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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, January 13, 2010 · 6 OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 --Open 9-5 weekdays, 5-7 for calls only Wed. to Friday, Closed weekends 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: NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of Media Group Ltd. DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager Canadians do care If Prime Minister Stephen Harper thought the prorogation of Parliament by his government for the second time in as many years would be greeted by apathy by the Canadian public, he was sadly mistaken. Many Canadians are upset by the Conservative government's action and are publicly venting their anger. Thousands have joined the Facebook group Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament to express their frustration. Public protests are also being planned across the country including one in Oakville on Jan. 23 outside Oakville Conservative MP Terence Young's Kerr Street constituency office. Others attended Saturday's town hall forums hosted by Halton MP Lisa Raitt and told her to get back to work. To her credit, the Halton MP backed her leader's decision, but said she would relay her constituents' concerns to Ottawa. While we criticized Raitt in an editorial Friday for the timing of her town hall meetings, it was brought to our attention these were planned well ahead of the prorogation of parliament. In hindsight, we must commend her for going through with the meetings despite knowing the audiences might be less than friendly. Others wrote letters to the editor of this and other newspapers to voice their discontent. In fact, they wrote us so many letters last week, we couldn't run them in the Letters to the Editor section on this page. So we posted them on our website oakvillebeaver.com in the Opinions & Letters section. The best way to view them all is to visit the section and type prorogue in the Search Opinions & Letters search engine. Here's what just a few of our readers had to say about the prorogue: · This proroguing is only the latest in a series of moves to control and manipulate the system to the benefit of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's party rather than in the best interests of the citizens of Canada -- June Wright. · Harper has said that prorogation is not an issue Canadians care about. I respectively disagree -- Owen Robinson. · This decision is disgusting. No amount of spin can remove the acrid, bitter taste of a dictatorship in action -- Mike Logan. · The right wing culture war that worked so well to our south for so many years is now in full swing here -- Stuart Howe. · The Conservatives are acting like the proverbial bully in the schoolyard -- Marc Tigh. Next time around, perhaps Harper, or his replacement, won't take the public for granted. 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. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Letter to the editor Betraying public trust I'm writing to voice my concern for Prime Minister Stephen Harper's lack of respect for his elected position. To prorogue in order to consult on the March budget is an insult to intelligence. Since when do governments close shop in order to do the job they were elected to perform? The Standing Orders in our Parliamentary Calendar set out 135 sitting days. Prime Minister Harper has ensured that the House of Commons will sit for, at most, 110 days. If there is an election, that will be reduced to 80 days. Is this the leadership Canada wants? There is a danger in allowing the prime minister to end discussion any time he chooses. He has now done this twice. Tragically, it makes Parliament accountable to him rather than the other way around. How long will we allow Canadian democracy to be manipulated, at the same time desecrating public trust? HEATHER DONALDSON 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 email to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Shame on Harper Throughout the holiday season, I listened with sadness to the news of the many young women and men who lost their lives in Afghanistan. I thought about their families and their loss at what should be a joyful time of year. I was ashamed to hear that Prime Minister Stephen Harper had prorogued Parliament and that he did so at this time, perhaps hoping no one would notice? While our young people are risking their lives to defend our way of life, Harper shows himself as a coward, too afraid to answer questions in the House of Commons. What a shameful figure he is to Canadians and the rest of the world. LORRAINE GREEN MPs should get back to work Terence Young's letter (Prorogue necessary to reform Senate says Oakville MP, Oakville Beaver, Jan. 8) stated Jean Chrétien had prorogued Parliament four times with little media criticism. He is only half right. Each time there was a prorogue, there was lots of criticism, much of it coming from Young's Conservative Party, which called the move `undemocratic.' As for the prorogue being necessary for some kind of reform of the Senate, such an excuse is ridiculous. While Prime Minister Stephen Harper was vocal about reforming the Senate before being elected, he has made no such moves and has continued the time-honoured tradition of appointing friends, party hacks and Conservative backers to the Senate in record numbers. As for a prorogue giving the government time to consult with Canadians, fine, I'll give you this consultation and it will take very little time. Get back to Parliament, face the music on Afghanistan and the economy and stop with your lame excuses while holding up Parliament for obvious political games. GARY PEARSON Why the fuss? I am wondering what all the fuss is about. Parliament will resume sitting on March 3 with the presentation of the budget. The Opposition parties can then vote the next day against the budget and force an election. It appears that democracy is alive and working well. Please everyone, take a deep breath. R.CIESLINSKI