The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, October 12, 2011 · 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: C Canadian Circulation Audit Board Member A THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association S Suburban Newspapers of America o Canadian Community Newspapers Association ATHENA Award NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief 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 Flynn a good choice Ontario voters -- or those who bothered to vote in the most dismal turnout in the province's history (49.02 per cent) -- wanted just a little change. With a fragile economy hanging over their heads, Ontario voters opted for the devil they know (Dalton McGuinty's Liberals) over the one they didn't (Tim Hudak's Progressive Conservatives). Hudak, who had more than two years to convince Ontarians he had a plan and could deliver it, failed miserably. Voters were looking for an antiDalton and got Dalton-lite -- the minority government, bordering on a Liberal majority. This election was Hudak's to lose... and he did. In Halton, incumbent MPP Ted Chudleigh had to fend off a serious challenge from Liberal Indira Naidoo-Harris, but did so without much ado. While a significant number of Oakville riding voters courted the PCs by voting for candidate Larry Scott, it was not enough to unseat long-time Oakville politician Kevin Flynn. A 20-year councillor and now a three-time MPP, Flynn is popular and easily withstood the test of f any negativism his party may have brought with it into the election. Indeed, on some issues, like that of the proposed power plant in southeast Oakville that was cancelled suddenly by Premier Dalton McGuinty, Flynn had already weathered the tumult. There have been rough spots over the past few years, but highlights, too, like the new Oakville hospital. Flynn promised to keep working at improving children's mental health services, the new hospital, implementation of full-day JK and SK and expansion of the Green Belt. We agree with Ward 6 Councillor Max Khan who said: "Kevin is the people's champion. He has always put the people of Oakville first, before his political ambitions, before his Liberal Party and sometimes even before the premier. He has always put Oakville first and that is reflected in (this) outcome. We are going to have four more years of f very effective representation and I think Oakville is very lucky to have a leader like Kevin Flynn." 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 We must take time to vote The Ontario election has come and gone -- a Liberal minority the result. The result is not surprising, but the apathy among Ontario voters has hit a new low -- only 49 per cent of eligible Ontarians voted -- shame on those who chose not to vote Oct. 6. I voted at my Pine Grove Public School voting station in less than four minutes ­ during the lunch hour. We have been repeatedly told the youth movement would rise up and challenge the hallowed halls of government. That social media will turn youths on to the political process. Sadly, this is not the case. Where are the university and college students who "rail" against the establishment? Obviously, Thursdays do not fit their schedules. Maybe 20 minutes on Facebook are more important than voting to students. How about others, who have polling stations in their neighbourhoods open for 12 hours or advanced voting opportunities? I suppose we need the ballot boxes delivered to everyone's door to increase voter turnout. By law, in most sectors of our economy we are permitted three hours off work to vote. That would be about 60 drive thru trips at Tim's. Canada is the greatest nation in the world, but our greatness is slowly being eroded by the virus -- apatheticus politicus. Is it our leaders who infect us? Is it the media? Is it our communities? No one really seems to know, but one thing we do know is that Ontarians and Canadians alike have lost interest and the passion for an electoral process that millions of people in non-democratic countries would cherish. When only 49 per cent of Ontarians vote in a provincial election we must all ask ourselves, how can we make our electoral process better? The only answer that comes to mind is allowing eligible voters the ability to use their television remotes in future elections. Dave Suchanek, Oakville Letters to the editor The Oakville Beaver r 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 r reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Thanks h k for f helping hl the h cause On Saturday, Oct. 1, a group of four Grade 7 girls organized and put together their own bake sale in support of the CIBC's Run for the Cure for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. They set up a table on River Glen Boulevard in front of Our Lady of Peace School and tirelessly canvassed for two and a half hours. They each baked a different item and asked for minimum donation of $1 per item. The neighbourhood showed its generosity and the girls collected $221 dollars HELPING OUT: Hannah Cavanagh, Laura Toth, Tessa Bennet and Jenna Locke. which they donated on the Run for the Cure site. The girls names are: Hannah Cavanagh, Laura Toth, Tessa Bennet and Jenna Locke. We would love if you could run our story to say thank you to all those who generously donated to a great cause. Donna Locke, Oakville