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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, February 9, 2012 · 6 The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 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. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Accumulating future debt Ted Chudleigh, MPP of Halton remier Dalton McGuinty's Liberal government has been borrowing against Ontario's future. In fact, the government has borrowed more than 15 per cent of the provincial budget for the last several years. Future taxpayers have to manage this debt instead of spending that money on their own needs. In McGuinty's Ontario, we are spending tomorrow's money today, to provide a higher level of government service Ted Chudleigh to people now, than we will be able to afford in the future. And we are asking those in the future to pay for it, without having a say on how it is being spent. This is not good government. After years of deficits, that is, borrowing money against the ability of future taxpayers to cough up the repayments, the Premier has had some sort of epiphany. That flash of understanding has come only as the McGuinty government faces the threat of a credit downgrade and the associated higher interest payments that such a downgrade would trigger. Now, the Premier is talking austerity, cutbacks, reduced services, and reigning in the cost of government. He contracted former TD Bank economist Don Drummond to tell him where to cut. McGuinty is considering his dwindling options, floating ideas every few days to see how they are received; such as delisting some healthcare services, or maybe reducing civil service jobs. When the PCs were last in government, we took balanced budgets seriously, fashioning four in a row, and passing the Taxpayer Protection Act to prevent this kind of action a government. The McGuinty government simply ignored our efforts, raised taxes and opened the taps on the treasury. The government has forgotten that while it must work to improve conditions today, it must also ensure its actions do not negatively impact tomorrow. Unfortunately, thanks to eight years of wildly borrowing from future taxpayers, tomorrow's Ontarians will face fewer, less-effective government services, less money to spend on their own needs -- thanks to higher taxes, and a crumbling infrastructure. The sooner we accept the responsibility and get spending under control, the better we will be able to manage our future needs. Waiting is not an option. I have not been very happy with the choices the McGuinty government made to spend money and increase taxes, so I have little faith in its ability to successfully manage the transition to a more fiscally responsible government. All citizens of Halton should be watching the provincial government's actions closely. Guest columnist Neil Oliver Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metroland West David harvey Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief Daniel Baird Advertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor Riziero Vertolli Photography Director Sandy Pare Business Manager RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association MARK DILLS Director of Production Manuel garcia Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution Sarah McSweeney Circ. Manager Website oakvillebeaver.com The OakvilleBeaver is a division of P Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville ATHENA Award CHANTAL AYOTTE / OAKVILLE BEAVER PROVIDING FRESH FOOD: Fareshare food bank picked up $15,571 through customers of Whole Foods Market Oakville who donated at the cash register to the Christmas Bag for Hunger campaign. At the official cheque presentation are, from left, Suzette Williams and Maricel Mitra, both of Whole Foods, and Dudley Clarke, Gemma Luyk and Nancy Bromberg of Fareshare. This campaign surpassed the $13,000 it raised in 2010. A large portion of proceeds provides vouchers throughout the year so families can purchase perishable items. Tiptoeing through the minefield known as Valentine's Day his was supposed to be my (much-needed, totally deserved) day off. Instead, I'm helping myself to a mental meltdown as I do my annual tiptoe through the minefield -- that is, the minefield that is Valentine's Day. As you should be well aware -- unless you want to sleep in the garage -- next Tuesday is Valentine's Day. It's the day we honour the early Christian martyr, Saint Valentine, whose name somehow became synonymous with romantic love, sappy greeting cards, crappy confectionery, and some wacky, winged, bow-and-arrow-armed creature called Cupid, which, fittingly, rhymes with stupid. Originally, Valentine's Day was sincere and sweetly understated. Handmade cards were exchanged, love was professed, and everyone went to bed happy. And then Valentine's Day got super-sized by a society wholly obsessed with blowing everything completely out of proportion (re: the Kardashians). Nowadays, to celebrate Valentine's Day, sincere and sweetly understated have gone out the window. Gaudy gifts are purchased, mad-love is declared from rooftops (in some cases, aerial advertisers are employed) and, alas, very few people go to bed happy. T Andy Juniper Why? Because men don't have a clue what women want. While women profess to wanting nothing -- that is, until they actually receive what they said they wanted, at which point they decide that maybe they did want something -- `isn't hubbykins a horrible slug for not realizing this?' The media and advertisers have also helped shoot expectations on the day clear over the moon. It's no small irony that more relationships crash and burn on what is deemed to be `the most romantic day of the year' than on any other single day. Ah, the St. Valentine's Day massacre. And so, I endure my annual nervous breakdown over what to get my wife. I do the research and discover that the top Valentine's Day gifts are: chocolates; perfume; expensive cotton sheets (huh?); lingerie; flowers; spa/bath products; sensual body products; a massage; scented candles; and cordless power tools. Okay, maybe I made up that last one. My research further reveals that in order to fully satisfy your significant other you need to do more than just buy a gift -- apparently you actually need to do something romantic on Valentine's Day. Something you will probably think of as being a little lame, but that she will consider to be super romantic, like re-enacting your first date (don't try this option if, say, you met in the ER after totaling each other's cars). Or, leaving a trail of rose petals all the way to the bedroom. Or, spending the night in a hotel, and role-playing (sorry, this option has been forever ruined for most people by Phil and Claire Dunphy -- or should I say, Julianna and Clive Bixby --- on TV's Modern Family). Honestly, the research only confuses me. Now, I'm in the full throes of my annual mental meltdown. Seriously: no man wants to be seen in the eyes of his main-squeeze as being cheesy, boring, predictable, unimaginative, or an idiot -- you know, the romantic rube who falls off the turnip truck of love. Only a few days to go. Anybody know the name of a good brand for cordless power tools? Kaboom! Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, found on Facebook at www.facebook.com, or followed at www.twitter. com/thesportjesters.