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

6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday January 27, 2006 OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. A ; Canadian Circulations i Audit Board Member THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: | oaKviHe galleries | Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association i . Canadian Community A Newspapers Association J i ^AGON < SKY NEIL OLIVER AssociatePublisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief RODJERRED ManagingEditor KELLY MONTAGUE Advertising Director DANIEL BAIRD AdvertisingManager I ATHENA \ Award C&% jS a p a T h e O a k v ille , M il t o n YMCA oU Zvk IAN OLIVER Publisher TERI CASAS BusinessManager MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager RIZIERO VERTOLLI PhotographyDirector CHARLENE HALL Director ofDistribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, Caledon Enterprise, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes; Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay Hiis Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Qarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thomhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian What happens next? The aftermath of Monday' s Federal Election has not only changed the politi cal landscape of Canada, it has also changed the political landscape of Oakville. When the dust finally settled after the election, Oakville residents were left with one familiar face in Ottawa, Bonnie Brown of the Liberals, who won the Oakville Riding, and a new one in Garth Turner, of the Conservatives, who took the Halton Riding. Upper Middle Road is the dividing line for those two ridings, with Brown repre senting residents on the south side and Turner representing voters on the north side. While voters did see fit to return incumbent Brown to Ottawa for her fifth term since 1993, it will be her first as an opposition MP. At first glance, this would seem to be an obvious disappointment. However, it could also represent an opportunity. As a backbencher for the ruling party, about the only time Brown caught the national media's attention was when she was critical of either her own party or the Americans. As a member of the Opposition, she now has the chance criticize the Tory gov ernment. Thanks to the defeat of many long-time Liberal MPs, Brown has become one of the more senior (in terms of service) Liberal MPs. This could earn her some promi nence within her own party. Lastly, one of the main criticisms lev elled against Brown in this election was her apparent low-profile in her own com munity. Some of her harshest critics labelled her ``invisible." . Her new role may provide her with more time to spend at home improving her profile in the community. Turner, a former cabinet minister in the short-lived Kim Campbell Tory gov ernment, had one of the highest profiles among the challengers in the election. A syndicated columnist and business TV commentator, Turner was a familiar name and face to many voters. One oLhis key campaign promises was to hold regular Town Hall' meetings to stay in touch with his constituents. As a former cabinet minister -- albeit for a short time -- Turner could even be m line for post in Stephen Harper's cabi net We wish the MPs luck in the next term and hope they can remember that while they sit on opposite sides of the House of Commons, they both represent the citi zens of Oakville. Harry believes one has to earn the right to blame the government for everything... f t You D id n 't v o t e D O N 'T COMPLAIN /I 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. Thrown rock shattered more than car window Four young people were spotted on Rebecca Street, just south of the Petro-Canada plant, about 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 27. I'd like to talk to them. I don't know whether they were the ones who lobbed the rock at my car, but maybe they saw who did. That rock shattered the windshield on the passenger side. I'm lucky there was no one with me that night because they would have been seriously injured. I'm also lucky the glass that hit me didn't cause any major damage and that the rock didn't hit the dri ver' s side. If I could talk to those guys, maybe I could also find out who now owes me -- and the insurance company -- the $500 it has cost to repair the car. This is Oakville, right? Maybe we didn't have the Boxing Day horror that happened in Toronto, but throwing rocks at wind shields rates right up there as dangerous behaviour. Our police were too busy and/or short-staffed that night to investigate. I think this means that this sort of thing is happening way too often right here in Oakville the Good. So what do people do about crimes like this? Crimes that don't rate high enough to get a police investigation? I'm sure there are a whole lot more than me out there who are experiencing vandal ism and it's costing all of us. · And if anyone saw anything or>Rebecca that night that might identify the rock-thrower, I'd appreciate hearing. MATTHEW BURSEY Odd choice of metaphor in Garth Turner's victory speech Re: Turner takes Halton, The Oakville Beaver Wednesday,Jan. 5. ,._Garth Turner is quoted as saying to his supporters that he is "humbled tonight to be the Member of Parliament for Halton," but "honoured to be a foot soldier in Stephen Harper's army." Strange that Mr. Turner should feel diminished as a MP but elevated to be a member of Mr. Harper's "army." While emphasizing that he plans to represent local residents in Ottawa, why does he conjure up the image of some military operation on a crusade against...what? Or whom? It is disquieting that a former cabinet minister should choose to use that particular metaphor to describe his new role in government. Perhaps it was merely ill chosen in the euphoria of vic tory. Or, perhaps your article's title had it right when it said "Turner takes Halton." BRIAN BELL 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. BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com firr NICE. SLAPSHOT m l v^BUT NEXT TIME ,,,j MfitBE YOU SHOULD WAIT UNTIL PAP i FINISHES . . '< £ T H N & U P "V / S j h e n e t - v>^a