OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, May 29, 2009 · 6 OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 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 Vice President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of Media Group Ltd. DAVID HARVEY General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager Hailing a cruiser Halton Regional Police recently scuttled its practice of placing taxi-style lights atop some unmarked cruisers in a bid to nab speeders and aggressive drivers after some members of the public complained it was an unfair tactic. Was it? We don't think so. Was it sneaky? Yes. Was it a form of entrapment? Definitely not. According to Webster's New World Dictionary entrapment is defined as such: 1. to catch in or as in trap 2. to deceive or trip into difficulty, as into incriminating oneself. The fact a "cruiser-cab" was patrolling north Halton roads wouldn't cause drivers to exceed the speed limit, make unsafe lane changes or make illegal turns. A cruiser-cab wouldn't "entrap" a driver into self-incriminating behaviour anymore than a simple unmarked or even a marked cruiser would. "Sorry officer, if I knew that was a police car and not a taxi I wouldn't have been driving 30 km-h over the posted limit." What kind of defence is that? According to Halton Police Insp. Bill Ford, "Our goal here in Halton Region is to reduce the number of deaths caused by aggressive driving and motor vehicle accidents." But, he added, "we're not about catching people...at any cost." The use of these cruisers, primarily in Halton Hills and Milton, was "very effective" according to Ford. However, not all residents were happy with the practice and the police removed the cars. Let's be clear, all drivers, at one time or another, break the rules of the road. Sometimes we drive to too fast (or slow), are inattentive, or are a bit aggressive. The police are there to ensure the roads remain safe and to curb bad driving behaviour by penalizing drivers who don't follow the rules. Officers were not using these vehicles to coerce drivers into breaking the law; they were used to catch drivers already breaking the law. Police officials should realize that sometimes the means do justify the ends -- especially when it comes to public safety -- and they should get these vehicles back on the road. Letter to the editor Resident thanks Flynn for being on the job Re: Hospital construction back on track by David Lea, May 22, 2009. I would like to thank our MPP Kevin Flynn for getting our muchneeded, new hospital finally underway. The type of tenacity exhibited by Mr. Flynn is what we should expect from all our elected officials. It also illustrates the failure of Mr. Chudleigh to deliver the same for his own community. Mr. Chudleigh has held elected office in his riding for many years and has delivered nothing for health care or any other infrastructure projects so important to growing communities such as Milton. Instead of being critical in a mean-spirited way, Mr. Chudleigh should take a lesson from Mr. Flynn. Faced with a setback in the construction schedule of the new Oakville hospital, Flynn went to work, met the challenges and now the project is back on track. Flynn worked hard and delivered, while Chudleigh immaturely sniped from the sidelines. What may be lost in the childish banter Chudleigh is engaging in is that the location of the new hospital is actually in Chudleigh's riding -- something he has been unable to deliver in his years in government. On a number of occasions, I have heard Mr. Flynn state that he will work equally as hard to get a hospital for Milton. It's evident. Conservatives talk about hospitals, Liberals build them. Milton hospital deserves better representation than it's getting from Mr. Chudleigh. Instead of concentrating on yet another PC leadership race, he should be paying attention to the needs of his own community. ROD BOTHAM Letters to the editor 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. Refreshing byproduct of fundraiser Inaugural race raises $10,000 for United Way -- Oakville Beaver Wednesday April 29, 2009 Congratulations to the Mercedes-Benz 10K organizers for a great event. Not only did the United Way of Oakville benefit from the fundraiser, ReFresh Foods received the surplus food and we were able to redistribute the apples, oranges and bagels to our food bank and front line social service agency members. Thank you to the United Way of Oakville for connecting ReFresh Foods to the event and to and Mercedes-Benz for their generosity, If someone has a community event and has surplus food, call us -- we'll pick it up and get it to those in need. Contact us at 905-5105724 or visit www.foodforlife.ca. MARCUS LOGAN, PROGRAM DIRECTOR, REFRESH FOODS Pud Fair practice or not? 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. BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com