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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, April 28, 2010 · 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 --Open 9-5 weekdays, 5-7 for calls only Wed. to Friday, Closed weekends 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: Canadian Circulation Audit Board Member THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America Canadian Community Newspapers Association ATHENA Award NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of Media Group Ltd. DAVID HARVEY Regional 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 A hand up with Habitat Two Habitat for Humanity Halton homes to be built in Oakville are about helping folks who are helping themselves break a cycle of hardship. While the Habitat build is a first for Oakville, the concept of helping others with a hand up, not a hand out, is not. Witness the numerous fundraisers in Oakville that are organized to help those battling disease, escaping an unexpected life of violence or providing immediate care when disaster strikes. Volunteer Week just passed with many ceremonies held to say thanks. Still, there never seems to be enough praise to truly express appreciation to the many Oakville people who make it their personal mission to assist others. This weekend, residents dug in deeper to help clean up the local environment for themselves and their neighbours. Whether it was picking up trash, planting a tree or collecting information at an environmental fair with the goal of becoming more considerate of Mother Earth, just about everyone was doing their part to reduce their `footprint.' Oakville is, admittedly, a `have' community. Its residents, however, do not take the privilege lightly and have worked hard to embrace the good work of Habitat for Humanity. For example, Glen Abbey United Church raised more than $10,000 for the new builds. Two platinum sponsors contributing $100,000 are Genworth Financial Canada and Whirlpool Canada. Oakville is not an island and there are those here who need help -- some 14,000 live below the poverty line. There are many who need that helping hand -- they could be us, a neighbour or a friend in need of assistance. The Habitat homes will house two women and their children. Mayor Rob Burton tipped his hat to Habitat and said it was helping two more families live the Oakville life. It may be, but it is more. It is helping two women working hard to raise their families. They will help build their homes and work to repay their mortgages. Habitat is teaching the future generation not about wealth and status, but caring about others. The children will grow up in a home, in a nice community, will learn and see good examples and will likely, as is the Oakville way, make sure they, too, give back. That is a boost to the next generation -- a hand up into the future. 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 416-3401981. 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 Questioning council's vote on new hospital Recently, the Beaver has featured considerable coverage on two major Oakville issues: funding the new hospital and the proposed power plant. The hospital issue came to a vote last week and 11 of the 13 Town councillors voted to accept the provincial government's demand taxpayers contribute $200 million of the hospital's $530 million local share. There are a number of factors here of concern, but two really stand out. First, council has agreed to commit $200 million of our money without fully understanding all the facts. To this day, no one has revealed the total cost of this hospital, although, it appears the price tag will be almost $1.8 billion. Few details have been made available. No one has explained why this hospital will cost more than any other in Ontario. Yet, irresponsibly, council voted to contribute $200 million of our money without knowing all the facts. Second, by its actions, council endorsed provincial downloading -- selective downloading. It affects only Oakville. The Province is constitutionally responsible for health care. This hospital will be controlled by the Ontario government and open to all residents of Ontario. Yet, having paid our provincial taxes and the McGuinty Health Care Tax, we must now also come up with $530 million to finance our hospital. This is not asked of the residents of Toronto. It is not required from Mississauga. But Oakville must pay more than any other community in Ontario to finance a provincial responsibility. That is selective downloading and council has agreed to it. On the one hand, we have to wonder why council voted, without all the facts, to endorse selective downloading. On the other hand, given the two big issues before us, we must also wonder why the Liberal government keeps picking on Oakville. GLEN HERRING, OAKVILLE 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 email to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Politicians aren't sex educators The Liberals' new plan for sex education is apparently for everyone old enough to breathe in the province (no matter how inappropriate)... While McGuinty has put the proposal on hold in the face of a massive public outcry, it's too late. The Liberals have shown their true colours. They are quite willing to sacrifice my children, to throw them under the bus, in order to appease special interest groups and their agenda for sex education in the province. This is yet one more example of a vastly overintrusive government whose arrogance allows it to believe it knows better than its constituents (as well as wanting continuous unfettered access to my wallet). "Parents, don't teach your kids about your values and sex. Let us do it. Besides, your government can do a better job than you can." I will to overlook many political shortcomings, but when you start messing with my children you have overstepped the line. McGuinty, you worry about balancing the provincial budget. I will worry about teaching my children about sex and all of the moral trimmings. Butt out. Parents are busy, but we allow the government to assume this responsibility at our own risk. Let this happen in any way, shape, or form and it will come back to bite all of us in a big way. NIGEL KETTLE, OAKVILLE Why no mention of hospital power plant? How come our mayor and councillors never mentioned there was to be a power plant in conjunction to our new hospital (which we cannot afford at $1.7 billion dollars)? Will the patients in our new hospital not be protected by the Health Protection and Air Quality Bylaw and also the property owners of the townhouses, which are just across the road? Can we really afford this new hospital and rec centre on Neyagawa Boulevard when they have to freeze the wages of our frontline nurses at Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital? KEITH SIMPSON, OAKVILLE