www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, March 7, 2012 · 6 OPINION & LETTERS 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 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 DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor 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 All about respect Women. They are our mothers, daughters, spouses, sisters, friends, neighbours and colleagues. They are all very important people to us. Why then would someone not show them respect? Why would they not be treated equally in our schools, communities, homes and society? Thursday is the 111th anniversary of International Women's Day -- a day where the accomplishments of females are celebrated. Locally, a gala, hosted by women's groups that work year-round to improve women's lives, will feature speaker Michele Landsberg, a well-known social justice activist and former journalist. In addition, a group of local high school students has organized a breakfast to celebrate women's countless achievements. This year, the call of women around the world is to focus on inequalities that still exist for many females, young and old. More than ever, the spotlight is shining on -- indeed, critically scrutinizing -- places, governments and societies where women are not treated equally or respectfully. Girls and women should have the same rights and responsibilities, opportunities and respect as boys and men. Everyone is an individual. While there have been many historic gains on fronts that once were unequal and disrespectful of religion and race, it is disgraceful that human rights could not be afforded to more than half the human population. In many developing countries, women still struggle or indeed don't have rights to education, healthcare and, above all, respect. We must assist them. For those who lack the same in this country, we must assist them. It was not that long ago that women here could not vote, in fact, were not even deemed to be people. All women -- as with all life on this planet -- deserve respect and equality. 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 Flexibility is key to families Re: Frustrated with government, Oakville Beaver, Friday, March 2, 2012 It was interesting to read Charity Gaspar's recent Letter to the Editor in which she argued we should continue the full-day kindergarten program in Ontario. She explained how much it saves her in daycare costs. I'm on the other side of this situation -- I have a small child and I don't want her to go into full-day kindergarten. I'm a former classroom teacher, currently a stay-at-home parent, and feel that a half-day program would be ideal for my daughter, particularly in the junior kindergarten (JK) year. The half-day format was the norm for kindergarten for many years because it suits the attention span and energy level of a young child. Three and four year olds often need an afternoon nap. On the Ministry of Education website, it says, "at the schools where fullday kindergarten is offered, parents can choose to remove their child for part of the day if that works best for them," but the Halton District School Board will not allow parents to do this -- I've tried. The only option they give us is to send children every other day, all day. This is because this alternate-day schedule still exists in the few schools in Halton that have not yet adopted the full-day Kindergarten program. Ms. Gaspar says she appreciates fullday kindergarten because it provides her with free daycare, but not all parents want daycare. Instead of scrapping the program, which would hurt many families, or forcing it on families who don't want it, isn't there another option? We could offer full-time kindergarten at most schools, and still retain part-time kindergarten programs at others, based on demand. This would reduce program costs and give parents the flexibility to choose the best option for their child. Catherine Jansen, 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 e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Responsibility lies with parents Re: Frustrated with government, Oakville Beaver, Friday, March 2, 2012 I feel I have to comment on this poor woman's troubles. We would all love to not have to pay for daycare, but some people choose to have children and the reality is they are our responsibility and not of the government. According to the premier of Ontario, full-day kindergarten was supposed to further early childhood education. Instead, it has become a very expensive daycare service operated by unionized workers. It would have been nice to have this available when my family of four was young. The reality is that our province cannot afford fullday kindergarten at this time when the debt is so high and the government has been advised to scrap it. (The Drummond Report). And since when do parents collect Employment Insurance (EI) because they can't afford to go to work and pay for daycare? (I'm confused). Our children are so precious and should not be used as pawns. Marjorie Pryde, Oakville Follow Oakville Beaver staff on Twitter @OakvilleBeaver @NewsHooked @DavidLea6 @DominikKurek @BeaverSports or @Halton_Photog