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w w w . o a kv ill eb ea ve r.c o m O A KV IL LE B EA V ER W e dn es da y, N ov em be r 1 7, 2 01 0 6 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 Open 9-5 weekdays, 5-7 for calls only Wed. to Friday, Closed weekends The Oakville Beaver Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. OPINION & LETTERS 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@oakville- beaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Although Oakville Mayor Rob Burton doesnt believe he has a conflict of interest in presiding over Town Council meetings dealing with Oakville Hydros $17,500 donation to the Ontario Liberal party, we beg to differ. Burton is a member of the Oakville Hydro board of directors, and by his own self-admission, author- ized purchase of the tickets to the annual Liberal Heritage Dinner in Toronto in 2008 and 2009. He should not be chairing any meeting dealing with this matter, nor should he being taking part in any discussions of how council should resolve this issue. He should also not be introducing a motion, as he did Monday, on how Council should deal with the issue. The mayor should follow the example of former Mayor Ann Mulvale, who completely distanced her- self from demands for a recount of the mayoral election in 2003. During a contentious meeting when Town Council had to determine whether to order an elec- tion recount or defend itself against a court ordered recount by Burton, Mulvale handed over the meet- ing to Ward 6 councillor Tom Adams and removed herself to the gallery of spectators and eventually to her office during a confidential debate. Public perception is imperative in this matter. Many people, including the more than 1,100 who signed Ward 5 Town and Regional Councillor Jeff Knolls petition calling for an inquiry, have expressed outrage over the Oakville Hydro dona- tion. We are reminded of the old phrase: Justice must not only be done, it must appear to be done. It is important that anyone connected to Oakville Hydro or the Ontario Liberal Party should distance themselves from Town Council deliberations over this matter. As members of the Oakville Hydro board of direc- tors, Mayor Burton and Ward 6 Councillor Max Khan should remove themselves from any discus- sions over the Oakville Hydro donations. They should let their fellow councillors deter- mine whether an inquiry is necessary without their input. Its the right thing to do. NEIL OLIVER Vice President and Group Publisher of Metroland West DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief 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 editorConflicting views THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: ATHENAAward THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIALMEDIASPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Canadian CirculationAudit Board Member Canadian CommunityNewspapers AssociationOntario CommunityNewspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America No holiday on Remembrance Day The Oakville Beaver is a division of I have never missed a Remembrance Day service, as it is very meaningful for me, hav- ing lived as a small child in England through those turbulent days of the Second World War. I remember vividly what it means to suffer loss. However, I am firmly against a holiday on Remembrance Day. As it is now, for those who really care about it but are in an occu- pation, there is always a way to be involved, either by a long lunch hour (even if it is to watch it on T.V.) or attending one of the many services held on the closest Sunday. Currently, Nov. 11 is a holiday for all gov- ernment employees, and I know from past personal experience working in a govern- ment office that many use the day to follow their own personal pursuits Christmas shopping being high on the list. However, in this particular division of government service, if a skeleton staff was needed to work that day, there were always people more than happy to oblige so they could save that day off for shopping later on. In other words, I firmly believe that this day off would be, and in some sectors is now, misused for its purpose. For many people a day's holiday to commemorate those who died or were wounded in past and present conflicts, it is just that a holiday nothing more, nothing less. Schools should continue to commemo- rate Nov. 11, and government offices (rather than a day off), and where possible, compa- nies and even shopping malls could stop for two minutes' silence. Nov. 11 is not a day to glorify war, as some people insist it is, but to remember the horrors of war and those who gave up so much for us all to live in peace. For that reason, please, whoever makes these decisions, dont make this day a public holiday let it continue to be meaningful for those who care not a fun day off for those who don't. ANN ROGERS Hydro donation rankles reader I would like to point out that our MPPs have very specific responsibilities to represent the interests and serve the needs of all their riding constituents. Further, when an MPP is ele- vated to cabinet level and given the position of minister of a port- folio, their responsibility to repre- sent (as it relates to their portfo- lio) expands to include every resi- dent in the province. As issues are worked and min- isterial business conducted, min- isters and their deputies are very much expected to be available and accessible to all stakeholders. Networking with stakeholders is a very basic and key element of their roles. It's totally unacceptable for partisan politics to hijack this process and sell access to ministers and decision makers to raise funds for the particular party in power. Shame on Dalton McGuinty and his Liberal cronies. And shame on Rob Burton and the then head of Oakville Hydro for agreeing to be a party to this pros- titution. R. SCOTT MARSH, OAKVILLE My last hydro bill is almost exactly $100 more than last year, same period. That rankles, especially since someone at Oakville Hydro has been playing the role of great phi- lanthropist with our money to the political party most directly responsible for those hydro hikes. We would be blissfully unaware of this political largesse if it werent for someone in the NDP camp. E. BELITSKY, OAKVILLE Hydro political donation shameful 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 SARAH MCSWEENEY Circulation Manager DANIEL COLEMAN Regional Online Sales Manager