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6 The Oakville Bedvkr, Wednesday March 22, 2006 - OPINION & LETTERS T H E O A K V ILLE BEA V ER IS P R O U D O F F IC IA L M E D IA S P O N S O R F O R : T h e O a k v ille B e a v e r 467 Speers Rd.f 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 r t p t in Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member W E OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association . Cana<fian Community Newspapers Association Q* | oakville galleries | S K Suburban Newspapers o f A m e ria S h = r & OAftVll,bfS ym ca The Oakville, Milion 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, Undsay This Week, MarWiam 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/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, StouMe/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian IAN OLIVER Publisher NEIL OLIVER AssociatePublisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief RODJERRED ManagingEditor KELLY MONTAGUE AdvertisingDirector DANIEL BAIRD AdvertisingManager TERI CASAS BusinessManager MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager RIZIERO VERTOLLI PhotographyDirector CHARLENE HALL Director ofDistribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager Slap in the face to voters W hile eth ics co m m issio n e r B ern ard S h ap iro cleared P rim e M inister S tephen H arper Monday of breaking any rules w hen H arper p ersu ad ed David E m erso n to sw itch parties shortly after th e Jan. 23 federal election, th e decision is u nlik ely to appease v o ters in E m e rs o n 's V ancouver-K ingsw ay riding. Nor should it. Voters th ere have a rig h t to feel betrayed by E m erso n w ho they elected, in good faith, as a Liberal. The situ atio n is sim ilar to th a t of B elinda S tro n ach in N ew m arket w h ere th e T ory-turned-L iberal pulled a party sw itcheroo betw een th e last two elections. E m erso n 's justification for the m ove-- th a t he th o u g h t he could best serve his co n stitu en ts from th e Tories* cab in et table ra th e r th a n th e L ib erals' O pposition benches -- is weak at b e st and dis h onourable at w orst. D u rin g th e last elec tio n he openly cam paigned against Tory policies, and against Harper, yet at th e first o p portunity joined th e Tory ranks. As an MP he was elected to be his c o n stitu en ts' voice in Ottawa. Clearly they supported his antiTory m essage d uring th e cam paign by giving him a healthy m andate. To do a party about-face is a slap in th e face tq all w ho voted for him . W hile S h ap iro says no ru les w ere broken, he adm its m any peo ple w ere angered by E m erso n 's m ove and felt th e ir votes w ere devalued. "In th e final analysis th e m ost appropriate place to settle issues of th is kind is n o t in th e office of th e e th ic s-- c o m m issio n e r b u t in P arliam ent itself," w rote Shapiro in his report. It's a debate th a t o u r MPs should begin in earnest as soon as possible to ensure fu tu re voters are n o t hoodw inked again. x t U c 11 * CROSSING GUARD W e! B l . L L ^ 1 1 1 0 r r\T T p r 'T V T T A D 1 H hj t / D l 1 O rv T^e 0akv^ le Beaverwelcomes 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. Save the tree and spare us the embarrassment I had not been overly concerned that anyone would ultimately decide to do anything other than leave the old oak tree on Bronte Road alone, until I read the recent letter (Giant oak tree sympathizers need reality check, Oakville Beaver, March 8) on your pages from Patrick Murphy. I thought the new Prime Minister was scary! When you boil it all down, there is only one clear and logical option, which is to save the tree. Picture the alternative, which is Rick Mercer standing beside the stump, telling the country that here in Oakville they just cut down a 250-yeaold tree in order to widen a road. Picture the emphasis on 250 years, and the fact that it is an oak tree in Oakville. Then, Rick travels up the same Bronte Road to where a new m ulti million dollar bypass is being con structed around the village of Palermo. Then he gazes around with that puzzled look asking, where is the vil lage? So we can bypass Palermo, but we can't bypass the tree. Give your heads a shake people, and just save the tree, because it's the only thing to do and it is simply a magnificent tree. DAN TREGUNNO Angel to the rescue Our charming town houses some of the nicest peo ple. Recently, I ran out of gas in the fast lane of the Third Line just north of the QEW at rush hour. After making my way down the icy divider to reach the Petro-Canada Station, my shining angel appeared riding his trusty white steed (white town truck). He got the gas into the car and let me use his cell phone then nicely waited behind my little car while help arrived. Oakville is a great place to live. Thank you, Shining Angel. JILL RUSSELL ·BYSTEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com Students leave bad impression We would like to respond to the article by Stephanie Patulli titled St. Thomas Aquinas - the little school with a big heart. Most people when they pass the school are appalled at the amount of litter on the school property and Lakeshore Road leading up to the school. I believe the students obviously have no respect for the environ ment, the Town of Oakville or the school's neighbours. Last year, the school joined the "adopt a road" pro gram, but so far they have not done the job that they promised to do. We really think that in the case of St. Thomas Aquinas School you have to "judge a book by its cover". ROB BOAK AND SUNDEEP KH0SLA