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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, February 3, 2017 | 6 E d ito r ia l "Connected to your Community" ^ b Beaver. 5046 Mainway Unit 2, Burlington ON L7L 5Z1 General Inquiries: (905) 845-3824 Classified Advertising: (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (9 0 5 ) 631-6095 Volume 55 | Number 9 More funding, info needed Rail carriers are working under a shroud of secrecy; put ting Ontarians at risk every day. Information regarding what hazardous materials are shipped through our communities remains elusive. At any given moment, emergency responders and local governments have no idea what, exactly, is being trans ported through municipalities across the province. Yet they are the ones tasked with keeping the populace safe in the event of a disaster. The continued secrecy is putting the public at unnec essary risk and it is not a theoretical risk. The danger is very real. In 2015, 144 rail-related accidents occurred involving dangerous goods in Canada. The five-yearaverage is 140. One need only look to the disaster at Lac-Megantic to see how very real and devastating such disasters can be. When the unattended freight train derailed, it left 47 people dead and half of the community's downtown destroyed. That train had previously passed through the densely populated GTA. The disaster prompted renewed calls from municipalities and the province for increased transparency on the shipment of dangerous goods. There have since been improvements to infor mation-sharing, but has it gone far enough? Emergency responders in municipalities have access to historic data of what has come through their com munity From that they can undertake disaster plan ning. The burden -- and cost -- of preparing for these potential disasters falls squarely on the shoulders of mu nicipalities. Not only must our towns and cities prepare without knowing when, how often and what materials companies are transporting, they must also find a way to pay for managing the dangers these private rail car riers pose. For security reasons, real-time information is not available. And what information is shared with select municipal officials is not intended to be shared with the public. No one wants to tip off a potential terrorist about the exact location of specific chemicals. And the rail car riers don't want to panic the public. Not only are emergency responders faced with a lack of information, the public remains largely in the dark about what dangerous goods are rolling through their communities. This culture of secrecy does not allow residents to make informed decisions or adequately pre pare for possible disaster scenarios. More information is needed. The public needs to have general data regarding what is regularly trans ported through their backyards. Municipalities need more up-to-date information about what dangers their first responders might have to battle. And those first re sponders need adequate funding to defend against the worst case scenarios. It shouldn't take another Lac-Megantic to bring about these much-needed reforms. The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters w ill be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters m ust contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to: The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 5 0 4 6 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. O A K V I L L E The Oakville Beaver is a division of ·* m etrolandm edia · * Connected to your community® Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. NEIL OLIVER Vice -P re sid e n t and Group Publisher o f M etroland W est KELLY MONTAGUE Regional General M anager DANIEL BAIRD A dvertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN M anaging E ditor RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director LORI AN N GZOVDANOVIC B usiness M anager M AR K DILLS D irector o f Production M ANUEL GARCIA Production M anager CHARLENE HALL M yV iew D irector o f D istribution KIM M O SSM AN C irculation M anager Lots to do to celebrate Family Day offer. Bundle up and take in the beauty of our natu ral surroundings available to us in our own back yard. There is something for every member of your family to see, do and experience across the region. Halton is home to some of the most spectacu lar landscapes in Ontario, including the Niagara Escarpment -- a UNESCO World Biosphere Re serve and one of southern Ontario's most promi nent natural features. Explore what Conserva tion Halton has to offer -- a day of sleigh rides at Mountsberg or visit Glen Eden for the area' s best skiing and snowboarding destination. If you are a snowshoeing or hiking enthusiast, visit Bronte Creek Provincial Park or Crawford Lake to wander the various trails available this time of year. Visitors can also hop on the Bruce Trail -- The Beaver. Proud Official Media Sponsor For: jM K V lIL E T his year, celebrate Family D ay-- Monday, Feb. 20 -- by exploring the many activi ties and adventures Halton Region has to #CCAB Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member Recognized fo r Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association I Canadian Community Newspapers Association Gary Carr A c c r e d it e d Mediaa s Halton Regional Chair Proud Official Media Sponsor For: Canada's oldest footpath. If you are looking to escape the cold this win ter, visit one of Halton's performing arts centres and take in a show. Find a performance at: · Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts · Burlington Performing Arts Centre · John Elliot Theatre (Halton Hills) · Milton Centre for the Arts If shopping is what you are looking for, ex plore the Toronto Premium Outlets, downtown O ntario P ress Council V */ JL V>l D e fe n d in gp rin cip les toin sp irep u b lictru st The Oakville Beaver is a member o f th e Ontario Press Council. The council is located a t 8 0 Gould St., Suite 2 0 6 , Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M 7. Phone 4 1 6 -3 4 0 -1 9 8 1 . Advertising is accepted on th e condition that, in th e event o f a typographical error, th at portion o f advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, b u t th e balance o f the advertise m ent will be paid fo r a t th e applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. see Find on p.8 Pud by Steve Nease [b lR T h DA Y P A r T lEa ·p a in t · New LEGO® Make & Take · Star Wars · Minecraft · Pokemon 905 - 825-9994 - 461 N. S e rvice Rd. W O a k v ille 9PECkLEiARTiT U D I0 .C0M