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w w w . o a kv ill eb ea ve r.c o m O A KV IL LE B EA V ER Th ur sd ay , A ug us t 2 6, 2 01 0 8 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver 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 adv rtising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. United Way of Oakville Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America 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 WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com Last weekend The New York Times Magazine ran a featurethat asked: Whats wrong with twenty-something kidsthese days? The story chronicled the trend of young people taking longer to reach adulthood. Typically Im leery whenever anyone starts talking about general trends in the population because I often find they dont specifically relate to my reality. Or the reality of anyone Ive ever met. However, this story touched a nerve. I decided to run the storys premise past our 20-year-old son who was in his room drinking my beer, watching Arthur and playing with his Lego. Okay, Im kidding about that last bit (save for the beer). Our 20- year-old son never watches Arthur when hes playing with his Lego. Okay, rarely. But, seriously. According to the Times, The traditional cycle (of maturation) seems to have gone off course, as young people remain untethered to romantic partners or to perma- nent homes, going back to school for lack of better options, avoiding commitmentsand forestalling the beginning of adult life. Its a sweeping indictment, but if young people are refusing (or are unable) to grow up, we have to wonder why? A chang- ing society? Overprotective parents? The coddled kids themselves? Or is this a generational blip in evolution the generation that decided to not get on with life, to live at home, to not earn their keep or make their mark, to flounder with friends and play video games nonstop into their thirties? Generational? Societal? Economical? My grandfather lived in an orphanage in England. Upon turning 16 official adulthood at the time he was shipped to Canada to work on a farm. By the time he was 20, he was being shot at in a foxhole. Likewise, in his early 20s, my father was teaching future fighter pilots how to fly. But, that was just that way things were in those days. You had no choice but to grow up fast. You attended high school, if you were inclined and your family could afford such luxury that is, if you were not needed on the family farm, or your pay- cheque was not required to keep the family afloat. Many kids never received high school diplomas. Back then, no one said to kids: You should put off this ugly reality of life, this need to grow up, go to university and get multiple degrees in Art History, Philosophy, Rhetoric. Higher education was rarely an option. Now you need a degree to qual- ify for most jobs. Which, alas, does not answer why these young adults, once finally finished with schooling, still dont seem ready to engage in so-called adult behavior settling down with the person of their dreams, buying a house, climbing the corporate ladder. I have two theories: Because they dont have to (parents are too willing to pro- vide safety nets; and if you dont have to grow up, why bother?). And because theyve seen the future society has mapped out for them, and they think it sucks: They see their parents working 60-hour work weeks, with Blackberries stapled to their ears in their scant free time and, not surprisingly, they dont think its worth it. We say, get a life. They say they want a life, replete with balance. Maybe theyre not anxious to enter adulthood. Maybe they think adulthood is overrated. Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, or followed at www.twitter.com/thesportjesters. Adulthood is proving elusive for todays twenty-somethings Andy Juniper RIZIERO VERTOLLI / OAKVILLE BEAVER HAPPY 101: The regulars at the Monday afternoon bridge game at the Oakville Arena gathered to wish John Ledoux a happy 101st birthday. Pictured with John are (l-r) Barbara Wood, Rita Langdon, Heather Strucken, Rita McKinnon, Jane Merwin, Deannies Ibbotson, Connie Tigert, Pat Freiter and Joan Wright. ATHENAAward Media Group Ltd. The Oakville Beaver is a division of Guest Columnist Dear Constituent: The papers are full of the story of the MV Sun Sea. This is a difficult and complex issue. As you know, Canada is a country composed primarily of immigrants. My father, now deceased, immigrated to Canada from Ireland with family at age four. My mother is a fifth generation Canadian. We need immigration for many reasons to build our economy and diverse culture, maintain the integrity of the Canada Pension Plan and fully develop our natural resources. Immigrant success stories are everywhere we look. Canada welcomes more than 200,000 immigrants from many countries, who wait many months and even years in line to come to Canada. Canada is also a refuge for thousands of people a year, who, through no fault of their own, are under threat of persecution, torture or death in their homeland. This is in the best humanitarian tradition. Historians remind us that Canada, along with other nations, refused asylum to Jews who had fled the Nazis in 1939 on the vessel St. Louis, which returned to Germany. Two hundred of the 928 aboard were subsequently murdered by the Nazis. We work with other nations to welcome and integrate refugees that have been living in squalor in refugee camps in various parts of the world due to wars or insurrection. More than 140,000 Sri Lankan refugees have already been settled in India, France, Germany, the United States, Australia and Italy, as well as Canada. However, there is reason to believe that the MV Sun Sea is operated by human traf- fickers, and that some of the 490 aboard are criminals or Tamil Tigers a terrorist group, abusing our generosity and putting criminals ahead of legitimate refugees desperately waiting for relief. There is also the prospect of more vessels setting out from Sri Lanka and other countries with similar intent. Why was the MV Sun Sea not intercepted on the high seas? Canadian law does not allow authorities to board a ship of another country in international waters, or the waters of another country and redirect it. Once the boat enters Canadian waters, the provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act apply, requiring a process to determine admissibility. As a member of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, I am pleased to tell you my government recently introduced (and Parliament passed) a new bill, C-11, to address bogus refugees more quickly and to facilitate the acceptance of legit- imate refugees. Those aboard the MV Sun Sea are being processed under Canadian law to determine their identity and whether they are true refugees, or criminals posing as refugees, being manipulated by human traffickers. There are 45 million people worldwide who want to come to Canada. To preserve our national sovereignty and the safety and security of Canadians we must enforce Canadian immigration laws. Our government is doing its utmost to offer real asylum seekers the refuge they need, while deporting those who are inadmissible as refugees, but willing to take advantage of Canadians generosity. We are currently considering various options in order to address abuse of international law by those who profit from human smuggling. Terence Young, Oakville MP Terence Young True refug es welcome