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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, D ecem ber 2 3 , 2 0 1 6 | 6 E d ito r ia l Have a happy, and safe, holiday We hope the holidays bring peace, joy and safety. Oakville Fire sent that message home as it co-hosted last Friday' s Oakville Blades game at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. As Oakville Fire mascot Sparky was centre ice for the puck drop, the message of hre safety was centre stage. The holidays can be one of the most dangerous times for home hres, according to Oakville Fire ofhcials who urge people to make a hre safety list and check it twice, and include: · stay in the kitchen when cooking; · if you smoke, smoke outside; · drink responsibly. For more safety tips, visit Oakville.ca. And with the holidays safely wrapped up at home, Halton Regional Police and the Ontario Provincial Po lice (OPP) hope motorists take the safety message into their vehicles if they are travelling over the holidays. RIDE (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) spot checks aim to get impaired drivers off the roads before their irresponsible behaviour costs a life. Similarly, texting and otherwise driving while dis tracted is a leading cause of carnage on our roadways and as always, we must remember, speed kills. No one wants the holidays to turn from merriment to catastrophe, from joyous to heartbreak as a result of hres or collisions -- or irresponsible decisions. Nor do the holidays always bring joy and peace, for many, the holidays bring sorrow. Whether it is the mem ory of a loved one lost, mental health or addiction chal lenges, or hnancial struggles, there are those who dread the holidays. They, too, can take heart, however, as there are places to turn. This holiday, local charities like Fare Share Food Bank, the Salvation Army of Oakville and Kerr Street Mission (KSM) have been fortifying their stores in order to offer assistance to those in need. Similarly, a host of community agencies offer a help ing hand, an ear to listen and ways to help those facing emotional or mental crisis. Halton police runs Crisis Outreach and Support Team (COAST) with the Canadian Mental Health Asso ciation Halton Region Branch. It has a 24/7 crisis line -- 1-877-825-9011 -- that provides Halton residents with support, plans for safety, and healthy coping strategies. For more information, visit www.haltonpolice.ca. Other support lines include: · Kid' s Help Phone -- 1-800-668-6868; · R.O.C.K. (Reach Out Centre for Kids) -- 905-878 9785; · Halton Regional Police Service Emergency -- 911; · Halton Regional Police Service Non-Emergency -- 905-825-4777. We wish you a safe and happy holiday. "C o n n e c t e d t o y o u r C o m m u n i t y " OakvOeBeaver 5046 Mainway Unit 2, Burlington ON L7L 5Z1 General Inquiries: (905) 845-3824 Classified Advertising: (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 Volume 54 | Number 103 The Oakville Beaver is a division of · *metrolandmedia · * Connected to your community® 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 Advertising Director NEIL OLIVER KELLY MONTAGUE DANIEL BAIRD Managing Editor ANGELA BLACKBURN RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Business Manager LORI ANN GZOVDANOVIC Director of Production MARK DILLS MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager Director of Distribution CHARLENE HALL KIM M O SSM AN Circulation Manager MyView OakvfleBeaver Proud Official Media Sponsor For: Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member Celebrating a year of firsts t has been one full year since I was elected as MP for Oakville North-Burlington (ONB) and what a year of exciting hrsts it has been. In 2016, we saw Canada' s federal government boast the countrys hrst gender-balanced cabinet, create a new, more generous child beneht, restore the long-form census, launch a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and increase funding for student grants by 50 per cent. Our government also lowered taxes for the middle class and initiated the hrst phase of a $60-billion, 10-year infrastructure plan, restored old age security eligibility to age 65, simplified family immigration, enhanced the Canada Pen sion Plan and services for veterans, signed the Paris Climate Change agreement and welcomed 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada. My team and I have been working very hard for you in Ottawa and in the riding. Recognized for Excellence by I A W Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association A c c r e d it e d 4 Pam Damoff Oakville North-Burlington MP M edIda s s o c ia tio n Proud Official Media Sponsor For: As a member of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, I was fortunate enough to represent Canada at the UN. As a member of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and Nation al Security, I was pleased our committee tabled a unanimous report in the House of Commons call ing for the government to develop a national strat egy for supporting the mental health of our public safety ofhcers and hrst responders. /A D p JL O n t a r io P re s s C o u n c il Defending principles to inspire public trust see MP on p.8 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 2 06, 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 advertise ment will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Pud by Steve Nease b lRThDAY PARTIES ! * ART *PAINT * New LEGO® 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, 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington ON L7L 5Z1 or via email to ablackburn@ oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Make &Take · Star Wars · Minecraft · Pokemon 9 0 5 -8 2 5 -9 9 9 4 - 461 N. Service Rd. W Oakville SPECklESARTSTUDIQ.COM