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6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday February 8, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 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: The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. NEIL OLIVER Publisher DAVID HARVEY 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 ALEXANDRIA ANCHOR Circ. Manager McGuinty should intervene During last fall's provincial election campaign Premier Dalton McGuinty was quick to criticize Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory for his support of funding for faith-based schools. In retrospect, it could be argued that McGuinty won the election on this very issue as the voting public widely rejected the concept. While it was too late to salvage his campaign, even Tory backed away from his foolish plan, which would have seen public tax money go towards faith-based schools. McGuinty, at the time -- remember this was less than four months ago -- boasted about his belief in a publicly-funded Ontario education system. "My thinking certainly has reached a point where I believe that the most important thing that we can do for Ontario and for Ontario's children is to further strengthen public education," McGuinty said last fall. So why, in the wake of the Toronto Public School Board's recent decision Wednesday to open an alternative Africentric school to fight a high dropout rate among black teens, has McGuinty sat on the sidelines? Stating he is not "personally comfortable" with the board's decision, but would not intervene, is not good enough. McGuinty, whose government is looking hypocritical, at best, and gutless, at worst, should be front and centre on this issue and vehemently vowing to fight it any way the Province can-- including considering changes to the Education Act. We agree with Loreen Small, the mother of Jordan Manners, a teen killed at a Toronto school last year, that this idea smacks of segregation. Such a school will only open the door for other race-based schools and does nothing to help race relations and, we argue, will only make matters worse. This is a very slippery slope the Toronto board is on. Toronto school trustees let their community down with their decision. Just as Ontario's premier has let down all Ontarians by choosing to show a backbone only when it was politically expedient to do so. 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. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Keep southeast Oakville schools open I am writing this letter as a concerned parent and resident of Oakville. I am a single mother of two young children who are currently attending Brantwood School. They are currently in SK and Grade 1. I have resided in southeast Oakville for 25 years now. Having grown up and attended schools in this area, I knew this was a community that was well-suited to bringing up my children, and I am proud and comforted by the quality of education they are receiving at Brantwood. One of the main reasons I chose to reside in southeast Oakville was to have public schools within walking distance in a good area. I, as well as my children, enjoy walking or biking to school. The sense of community is overwhelming as we often join their friends en route. I have to admit that if my children were in a situation where they would have to be bused to school, I would seriously consider moving. I strongly support a transparent, open process, informative with full disclosure of the facts, and will support a decision that may involve school closure. As a tax-paying resident, my children and I deserve a fair, open decision making process. NICOLE PETERSON BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com Earth Hour gimmicky Now that the Town has officially endorsed Earth Hour, resources will be directed to an exercise in gimmickery and spectacle, rather than climate change. As though turning off our lights for one hour will stimulate a lasting effect. Far better Council demonstrate real leadership by embracing principles and practices aimed at promoting sustainable modes of transportation. Why continue to expand roads, at considerable cost, thus diverting much-needed funds for improved transit? Why not give cyclists and pedestrians the right of way over cars on all Town and Regional roads? Looking at many enlightened jurisdictions throughout the world, this is hardly a radical idea. Why permit, or even entertain, new drive-throughs? Could anything be more antithetical to the notion of a healthy and livable community? Why approve, holus bolus, the construction of predatory monster homes, (which have all but destroyed the character of southeast Oakville) ­ homes predicated on excess, domination and unsightliness? Is this any way to reduce our ecological footprint? Far easier to jump on a bandwagon headed nowhere. PETER D. PELLIER Pud 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.