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OPINION & LETTERSTHE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR:The Oakville BeaverTHE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR:Canadian Circulation467 Speers Rd.,Audit Board Member Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 Recognized for Excellence by(905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571COntario CommunityCanadian Communitylassified Advertising: 632-4440 Newspapers AssociationNewspapers AssociationCirculation: 845-9742 Open 9-5 weekdays,ATHENASuburban NewspapersAward5-7 for calls only Wed. to Friday, Closed weekendsof AmericaEditorial and advertising content of theOakville Beaver is protected by copyright.NEIL OLIVERVice President and Group ROD JERREDManaging EditorMARK DILLSDirector of Production Unauthorized use is prohibited.Publisher of Metroland WestDANIEL BAIRDAdvertising DirectorMANUEL GARCIAProduction ManagerThe Oakville Beaver is a division ofDAVID HARVEYRegional General ManagerRIZIERO VERTOLLIPhotography DirectorCHARLENE HALLDirector of DistributionJILL DAVISEditor in ChiefSANDY PAREBusiness ManagerSARAH MCSWEENEYCirc. ManagerLetter to the editorBusiness as usualChamber On Tuesday at 5:04 p.m. we received an e-mail fromthe Office of the Mayor that Committee Work Continuescandidatesat Town Hall.The first paragraph read: "Its business as usual atOakville Town Hall. The Community Servicesdebate wasCommittee and Administrative Services Committeewill continue their important work on Wednesday,informativeApril 27, 2011. As always, Mayor Burton welcomes theI feel so fortunate to live in apublics input and attention."country and a community whereNormally, this would not be news. However, thatcitizens can fully participate in, andchanged when Oakville incumbent MP Terence Youngcelebrate the democratic process.accused the mayor of meddling in the federal electionI attended the Oakville andby cancelling the scheduled committee and councilHalton Federal All-Candidatesmeetings on April 12,18 and 25.debate Tuesday evening and cameYoung said the meetings were cancelled so theaway very impressed by the spiritedLiberal Town councillors could concentrate on helpingdebate on platforms, policies andtheir council colleague and Oakville Liberal candidate,passions of the parties and the can-Max Khan, with his campaign.didates. Mayor Rob Burton countered the meetings wereThis has been one of the mostcancelled because there simply weren't enough agendachallenging elections decisions Iitems to warrant the meetings.have faced in my voting career. A close look at the agenda items for the CommunityIt was incredibly important toServices and Administrative Services committeeshear from the candidates directlymakes us wonder, though.The Oakville Beaverwelcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerationsand not just to base my decision onOn Wednesday night, the administrative committeeLetters toand grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. the messages delivered via variousagenda included five reports on items for discussion.Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via the editore-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaverreserves the right to refuse to publish a letter.channels. Two were dated April 1, one April 6, one April 7 andI went in as a truly undecidedanother April 11.Why aren't more people wearing red on Fridays?voter and came out with my deci-We'll assume the April 11 report was late for thesion. April 12 meeting, but couldn't the four other reports Why aren't you doing it? It's a question Ishow support for war. It is simply stating toIn addition to clarifying my vote,have been discussed on April 12?ask every Friday. those individuals who are willing to die toI came away with an immense admi-A glance at the Wednesday community servicesWhy aren't more people wearing red? Doprotect us that we care. And we do care. ration and respect for all of theagenda raises our eyebrows even more.you know why people wear red on Fridays? This country grieves every time one of ourcandidates. The committee agenda included seven discussionIn simplest terms, it is to show support forown is killed. We share tears when they areIt takes significant courage toour men and women of the military who havebrought home to rest. Many of us line theitems of reports dated Jan. 27, Feb. 15, March 18,taken an oath to protect our country, ourstreets across the Highway of Heroes to showstand for election and it is so grati-March 25, March 31 and April 4 and April 6.people, our way of life. our support when one of our own comes homefying to see that in Oakville andEven giving council the benefit of the doubt that theIt is to show support for the men andin a box. Halton we have such capable andApril 4 and 6 reports weren't ready for the April 12women who fight in other countries in warsLet's take every Friday and make it a sea of respectful individuals carrying themeeting, that still left five items ready and up for dis-we cannot begin to understand. It is to showred all across this great nation. Let us showcolours of their parties proudly. cussion.support for the men and women who die wear-our support here and now by wearing red forRegardless of the outcome of theOne of these items was the high-profileProposed ing the proud uniform of the Canadian mili-the heroes who are still alive.election on May 2, we should allSkateboard Facility at Glen Abbey Parkreport datedtary.We must never forget what they do for us.reflect on the fact in Canada weMarch 18. That issue has been a matter of public inter-Wearing a red shirt or a red scarf, or anyNever.have a true choice of ideologies andest since last June, when the Town up-rooted theother symbolic piece of clothing does notP. E. Read, Oakvillewe are a civilized society thatskateboard facility at West Oak Trails and has beenembraces active political dialogue.looking since then for a replacement site. Pud BY STEVE NEASEneasecartoons@gmail.comLastly, I would like to express myTo us, that issue alone should have warranted dis-thanks to the Oakville Chamber of cussion on April 12.Commerce for staging the debate. So why were those April meetings cancelled? It continues to demonstrateDoes the statement: "It's business as usual atleadership in organizing forumsOakville Town Hall?" have some deeper meaning?where citizens can engage in mean-The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suiteingful conversations that ultimately206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in theimprove the quality of life in Oakvilleevent 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 theand the Region of Halton.advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorizeDuncan Ross, Oakvilleadvertisements or decline.www.insideHALTON.com OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, April 29, 2011 6