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

6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday June 29, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS 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 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: The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director TERI CASAS Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager There's no place like home This Sunday (and of course, holiday Monday) we hope everyone takes a moment to reflect on what it is to be Canadian and how lucky we are to call this country home. At the tender age of 140, Canada is relatively young compared to other Western countries such as Great Britain and the United States. While we're sure people of every country can tout the positives of their own homeland, we're willing to put Canada up against any country. After all, what's not to like about Canada? When it comes to natural beauty we have the Rocky Mountains, the East Coast, the Prairies, the North, Niagara Falls, Québec -- every province and territory has something spectacular to offer. Every part of Canada also experiences the wonder of all four seasons -- from the frozen beauty of a mid-January snowfall to the warm days of spring and summer to the kaleidoscope of colour in the fall. While we like to complain about our various levels of government, the fact remains, our parliamentary system works. Certainly, ruling parties change, but it is always through a democratic election -- no coups, no stone-throwing protests in the streets and no army takeovers. Outside of Canada we have a reputation as a nation keen on negotiation, not confrontation. Canadians do not go looking for a fight, but we also rarely back down when faced with one. The bravery of our soldiers is well documented from wars past, and our troops serving in Afghanistan and elsewhere are carrying on a tradition of making the world a better and safer place. We have a healthcare system that is the envy of many countries (particularly the U.S.), an economy that is not only stable, but prospering, world-renowned artists, athletes, scientists, doctors and more. So, again, what's not to like about this country? Happy birthday, Canada. 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 e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Council asked the right questions and made wise decisions Your editorial of Wednesday, June 27 A Waste of Time? asked the question why this regional council voted unanimously to suspend plans for a proposed incinerator that was heavily endorsed by the previous regional chair. The reasons include the following: 1. Because they discovered incineration is a costly way to dispose of waste that often results in taxpayers supporting an unbearable tax burden. In Detroit, for example, the council recently decided to mothball its incinerator after realizing it had cost them $1 billion more than landfilling would have. 2. Because incinerators have serious implications for human health as Halton's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Bob Nosal pointed out. 3. Because incinerators emit greenhouse gases and other noxious fumes as studies have confirmed. 4. Because incinerators produce toxic ash that requires special, costly landfills. 5. Because council realized, as the European Union did in February of this year, that reducing, reusing, recycling and composting should be the primary way to reduce waste. Halton is just beginning a Green Cart Program and other waste reduction methods. These must be given a chance to work. Experience in other communities show that diversion rates of as much as 80 per cent are possible. Halton's current diversion rate is 43 per cent. 6. Because diversion programs create jobs and provide raw materials to industries that need them. 7. Because the Province has opened new landfill sites and this has given municipalities time to explore sustainable waste reduction and diversion alternatives. Finally, can we put an end to the myth that a poll showed a majority of Halton residents supported incineration? The poll asked if residents would support a new technology that got rid of garage without any toxic emissions. Of course people said yes. The only problem is no such technology exists. Ask a worthless question, you get worthless answers. But if you ask good questions, like this regional council did, you get sound answers that lead to wise decisions. LIZ BENNEIAN PRESIDENT OAKVILLEGREEN CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com 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.