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OPINION & LETTERSTHE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR:The Oakville BeaverTHE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIALMEDIASPONSOR FOR:Canadian CirculationAudit Board Member467 Speers Rd.,Oakville Ont.L6K 3S4 Recognized for Excellence by(905) 845-3824 Fax:337-5566Ontario CommunityCanadian CommunityClassified Advertising:632-4440 Newspapers AssociatioNnewspapers AssociationCirculation:845-9742 Open 9-5 weekdays,ATHENASuburban NewspapersAward5-7 for calls only Wed.to Friday,Closed weekendsof AmericaEditorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright.NEIL OLIVERVice President and GroupROD JERREDManaging EditorMARK DILLSDirector of Production Unauthorized use is prohibited.Publisher of Metroland WestDANIEL BAIRDAdvertising DirectorMANUEL GARCIAProduction ManagerThe OakvilleBeaver is a division ofDAVID HARVEYRegional General ManagerRIZIERO VERTOLLIPhotography DirectorSARAH MCSWEENEYCirculation ManagerJILL DAVISEditor in ChiefSANDY PAREBusiness ManagerDANIEL COLEMANRegional Online Sales ManagerLetter to the editorAlarming riseGSA clubsin policing costsdivisiveAs police services go, residents of Halton can takeAs an Oakville constituent,pride in the fact that we have one of the finest inCatholic ratepayer and school sup-Ontario, if not Canada.porter I respectfully request theFor the third year in row, Halton ranked as theHalton Catholic trustees uphold thesafest regional municipality in Canada according toboard's current equity and inclusionMacleansmagazines 2010 ranking of our most dan-policy and preserve the ban ongerous cities.Gay/Straight Alliances (GSA).In 2009, crime plunged nearly 11 per cent inGSAs necessitate students to self-Halton. identify according to sexual orienta-However, that safety is obviously coming with ation. Rather than inclusive, this cre-price one that some regional councillors are nowates an exclusive, isolating element. Personhood is more than sexualquestioning.orientation. To define or categorizeHalton Police, through Chief Gary Crowell lastpeople (our Catholic students) in thisweek, asked the Region to approve a 2011 budget ofway is to limit them, to confine them.$116.4 million an increase of $7.6 million or 6.9Its not about being gay or straight.per cent over the previous year.Its about being an individual person,The most significant driver of the proposedpromoting the dignity of the humanincreases in the budget, which includes the hiring ofperson. 13 uniform officers, is the $2.4 million related to con-We need clubs in our schools thattract and benefit costs.make all students feel welcome; thatA Halton finance and administration committeerecognize the individual person,report also reveals regional police wage and benefitregardless of sexual orientation, race,increases will keep annual budget increases in the sixcreed, gender, intellectual or physicalability, etc. per cent range for the next few years.This is what our Church teaches.Halton police have received more than a nine perThe school boards mission statementcent increase in salaries over the past three yearsmakes clear that it works in partner-including a 3.1 per cent raise on Jan. 1 of this year.The Oakville Beaverwelcomes letters from its readers.Letters will be edited for clarity,length,legal considerations and grammar.Letters toship with home and church to provideIn order to be published all letters must contain the name,address and phone number of the author.Letters should beThey will be in line for another raise Jan. 1, 2012.addressed to The Editor,Oakville Beaver,467 Speers Rd.,Oakville,ON,L6K 3S4,or via e-mail to editor@oakville-excellence in education. beaver.com.The Beaverreserves the right to refuse to publish a letter.Halton Hills Regional Councillor Jane Fogal, chairthe editorOur school trustees, as practicingof the administration and finance committee, wasCatholics, have an obligation to fol-among those rightfully questioning the escalatinglow the directives of our Catholiccost of policing.Catholic GSA ban should be overturnedbishops whose advice best serves theAbsolutely, I have concerns over it, said Fogal. Icommon good. I was born and have spent most of myand understanding and that can offer sup-wonder why our police costs are going up at this rate.The notion of a GSA is sectarian. Iflife in Oakville. I grew up in Oakvillesport and insight to youths in distress. its raison d'e is to normalize theIf so much is based on salary, what are those contractCatholic school system and saw firsthandThe fact that the chair believes suchgay life style, then it would be in con-settlements?the bullying, violence and suicidean alliance to be a hate group is verytradiction with Catholic moral teach-Its a legitimate question.attempts that were a direct connection toalarming and makes me concerned foring. Statistics can be used in many ways and Crowellsa system that lacked understanding of andthe five year-old child I love more thanLet's work together for somethingpointing to the fact Haltons police to population ratiosupport for its gay students. anything, who is currently enrolled intruly Catholic universal thatis the lowest in the GTA is fair game. The recent comments of Haltonthe Halton Catholic District Schoolincludes everyone, not just individualsBut so, too, is the fact that Halton polices 9.2 perCatholic District School Board Chair AliceBoard system. promoting their sexual orientation. cent in wage hikes over three years is excessive whenAnne LeMay, have made me realize thatA comment comparing gay alliancesGay/Straight Clubs are not thecompared to the average wage hike of taxpayers pay-not much has changed in our community. with hate groups is in itself hateful andanswer. We need People Clubs. Peopleing those salaries.I appreciate LeMay has apologized andirresponsible and should be treated ashelping people. Tying future police budgets closer to the rate ofunderstand she attempted to clarify hersuch. The recent push to rescind the cur-statement in her interview with XtrabyThese views are antiquated and bigotedinflation would not be unfair.rent board equity policy is divisive.saying she meant the board would not tol-and I hope the board will ask for LeMaysRather than divide, the trustees needThe Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council.The council is locatedto support parents in their efforts toerate hate groups of any nature. resignation and I also hope for an immedi-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,rear their children according toWhat she does not understand is that aate overturn of the boards current policy,that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item,together with aCatholic faith and morals.gay-straight alliance is not a hate group which bans gay-straight school alliances. reasonable allowance for signature,will not be charged for,but the balance of theM.BASSI,OAKVILLEadvertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate.The publisher reserves the rightit is a group that works towards toleranceJOEGOULART,OAKVILLEto categorize advertisements or decline.www.oakvillebeaver.com OAKVILLE BEAVERWednesday, January 19, 2011 6