OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, October 28, 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 --Open 9-5 weekdays, 5-7 for calls only Wed. to Friday, Closed weekends 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 Regional 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 Time for Raitt to speak up Lisa Raitt's silence surrounding an unproven allegation of an ethics breach related to a recent Halton Conservative Association fundraiser cannot be strengthening her reputation in the eyes of those who elected her. In the weeks since Mississauga South Liberal MP Paul Szabo began questioning why an employee of the Toronto Port Authority -- where Raitt was CEO before entering the arena of federal politics -- had been sending e-mails about the Sept. 24 fundraiser, the Halton MP has remained quiet. While accusations against high-ranking politicians -- made by political opponents -- are hardly new, we find it peculiar Raitt hasn't acted more quickly to defend herself. A newcomer to Ottawa, she has been experiencing a baptism by fire since being thrust into a ministerial portfolio less than three weeks after last fall's election. Lately, it seems she has been allowing others to do her talking. First, it was Conservative MP John Baird, transport, infrastructure and communities minister, who spoke during Question Period, although not exactly to offer unconditional support to Raitt. Next, came a written statement from Raitt's office, penned by the MP's press secretary, but not a word from the minister herself. Raitt did speak briefly to a Milton reporter last Friday, saying she would co-operate with an investigation related to the accusation. If she has done nothing to violate the ethical code of a federal minister or MP, she really needs to stand up and say so publicly. However, if she has violated the standard of ethics, then she needs to admit it, apologize for it, take her political lumps and move on -- assuming Prime Minister Stephen Harper still envisions a future for her in his cabinet. Maybe, just maybe, Raitt and her `boss' recognize that some other recent mistakes -- including an embarrassing audio recording of the Halton MP referring to a shortage of medical isotopes as a "sexy" issue, and her former press secretary leaving behind a binder containing `secret' Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. spending documents at the Ottawa bureau of CTV -- have reduced public opinion of the natural resources minister to tenuous at best. What remains unknown is whether Raitt has chosen not to speak, or has been ordered silent by Harper. Regardless of who is responsible for Raitt's silence, the Halton MP owes the Canadian public -- especially those who voted for her -- an explanation. She would do well to remember that her meteoric rise up the ranks of the Conservative Party of Canada would not have been possible had she not first received the support of 32,986 Halton residents on Oct. 14, 2008. 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. Letter to the editor Moving forward RE: The Oakville YMCA Dan Ferrone's untimely dismissal as CEO of the YMCA of Oakville earlier this year has provided a great deal of inspiration and motivation for this community. Dan's short tenure should be seen as a great legacy to him for his accomplishments within the community, which include the motivation to members to achieve the changes we would like to see accomplished as the YMCA moves forward. He has helped us, indirectly, to obtain the promise of great changes in our YMCA for members and employees. The members committee, representing many members and staff, will continue to strive for the changes we have been promised by the interim CEO. He has asked us to give the YMCA time to enable it to appoint a new CEO who will begin to implement the changes promised to allow the YMCA to move forward. The members committee will remain active and would like to take this opportunity to thank the YMCA members, staff, and numerous people in the community, who supported us, in person, and in the paper. BEVERLIE ROCKLIFFE 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 email to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Kerr Village thanks parks staff It's not often that people take the time to thank organizations such as the Town of Oakville. In these trying times of cut backs and budget constraints, the community beautification programs that the Town has stewarded, has made Oakville rival other communities in regards to Community Blooms Projects. It is important to recognize its outstanding service and dedication to the Kerr Village community through this summer's streetscaping program. Over the past several years, the Kerr Village BIA has explored many different options with its streetscaping program. These options have included environmentally-friendly hanging baskets, tropical plants and drought-resistant plant material. The merchants and residents of the Kerr community have had the opportunity to enjoy the most breathtaking displays of more than 250 planters including hanging baskets, concrete planters and `whiskey' barrels. The Kerr Village BIA recognizes the time involved in planting, maintaining and repairing the streetscaping services for our community and the efforts are greatly appreciated. Even though the Kerr Village financially supports these services, the Town of Oakville's Parks and Open Spaces have gone above and beyond the call of duty to our community. We have had numerous compliments from many visitors, merchants and ratepayers associations on how wonderful the streetscaping has been for the 2009 season. A special thanks to all of the Parks and Open Spaces staff who made this program possible. On behalf of the Kerr Village BIA and our community at large, a hearty: "Thank You and well done!" RICHARD MESSER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, KERR VILLAGE BIA Wrong time for CAS cuts Regarding the 6.9 per cent drop in the 2009/10 provincial funding for the Halton Children's Aid Society, I firmly believe that this is not the time to be cutting such spending. With the state of our economy, there are more stresses on families and sadly this also affects the children -- it seems to me that the need for the CAS will increase in the near future -- shouldn't its funding be increased rather than decreased? The Halton CAS employees cannot be expected to continually increase their caseload and be able to provide their important services at the same level of effectiveness. There are billions of dollars being spent on provincial infrastructure in Ontario and the wellbeing of children in Halton Region must be considered to be a very high priority. Please remember that our children are our future. MARILYN HALL