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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, August 2, 2012 · 6 The Oakville Beaver 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. 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 905-631-6095 Letter to the Editor The end of AIDS is in sight 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 KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager Website www.oakvillebeaver.com The OakvilleBeaver is a division of Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville ATHENA Award IODE PROVIDES OPPORTUNITY: The annual IODE Oakville-Angela Bruce Chapter Bursary Awards recipients are, counter clockwise from bottom left, Cadence Baker, Kyu Ran (Claire) Moon, Samantha Corlett, Giulia Marchione, Jessica Gill, Breagh Cheng, Brianna Cheng, Taylor Lynn and Marco Sangiovanni. Angela Bruce educational officer Rosemary Young (right) and Angela Bruce IODE president Gail McDiamid (left) presented the awards at the IODE Opportunity Shop located on Kerr Street. MICHAEL IVANIN / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER In the last five years, thousands of Oakvillians have lent their support to the sub-Saharan African Grandmothers and their grandchildren orphaned by AIDS by raising a million or more and signing a petition to amend Canada's Access to Medicine Regime so affordable life-saving medications could be made available to developing countries. At the International AIDS Conference held in Washington July 22-27, there was agreement that the science needed to end AIDS was available. The end of AIDS is achievable. Our local cluster of the Grandmothers Advocacy Network (GRAN) was proud to have five Canadian grandmothers in Washington to participate in the 19th International AIDS conference. Grandmothers have been powerful advocates for change in Canada for several years, and now, under the banner of the Grandmothers Advocacy Network (GRAN) grandmothers have come of age, taking their place alongside international scientists, politicians and other activists at AIDS 2012. A crucial goal of the conference was to put AIDS back on the global agenda. With almost 35 million people living with HIV worldwide, and the majority of them still lacking access to medicines, it's a matter of life and death. One issue receiving major attention is recent research showing the astonishing success of using antiretroviral drugs to cut the risks of HIV transmission from one sexual partner to another by 96 per cent -- what is known as "treatment as prevention." It adds yet another reason for us to advocate for truly global access to medicines. Caring for our own grandchildren, we know the enormously difficult challenge Africa's grandmothers confront daily. Our sense of solidarity with African grandmothers fills us with determination to change Canada's Access to Medicines Regime (CAMR). Originally passed in 2004, CAMR was meant to supply life-saving generic drugs to people in developing countries -- people who would otherwise suffer and die because of the high cost of medicines. Since the law passed, however, it has been used exactly once because red tape makes it unworkable for generic manufacturers and developing countries alike. A bill to amend CAMR passed in the House of Commons in March 2011, but died in the Senate with the call of the election last year. Now, the key reforms have been reintroduced and are back before Parliament in Bill C-398. We will again work tirelessly to encourage Parliament to amend CAMR so that affordable generic medicines can flow easily from Canada to the developing world. We know people are dying because they can't afford treatment; we know we can supply medicines for well under a dollar a day. African grandmothers, impressive advocates themselves on behalf of their orphaned grandchildren, have formidable allies in Canada's Grandmothers Advocacy Network. The message brought to Washington was one of hope. At GRAN's table at the Dorval Crossing Farmers Market last weekend, many people reiterated their support for Bill C-398. Canadian Grandmothers are grateful for the support received from their communities in the past and look forward to their continued collaboration to help ending the pandemic. Together, we can Turn the Tide of AIDS. For information on the local GRAN cluster, contact Irene Clarke iclarke@pathcom. com 905-469-0145. Irene Clark, chair, GRAN Oakville The high cost of raising kids and keeping beer in your fridge t's official. According to a source no less than the government of the United States of America, I should be a millionaire. Which is to say that I should not be writing for this venerable publication -- I should own it. But alas, I'm no millionaire. In fact, my bank account currently sits at $13.93. Pathetic, eh? Naturally, I blame my kids. Why? Well, according to a recent study by the aforementioned U.S. government -- therefore you know this is accurate, to the penny, with no statistical funny-business -- it now costs $235,000 to raise a child, up considerably from the $25,230 ($191,720 in today's dollars) it reportedly cost in 1960. Now consider: We have three children. Which means I can legitimately take that $235,000 figure, multiply it by three, and come out with... I dunno. One of my kids took my calculator, lent it to a friend, and never got it back. Whatever. It's a lot of money. Hey, I know what you're thinking: this guy's a moron. It may be a whack of money he's offloaded on his offspring, but it ain't no million bucks. Actually, it is. Because, you see, in landing on the $235,000 figure, the government stats wizards did not include any expenses incurred by children after they turned 18. I That's right. The study only considered the essential costs up-to-age-18, like childcare and education, food, transportation, and miscellaneous stuff like fads for which we coughed up considerable cash (and that subsequently went out of fashion: Pogs and Beanie Babies, for instance); pets that lasted less than three weeks (RIP Andy Juniper Hammy Hamster, Goldie Goldfish, etc.); and movies on now-outdated formats (anyone interested in buying our extensive VHS collection?). Alas, it's my contention, that age 18 is where the really big spending actually begins. It starts, of course, with higher education. Because the kids, of course, all insist they need it. Because what are they ever going to do with their lives without that invaluable degree in Advanced Rhetoric, or Low Norse As A Second Language, or Puppet Making (an actual degree, obtainable at Staffordshire University in Britain)? Ah, but I jest. Sort of. I get just how invaluable education is, and I know how it translates in terms of someone's future personal and financial success. However, the trouble with education is that it makes our children... educated. Which, in turn, tends to make them... smarter. Which, in turn, naturally makes us look, well, even dumber. Dumber? Well, honestly how smart can we possibly be when, having spent a king's ransom to pull our progeny through four long years of university, they graduate and we let them back into our homes where we allow them to exist rent-free so they can (a) get on their feet financially (b) drink all our beer. Because, of course, they can't buy their own beer because all of their cash is going toward, well, getting themselves on their feet financially. Apparently, the same logic applies for all of their friends who also just graduated -- seemingly in Complex Kegger-y, or some such -- who appear at our doorstep at odd hours, eager to "chill" (which translates into drinking my beer). It's true, dear readers. If my wife and I had chosen to remain childless, we'd have a million dollars. And beer in our fridge. Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, found on Facebook at www.facebook.com, or followed at www.twitter. com/thesportjesters.