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OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, October 21, 2009 · 6 OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 --Open 9-5 weekdays, 5-7 for calls only Wed. to Friday, Closed weekends 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 Media Group Ltd. DAVID HARVEY Regional 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 SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager Police budget in tune with times Earlier this year we were somewhat critical of the Halton Regional Police Services Board and the Halton Regional Police Association for agreeing to a 9.2-per-cent wage hike over three years. That pay raise, we said, flew in the face of the Region's promise to bring in a zero per cent tax hike in next year's budget. However, last week the Board endorsed a funding request for its 2010 operating budget that would result in one of the lowest property tax increases for police services in recent years. The $108.9 million request is 6.3 per cent, or $6.5 million, more than the projected actual budget for 2009. But it would only result in a tax hike for police services of 1.3 per cent-- a drastic drop from the 5.75 per cent average increase the Board has sought since 2002. In household dollars, it represents an extra $2 in 2010 property taxes, for every $100,000 in assessed value of a home. While regional council has yet to approve the budget hike figure, we'd be surprised if it couldn't find this figure palatable. Of the extra $6.5 million needed for 2010, $3.7 million would cover increases in negotiated settlements, benefits and annualization costs. Another $1.4 million would be used to hire 23 extra staff, 20 of whom are frontline staff. Chief Gary Crowell presented Board members with a breakdown of positive statistics regarding crime in Halton, from the fact the region is well below the provincial average when it comes to violent and non-violent crime to the fact that criminal offences are projected to decrease six per cent this year and property crimes seven per cent. However, despite those impressive statistics, the number of calls for police assistance is on the rise. The number of calls is expected to jump 10 per cent this year alone. A 1.3-per-cent tax hike to maintain the current level of police service for Halton is not unreasonable. 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. Letter to the editor Bad science One would expect some fact-checking prior to publishing letter after letter and comment from our esteemed mayor protesting the proposed power plant. Our mayor claims that he learned everything he could about science, technology and business model of power plants when Sithe Energies entered the GTA market some 10 years ago. He then continues with the most outlandish statement: "If government and company officials can't prove there will be no harm to our community, then they shouldn't build the plant. It's as simple as that." He seems to ignore the fact that neither science, government or private companies can prove beyond doubt that anything is totally safe: it is a cardinal rule of science. Furthermore, as everything seems to hang on Oakville's interim control bylaw introduced in March 2009, it seems fair to ask why Mississauga did not do the same thing. Surely power needs, now and future, health threat (if any) and science would best be answered by the specialist at Oakville Hydro, not some cockamamie science thrown out by our mayor. IVOR DAVIES Letters to the editor 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 email to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. TransCanada offers to pay for independent environmental study Ed. note: This letter was originally sent to Mayor Rob Burton and a copy was filed with the Oakville Beaver for publication. As part of our commitment to community consultation and informed dialogue, I write to offer our financial assistance to the Town in hiring a qualified, independent third party expert to peer review our environmental studies and to confirm our plans to better the emissions limitations set by the Ontario Power Authority (OPA). We understand that the Town of Oakville has expressed a desire to hire independent environmental consultants. We fully support efforts towards the review of our Environmental Review Report by qualified environmental consultants who can provide Council with an independent assessment of the environmental impacts of our proposed facility. Given that this review represents a cost to the Town directly attributable to our project, we respectfully suggest the Town contract qualified consultants directly and invoice us for the reasonable costs incurred. If the Town is interested in this offer, please instruct your staff to contact me so we can understand how they intend to move ahead with scope and selection of the consultants. (In the interest of clarity, I should specifically note that our offer does not include reimbursing the Town for legal counsel.) TransCanada strives to implement the best and most advanced technology for its facilities. The industrial gas turbines Coverage sheds light on OMB hearings Thanks to Oakville Beaver reporter David Lea for the insightful presentation of the proceedings at the OMB hearings concerning the legality of the proposed power plant in the middle of the population of Oakville. Last Tuesday, the image of the Ford and TransCanada lawyers was highlighted when they believed they could propel their interests past those of the community that will be affected and altered. Later, the Beaver articled the audacity of the president of TransCanada who is already alluding to the high costs of breaking a contract for an unnecessary and inefficient power plant that should never have been awarded in the first place. It appears to me that the OPA is leading us down the path of the eHealth debacle. DAVID HARRIS See TransCanada page 10