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THURSDAY MAY 9, 2019 dentistoakville.com 905-842-6030 JOHNSTON & DANIEL DIVISION | ROYAL LEPAGE REAL ESTATE SERVICES LTD. BROKERAGE 326 Lakeshore Road Eas t , Oakv i l l e , Onta r io L6 J 1 J6 *SALES REPRESENTATIVE **BROKER SAUNDERS, SAXTON & WINTER | JOHNSTON & DANIEL H O M E S F O R S A L E I N O A K V I L L E sswteam.ca 905.845.1223 * * ** AAAAAUAUAUTOTOTOPRPRPROOOOO OOOAOAOAKVKVKVILILIL EELELELE 2212212 2 W2 yecroft Road, Oakvkvillilleee 905-469-24422 autoprooakville.mechanicnet.com MECHANICAL SERVICES Michelle Cooper Insurance & Financial Services 905-826-4900 www.michellecooper.ca Get a quote Bundle your home and auto for better savings DIG DEEPER INTO MORE NEWS @ INSIDEHALTON.COM OPINION 1 DONOR, 8 LIVES A LITTLE NUDGE GOES A LONG WAY IN INCREASING ORGAN DONOR REGISTRATION Sheridan College's outgoing student union president says he was devastated after the prov- ince's Student Choice Initiative resulted in the scrapping of a Uni- versal Transit Pass (U-Pass), for which so many students voted. Enrique Ponce, who assumed the role of Sheridan Student Union president in May 2017, not- ed that in November of last year all eligible full-time students at Sheridan were invited to vote in a U-Pass referendum, jointly host- ed by the Sheridan Student Union and Sheridan College. The U-Pass was intended to give Sheridan students access to affordable transit, which Ponce noted is important given Sheri- dan has campuses in three mu- nicipalities. A total of 4,805 students voted in the referendum, a voter partic- ipation rate of 25 per cent. The majority of voters (57 per cent) supported the U-Pass imple- mentation. The U-Pass would essentially require students to pay an addi- tional $200 in fees per term, for which they would receive unlim- ited ridership from Oakville Transit, MiWay and Brampton Transit, including Zum, Bramp- ton's rapid bus service. "The U-Pass did have a lot of value for our students," said Pon- ce. "This has been a topic of dis- cussion for well over 10 years, well before my tenure ... This was the first time our students actual- ly voted on it." Ponce said the union's U-Pass agreement was in the process of officially being ratified by the municipal transit organizations when it was "blindsided" by the Ford government. In January 2019, the province introduced a new program called the Student Choice Initiative, which prohibited the student union and Sheridan from charg- ing a compulsory ancillary fee to support a student transit pass that did not have a fully executed agreement in place prior to Jan. See MAJORITY, page 3 NO DISCOUNTED TRANSIT PASS FOR SHERIDAN STUDENTS DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com GROUND BREAKERS River Oaks junior kindergarten student Logan Jarrett, 4, (right) joins Oodenawi Public School Grade 2 students Alyssa Madhavjee, 8, and Hasan Dawood, 7, last week as the trio takes part in the ceremonial ground breaking for Halton District School Board's new Oakville NE #2 public school at 3199 Post Road. Graham Paine/Torstar