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n w 1 n c W /\l\ V 1LLC DCrtV civ The Oakville Beaver OPINION wcunesuay May iy, lyyy Ian Oliver Publisher Neil Oliver .Associate Publisher Norman Alexander Editor Kelly Montague, Advertising Director Martin Doherty G radation Director Ten Casas Office Manager Mark Dills Production Manager Riziero Vertolli Director o f Photography M etroiand Printing, Publishing & D istributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pckenng News Advertiser. AJhston HerakT'Cainer. Barrie Advance. Barry's Bay This Week, Bolton Enterprise. Brampton Guardan. Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News. C ity Parent, ColSngwoodWasaga Connection, East York M irror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes. Etobicoke Guarcfan. Flamborough Post, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Hurooa Business Times. K ingston This W eek. Lindsay This W eek. M arkham Ecnom ist & Sun. M idland/P enetanguishine M irror, M ilton C anadian C ham pion, M ilton Shopping News, Mississauga Busness Times, Mississauga News, Napcnee Guide. 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JiNqU B e I I Fuivd t United Way of Oakville Ed ito ria ls Volatile topic The past few issues of the Oakville Beaver have featured the four candidates for the Oakville riding, putting forth their views on a variety of issues. And none is as volatile as the one reported in today's segment...Health. No matter how one looks at the numbers, Ontario is at a crossroads in delivering medical Certainly changes had serv ices to its residents. Like all Canadians, we \to be m ade in OUT health system but a heavy- handed approach u rn not the w ay to proceed and the Tbries have been forced to retreat on several fronts. pay heavily for our medical system but taxpay­ ers are also concerned that health care and ser­ vices have declined during the Mike Harris reign. Certainly changes had to be made in our health system but a heavy-handed approach was not the way to proceed and the Tories have been forced to retreat on several fronts. But as is their job, opposition party candi­ dates have been attacking Harris and his changes to the medical system. That's okay as far as it goes but there has to be some concrete positions taken so voters know where the money will come from for these promises and what shaped a newly-altered health system will take. These numbers haven't been forthcom­ ing from the Liberals or the New Democratic Party. It's time for all parties to give themselves a collective shake and take a look at some hard numbers...numbers that represent people, clients, would-be patients, taxpayers or just plain citizens. Ontario continues to be the promised land for an increasing number of people, whether they be immigrants or other Canadians seeking a better life in trillium land. Ontarians are also aging and that will put increasing stress on an already- straining system but there's precious little been offered by any of the parties on how they'll deal with aging baby-boomers. In short, the boomers are a health care time-bomb. Just as they altered society throughout their lives, as they age, they'll impact hugely on our health system. We'll need a massive number of chronic care beds but where to get the cash remains a question none of the parties can adequately answer. Letters to the Editor The Oakville Beaver welcomes your com m ents. All letters m ust be typed, signed and include the w riter's address and phone number. Send to: Letters to the Editor, The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, O nt. L6K 3S4 T o r i e s ' a c t i o n s c a l l e d i n t o q u e s t i o n te tte r of the w e e k First it was Tory MPP Terence Young wanderning around the schoolyard tempting our children. 'Psst, kid! Wanna read some real­ ly dirty Tory propaganda? Y'know, get rich, beat up on peo­ ple weaker than yourself?' Fortunately, he was shooed off the premises before any kid was scarred for life, and we all put it down to just some aberration of the loonie Right. But hold it. They're ba-ack! Psst, kid! Wanna skip school, eat free pizza, may be, crack a brewsky or two in the back of the bus? Whaddah ya mean, where did we get the beer? Confiscated it from one of them drunken wel­ fare moms, of course. Hey, some­ body's gotta set the moral tone in this province, y'know what I'm gayin?' Sheesh! So, you miss some stupid test on Shakespeare. Big deal! Who needs an educa­ tion? Hey, Mike Harris never read n o th in ' except Mr. Silly and Tommy Armour on golf, and now he runs Ontario." Rem em ber, away back in 1995, when M inister of Education, John Snobelin, said they must first create a crisis in our public school system? We all thought the plan was simply to gut the schools and leave our kids in the hands of bitter, demoralized teachers. Then voila! a crisis! Clearly, we underestimated the Tories yet again. Their plan is obviously to carry the crisis right into our homes. As if parents did­ n't have enough worry about. Now it's not just drug dealers and weirdos who proffer candies. Now our kids must be street- sproofed against the dreaded Toryman who lurks around the schoolyard enticing youngsters with nefarious pleasures. 'Now, K a tie ,' the m other says to her daughter before she boards the school bus, 'promise me you'll stay away from the Toryman - even if he offers you a free T-shirt that says "I Do It For T ories." You know what happens to girls who fall into their clutches? Yes, I know I say this every m orning, but i t 's important. They take you miles away from home and then tell you, "Okay, little lady, put the T-shirt on and cheer for The Leader - or you walk home." Mother shudders at a fate worse than death. I heard a rumour that when the Tories were planning for this election, one of their backroom boys suggested - as a sequel to their Common Sense theme - Common Decency. But it didn't work out. Seems the Tories did­ n't quite know what that meant. George P atrick A r m c h a ir o b se r v e r h o ld s fo r th Wake up and smell the death ? We are the most all-consuming, wasteful crea­ tures on the planet and our blatant disregard for all that is natural and holy is appalling and disgusting. We teach our children through our actions and oppo­ site of what we truly believe in our heart of hearts. It's so much easier to do nothing and focus on minute details that have no consequence in the grand scheme of things. It is so baffling to me. We had bet­ ter take the Colorado road signs very seriously as parents. Start managing our lives and our family much more closely. Find out what is going in our kids' heads. It's our responsibility and duty. Get off your butts and do it! Looking fo r a cup o f truth ? A farmer from Quebec leases land in Ontario. He plants vegetables and harvests them, hauls them back to Quebec, processes them then sells them back to Ontario for a very handsome profit. So why is it when the farmer in Ontario that owns and leases the land to the Quebec farmer can't plant the same veg­ etables, harvest them and sell them here in Ontario, barely break even?...Maybe Mike Harris knows. Quebec company lands very large revenue Federal and Provincial tenders in Quebec that run for extended periods of time allowing company to finance many upcoming projects. Some of the pro­ jects are in Ontario. There is no chance for the Ontario companies to compete with the ridiculous pricing quotations submitted. Ontario companies are forced out of the market and usually end up out of business...Maybe, Mike has some answers for us puzzled Ontario companies. Dave Campbell Local component to election may tip scales for voter I 1 V f K A M n o t O A 1 I i m / N L / , T . , 1 C , 1 .1 ■ v *--■. ■ i . ■ n . _ _ . _Over the past several weeks, those who participate in the politi­ cal process have gone about the business of selecting the candi­ dates for the provincial Conservatives and Liberals. In the much talked about expected elec­ tion call, incumbent Gary Carr will represent the Tories while Town C ouncillor (and form er NDP candidate!) Kevin Flynn will stand for the Grits. (And Sean Cain for the NDP.) Voters in the riding of Oakville will have two proven performers to choose from on election day. Let us not forget, however, the two other possible candidates that might have carried the banner for the respective parties, Terence Young for the Tories and Kathy Graham for the Liberals. They put up the good fight with honour and dignity. Alas, they must now be content to wait for another day and another election to present themselves for consideration. Oakville, unlike so many com­ munities in Ontario and across Canada, is favoured when it comes to having a good inventory of possible political representa­ tives. In Oakville, four individuals who have a demonstrated commit­ ment to their community entered the arena for a shot at representing Oakville in the next legislature. No parachutes! No johnny-come- latelies! No opportunists! We, in the riding of Oakville, can feel proud that we have peo­ ple of the calibre of Gary Carr, Kevin Flynn, Kathy Graham, and Terence Young. We should not forget their commitment (okay, so you may not like so and so's poli­ tics, but that's not the point! Is it?) to Oakville. Now the race is down to two. On election day, one will win (the NDP? Hello!). The next legisla­ ture in Ontario will be Ontario's signal to Canada on how we ought to enter the next millennium. It will be a tough choice for many, but a choice that must be made. For me, I suspect that I will be inclined to vote for the candidate who can help make those tough choices at Queen's Park wisely and with the best interests of the people of the Oakville riding fore­ most in his mind. Wayne S. Gray Pud by Steve Nease IT SEEMS LIKE OUR CEREALS ALWAYS HAVE marshmallows OR •FROSTING..So I thought u IT D BE N ICE ID T R Y S O M E -^ T THING . ' NATURAL? CN fund ruling a win-win situation Re: A.A. A lkerto n 's letter - May 12th, 1999, issue Oakville Beaver Instead of chastising the mayor and council, Mr. Alkerton should have congratulated our elect­ ed representatives for taking a courageous stance in the defence of the quality of life in our commu­ nity. Perhaps, next time around, he and his neigh­ bours will benefit from the Town's new policy in support of public issues that affect a section of our town. Allow me to correct some misconceptions. The Stop CN group does not want to "shut down" the Oakville Yard but merely remove, from a small section of the southwest yard, inappropriate traffic that was newly imported from Hamilton Yard in 1998. The homes affected here predate this activi­ ty by a minimum of 20 years - this is not a situa­ tion where homes are encroaching on the yard, but one where CN is encroaching on the homes with newly imported traffic. We have no quarrel with traffic that is associated with FORD. The Town stepped in only after the Stop CN group had won their case before the Canadian Transport Agency at great personal cost for which the group is not being reimbursed by the Town. The group gave the Town a gift with the CTA Decision and Order - it resolved a long standing problem that had affected the Eastlake and Old Oakville communities on and off for more than 40 years. The Town is m erely stepping in to help defend a legal decision that is in the public inter­ est and to' help preserve that gain. This is a win-win situation for all residents of Oakville once the circumstances and parameters of the council's decision are fully understood. H. P eter K rysm anski, Chairman Oakville Stop-CN-ln-Their-Tracks Committee H i s t o r i c s c h o o l 's 1 2 5 t h a n n i v e r s a r y On Oct. 23, 1999, Winchester Public School (15 Prospect St., Toronto) will celebrate its 125th anniversary. We are trying to reach former students, staff and teach­ ers. Anyone wising to help plan the festivities or for those who just wish an invitation to this historic event, contact the school at (416) 393-8587 or fax: (416) 393-1277 or e- mail: winchest@ican.net It will be the last time in this century to meet old friends and take a walk down memory lane. W inchester Public School Anniversary Committee A blow for m usic education In the Fri. May 14th issue of the Oakville Beaver, I read with great interest our MPP's (Gary Carr-PC) view's on education. Unfortunately, Mr. Carr failed to address the issue of music education in elementary schools. My children's principal recently gave me some alarm­ ing news: the Ministry of Education has decreed that qual­ ified music teachers are not needed in grades below seven. In other words, ANY teacher can supposedly teach our children music. This means that elementary school stu­ dents of Ontario will be denied the proven benefits of early music education from qualified teachers. Donna Papacosta 4 mailto:winchest@ican.net