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CCNA BETTER NEWSPAPERS COMPETITOR 2000 'w.oa kvillebeaver.com custom iipltcJstt-rv ItiL M ak ersoffineupholsteredfu rn itu re. (b e tw e e nB ro n te *T h irdL in e )Q mI"A lO O l 2333 Wvwroft Road, Uni 7 0 0 7 Ofifil For die finest in CUSTOM UPHOLSTERING call Baiers. Consolation win at Fedoruk S ports Vol. 39 No. 97 Tartan Terrors captivate town THE ARTS A Mercedes-Benz 75 Cents A Metroland Publication WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15,2001 Toll highway a good deal for taxpayers Transportation Minister Brad Clark says Hwy. 407 didn 't cost Ontarians a cent and compares favourably with other North American toll roads By Paul Mitchison SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Is the new 407 ETR a road for the rich? It depends who you ask. For gridlock-weary drivers, the time saved is well worth the toll charges, which is money in the bank for the consortium that bargained a 99-year lease in exchange for building and maintaining the more than $3-billion toll highway. Brad Clark, Ontario's transporta tion minister, who recently cut the ribbon to open the new highway, pro nounced it a great deal for taxpayers who, he said, "didn't pay a cent" to build the 407 ETR. That caused at least a few in the assembled crowd to grumble quietly, noting taxpaying drivers must pay to use the new road. Ted McMeekin, Liberal MPP for A ncaster-D undasFlam boroughAldershot, said in an interview he's not convinced the 407 ETR deal was prudent if the tolls are beyond the financial means of many taxpayers. "It looks like a great road a lot of people would like to use, but it looks like many people w on't be able to use it because they just can't afford it." The highway contract has also been unfairly shrouded in secrecy, he said, and taxpayers don't know if they received good value. "It would seem to me that a government that likes to talk about accountability ought to be a little more transparent." There's a $2 charge just for enter ing the 407 ETR, followed by an 11cent-per-km fee between 6 a.m.and 11 p.m. - it drops to six cents per km late at night. To drive a car the full span of the 108-kilometre 407 ETR, from Burlington to Markham and back, could set you back $27.76. Heavy-duty, single-unit vehicles must pay double those rates, while trucks with multiple units face a charge of 33 cents per kilometre dur ing the day, 18 cents at night, x (S e e `H ighw ay' p age A 2) G r i d d l e KAM H.'l urSTAHKAN1 ^ ^ low er food priceB n b friH s New life for Trafalgar Village Trafalgar Village demolition ready to begin next week By Howard Mozel OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Demolition work begins next week on Trafalgar Village Mall, and although the next few months will be hectic, the end will definitely justify the means. "It's going to be a little bit of fun since w e're going to be open all the way through," laughs mall manager Pat Sutcliffe. "But we'll survive, and it will be worth it in the long run." When the dust settles, the mall will boast a Home Depot, two new retail buildings and a reconfigured eastern portion of the shopping centre to accommodate existing tenants. In fact, 18 of the 22 new stores are existing businesses. (S e e `M all' page A 8) Barima Asumadu Sakyi: selling the potential of Ghana Photo by Riziero Vertolli Ghana chief looking for support to help country's economy grow African nation wants to expand agricultural base By Howard Mozel OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Ghana - most of Africa in fact - has so much to offer the world, says Barima Asumadu Sakyi, if only out siders could see its true potential. The Paramount Chief of G hana's traditional area of Kumawu made his comments last week during a busi ness promotional tour of the United States and Canada, a visit which brought him to Oakville to call on Nana Serwah Amponsah. the Queen M other of Kumawu Ashanti Region. It was at her home that Barima Sakyi expressed his hope that the western world could see past its miscon ceptions and realize what his country and his continent are really all about. Africa is not, Barima Sakyi stress es, simply the tragic images portrayed to the public on the nightly news. "W hen you mention Africa many people have a neg ative impression," said Barima Sakyi. "But each coun try lives independently of each other. Not all have the same problems and not all are in conflict." Barima Sakyi admits that some monumental issues do exist but, as with any culture, these can be remedied if the right political will and the appropriate assistance is brought to bear. At the core of this dilemma, of course, is improving Ghana's economy, its agricultural base in particular, which Barima Sakyi maintains is a vast global resource waiting to be tapped. "To have growth in agriculture we need the support o f w estern countries," said Barima Sakyi, who explained that Ghana's new president is excited about his country's agricultural potential and has traveled to Europe to state his case. Agriculture accounts for between 40% and 50% of Ghana's gross domestic product, but even this has grown by only 2% in recent years. This has prompted (S e e `G h a n a ' page A 2) Had stolen equipment, man charged The sharp eye o f a local construc tion com pany em ployee has led to the recovery o f more than $300,000 worth o f heavy equipm ent. Around 11:30 a.m. last Saturday, say H alton R egional Police, the em ployee o f TACC C onstruction saw a tractor trailer driving eastbound on Dundas Street near Third Line hauling a 1999 C aterp illar front-end loader - equipm ent he rec ognized as that reported stolen by the com pany from a construction site in June. The man called police on his cell phone and the truck was subsequent ly stopped. F urther investigation also resulted in the recovery o f a Case Bobcat loader which had been stolen from an O akville location and taken to a M ississauga site. Stanley Jam es Capobianco, 45, of Eighth Line in O akville is facing two counts o f possession o f stolen property over $5,000. He is sched uled to appear in court Oct. 9. Booming north keeping planners busy By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF to d a y ' s paper Edtorials.______________ A S Focus._________________ Business. ..~B8 FaH Registration____________C1 Automotive._____________ __D1 Classified ______________ 04 Sports....____________________...D8 Special Supplements: Home delivery: Spoil Chek, Gino's P izza, National Sports, CM, Lansing Buildall, Lakeshore Place, Future Shop, White Rose, Ikea, AT&T Senior Open Canadian Publications Mail Product Agreement #435-201 This is an artist's rendering of the first retail-commercial building in the Uptown Core section of north Oakville. For more on this project, see stories on page A4. Official Plan Amendment (OPA) 198 is the rule book for growth north of Hwy. 5. It will zone 7,400 acres of agricultural land as urban, and Town planners are trying to steer that urban growth for the best. They've done their homework. Growth will be guided by a series of planning studies: the Economic Development Strategic Plan (1997); the North Oakville Natural Heritage Inventory & Analysis (1999); and, the North Oakville Strategic Land Use Options Study (Hemson Study/2000). That's all in addition to the goals o f the Town's original Official Plan. 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