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

6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday October 10, 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 Let your voice be heard Freedom comes with a price. That price is often paid in blood by our young men and women who put themselves in harm's way -- either in Afghanistan or the fields of Europe of more than 60 years ago. Then, as now, many a Canadian soldier paid the ultimate price in defence against tyranny and fascism. To maintain freedom and democracy a country must sometimes fight. Those who forfeited their lives did so defending one of the cornerstones of democracy -- not the right to vote but rather the privilege. Sadly, however, voting is something that is taken for granted in this country -- likely because we have never been placed under the oppressive thumb of a dictatorship. Voter turnout for a federal election usually hovers around 61 per cent, and that number has been dwindling in this country since 1935. It's acceptable to not enjoy politics, it's OK to not be politically astute 365 days of the year. But what's not OK is wasting an opportunity to vote in a democracy. If you're planning not to vote, all we ask is that you take a little time between now and Oct. 14 to study the parties and the candidates. Look at the issues - the environment, the economy,the war in Afghanistan, immigration and many others. Educate yourself and put an "X" beside the name of the candidate whose ideology you support. Whatever you do, let your voice be heard. No matter which party wins, you should not complain about the next government if you didn't vote. 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 Speaking of broken promises Re: Our Choice editorial Oakville Beaver, Oct. 8 I thought that I might be reading a Conservative advertisement when I read this editorial. You take on the Liberals for their broken promises and trust issues, yet conveniently ignore that Stephen Harper had members crossing the floor in his first week of office (which he loudly criticized when the Liberals did it), and then he proceeded with this campaign to break his own law regarding when elections should be held. How can that be overlooked? If he receives another minority, then this election will have been a huge waste of tax dollars. Of course, there's also his continual snubbing of Ontario's provincial government, not to mention his squandering of the budget surplus, or his obvious support of a pathetic Washington regime. Harper has shown himself to be a cynical bully, and his aggressive anti-Liberal ads (which have run all through his time in office) are a disgrace. He clearly has no particular plan for the country, other than to try to keep himself in power, and any Tories elected in Oakville or elsewhere will have little opportunity for dissent. Let us all remember that this is not the PC Party of Robert Stanfield, or Joe Clark, it is de-facto a re-badged Reform Party. As such, they certainly won't be my choice. DAVID JOHANNESSON BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com Liberals should steer economy You have endorsed the Conservatives in this federal election sighting Stephen Harper's promise of fiscal responsibility. Was it not the Liberals who cleaned up the $42 billion deficit mess left behind by the last Conservative government and achieved multi-billion dollar surpluses? And is it not Mr. Harper who has depleted the surplus he inherited, leaving the cupboard bare as we brace for economic turmoil? If his do nothing approach is the "stability" you seek, I'll pass, thank you. DIANNE DELANY MP should spend time in Ottawa In your endorsement of a federal election candidate for Oakville, you've made the astonishing claim that Bonnie Brown should not be supported because she spends too much time in Ottawa. My taxes help pay for our representative and Ottawa is precisely where I want her, working on my behalf and sitting at the table when decisions are made. LORNA E. EVANS Pud Green candidate Blake Poland responds to Our Choice editorial. See page 10 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.