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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, June 17, 2016 | 6 Listen up There's been a shake-up at Queen's Park and more of cials appointed to do the government's work. This week, Premier Kathleen Wynne tweaked her Cabinet, appointing important portfolios to a number of her Liberal MPPs, including rst-time ministers Indira Naidoo-Harris (Halton) and Eleanor McMahon (Burlington). They were sworn in Monday (June 13). While McMahon was appointed Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports, Naidoo-Harris was named Associate Minister of Finance, tasked with overseeing the new Ontario Retirement Pension Plan. Meanwhile, Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn remains in his position of Ontario Minister of Labour, with much work to be done. Venturing outside the three ministers who now hail from Halton, we see Michael Coteau (Don Valley East) and Mitzie Hunter (Scarborough-Guildwood), are the newly-minted ministers of Children and Youth Services, and Education, respectively. Coteau takes over from Tracy MacCharles (Pickering-Scarborough East), who is now responsible for women's issues and accessibility. Hunter replaces Liz Sandals (Guelph), who is now at the Treasury Board. MacCharles recently drew the ire of parents of children living on the autism spectrum when she announced plans to implement the Ontario Autism Program. Touted by the government as a program that will provide families with "more exible and individualized services," parents vehemently disagreed and continue to voice their concerns with the program, which essentially removes children ages ve and up from the government-funded, intensive behavioural intervention therapy wait list -- a list they've languished on for months, if not years. Instead, they'll receive funding -- a one-time, $8,000 payment the government claims will allow parents and guardians to independently seek autism therapies. Autism, stress parents and critics, doesn't end at age ve. An equally strong message has been sent to the education ministry, which initiated a consultation process on the future of provincial schools for children with severe dyslexia. Trillium Demonstration School in Milton is one of three educational facilities across the province that collectively provide specialized educational programs for more than 100 students. Parents of demonstration school students fear the consultation process will lead to the schools' closures. These decisions have not been well-received by the public. And while we know the Province cannot shy away from making tough or unpopular decisions when required, we urge the new ministers appointed to oversee these portfolios that deal with our young people to listen -- actually listen -- to the valid concerns raised by these youths and their families. It's the least they can do. Editorial B U B B L E M A N I A "Connected to your Community" 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 54 | Number 49 The Oakville Beaver is a division of Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Vice ­President and Group Publisher of Metroland West Regional General Manager NEIL OLIVER KELLY MONTAGUE Advertising Director DANIEL BAIRD Managing Editor The Canadian Association for Girls in Science (CAGIS) held a Science in the Park event recently at Lions Valley Park. Fun events included science slime and a microscope DNA challenge, as well as giant bubble mania. There was science behind the giant bubblemaking, with the young budding scientists using a formula of water, cornstarch, glycerin, baking soda and, of course, dish soap. They also learned bubbles have different colours thanks to light waves re ecting between the soap lm's outer and inner surfaces. Pictured, Oakville's Olivia Jahnke, 12, had lots of fun making a huge bubble, managing to get this bubble to almost six feet in length before it dissipated. | photo by Graham Paine ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) ANGELA BLACKBURN RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Business Manager LORI ANN GZOVDANOVIC Director of Production MARK DILLS My View MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager Director of Distribution CHARLENE HALL KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager D Give your opinion on federal legislation John Oliver Oakville MP uring last fall's federal election campaign, many of you expressed a desire to be better informed about legislation under consideration in the House of Commons. You requested I nd a way for you to have direct input into legislative matters so you have a stronger connection to Parliament. I am happy to report I have followed through on that commitment. To highlight upcoming legislation and make it easy for you to provide your feedback, I have added a page to my website called `Have Your Say' (www.johnoliver.mp/have-your-say). You can ll out a short, online form to let me know your opinions on bills that are being debated or voted upon in the House. Currently, you can voice your thoughts on Medical Assistance in Dying, making our national anthem gender neutral, and the use of passive alcohol sensors to detect possible drunk drivers. I personally review every submission we receive through the site, so I encourage you to have your say. This is a great way for you to learn about legislation in process and provide your input. As always, please don't hesitate to contact my Proud Official Media Sponsor For: Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association of ce if you need assistance with federal matters. My constituency of ce is located at 301 Robinson St. You can also reach out to us by phone at 905338- 2008, and by email at John.Oliver@parl. gc.ca. In closing, I would like to thank everyone who attended the Fort Mac pancake breakfast fundraiser on June 4. It was a very successful event, and I was tremendously proud to see such great support from the community. The Oakville Lions Club members did a fabulous job of organizing this event, and I thank them for all their efforts. 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.