Peter Watson MBA, CFP, R.F.P., CIM, FCSI 220 Randall Street Downtown Oakville Phone: 905.842.2100 www.peterwatsoninvestments.com Helping You Make Smart Decisions About Your Money Oakville Dental Arts 2010 Gold Award Winner Oakville Beaver 3 W ednesday, A ugust 17, 2011 O A KVILLE BEAVER w w w .insideH A LTO N .com Inside Full Delivery: Sport Chek, Rona, Shopping NewsPartial Delivery: JYSK, G1, G2 Driving, Home Depot, Sears, Henry's Camera, National Sports, Bouclair, StaplesOpinion............................................6 Artscene.........................................19 Sports.............................................26 Classified........................................29 For home delivery & customer service call (905) 845-9742 Mon., Tues. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed., Thu., and Fri. 9 a.m.-7 p.m. (open for calls only after 5 p.m.) Closed Sat. and Sun. NEW SUBSCRIPTIONS call (905) 845-9742 or subscribe online @ www.oakvillebeaver.com By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The local residents association, which helped drive the 900-megawatt gas-fired power plant out of town last year, is now calling on candi- dates in the October provincial election to prove they can do more for Oakvilles air. In a press release issued Monday, Citizens for Clean Air (C4CA) called on each political party to pledge that if elected in the coming provincial election they will adopt the recommendations laid out by the Southwest Greater Toronto Air Quality Task Force more than a year ago. The Ministry of the Environment formed the task force, headed by Dr. David Balsillie, in September of 2009 for the purpose of putting together a plan to reduce air pollution in the Oakville-Clarkson Airshed. In June of 2010, the task force made 35 rec- ommendations, including one calling for the creation of an Airshed Management System that looked at air quality impacts on a cumulative rather than case-by-case basis. This would be significant as it would mean that when a newly proposed emissions source is being considered for an area, government offi- cials would not look solely at how much pollu- tion that source was bringing to the area, but how much pollution already exists due to all other emitters. Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn recently stated the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Transportation, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Ontario Power Authority have work underway to fulfill the task force recom- mendations. For some, however, the work is not moving fast enough. Its been over a year now and they really havent done anything of substance, said Frank Clegg, C4CA board chair. This press release is hopefully a bit of a wake up call to say, Come on, lets get going as we move into this election season. Clegg said Balsillie did a lot of good work consulting with the community and businesses to arrive at his recommendations during a task force investigation that was funded by the Ministry of the Environment. With the Provinces own study telling it something is wrong, Clegg said he doesnt understand what the holdup is. I dont know what else they need, said Clegg. It is recognized that we have a bad air- shed. It is way above the provincial average in terms of pollution. They have a great report by their own person, so now were just saying, Come on, let's go. Clegg acknowledged some work is taking place on the recommendations, but said there has been no movement on the most important areas that would actually make a difference. fThese areas include the establishment o proper air pollution monitoring so it can be clear exactly what the problem is and what prog- ress is being made. The second area involves an examination of the cumulative effects air pollution has on the airshed. f Clegg said he is not impressed with any o the platforms the political parties have unveiled at this juncture because none of them have made the Oakville-Clarkson Airshed an election issue. All of them have missed the opportunity to do something really helpful and beneficial to the airshed, he said. I havent seen anything that differentiates any of them on their platforms with regards to this issue. l h f l lC4CA wants to c ear t e air or provincia e ection C4CA chair Frank Clegg All of them have missed the opportunity to do something really helpful and beneficial to the airshed. Frank Clegg, C4CA chair k l k f dGroup wants quic action on air qua ity tas orce recommen ations