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6 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday January 30, 2009 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: NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of Media Group Ltd. 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 SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager Cut the red tape On the surface, the infrastructure component of Tuesday's federal budget announcement sounds like music to the ears in municipalities like Halton. The promise from Ottawa of $12 billion to be spent on urban reconstruction over a two-year period would appear to help out communities' infrastructure needs, while providing significant employment possibilities for the foreseeable future. However, critics of the budget -- including Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, who on Wednesday, reluctantly supported Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's six-year forecast of five straight deficit years totalling $85.4 billion, followed by a modest surplus in a sixth year -- worry that the money won't arrive to communities fast enough to make a significant difference. Right in our own backyard, Halton municipalities recently submitted a list of "shovel-ready" projects worth $182 million to the federal government for funding consideration. In total, 20 Halton projects capable of generating more than 2,000 local jobs were forwarded to Ottawa through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). Among the projects up for funding consideration are $100 million in regional water and wastewater work and an additional $82 million for local roads, transit projects and the refurbishment of 4,000 regional, non-profit and co-operative housing units. The only thing preventing these essential Halton infrastructure projects from starting this spring is the flow of federal funds. The projects are examples of job-creating infrastructure that will produce positive economic stimulus. However, in order for the full effect of that economic stimulus to be felt, Ottawa needs to act fast. The FCM has been critical of the government's Building Canada Fund because municipalities have to apply, with no guarantee of getting money. If this budget is to have the desired effect of creating employment and increasing consumer spending, Ottawa must lead the way by injecting as much of this year's allocated spending as quickly as possible to those regions of Canada who've been promised it. Only then, will Canadians be able to more accurately gauge whether the finance minister and Prime Minister Stephen Harper have done enough to put our country on a path to economic recovery. 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 The French immersion parents in Ward 4 are so determined to keep their single-track French immersion program that they are willing to use their children as pawns by having them appear as delegates to the Halton District School Board (HDSB) in order to forward their parents' agendas, in a strategic move clearly intended to invoke sympathy. The parents who chose to do so Children should not be used as pawns for parents' agendas should be ashamed that they are putting fear in the minds of their children in order to advance their own political agenda. I, too, was moved that these children have moved twice (three schools) in a short period of time and may be at risk of moving again a third time. Let us not forget that this was not the HDSB's fault and I wish people in this community would stop taking this out on the current trustees. These parents chose to move their children from their neighbourhood school in order to enroll them in a French immersion program that, at the time, was not offered in their own community. They knew that it was likely that a French immersion program would become available in Ward 4 and they would have to move to the school in the ward in which they live. These parents fought to have a single-track school in Ward 4 with no enrollment restrictions. Their See Dual-track page 8 Keep single-track French immersion I am writing on behalf of my wife, myself and my two daughters, one who is attending École Forest Trail and the other who will be attending Grade 1 next year. We feel very strongly about the importance of maintaining École Forest Trail as a single-track French immersion school. Obviously there is tremendous demand for a single-track French immersion program in Oakville and this is very evident in Ward 4. A single-track French immersion program is our preference, where quality of program is more important than the ability to walk to school. The program should not be split across multiple locations as consistency of the program model and minimal disruptions to the students is paramount. We need a safe, sustainable, long-term decision now that ensures our children will be able to continue to learn French and English in a positive, Frenchencouraged environment. Please do the right thing for the children and families of Ward 4, who continue to believe in the importance and recognition of the two official languages of our wonderful country. Darcy, Susan, Jasmine and Chantal Brioux Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com 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.