www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Wednesday, May 22, 2013 | 6 Editorial Taking a lesson in summer safety With the unof cial start to summer under our belt, it's past time to think twice about safety. That's why the OPP and Halton Regional Police reminded residents of a few lessons for the road during the recent Canada Road Safety Week. This week the police are targeting boating safety and May also marked cycling safety awareness campaigns. Police across Canada have ramped up enforcement to raise awareness of the "Big Four" major causes of death and injuries on roads: impaired driving, aggressive driving, distracted driving and failure to wear or improper use of seat belts. According to police: · Impaired driving remains the number one criminal cause of death in Canada. · Motorists are 23 times more likely to become involved in a collision while texting. · Aggressive driving behaviour is present in 27 per cent of fatal collisions in Canada. · Proper seatbelt usage is the most significant factor in preventing injuries and deaths in a collision. Boaters and those who use off-road vehicles should remember to think safety rst, too. Safe Boating Awareness Week is underway this week (May 18-24), and as youths take to the streets on bicycles, they should also be reminded of cycling rules and tips. Tragically, drowning claims the lives of boaters in Ontario every spring -- and almost all of those deaths are preventable by following these four key pieces of advice: be prepared, both you and your vessel; don't drink and boat; wear a lifejacket; and be aware of the danger of cold water immersion. For more on boating safety, visit the Canadian Safe Boating Council (CSBC) website at www.csbc.ca. For information on cycling safety, visit www.halton.ca. A few lessons now will ensure the summer is not one to remember for all the wrong reasons. "Connected to your Community" 467 Speers Road, Oakville ON, L6K 3S4 General Inquiries: (905) 845-3824 Editorial Department: (905) 632-0588 Fax: (905) 337-5566 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 Volume 51 | Number 32 The Oakville Beaver is a division of Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Vice President and Group Publisher of Metroland West Regional General Manager Halton Region Editor in Chief Advertising Director NEIL OLIVER DAVID HARVEY JILL DAVIS DANIEL BAIRD Managing Editor ANGELA BLACKBURN RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Business Manager Director of Production SANDY PARE MARK DILLS Let's get moving on the Big Move Julia Hanna Oakville Chamber of Commerce chair My View MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager Director of Distribution CHARLENE HALL KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager Let's get moving on the Big Move. This was the common message from a new report released May 14 by the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area chambers of commerce and boards of trade that shared the ndings of GTHA-wide business consultations on how to fund new transportation infrastructure. The Big Move is a 25-year, $50 billion plan designed to co-ordinate, integrate and build transportation and transit infrastructure across the GTHA. The question is not if we need new transportation infrastructure, but how we are going to fund it. A signi cant lack of investment in infrastructure over the last several decades by successive governments has resulted in what the Ontario Chamber of Commerce calls "a wicked problem." At the Oakville Chamber's recent roundtable, which represented a broad mix of our members, there was strong support that the provincial government must look for ef cien- cies within its existing budget to help nance the Big Move. But we can't wait; we recognize that additional funding is necessary. The results of these consultations are consolidated in a new report, The $2 Billion Question: GTHA Business Opinion on Funding the Big Move. The report is intended to inform Metrolinx's recommendations to the provincial government, due at the end of May. The short list of 11 revenue tools proposed by Metrolinx formed the basis of these discussions. The discussions tabled the tools into three categories: non-starters, those with medium potential and those with high potential. The following is the report's collective ranking of the tools proposed by Metrolinx: · Non-starters (not viable) · Property Tax · Employer Payroll Tax · Vehicle Kilometres Travelled (VKT) · Medium potential (mixed reviews) · Commercial Parking Levy · High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes · Land Value Capture · Development Charges · Regional Sales Tax · Transit Fare Increase · High potential (potentially viable) · Highway tolls · Fuel tax See Time on p.7 Proud Official Media Sponsor For: Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Proud Official Media Sponsor For: ATHENA Award 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 e-mail to: ablackburn@oakvillebeaver. com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. 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.