6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday April 11, 2007 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: The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director TERI CASAS Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager Remembering Vimy Ridge As defining moments go, Vimy Ridge is arguably Canada's turning point in its fledgling history. Only 50 years young as an independent country in 1917, the battle at Vimy was Canada's coming out party as a nation. The 30,000 Canadian soldiers who scored a stunning military victory over the Germans-- where British and French troops failed earlier-- forever changed the way the world viewed our country. It was, perhaps, our finest moment. "Every nation has a creation story. The First World War and the battle of Vimy Ridge are central to the story of our nation," said Prime Minister Stephen Harper at Monday's ceremony in France to mark the 90th anniversary of the battle and the rededication of the monument. Approximately 500,000 Canadians fought in The Great War and 3,500 gave their lives at Vimy Ridge on April 9, 1917. However, with each passing year the memory of Vimy Ridge and its significance to this country's history, is fading. Only two Canadian veterans from that war are still alive today and their sons and daughters, many who served in the Second World War, are, on average, 86-years-old. That is why it is important that ceremonies like Monday's continue. Today's youngsters should not only be told about Vimy Ridge, but come to understand its importance to this nation's history. For decades Canada's veterans -- of all wars -- have proudly kept alive the memory of the sacrifices our soldiers have made. With only 200,000 war veterans still alive and more than 300 dying each week, it is time now for today's generation to step forward and assume the responsibility for keeping that memory alive. Surely, it is not a task too onerous, considering the one our forefathers -- like those at Vimy -- not only endured, but also conquered. 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 Regional Chair will continue seeking fairness for Halton I am writing in response to Gil Penalosa's letter to the editor (Ontario's Places to Grow plan is not Places to Sprawl, Oakville Beaver, April 6). I would like to first point out that I am misquoted in Penalosa's letter. It was not I who called the Provincial Places to Grow plan, Places to Sprawl. The Province's plan requires Halton and its local municipalities to grow, but has not delivered the necessary financial tools and provincial funding commitments to allow the Region to achieve these requirements. As a result of our Fairness for Halton campaign, the province has committed to phasing out GTA pooling. In 2007, this is a savings of approximately $6 million. GTA pooling was just one of the many shortfalls facing Halton Region with impending growth as a result of the Province's Places to Grow plan. To address the shortfalls, Halton will continue to ask the Province to provide an enhanced municipal infrastructure funding program, make immediate changes to the Development Charges Act, and address inequalities in provincial cost sharing requirements. We will continue to call for immediate action to allow Halton to address the current infrastructure deficits and respond to the objectives in the Places to Grow plan. We have offered the Province practical solutions to address the funding issue. We have attempted to offer solutions to our problem, not simply problems to the solutions, as stated by Penalosa. Our Fairness for Halton campaign was passed with the unanimous endorsement of every councillor both Regional and Local in Halton. I would ask Penalosa to explain to the people of Milton for example, how we can ask them to grow and not have any funding for the Milton hospital expansion. It is irresponsible to grow before the financial plan is in place for the services we need and that our residents expect in Halton. It is important that the decision of where and how to grow are made by the people of Halton not the bureaucrats in Queen's Park. We are the ones who know our region and that will be affected. I will continue to be a strong voice for the people of Halton and I will continue to stand up to ensure we get our fair share of funding to make our community a great place to live, work, raise a family and retire. HALTON REGIONAL CHAIR GARY CARR Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.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.