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6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday November 8, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver 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 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 Commentary 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 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. Guest Columnist MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA ANCHOR Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver is a division of Arguing the case of hospital priority Ted Chudleigh, Halton MPP Ted Chudleigh The province is broke. Mr. Duncan said Ontario will slip into deficit this year. I suspect he is not giving us the whole story and his small deficit announcement is likely a warm up for a much larger deficit by year end. The McGuinty Liberal record on in-year shortfalls is not sparkling. They inherited the previous government's $2 billion SARS shortfall in the middle of a fiscal year and ballooned it to more than $5 billion by the end of that year. Success in blaming the previous government for that entire deficit has them playing the blame game most of the time, instead of taking the hard road and fixing problems. Their current favourite target is the federal government. Such tactics are common with newly elected governments but the McGuinty Liberals have governed Ontario for five years. One thing is for sure, the government's excuse that there are not enough available construction trades to build the hospital has proved to be an invention. The McGuinty Liberals were caught red-handed promoting Ontario building trades for overseas projects during a recent trade mission to the Middle East. My assertion in this space in September that the government is delaying the hospital because they do not give it a high enough priority is more apparent than ever. A cut to spending cannot come via a delay in overdue projects that impact real people. The government should come clean with its deficit and spending problems. There should be no debate on the need for Oakville's hospital versus the need to count cormorants in provincial parks, or some other apparently worthy project. The debate should be on which government program should be shelved to free up the necessary funds to build Oakville's hospital. Governance is about making tough decisions. It's about making the necessary adjustments to fulfil obligations and cutting less important programs when conditions change. Oakville and the rest of Halton have been forced onto the path of rapid growth for several years thanks to the McGuinty Liberal `Places to Grow' plan. That plan forgot to include the costs of new medical facilities in areas with greatly expanded populations. Needless to say, with the government's history of avoiding the tough decision, with a steep economic downturn on the horizon and with the delay of Oakville's hospital already a reality, I am fearful that the one-year delay in construction might stretch into two, three or more. It's about priorities. It's about people. Much as I like cormorants, I think the people of Oakville and their medical needs come first. Now we have to convince the McGuinty Liberals to see it that way. IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora EraBanner, 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 RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America I n the wake of the recent Economic Statement issued by Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan it is apparent why Oakville's hospital has been delayed. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION A germaphobe gives bountiful bacteria the upper hand T here are certain things that I'm better off not knowing. You see, I'm a borderline hypochondriac, which makes me anxious because, as a wise man once noted: in the absence of mortality, every hypochondriac is eventually proven right. To boot, I'm bit of a germaphobe, not necessarily in the obsessive, over-the-top way of people like Michael Jackson, Jennifer Lopez or hands-off Howie Mandel -- who built a guest house to hide out in when his kids are sick -- but I have been known to throw away a nearly full drink because someone (even a family member) stole a swig. And, like Donald Trump, I avoid handshakes like the plague. Oh, and I have been seen opening doors with my elbows. Hypochondria. Germaphobia. In other words, I suffer from over-concern. So, imagine how I felt the other night when I was standing at the counter of my local coffee shop waiting for my latte when my teen-queen barista began regaling me with the story of the flu bug that had recently felled her, although she confessed, comfortingly, that she was now "almost completely" over the insidious illness. "I was up all night," she said, as she steamed the milk for the latte. "Headache, sweating, throwing up, and here's your latte," she said, handing me the frothy beverage. Well, I thanked her profusely --because I'm also a bit of manners freak -- and then I took my beverage outside and tossed it into the trash. I'm sorry. I know there are people in underprivileged countries starving for such a Andy Juniper steamy treat, but I could not bring that cup to my lips. I simply couldn't risk it. Now, considering my various trepidation and tendencies, how do you think I reacted to the news this week that University of Colorado researchers have determined that every person walking around out there has a bountiful bevy of bacteria living on their hands -- 150 different species on average -- or, in other words, more bacteria than researchers ever imagined. Even stranger, women were determined to have far greater amounts and variety of bacteria on their hands then men. According to lead-researcher, Noah Fierer, "The sheer number of bacteria species detected on the hands of the study participants was a big surprise and so was the greater diversity of bacteria we found on the hands of women." The reasons for this discrepancy between men and women are unknown, although researchers speculated it might have something to do with acidity (men generally have more acidic skin), differences in sweat/oil-gland production, increased moisturizer and cosmetic applications by women, or whatever. The bottom line is these researchers -- who honestly have way too much time on their hands -- have now sucked the fun out of what was once a most pleasurable pastime: that is, holding hands. Now, if a guy who's a bit of a germaphobe wants to be romantic and engage in that simple, sensual pleasure he'll have to either don a sterilized glove, or carry around a giant jug of hand-sanitizer. Even if researchers assure the vast majority of bacteria on the human hand is completely harmless. Who can take that kind of chance? Who's got that kind of nerve? Man, I feel sick just thinking about it. Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com.