive way to engage the community in the democratic process." 2376 Parkhaven Blvd, Oakville 2376 Parkhaven Blvd, Oakville · 905-257-5880 905-257-5880 maximekitchens.ca maximekitchens.ca Didyou know? ., The first Canada's Largest Ribfest only made $800, though the goal was to break even. To date, $3 million has been raised, all of which has gone back into the community. Join us for our 20th Anniversary Celebration on Throwback Thursday. ., #TBTribfest A Fundraising Initiative of Burlington Lakeshore 20th Anniversar y Labour Day Weekend, Sept., 3-7, Spencer Smith Park, Burlington CanadasLargestRibfest.com