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6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday September 26, 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: NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER President Media Group Ltd. 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 Inspirational survivors When the Halton Family Walk for Heart and Stroke kicks off this weekend, four inspiring Halton women will be among those taking a leisurely stroll through Bronte Creek Provincial Park. The foursome -- like many other participants in the weekend fundraiser -- have been personally touched by heart disease or stroke. They have seen loved ones die from it and they have very nearly succumbed to it themselves. Margaret Jones, Wendy Carr, Della Coulson and Yvonne Lewis know all too well the startling statistics that accompany heart disease and stroke. They are acutely aware that cardiovascular disease (heart disease, diseases of the blood vessels and stroke) takes the lives of tens of thousands of people each year. The figures work out to an average of one Canadian death from cardiovascular disease every seven minutes. Heart disease and stroke continue to send more people to hospital than any other ailment. It's pretty staggering stuff. Though the four Halton women have faced their own mortality and experienced the devastation of losing loved ones to heart disease and stroke, their stories aren't all sad. Each is a survivor and all say they are stronger and wiser for the experience. Part of the strength these four women exhibit comes from lending their knowledge to others who have been affected by the same types of illness. All of the women are active members of the Heart and Stroke Foundation's Halton chapter and each is proud to be called a survivor. This Sunday, the four will share their experience and camaraderie with others who want what they want -- to remember those who have been lost to cardiovascular disease, to honour all survivors and to raise money for the research that save lives. We applaud their tenacity and wish them all the best in their admirable effort to help others. 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 Anne Day's letter, (Election Call broke promise, Oakville Beaver, Sept. 19) focuses on an alleged broken promise by the government. The fixed election date applies only to a majority government. The last session of Parliament was fractious, dysfunctional and key legislation is still being held up by the Liberaldominated Senate. The will of Parliament has been and is being subjugated by the upper house. Election call did not break any promise All of the opposition parties have declared publicly that they intended to bring down the government in the fall session at their first opportunity. Now I ask you, would you rather be holding an election now during nice weather or during the winter? Let's all show the government that Oakville agrees with the Conservatives. We want lower taxes. We want a balanced budget. We want to continue to pay down the national debt. We want the Senate to pass the legislation that Parliament has already voted on. We want our men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces to know that we support them and their mission in Afghanistan. We want a strong presence in the north showing the world our sovereignty in the arctic. We want Terrence Young to represent us in Ottawa instead of an MP that represents Ottawa in Oakville. STEVE EDGAR Young wrong on referendum At the all-candidates meeting on Sept. 19, Oakville Conservative candidate Terence Young pointed out that Ontario voters turned down the referendum during the last provincial election. As is typical of many politicians Terence left out an important bit of information about the referendum. While it is true the referendum on electoral reform only received 37 per cent of the vote and the government required a 60 per cent threshold for a new voting system to pass, the Liberals who won the election received only 43 per cent of the vote and were handed a majority government. Mr. Young's party is at around 40 per cent in the polls and with our broken electoral system may be in a position to form a majority government even though 60 per cent voted against his party. You would think a candidate who comes from a party that preaches the values of democracy would embrace a voting system that would see the percentage of votes received in an election be reflective of the seats a party would have in parliament. Unfortunately, Mr. Young, and others politicians like him, have no interest in a voting system that would require 50 per cent plus one to form a majority. Like dinosaurs they like the old way and they wonder why people are cynical and won't vote. KEN ROBERTSON 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. Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com