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6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday March 7, 2007 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: THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS A DIVISION OF Media Group Ltd. NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director TERI CASAS Business Manager MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Providing for the future In an affluent community like Oakville, it's easy to believe those who can most afford technology have it, but it's tougher to believe those who can least afford to go without are doing just that. Case in point -- the teachers at White Oaks Secondary School's (WOSS) Futures program who are making a plea to the community in hopes of rectifying what appears to be an injustice. It may not be intentional, just one of those instances of things falling through the cracks as people become consumed more with the trees than the forest. In the rush for everyone to plug in, tune in and get the most up-to-date hardware with which to do it, some appear to have been forgotten -- those who could perhaps benefit the most. The WOSS Futures teachers instruct more than 60 students with mild intellectual challenges, often coupled with a physical challenge. The educators teach these students for their entire high school career -- from age 14 to 21 -- or the equivalent of what others call both their high school and post-secondary years. Like all students, the goal is to leave with skills, both academic and personal, to secure employment that will lay the foundation for their lifetime. Yet these same students are attending school in five classrooms that house only four computers, and a new laptop. It's just not enough for these youths who could not only benefit from technology academically, but could use it to help overcome challenges to get a leg up in life. These students may not go to college, but that's all the more reason they need the skills to get a job and make the most of community life. Granted, the competition for public funding is very fierce. But in a country that is known for its ideals of providing an even playing field for those who need help, how is it that these vulnerable students are not getting the technological help that would improved their lot in life? If the powers that be can't help these students, then perhaps it's time for the community to step up to the plate. If you can help out, call the staff at 905845-5200, ext. 502 or ext. 702, or e-mail prescott.@hdsb.ca, luykr@hdsb.ca, annisc@hdsb.ca or gunionj@hdsb.ca. 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. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Has Terence Young, the Federal Conservative candidate for Oakville, been reading the How To Fudge The Facts and Win An Election booklet many people suspect was written for the U.S. Republicans by President George W. Bush's puppet-master Karl Rove? In his letter of Friday, MP's remark condescending, The Oakville Beaver, March 2, Young uses the faulty logic of suggesting that because Oakville's sit- Oakville Conservative candidate fudging facts ting member, Bonnie Brown, used the term `men with guns' she is condescending to our men and women in uniform. What a crock. Whenever politicians have little of substance to offer, they take their opponent's comments and make a quantum leap to have it appear that the other party is unpatriotic and/or unsupportive of those people laying their lives on the line for their country. Bush, Cheney and the gone and best forgotten Donald Rumsfeld have pulled this trick at every opportunity. It was also interesting to note that during his anointing ceremony where he won the federal Tory nomination unopposed, Young accused the Liberals of fear-mongering last time around when they suggested that Stephen Harper had a hidden agenda. The man still has a hidden agenda and he won't reveal it until, heaven forbid, he forms Oakville MP distorting stats Oakville MP Bonnie Brown's guest column (The Oakville Beaver, Feb. 24) Command and control versus open consultation is a good example of how politicians can use economic statistics to completely distort Canada's true economic picture. Another Oakville resident, John McCallum, (Markham MP) has also been promoting, more aggressively, the same exaggerated Liberal talking points. While Mulroney Conservatives did leave a $42-billion deficit, the real damage was initially created by Trudeau's extravagant spending, in order to return the Liberals to a majority government. To solve this nearly bankrupt financial fiasco, Mulroney introduced his politically suicidal GST plan. Remember at the time, the Liberals and Sheila Copps were totally against implementing this GST tax policy. The enormous budget deficits had to be eliminated. But how? The budget surpluses that Paul Martin created appeared to be healthy for the economy. However, these surpluses were actually sick, as they grew solely off the backs of the already over-burdened taxpayer, via mega tax increases in income, payroll and corporate taxes, along with dramatic decreases in health and educational transfer payments to the provinces. Consequently, Canada's fragile economy and it's com See Skewed page 7 Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com See Income page 7 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. 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