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6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday November 29, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 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. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Commentary Guest Columnist 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 Metroland Media Group Ltd. includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Caledon Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA ANCHOR Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver is a division of At work in Ottawa for Halton people Lisa Raitt, Halton MP 'm working for Halton now, and it feels good. This is where I had hoped to be, especially during a time of economic uncertainty. The global economic problems did not originate in Canada, but we are affected by them, and I'm glad Canada has a strong, responsible team in Ottawa to guide us through the slowdown. I want to thank the voters of Halton for choosing me to be our communities' voice in the federal government. I was elected to represent the interests of our people and families, and our businesses, large and small, and that will always be my first priority. The government has announced major investments in infrastructure and more are to come. I want to make sure Halton, the Greater Toronto Area and Ontario receive their fair share of investments, to address long-standing needs. Soon after the election, I was also appointed to Cabinet, as Minister of Natural Resources. This is also a major responsibility, vitally important to our economy and employment across Canada. It's a delicate balancing job that encompasses development and stewardship of our resources, but also an environmental focus. My portfolio includes programs to promote energy efficiency, a key concern for industries and households. My husband, Dave, knows I've taken this role to heart, as I'm constantly following our two young sons around, turning off lights and electronics and turning the thermostat down. Everyone will be wearing sweaters in our home, until spring. The most important challenge facing Canada currently is limiting the impact of the worldwide economic downturn. In the Speech from the Throne, outlining the government's agenda for the coming session of Parliament, this issue was front and centre. Canada has a plan to ensure we navigate the current uncertainty and emerge from it stronger than our major trading partners. Our priorities will be to protect Canadians' savings and investments; protect jobs and support people in transition; and invest prudently in key sectors and infrastructure projects that benefit all of us. There will be assistance to the auto industry, which is important to many in Halton. There will be new support for independent businesses, through an increase to the small business tax threshold and indexing of the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption. Funding will be restored to Canada's regional economic development agencies, which will benefit parts of southern Ontario where high unemployment is a concern. The federal government itself is tightening its belt. It has announced new restraints on MPs' and public servants' salaries and government travel budgets. A major review of government spending will find significant cuts to a wide range of programs that do not directly support job creation or contribute to a sound and stable economy. Canada's government is doing the right things at the right time. Prudent, thoughtful management will allow us to provide support to Canadians who need it, while at the same time keeping the country's fiscal situation strong and avoiding long-term structural deficits. I'm proud to be a part of that, on behalf of Halton. Here at home, I'm finding more people recognizing me and approaching me in the community and at the kids' play places. I'm listening to people's concerns and telling them what I'm doing in Ottawa to address them. I really appreciate these one-on-one chats. They're a constant reminder of the people I work for, and of my responsibilities as Halton's voice in Ottawa. Lisa Raitt IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora EraBanner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America I THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION Saga of two fragile flowers who were born falling apart I f my mother were alive, I'd be blaming her right to her face. But she's not. Alas, she departed this earthly realm years ago -- departed, no doubt, just to escape being blamed by her sons for their odd and abundant ailments. My brother and I were born fragile flowers. We were born falling apart. We were born with bodies certainly not meant for the contact sports we loved or even for anything as strenuous and perilous as walking or heaven help us, sleeping. Early on in our expeditions through assorted emergency wards, various perplexed doctors -- tried to seize any possible explanation as to why one of my brother's Achilles tendon severed when he was simply approaching the net during a volleyball game (while the other tender tendon snapped while he was climbing stairs), or why my lung collapsed one night while I was sleeping. Recently my brother and I found ourselves comparing current battle scars. His personal posse of physiotherapists and chiropractors and medical moguls had recently been treating him for an inexplicable pulled groin, knee pain, tender calf and messed up back, while my formidable team had been treating me for a popped shoulder (again, apparently sustained while sleeping), a tender knee and recurrent sinus woes. Oh, to boot, an acupuncturist had been seen pinning me down on a weekly basis for digestive woes. Well, as if that nonsense wasn't Andy Juniper more than enough, the other morning I awoke with a tender elbow. Tender for no logical reason, I might add. Later in the day, while hoisting a particularly heavy pot of pasta off the stove, utilizing that very tender arm joint, I completely blew out the elbow, to the point where I can no longer pick my nose or, worse, lift a latte. For the record, it was not -- as one sarcastic friend wondered -- elbow pasta. Now luckily, the pot, the pasta and the boiling water, landed back on the stove and not on me. And luckily only the hounds were on hand to hear my howled curses. And luckily this unfathomable elbow blowout did not occur during golf season. I can't even begin to imagine the grief I'd get when fellow golfers discovered I was put on the DL (disabled list) on account of a boiling pasta incident. You know, they say what comes around goes around. Just as my brother and I forever blamed our poor mother for our assorted problems, my children have taken to blaming me for all their various ailments. They blame me for everything from their oddball aches to their oddball anxieties, spouting off about these ailments being built into their genes. Nonsense. Be rational, I tell them. If you feel compelled to blame someone, blame your dearly departed grandmother. Ah, more fragile flowers. More babes born falling apart. -- Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com.