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OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, June 3, 2009 · 6 OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 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 Wrong focus Families are cash-strapped, out of work and facing financial hardships not seen in several generations. Major corporations are facing bankruptcy and receiving government "loans." The unemployment rate is creeping upwards and this week it was announced 10.6 per cent more Canadians were receiving EI benefits in March than the month before. Last week Finance Minister Jim Flaherty revealed that the federal budget deficit has soared to more than $50 billion -- a number that Flaherty even conceded was higher than originally anticipated and one Prime Minister Stephen Harper referred to as "affordable." Worriesome would be a much more appropriate adjective. If things are getting better -- the source of much debate -- it's happening too slowly for some people. So now is probably not the best time for Harper to plow ahead with the Conservatives' attack ads. Rather than focusing attention on getting promised economic stimulus money out the door or eliminating inequities in the Employment Insurance program, the Conservative government turned its sights on painting a negative picture of Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff. The first round of these attack ads hit television screens, and YouTube, a couple of weeks ago in a deliberate attempt to distract voters from the very real issues this country faces. In the ads, Conservatives, rightly or wrongly, play up the fact Ignatieff spent many years outside Canada and suggest he's only back because of a personal power trip, making hay from out-of-context quotes. Surveys have repeatedly shown Canadians generally don't approve of attack ads. Mudslinging like this, particularly when an election hasn't even been called, is reminiscent of a schoolyard bully. The Conservatives should focus on telling Canadians about their policies and how they're addressing problems facing just about everybody in the country. We don't suggest they take their eyes off Ignatieff, but rather expend their energy on getting Canada back on the road to a healthy recovery. 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 Remember, Bronte is a village, let's keep it that way My wife and I attended the April 27 presentation on the Bronte Village Mall Revitalization proposal at which time residents were invited to provide their feedback. The May 2 Oakville Beaver front page article suggested that "More than 200 people...gave a round of applause to the proposal." We were both present at the time and although there was a smattering of applause, by no means was this as widespread as the Beaver would have us believe. Perhaps it was politeness for having shared the vision and a thank you for the wine and nibbles. While there is, no doubt, some support for the proposal amongst certain segments of the Bronte community, we, on the other hand, were simply appalled by the complete lack of regard which the proposal displayed for the recently developed Bronte Village Revitalization (BVR) plans which, as we are sure you know, are close to being incorporated into the new Livable Oakville Official Plan. We have attended a number of lengthy public meetings in recent months on the BVR topic and the message from residents was perfectly clear to us. Redevelopment, yes, but keep it on a human scale, keep the height generally in the two- to four-storey range with four to six storeys at certain locations, keep the village character and keep the whole at manageable proportions. Judging from the proposal presented for the redevelopment of the mall, one can only conclude that its proponents have no knowledge of these very public and well-attended deliberations or have chosen to completely ignore what residents so clearly expressed at the planning 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. It makes sense to make it illegal for kids to possess, use tobacco It's time for a ban on youth smoking. It seems foolish to have to say it, but I'm certain everyone agrees that tobacco should never be marketed or sold to kids. On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, we think it's time for Canada to become a true global leader in protecting youth from the dangers of cigarettes by introducing an outright ban on youth possession and use of tobacco. Current laws forbid regulated retailers from selling tobacco to minors, but a fast-growing trade in contraband cigarettes means that young people are getting widespread access to cheap, unregulated and untaxed cigarettes. When we see the growth of contraband tobacco and youth smoking rates stopping their decline, it's time to look at new tools to prevent kids from smoking. Youth cigarette possession bans, when used in conjunction with other smoking reduction programs, have shown to be effective. In fact, more and more jurisdictions are turning to youth bans including Alberta and Nova Scotia and many U.S. states have also adopted these kinds of laws including Ohio, New Hampshire, Minnesota and Colorado. If it's illegal for someone under 18 or 19 to have a beer, the same or stricter rules should apply for cigarettes -- it's just common sense. DAVE BRYANS PRESIDENT, CANADIAN CONVENIENCE STORES ASSOCIATION See Bronte page 7