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Mar. 30, 1994 The Oakville Beaver, published every Sunday Wednesday and Frida {1 at 467 S 1 6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER ~Opivion EDITORIAL Oakville, is one of the Metroland Printing, Publishing group of sul newspapers which includes: Ajaxâ€"Pickering News Advemser Barne Advance, Bra on Guamlan, Bumngton Post. Collingwood inection, . Etobicoke Guardian, Georpe wn E oms ndSu s Ie/Uxbfidgeress' "'“‘”?“ml’;s »Xfe" Camy CmThlsmWeek. Mg:m conorhist a in, Stouftvil on dian N irror, Oakville Beaver, Orllia Toduzgy‘a Ian Oliver Publisher Robert Glasbey Advertising Director Norman Alexander Editor 467 Speers Road, Oakville, Ont. L6K 384 ws, â€"Ban : . 0 Geoff Hill Circulation Director Ne tâ€"Aurora Eraâ€"Banner, North York M 845â€"3824 Fax: 845â€"3085 Teri C Office M or W"’”r wfi’,:?“ Pete This Week, Richmond Hil/ThomhilWaughan Classified Advertising: 845â€"2809 Circulation: 845â€"9742 or 845â€"9743 Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical ertor, that portion of the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize and rqectadvemsmgpoi:‘heevmo( typographical error, advertising goods All material published in the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Any reprodwflon in whole or in part of this materia! is strictly forbidden without the consent of the publisher. together with a reasonable allowance for signature, wil badmgudiormmbahms Iheadvenununwilbepud!ot'm ‘ or services at the wrong price, goodsorsawmsmaymbstAwm is merely an offer to sell and may be withdrawn Tim Coles Production Manager hsn -” Cheap life arren Allmand, like so many other politicians, couldn‘t care \;\/ less about the feelings of the majority. Sure, politicians like s majority numbers when it comes time toâ€"vote but when it comes to issues of importance to the masses, the politicos believe THEY «~ know best. Hogwash. Allmand is a man out of touch with the feelings of the Canadian public. The Quebec MP heads up the justice committee of the House of Commons. As a committee, it is composed of members from different political parties. It is not supposed to be a government body. But in the hands of Mr. Allmand, that‘s exactly what‘s happening to ‘ this committee and Canadians should not stand still for the kind of ‘leadâ€" ‘ ership‘ Allmand is giving in this committee. Allmand is very hot on legislation to make firstâ€"degree murderers eligiâ€" ble for parole after 15 years of their sentence. Canadians have long done away with the noose as a means of doling _ out punishment to murderers. The argument went that it was more humane ; : to lock people up for the rest of their natural lives. i <â€". Of course that alternative is a farce. Even when these criminals who have been convicted of first degree _ murder are sentenced to life, which is supposed to mean 25 years, they rarely serve their time making the term ‘life imprisonment‘ meaningless. Permissive legislation for criminals now being discussed, renders meaningless both the lives of those innocent people these savages have taken and the lives of those left behind who have to mopâ€"up their lives with no help from the government. Who looks after their interests? Who pays for their suffering and loss? Not Mr. Allmand. Despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of Canadians are fed up with criminals walking the streets before their ‘sentence‘ was up, ~ Allmand seems determined to shepherd this legislation through his comâ€" : mittee and into the House where the massive Liberal majority will finish : the job. The bill is a complete condemnation of our ‘justice‘ system that loves to mollify criminals while the victims are forgotten. Prisons are out, detention facilities are ‘in‘. Guards become security officers and prisoners merely inmates or even clients or detainees. Lovely stuff. Even some of Allmand‘s Liberal buddies are vehemently opposed to i his position. One such Grit, Hamilton West MP Stan Keyes, has told / Allmand the bill is wrong and that his constituents have told him to : oppose the move. Despite the fact that all of the country‘s police chiefs are against the despite the fact that the vast majority of Canadians oppose any kind * _of leniency for firstâ€"degree killers, Allmand intends to proceed. First degree killers deserve to receive the kind of punishment the courts ‘ decide. Life means life. «sa RR®@®: y‘ :9 SS R l = The Oakville Beaver welcomes your comments. All letters must be signed and include the writer‘s address and phone number. Letters should be typed, doubleâ€"spaced and addressed to: Letters to the Editor, The Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 ln Dear Sir: In response to your Editorial "What‘s the pomt'?” and Page One story "School Trustees Refuse to Reduce Ranks," w/e Mar. 13/94. Thank you for saying it! The weakâ€"throated whine from the Ministry of Education is not enough! Province‘s Jâ€"K plan irresponsible decision Dear Sir: Re: Implications of Junior Kindergarten (JK). Bob Rae is forcing JK on the education system through binding legislation. In Halton, when fully ‘ implemented, this new program is forecast to cost : $8â€"million annually on top of our current budget of $283â€"million. This program is not wanted by more than 95% of the population, will displace private sector activities to the public sector, will further make our physical plant less efficient through the * need for 60 more portables, and will only increase + our bulging provincial debt. In the scheme of priâ€" © orities, if indeed Bob Rae had any, surely JK must : be at the bottom of a long list. He persists in his . lemmingâ€"like drive with JK in the face of all logic. Consider the following perspective and assumpâ€" tions. As a commercial operation, fees collected by our local business community are estimated at $3â€" million, since 70% of the 2,700 fourâ€"yearâ€"olds who are expected to attend JK are now already being looked after according to a Halton Board survey. Under JK, as proposed by Halton Board Administration, we would have to collect $8â€"milâ€" lion of new taxes only to feed this program in Halton. While the JK program will create approximately 190 higher paying jobs funded 100% from taxes, it will also eliminate about as many lower paying ones on the commercial side for little net effect in employment and little real benefit to the economy. Since we pay more than 80% of our education taxes through municipal taxes in Halton, here we have a clear example of the province passing most of the buck. That is the effect of irresponsible govâ€" ernment thinking and spending. Our taxes and provincial debt will go up, and our economy will take another large step backwards. To complicate matters, it is my opinion that our administration has proposed a Cadillac JK proâ€" gram, when we can get by with a VW as the law leaves considerable regional discretion with respect to JK program parameters and implemenâ€" tation. Give an inch...they take a mile. Within the law, we should strive to provide the absolute miniâ€" mum program possible. Call your Trustees and make them take a real stand. Our only recourse in Halton is to delay implemenâ€" tation of JK for as long as possible, although there is a risk of Ministry of Education retaliation. As a community, we have to tell Mr. Rae and his legisâ€" lation to get lost. Good luck in the next election, Bob. You don‘t have a hope. Our hope is new, rescinding legislation through new, responsible government. John Scheel Trustee â€" Ward 3 Oakville Halton Board of Education Infrastructure plan: conning us with taxpayers‘ money Dear Sir: Infrastructure. When you hear it mentioned, what‘s the first thing that « comes to your mind? What‘s the secâ€" : ond? For most of us, government infrasâ€" * tructure projects mean asphalt, conâ€" : crete, and steel â€" as in new roads, . sewers, and bridges. They also mean money. Big money...lots of it. Something that ; none of our governments have much of today. * Throughout Ontario, municipal + politicians everywhere are running . around like fiveâ€"yearâ€"olds cut loose in a candy factory. It‘s a dream too good to be true. / After all, this is municipal election ! year in the Province of Ontario. And + for Premier Bob Rae and his battered | NDP caucus sitting at the bottom of public opinion polls, the countdown is also on for the next provincial election. For most politicians, the last three years have been far from pleasant. But because it‘s election year, everyâ€" body‘s on their best behavior. Thanks to our new federal governâ€" ment, there‘s a silver lining in the dark storm clouds overhead. For + those politicians who figured this is . the year they‘d finally get the boot ‘ from public office, it could be their political salvation. Their magic solution to turning © around a cranky electorate lies in the much touted $6â€"billion federal infrasâ€" tructure program. This latest spendâ€" ing frenzy is to be funded equally by 4 M mc3 en e federal, provincial, and municipal governments. The push is on to divert our attention from the hard choices which should be made to making us feel good again about ourâ€" selves. It‘s back to the old ways of doing politics. The promise of jobs, jobs, jobs â€" all created by government. The promise of no new taxes. That age old practice of conning us with our own money and that of our children and grandchildren has been resurrected from the ashes once again. The wish lists are so long; they‘re enough to make even poor old Santo go dizzy. For the purpose of priming the election pump, the definition of infrastructure has taken on a whole new meaning. It includes everything from new trade and convention cenâ€" tres, to new subway lines, arenas, ballparks, municipal offices...you name it. In fact, if you look hard enough, _ m ‘ THE OAKVMLE BEAVER SPEAK YOUR MIND you‘ll probably even find the kitchen Paul Pagnuelo sink has been thrown in someone‘s The Ontario Taxpayers‘ priority list around the province. Federation What‘s particularly alarming about the whole situation is the fact that all levels of government are telling the public that none of this is going to cost them an extra cent in taxes. In quiet whispers, they usually add the caveat â€" "at least not this year"‘. Because none of them collectively have $6â€"billion in the bank, most plan to pay for their share by either cutting spending elsewhere, drawing on reserves earâ€"marked for other proâ€" jects, or by borrowing...in some cases over a 30â€"year period. And once safely back in office for another term, taxpayers should not be surâ€" prised when all of a sudden the hype of no tax increases is found to be unsustainable. The great infrastructure plan. Politicians who buy into it are like reformed alcoholics who just fell off _ q, the wagon. Dear Sir: Got a gripe? Give us a call. Readers are invited to express their opinion on a topic of their choice by calling 845â€"5585, box 5250. All callers are allowed 45 secâ€" onds to express their opinion and must provide their name, address and phone number for verification. A cross section of the responses will be published in next Wednesday‘s Oakville Beaver. they would accept the donation. Woman takes exception to exotic animal display On March 15th, I read an advertisement for an Exotic Animal / Petting Zoo to be held in Trafalgar Village. The ad stated thatâ€" L patrons could have a photo taken with a tiger and all proceeds / would go to the Oakville Humane Society. I know that our Humane Society does not support the capture and public demonstration of these animals, so I phoned to get an explanation. The supervisor was unaware of such an exhibit and had not consented to be involved in any way, but said there wasn‘t much that could be done after the fact. I suggested three things: one to inspect the site for any infractions that may force its removal; two, to have a detraction printed; and three, not to accept any donations from an event which goes against the Humane Societies principles. He said he‘d see what they could Anyhow, the show went on. I had tears in my eyes as I watched these caged animals, defenseless, and scared. A tiger lay on the ground as squealing children sat to have pictures taken. Two small monkeys were huddled together with heads bowed as adults and children alike laughed at their ‘cuteness‘. On returning home, I again phoned the Humane Society. I spoke to a supervisor who informed me that they had inspected the disâ€" play, and it didn‘t violate any laws. He had also done nothing to dispel the notion that the Society was involved as it was too expensive to pay for the newspaper space and hadn‘t decided if Shame on an organization whom we look to for protection against cruelty to animals. And shame on the Town of Oakville for allowing this circus to come here. A better option to getting rid of trustees, is to eliminate some top heavy overâ€"paid administrators RIGHT NOW and not wait two years to cut them! Last year we paid OVER $291â€"million in taxes to support public education, along with, what is, in my opinion, an antiquated hierarchy of trusteeship. Some of these elected trustees represent more than one ward! Some are actively employed by. other Boards. Your editorial appears to say that the rules that apply to other public sectors, regarding conflict of interests, does not appear to apply to Ontario boards of education. The Auditor General of Ontario does not have the right to do a Full Value for Money Audit on these boards for the very same reasons. What accountability to the public do these pubâ€" lic institutions provide? SOME trustees wish to be accountable, and WANT change; but the administration has difficulty dealing with those trustees, because the administration is accustomed to having their own way. Now that rubber stamping does not flow freely, a siege mentality on behalf of the administration is in effect. The most reform minded trustees have a problem because the administration is protecting their turf. What‘s the solution? Know the track record of the trustee you‘re votâ€" ing for BEFORE you mark your ballot with an X on the spot! Otherwise, we will all pay a high price to support pseudoâ€"democracy. A good trustee is worth their stipend and freebies â€" an administrative "YES" person is not! A. Reinsborough WEEKLY Focus Child mortality Mortality of children under five years old, 1950â€"present 1965â€"70 1970â€"75 |____144] 1975â€"80 [___i31] â€" 1980â€"85 1985â€"90 1990â€"95*[__94} *projected # Source: United Nations, Department of Social Affairs NEA Graphic H. Margaret Knight