www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, May 26, 2010 · 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: Canadian Circulation Audit Board Member THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America Canadian Community Newspapers Association ATHENA Award 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 Questions and answers Wellington-Halton Hills MP Michael Chong isn't the first politician to want to reform Question Period, just the latest. Tomorrow (Thursday) Chong, an easy-totalk-to polite chap, will bring forward a motion in the House of Commons to reform Question Period. Chong's motion contains six specific proposals: · Elevate decorum and fortify the use of discipline by the Speaker · Lengthen the amount of time given for each question and answer · Require that ministers respond to questions directed at them · Allocate half the questions each day for backbench members · Dedicate Wednesday exclusively for questions to the Prime Minister · Dedicate the rest of the week for questions to ministers other than the Prime Minister. In a perfect world, Question Period is supposed to be the 45-minute set aside each day for MPs to civilly ask questions of the government in an effort to hold the government of the day accountable for its decisions. However, in recent years Question Period has often resembled a cross between an ultimate fighting match and a kindergarten class full of kids let loose in a candy factory. Herding cats would be easier than getting elected officials to forgo the grandstanding, caterwauling and name-calling that is often associated with Question Period. Chong's motion contains several interesting suggestions such as requiring ministers to respond directly to questions asked of them and lengthening the amount of time for each question and answer. We would suggest that lengthening the entire session from 45 minutes to perhaps an hour and a half would be an improvement. It will be interesting to see if all parties can reach common ground on this issue and not just on items such as blocking the auditor general from looking at MPs spending practices. 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 Political games or free speech? Re: Did Flynn weaken Oakville's opposition to power plant?, Oakville Beaver, May 5 I have been watching with interest the articles and letters regarding Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn's involvement in the power plant. I have seen phrases such as "out to lunch" and "political games." Another phrase comes to mind and it is `the MPP doth protest too much, methinks.' Records clearly show that Kevin Flynn put forward a motion on Aug. 30, 2006 that removed the rights of municipalities to go to the OMB with regard to power plants. Undoubtedly Mr. Flynn regrets his motion now, but the fact remains that his motion paved the way for the power plant in Oakville. The OMB reforms took away many rights from municipalities and is one more example of control of municipal issues being raised to the provincial level. Kevin Flynn not only contributed to his government's strategy, he further weakened Oakville's position by refusing to speak before the Trans-Canada location was announced. Any and all after the fact posturing with rallies and a private member's bill does not change the fact that Oakville, indeed, all municipalities now have little or no control over power plant decisions. The residents in Oakville and the employees at the Town are doing everything they can, but have few tools available. Hopefully the final approval of the power plant can be stalled until after the next election where we will finally have some control. PATRICK M. CUDAHY, OAKVILLE 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. Co-existing means using precaution Re: Letter to the Editor, Respect coyotes;Oakville Beaver, May 19 I am writing in response to the Letters to the Editor on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 that supported living in harmony with wildlife. I, too, believe that we are fortunate to be able to experience sightings of wildlife in our ravines, but I also believe there are precautions that should be taken. I commend the staff at St. Bernadette's Catholic Elementary School for protecting the students as they should. I would hope that all schools in Halton region would follow the same protocol if a wild animal is spotted on the school property. I would be alarmed if students were expected to play amongst any unfamiliar animal, especially a wild one. Wild animals are not predictable. In all probability, the coyote would not cause a human harm, but I am not willing to take that chance. I would not want my children to face any unsupervised animal, even a domesticated dog. I would ask Mr. Hugh Coghill, of the Oakville and Milton Humane Society, if it would really take a coyote attacking a child in the school hallways to take action. There have been many reports across Canada and the United States of coyotes attacking small children. I would also ask Mr. Coghill if there is a chance that a coyote may have come out of its home because of a lack of food. Why would a coyote be interested in leaving it's habitat to visit our urban sprawl? In closing, I would like to believe that we do co-exist with wildlife, and that we should not only respect other living creatures, but also take precautions for the safety of our children and ourselves. That's what I will teach my children, just as I teach them to look both ways before crossing the road and not to speak to strangers. That is the reality I live with. TAMMY COTE, OAKVILLE