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6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday August 30, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS 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 of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: IAN OLIVER Publisher NEIL OLIVER Associate Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor KELLY MONTAGUE Advertising Director DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Manager TERI CASAS Business Manager MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager 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, Lindsay This Week, Markham 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, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian Don't dump on Halton While Joyce Savoline has made it abundantly clear Halton Region has no intention of becoming an easy solution to Toronto's waste woes, it's easy to understand how outsiders might have recently reached a different conclusion. Ever since the state of Michigan began getting tougher on out-of-state trash -- making it possible that truckloads of Toronto's garbage will soon be turned away at the border -- Halton leaders have feared that years of foresight might provide Ontario's largest city with an easy way out. And with good reason. In April of 2004, then provincial Environment Minister Leona Dombrowsky sent Savoline a letter stating that she could not excuse Halton's landfill from being a potential emergency site to take one-million tonnes of Toronto garbage per year. The correspondence had a galvanizing effect among Halton regional councillors, who vowed to protect the landfill's lifespan through a series of waste diversion initiatives. Savoline and Halton Liberal MPP Kevin Flynn met with Dombrowsky and came away satisfied by the minister's assurance that both private and municipal landfills would be sought as emergency solutions to Toronto's potential waste problems. In the more than two years that have passed, Halton regional council has been the model of consistency on the topic of extending the life of Halton's landfill for our region's waste. Halton council was back to a defensive posture again last fall after it became known the province had been secretly compiling a list of Ontario landfills that could accommodate one million tonnes of trash per year from Toronto, York, Peel and Durham regions. At the time, inside sources said Halton's landfill on Regional Road 25 in Milton could be on the list since it's one of the few in the province large enough to take extra garbage should Michigan close its border entirely to Ontario trash. Once again came the loud and clear message from regional council -- Halton doesn't want garbage from GTA municipalities to ever end up in its landfill. Earlier this month, the region's consistent, hardline policy appeared to soften ever so slightly. In announcing the possibility of Halton building an energy-from-waste, long-term solution to the finite lifespan of its landfill, the region noted that Ontario Environment Minister Laurel Broten had provided written confirmation that Halton Region has approval under the Environmental Assessment Act to implement an EFW facility. One potential scenario includes Halton building an EFW large enough to take waste from other regions. It sounds to us as if Broten has advised Halton to prepare for the inevitable arrival of garbage from municipalities lacking a backup plan when Michigan turns them away. Given Halton's past reputation as a municipality with room to spare in its landfill, it's not hard to understand how the region's EFW announcement would be viewed by other GTA municipalities as a solution to their problem. If Halton wants to ensure it won't get dumped on by the likes of Toronto, it should consider building an EFW capable of handling only as much waste as our region produces. While Halton may not be eyeing Toronto garbage, Savoline and the rest of regional council can be sure that Toronto and other GTA municipalities with serious waste management issues have never stopped eyeing Halton. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Oakville Beaver welcomes 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. Money could be put to better use I love trees. Thirty eight years ago we purchased a home on the ravine overlooking Morrison Creek and immediately started planting even more trees. However, I'm appalled at the amount of money people are willing to donate to save one tree, which at 250 years of age could very likely die soon of any number of ailments (possibly a blight that is now affecting a lot of oaks in our area) or heaven forbid, be struck by lightBY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com ning. What about helping people in Oakville who aren't as fortunate as most; what about pencils, paper, even 'Kleenex', for classrooms; what about saving historical buildings in Oakville from being torn down; what about equipment for our hospital!! In my opinion, all of the above would take precedence over saving one tree. MARILYN MORRISON Pud Walls of Hope school challenge Re: Walls of Hope The Grade 2 students at St. Marguerite D'Youville held a one-day fundraiser for Walls of Hope in February. In one day the children raised over $800 for the selected family that was published in your newspaper. The children watched a presentation prepared by Walls of Hope and were moved to help out. Their enthusiasm was contagious. Congratulations to the Grade 2 students and their teachers, and let this be a challenge to other Grade 2 classes in Oakville. CATHY GODBERSON COUNCIL MEMBER OF ST. MARGUERITE D'YOUVILLE