The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

2 - Orono Weekly Times Subscriptions $33.02 + $1.98 GST = $35.00 per year. No Refunds. Publications Mail Registration No. 09301 · Agreement No. 40012366 Publishing 48 issues annually at the office of publication. "We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) toward our mailing costs." Wednesday, March 25, 2009 ORONO WEEKLY TIMES - 5310 Main St., P.O. Box 209, Orono, ON L0B 1M0 E-mail: oronotimes@rogers.com or Phone/Fax: 905-983-5301 Publisher/Editor Margaret Zwart Production and Display Advertising - Donna Anderson Wood Classified Advertising - Sue Weigand The Orono Weekly Times welcomes letters to the editor on subjects of interest to our readers. Opinions expressed to the editor and articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Orono Weekly times. Letters must be signed and contain the address and phone number of the writer. Any letter considered unsuitable will not be acknowledged or returned. We reserve the right to edit for length, libel and slander. If your retail or classified ad appears for the first time, please check carefully. Notice of an error must be given before the next issue goes to print. The Orono Weekly Times will not be responsible for the loss or damage of such items. Time to shift the oil sands debate to Canada's advantage By Dr. Roger Gibbins, President and CEO Canada West Foundation Canadians are understandably nervous about the potential impact of the new American administration on our market for energy south of the border. The rhetorical emphasis on climate change, clean energy and energy security could all be problematic for a Canadian energy industry already hammered by depressed prices, high costs and tight credit. Our nervous energy, however, should be directed to seizing the Canada-U. S. Clean Energy Dialogue that President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced last month. To understand the importance of this initiative, consider the public debate about oil sands development. At present, that debate focuses almost entirely on environmental concerns. This is losing terrain for proponents of the oil sands, as it is almost impossible to attract an audience to discuss its economic importance or contribution to energy security. Environmental opponents of the oil sands, who are well financed by American foundations, are simply not interested in a balanced debate. If the oil sands can be isolated as an environmental target, if arguments about the economy or energy security can be rejected out of hand, then oil sands producers are going to face very heavy sledding indeed. It is imperative, therefore, to change the terms of the debate. It is here that the Clean Energy Dialogue comes into play, for it provides the opportunity to discuss the oil sands in the context of continental supply and demand. It provides an opportunity to discuss how the oil sands might contribute to energy security, and to place the environmental impact of the oil sands among other energy sources, including coal-generated electricity. President Obama's greatest gift to Canada to date was his response when asked during his visit to Ottawa to comment on the oil sands. He noted the environmental concerns about the oil sands, as he should, but then went on to point out that the United States faces similar environmental concerns with coal-fired electricity, calling his country "the Saudi Arabia of coal." This response supports exactly what Canadian's need -- a comprehensive discussion about energy that does not look at the oil sands in isolation. The Canada-U. S. Clean Energy Dialogue is this forum. But, if this opening is to be seized, there are steps that have to be taken. First, we have to have a Canadian dialogue before we are swept up by the Canada-U. S. dialogue. We have to sort out our energy interests, needs, objectives and priorities. This is a discussion that we have been unwilling to have, and the government of Canada has been the most reluctant participant. Now, however, the Americans have goaded us into action. If we do not have a Canadian dialogue, and if we do not have that dialogue soon, we will be eaten alive once the Canada-U. S. dialogue gets underway. The second step is Alberta's, for the price of admission to the Clean Energy Dialogue will be the recognition that a continental cap-and-trade system will be one of the outcomes. If we want to get the oil sands into the continental tent, then it will be necessary to drop our insistence that we can go it alone with respect to carbon markets. The third step goes without saying: oil sands producers have to continue to walk the talk with respect to their environmental impact. Their important work in this area can be told, but it needs an audience prepared to listen. The Clean Energy Dialogue should provide that audience, or at the very least the stage upon which the story can be told. We have, then, the opportunity for a more balanced, continental discussion for the oil sands, one that retains the importance of environmental concerns, while at the same time bringing energy security and economic arguments into play. It is now up to us to exploit that opportunity. Letters to the Editor Camp 30 - a memorial to the Canadian war effort Dear Editor: Re: Camp 30 To the men and women who have fought around the world to protect the freedoms that we enjoy in Canada today, I owe a debt of gratitude. To those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, I honour them everyday and most especially each November 11th. To me Camp 30 represents what Canadians accomplished on the homefront to assist our soldiers and our Allies fighting in the Second World War. Over 40,000 POWs were sent to Canada for safekeeping...40,000 enemy soldiers taken out of the fight. Of all of those POWs, only one of them managed to escape back to Germany! In Camp 30, none of the POWs successfully escaped in spite of many attempts. Camp 30 in Bowmanville held many significant German prisoners. Otto Krestchmer was the most celebrated UBoat captain in Hitler's navy. He held the record for Allied ships sunk during the Second World War and with those ships went the lives of our sailors. He held this record despite being captured in 1941. For the remaining years of the war, no other U-Boat captain was as deadly as Kretschmer. He spent four years interned in Camp 30 and despite many attempts to escape, the Canadian guards held him safe here. Hitler even sent a submarine to our East Coast to pick him up and take him back to the war. By holding him here, we saved countless lives. By holding all but one of the POWs in Canada, we saved even more lives. That is the history that we are preserving at Camp 30. It is a memorial to the Canadian war effort...a memorial to our support of the Allied troops. Finally, I take no shame in our treatment of the POWs in Canada. We upheld the Geneva Convention and we should take great pride in upholding that noble law. Sincerely Martha Rutherford Conrad Orono D-D Day in Bowmanville Dear Editor: As a committed antiquelover and history buff, I can understand the reluctance to demolish the history of the former Nazi inmate camp, but question the need to retain the buildings. I'd favour a good picture display, at our local museum. Historian Hodgson might consider garnering stories from those who witnessed events. My husband remembers, at his uncle's farm on Lamb's Road, watching the prisoners walk past on their way to a swim in Lake Ontario. Pat Irwin Lycett Green Humanitarian Send your letters to the ORONO WEEKLY TIMES 905-983-5301 · oronotimes@rogers.com