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6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday February 20, 2008 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 DAVID HARVEY General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor 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 ALEXANDRIA ANCHOR Circ. Manager What a difference a day makes The first Family Day in Ontario is now just a fond memory and, frankly, we think the McGuinty government deserves a pat on the back for instituting this mid-winter break. However, we understand not everyone was happy with this newlylegislated day off. Many retailers bemoaned the fact that another holiday would cut into their profits and/or productivity and would create other problems since it wasn't a statutory holiday and not everyone would be enjoying the bonus day off. Some groups, such as Metro Toronto police, didn't like the fact their collective bargaining agreement didn't include the holiday (while conveniently forgetting the fact they get many "float" days other workers don't) and lobbied hard, but unsuccessfully, to get the day. Some businesses simply didn't want the extra day off as it meant one less day of generating revenue, and with economists estimating that the holiday could cost Ontario between $500 million and $2 billion, there is some justification that the already-struggling economy doesn't need a hit like this. Provincial PC Leader John Tory was dead set against the February holiday. "While Dalton McGuinty enjoys the day off with his family, he would do well to remember those people not lucky enough to enjoy his fake holiday," said Tory. We're going to go out on a limb here and suggest that the majority of Ontarians were happy to have Monday off as it provided a muchneeded break in what has turned out to be one dreadfully long winter. The stretch between New Year's Day and Good Friday has been the longest in the calendar year without a holiday -- often more than three months. Surely a day off in the dead of winter will not cripple Ontario's economy and, we argue, will do more good than harm. That said, by the time next year's Family Day rolls around it would be better to see a more across-theboard policy developed so that more Ontarians get the benefit of this holiday. 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 Oakville MP's column was misleading In her guest column, Back to business, Oakville Beaver, Feb. 2, Oakville MP Bonnie Brown misrepresented the job the Canadian government has done to protect the Canadian manufacturing sector. She wrote that Prime Minister Stephen Harper "sits idly by" and that his aid package to the manufacturing sector is "conditional upon the Opposition parties supporting his government in the next budget." These statements leave a few questions for Brown: How could the prime minister be sitting idly by if he is offering an aid package? If the condition for the stimulus package is your support, then by not voting for the budget, is it not you that is doing the sitting? The Harper government, as of the 2007 budget, has invested $1.3 billion in the manufacturing sector. The government has also invested billions in communities hardest hit by job loss. I would suggest Brown support the government and help Canadian manufacturing. After all, as she said: "This is no time to play politics with the livelihoods of Canadians." MICHAEL WILSON Where is the logic? I was glad to read (GO Transit purchases more parking for Bronte station, Oakville Beaver, Feb. 13) that GO Transit was enlarging the parking availability at the Bronte GO Station -- long overdue and partially caused by reducing parking at the Oakville GO Station. But, I was dismayed to read that the parking around the Oakville GO Station was to be developed into a Midtown hub. Now, I can understand how this might help the local economy but, how do they intend to attract people to use the GO when they develop the parking into condos and business establishments? Where is the logic? People will not take the bus there if they don't already -- they will just add to the daily congestion on the QEW. As consultant Joe Berridge is quoted as saying, "it is a mass of parking lots." That's for a very good economical reason -- encourage use of mass transit for those not living/working in the "Hub." LANCE NAISMITH 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 416-3401981. 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. Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com