6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday December 6, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director TERI CASAS Business Manager MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS A DIVISION OF METROLAND MEDIA GROUP WEST GROUP PUBLISHER IAN OLIVER Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, Caledon Enterprise, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian Will the magic last? Stéphane Dion managed to pull a rabbit out of his hat with his surprising win in the race for the leadership of the federal Liberal party this past weekend. The question remains, can he pull off the same trick twice? To many observers, Dion's victory was a shocking result when, in hindsight, it should have been easily predicted. If nothing else, the Liberal party likes to play it safe and Dion offered the safest choice. Michael Ignatieff? Too untested and too mistake-prone. Bob Rae? Too much bad history with Ontario voters. Gerard Kennedy? Too unpalatable to Quebec Liberals. That left Dion -- a firm believer in red Liberalism and green environmentalism -- the choice for both the Liberal old guard and its newer members. While Dion may have been the "right" choice for the Liberals, that doesn't necessarily mean he is the best choice to unseat Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Dion may be the new man at the helm of the Grit machine, but he carries some old Liberal baggage -- baggage the Tories will undoubtedly bring out in an election race. Dion served in cabinet under former PMs Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin, who left their posts with the stench of scandals still hanging in the air. As Environment Minister, Dion tended to talk a better game than he delivered and the fact many senior Quebec Liberal party organizers threw their support behind Ignatieff -- and not Dion -- on the final ballot says something about Dion's appeal to Quebec voters. By most accounts Dion is considered a principled "nice guy", but despite his endearing qualities, western Canadians may have had their fill of Quebec prime ministers, especially another whose English is something less than fluent. The Conservatives vow they will not underestimate Dion, but there are many who feel that Stephen Harper, and not Dion, was the biggest winner Saturday in Montreal. 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 editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Overnight parking bylaws encourage drinking and driving During a time when we should discourage drinking and driving, Town of Oakville bylaws do the opposite. Last year I had a family member stay overnight and he received a $30 ticket for parking on the street. This past weekend he visited overnight again and parked on my driveway to avoid a parking ticket. Lo and behold he received another $30 ticket because even though the car was parked on the driveway, the back of the vehicle was blocking the sidewalk. How does the Town of Oakville expect overnight visitors to stay overnight when they may have had too much to drink over the holidays? What about young people who can't afford a $30 parking fine? Will they now drive home to avoid a $30 parking ticket? Holiday visitors can't legally park on the street in Oakville (even if there is no snow), so the only option is to park on one's driveway. Yet, many driveways are not long enough to fully accommodate two vehicles -- so either way you receive a $30 parking ticket. The Town of Oakville's money grab in residential areas has clearly taken precedence over encouraging holiday visitors to responsibly spend the night. It's time to rethink Oakville's ridiculous overnight parking bylaws and bring back common sense. WALTER DUBOWEC Headline didn't do story justice I am 15 years old and the headline Two grinches attack senior in his home, Oakville Beaver, Nov. 29 really surprised me. You would never think that it was referring to a serious story about a 70-year-old man who was in a horrible situation. The grinch does steal gifts, but he certainly doesn't beat people; at least not in the versions that I've heard about. I felt that the headline didn't go with the news story. KELLY PRICE, GRADE 10, OTHS Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com More Letters to the Editor can be found in the Opinion section of oakvillebeaver.com 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.