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6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday February 10, 2007 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 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. Commentary Guest Columnist Delivering results Kevin Flynn Oakville MPP uring the last election, Ontarians chose change. You told us you wanted a government that invests in and improves your health care and education. You told us you wanted a government that worked with communities instead of around them. You told us you wanted a government that would provide a cleaner environment and a quality of life Kevin Flynn that is second to none. You wanted results. Four years later, I'm proud to say, Ontario is better off and so is Oakville. This government is listening and so am I. With our government's focus on education, funding has been provided for 51 new teachers to be hired for schools within the Halton District School Board with a projected 30 additional teachers to be added in 2006-07. The Halton District Catholic School Board has been provided with funding for 30 new teachers with a projected 15 additional teachers to be funded by 2006-07. That's results for Oakville's students and parents. Our students will also benefit from new textbooks and learning resources thanks to an additional $372,162 invested in schools in our communities this year. After years of health care cuts and hospital closings by the previous government, significant investments by this government are making a difference here in Oakville. With hard work from our local health care professionals here in Halton, wait times are down in all major categories. MRI's wait times are down by over 40 per cent, the lowest wait times in the province. Wait times for CT scans are down by over 25 per cent, also the lowest wait time in the province. That's results for Oakville's patients, nurses and doctors. In addition, a $2-million investment provided us with a new CT scan machine and Oakville will soon benefit from a new state of the art hospital. If you're a parent with a new child, you get your birth certificate faster, your baby is now screened for 27 disorders instead of just two, and he or she is entitled to a free series of vaccinations that used to cost $600 per child. This government has invested in creating child care spaces, with 693 spaces created in Halton. That's results for Oakville's working families. We are working hard to keep Ontario's economy strong while our biggest trading partner goes through some tough times. We have been able to attract major auto investment here in Oakville, and have created more than 270,000 net new jobs province wide. Under the previous government the minimum wage remained frozen at $6.85/hr for eight years. Our government, in just over three years, has raised the minimum wage four times to $8 an hour, an increase of over 16 per cent. Freezing rates for our lowest income earners is not the answer. Adjustments to the minimum wage should be fair, regular, and predictive for both employees and employers. Our government has worked hard to balance economic growth with the need to protect our environment. Increasing investment to our province's public transit systems gets people off the roads and onto public transit. In 2006-07, the McGuinty government will invest $2,270,945 million in Oakville Transit, the third year of the province's successful gas tax program. That's results for Oakville. When I meet residents on the street, or at community events I often hear concerns about what kind of natural heritage legacy we will be leaving future generations. As Oakville and Halton continue to grow, our government has ensured that our natural heritage is preserved. Our government delivered a new 650-acre park for Oakville. This was in addition to the 168 acres we delivered for Oakville's Bronte Creek Provincial Park and the protection of over a million acres of Ontario's Green Belt. That's results for Oakville. Throughout the challenges and accomplishments of the past year, it has been a privilege to work with all of the people of Oakville. Please contact my office if I can be of service in any way. I know there is more work to be done, and I look forward to another year of meeting with many of you, and bringing you the results you expect and you deserve. IAN OLIVER Group Publisher NEIL OLIVER Publisher TERI CASAS Business Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ROD JERRED Managing Editor WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com Metroland Media Group Ltd. includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Caledon Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian D RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION Tiptoeing through the minefield that is Valentine's Day It's often called the most romantic day of the year. Hogwash. Forget romance. This day is all about basic relationship survival. Yes, friends, Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Lying in wait. Prepared to ambush and undermine (if not actually obliterate) your relationship with your paramour, your main squeeze, your soul mate, your kindred spirit, the apple fritter of your eye. Seriously, if love is a battlefield, as the great American philosopher Pat Benetar once eloquently noted, then Valentine's Day is a minefield in that war zone. Now, you may have gathered that I'm not a big fan of Valentine's Day. To paraphrase Chuck Barris of Gong Show fame: I love Valentine's Day, but, then, I love cold toilet seats! Seriously, I don't like this phony-baloney day at all ­ a manmade (commercially-driven) calendar date on which you are obliged by the dictates of Hallmark to (a) be gushingly romantic (b) blow your lover out of the proverbial water with gifts that reflect, at very least, the ceaseless depths of your love. Well, that doesn't sound like too much pressure placed on one dopey day. Hey, there's a reason why Cupid rhymes with Stupid. It's been my experience that men (from Mars) and women (from someplace else altogether) view Valentine's Day very differently. Men treat Valentine's Day like it's a Mel Brooks movie. High Anxiety. Seriously, when most men think of Valentine's Day, they don't think of romance so much as they think of antacid tablets and anxiety medications and beer needed to cope with the inherent stress of the occasion. Disappoint your love on Valentine's Day ­ fail to be suitably romantic, or fail to secure Andy Juniper a suitable gift ­ and you will be living in the doghouse and sleeping on the couch for months to come. Women on the other hand treat Valentine's Day like it's a big fat Dickens novel. Great Expectations. Even a woman whose soul mate is a waste-of-breath, armchair-in-his-undershirt, beer-swilling slug fully expects her man to transform into something McDreamy, McSteamy, McDashing and McDebonair for the day. And is actually disappointed when it doesn't happen! Of course, the biggest problem a man faces on Valentine's Day is trying to figure out precisely what his partner wants. When it comes to reading women, men are illiterate: How was I supposed to know she didn't want a new toaster for Valentine's Day? She hinted she wanted somethin' hot! What in tarnation gets hotter than toast? Or, I got her a stripper pole ­ what could possibly be more romantic? ­ and now I'm sleepin' in the garage! Go figure! How seriously do women take Valentine's Day? Approximately 15 per cent of American women admit to having sent themselves flowers on V-Day. I can just imagine the accompanying card: Roses are red. And red's what I see. I have no damn Valentine. So I'm sending flowers to me. Now, you're doubtlessly wondering how I'm negotiating the minefield of Valentine's Day -- and to that end, what I'm getting my main squeeze for the big day? Honestly, I've run out of original ideas. Once I gave my wife some nice lingerie wrapped in lottery tickets with a little card that said something about getting lucky. How the heck do you top that? Everything else ­ from bonbons to flowers and everything in between seems cliché, and done to death. The countdown to manufactured, prompted romance is on. My anxiety levels are high. If you need to reach me, I'll be in the doghouse. Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com