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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, February 11, 2010 · 6 The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 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. Commentary Guest Columnist NEIL OLIVER Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metroland West 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 The Oakville Beaver is a division of Not smart for families I wish to express my disappointment with the new Smart Metering program. I feel that the new energy pricing favours the hydro companies instead of the consumer. Prior to Smart Metering during the winter months, one could cook a dinner for one's family at a cost of between $0.058/kWh and $0.067/kWh. After Smart Metering, this same energy requirement will cost the consumer an astounding $0.093/kWh. I am all for getting people to be smarter about their electricity usage, but families have to be families. The fact that 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. during the winter garners the highest rates reeks of a cash grab disguised as an environmental initiative. As a business, our hydro companies are going to make money when more energy is being used. During family hours, the hydro companies are already profiting or else how could they survive? This program is going to allow them to reap the benefits of people having lives to lead. You can only do so much after 9 and 10 p.m. at night. While the offer of $0.044/kWh in off-peak will get people to consider and make changes to their habits, the new cost of living in your own house is becoming financially lopsided. I don't think any hydro company was running into a deficit on the old rates. To the consumer, the cost of off-peak energy provides an approximate discount of 25 per cent, but the cost of cooking dinner and washing clothes for your family at the appropriate time of day will increase by 60 per cent. How is that fair? It's a great time to have stock in the hydro company, if only we could afford it. LIAM O'NEIL, OAKVILLE WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com Media Group Ltd. RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville ATHENA Award Irony in Kettle letter MICHAEL IVANIN / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER VOICING OPINION: Laura Thomas writes a card in support of Burlington resident Huseyin Celil during Amnesty International, Oakville letter-writing campaign at Oakville Central Library. Celil is a Uyghur imam of Chinese and Canadian citizenship. He became the subject of a controversial court case in 2006 when he was arrested in Uzbekistan, extradited to China against Canada's objections and sentenced to life in prison on charges of terrorism. Re: In support of Oakville MP Terence Young, Oakville Beaver, Jan. 29, 2010 I find it ironic that N. Kettle would be disappointed by criticism of Terence Young's efforts to keep public forums focused on a specific topic (the budget), while disparaging former MP Bonnie Brown for not holding such meetings (among other things). As I recall, from remarks at an all-candidates meeting, Bonnie Brown was skeptical of how representative the audience of some public forums are and so somewhat skeptical of the enterprise hence their absence during her terms. It seems Terence Young suffers a perhaps not all-too-different skepticism about such audiences, if he wants to control meetings that are supposed to be public consultations. ALLAN OLLEY, OAKVILLE Wearing hearts on our sleeves and making winners of lugers Oh, Canada! Go, Canada! So, are you prepared to be entertained, amazed, inundated and awed? Are you set to get all overwhelmed and emotional? Are you ready to make a patriotic fashion statement by wearing your heart on your sleeve for the true north strong and free? Seriously, folks, are you prepared to bob with our sledders and help make winners of our lugers? The XXI Winter Olympic Games officially open tomorrow in Vancouver; historically speaking, the third Olympic Games contested on Canadian soil (Montreal in 1976 and Calgary in 1988). In true International Olympic Committee form (illogical, befuddling), the Games begin with a morning session of ski jumping, followed later in the day by the... Opening Ceremony. Regardless, after Wayne Gretzky or Betty Fox or Michael J. Fox or (insert your choice for illustrious igniter of the Olympic cauldron) officially opens the 2010 Winter Games, we are in for 16 days of fierce competition across a spectrum of 15 sports. The Games will feature more than 5,500 of the world's top athletes from more than 80 countries and will be covered by an intrepid army of 10,000-plus journalists. To sporting fans -- in particular, aficionados of amateur athletics -- this will be a televised athletic orgy: some 4,800 hours of live coverage over 12 television channels, in 22 languages (that's more coverage than NBC offered from Beijing and the Summer Games have twice as many events). Apparent Coverage Motto: If someone has an itch, we promise to be there to broadcast them scratching. Alas, for peoAndy Juniper ple who put sports right up there with lima beans as things to be avoided, this will be athletic overkill that will pre-empt all favorite shows clear across the CTV network (and NBC, in the U.S.). Of course, the Olympic Games are never all fun and games. The Olympics are rife with politics and plagued by problems. For starters, there's the ongoing nightmare of pharmaceuticals in sports wherein athletes get their swifter, higher, stronger via doping. Soon after the Games begin, we will doubtlessly start hearing about medal-wins tarnished by drugs. Further, in any Olympic Games there is the threat of a terrorist group going to great lengths to make a huge statement on an international stage. To that end, more than $700-million has been spent to keep the Games safe. Which brings us to costs. Which continue to escalate and are becoming prohibitive. It's believed that the 2010 Winter Games are coming to you at an unfathomable cost of more than 1.3-billion dollars. That's big bucks, even when you consider some $680-million in revenue is guaranteed via television rights alone. Still, many critics contend that the Games are out of control. And many skeptics believe the Olympics are not long for this world, saying they have become too big and will soon collapse under their own weight. All of which can be filed under food for future thought. For now, I hope we can put aside all our concerns (no matter how crushing) and indulge in our current reality: for the next two-and-a-half weeks, the best and brightest are in our backyard. Digging for gold. Enjoy! Oh, Canada! Go, Canada! Andy Juniper can be visited at www.strangledeggs.com, contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, or followed at www.twitter.com/thesportjesters.