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6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday March 31, 2006 OPINION & LETTERS Canadian Circulations 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 o f the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: | o a k v ilie g a lle r ie s | Recognized fo r Excellence by Halton Healthcare A A f tlQ O n ta rioC o m m u n ity J^JK ^LU X N e w s p a p e rsA s s o c ia tio n ^ C N A N e w s p a p e rsA s s o c ia tio n SK* S u b u rb a nN e w s p a p e rs o fA m e ric a rv AUCTION # ® ||g |g 1ST Hi T YMCA § 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, Oidtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, OshawaA/Vhitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/ThomhillA/aughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffvilla/Uxbridge Tribune. Forever Young, City of York Guardian IAN bUVER Publisher NEIL OLIVER Associate Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief RODJERRED ManagingEditor KELLY MONTAGUE AdvertisingDirector DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Manager TERI CASAS Business Manager MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager RIZIEROVERTOLLI Photography Director CHARLENE HALL Director ofDistribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ.. 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, Colllngwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Turner stays in touch You have to hand it to Halton MP Garth Turner -- he is one politician who knows how to keep a promise. Turner won the Halton riding in the last federal election largely by promising to be accessible to his constituents -- to listen to their concerns and take them to Ottawa even if they clashed with his own party' s platform. Earlier this week he proved his prom ise wasn't an empty one designed to win over a gullible electorate. This week he arrived on Parliament Hill with a 20,000-word document called Voices Choices - Listening to the People, Budget 2006, which he presented to his Conservative Caucus colleagues and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. The details of his report can be found elsewhere in today' s paper. One of the more prominent recommendations is to scrap his party' s planned capital gains tax deferral. His reasoning: while wealthy investors love it the deferral will benefit very few ordinary Canadians. Instead, his document is full of recom mendations based on suggestions from ordinary Canadians. Even more impressive, he explains why some of the suggestions from the public were rejected. At a time when Prime Minister Stephen Harper is trying to muzzle his Cabinet ministers, Turner is a breath of fresh air. During the election, Turner defeated incumbent MP Gary Carr largely through old-fashioned door-to-door campaigning and a masterful use of the Internet. A veteran journalist, Turner produced a daily blog that connected with voters -- not only in Halton, but across Canada. Following the election, Jte held a series of Town Hall meetings throughout Halton, which were attended by people pleased to discover an elected politician actually wanted to meet them outside an election campaign. Besides these meetings, the MP gar nered feedback from a wide range of media formats available to him -- radio, television, the Internet and newspapers. As a result, he says his report is based on comments from more than 10,000 respondents While his report may not make him a popular figure at conserva tive caucus meetings, Turner apparently isn't worried. Turner says his goal is to make ordi nary Canadians more engaged in politics than ever before. With the tabling of his report and the wide-spread attention it has received, the MP from Halton is off to a good start. j T^rrvTvr^T~) q r r \ r \ r p t LjE J I 1 £ j l \ ^ 1 O 1 O i l / b D l 1 O lA Beaver welcomes letters from its-readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all J etters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Lette*rs-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. St. ThomasAquinas students unfairly singled out in letter I am deeply saddened by the inaccurate portrayal of St. Thomas Aquinas students that Rob Boak and Sundeep Khosla presented in their letter Students leave bad impression, Oakville Beaver, March 22. They believe "most" people feel that St. Thomas Aquinas is neglecting their ` Adopt-a-Road' contractual duties by leaving garbage on Lakeshore and that our students lack respect for those around them. These comments are inaccurate. St. Thomas Aquinas is required by the `Adopt-a-Road' contract to "pick up litter at least two times per year" and this is to occur "on the north side of Lakeshore between Kerr and Morden." In actuality, our students far surpass this obligation by per forming this sanitation duty twice in the spring and twice in the fall -- four times a year. This also does not include individual classes that sponta neously volunteer to pick up garbage around the school as a means of bringing to life the essence of stewardship we espouse in our curriculum. This year the two spring sessions are planned for the mid dle of April and if the letter writers truly detest the state of Lakeshore Road we will welcome their pro-active par ticipation in our garbage pickup. Our impressionable youth learn more from construc tive mentorship rather than indiscriminate and misguid ed condemnationWhen you become involved with our vibrant school community, whether it is music, drama, sports, social justice events, liturgies, or fundraising, you will discover the substance and respect that characterizes the students and staff of St. Thomas Aquinas. This is the spirit and heart that Stephanie Patulli, a wonderfully articulate and passionate young woman, presented in her article - something completely lost to those so focused on their own private agendas and mis informed opinions. I believe that we ought to do everything in our power to affirm and applaud the efforts of our deserving youths instead of attacking their genuine and valuable efforts due to the poor choices that some students and yes, some adults, make. Catherine W right Chaplain, St. Thomas Aquinas 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 IM MALL W \TH SOME F^lEMDS. P o 'f O U NEED M Y . < 5 o in £ D o w n T o T H E ( n a h , I 'M C O V E R E D ^_ i f a CEUUPHONE, JUST IN C A S E .? <£