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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:337-5571Ontario 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 ProductionUnauthorized use is prohibited.Publisher of Metroland WestDANIEL BAIRDAdvertising DirectorMANUEL GARCIAProduction ManagerThe OakvilleBeaver is a division ofDAVID HARVEYRegional General ManagerRIZIERO VERTOLLIPhotography DirectorCHARLENE HALLDirector of DistributionJILL DAVISEditor in ChiefSANDY PAREBusiness ManagerSARAH MCSWEENEYCirc. ManagerLetter to the editorUndoing a wrongCat bylawWe applaud the Halton Catholic District School Boardpits neighbourtrustees who showed the wisdom and courage to overturnthe previous boards equity and inclusion policy thatagainst neighbourbanned Gay-Straight Alliances from their schools.Re: New Oakville bylaw reins inIn a 6-2 vote, the trustees voted to rescind the previousroaming cats,Oakville Beaver,Jan.policy and adopt an interim policy by the Ontario13.Education Services Corporations (OESC)Catholic tem-I object to this on severalplate policy.grounds. The trustees faced pressure from many sides on thisSince the Town has no enforce-controversial issue from gay and lesbian advocacyment team to police the bylaw, it isgroups, from many of their constituents who supportedrelying on neighbours to do so, pit-the policy, and from their own faith beliefs about the Bibleting one neighbour against anotherand the Catholic teachings.in a situation that can't help butWe are sure it was a difficult issue for the trustees.cause hard feelings and unnecessaryBut in the end, it would appear the majority listened toill will. the one group that matters the most in this debate theFor the same reason, it will bestudents under their care.unevenly enforced: in neighbour-The most compelling voices on this issue havehoods where people have more to docome from some of the students in our care, whowith their time than worry about ahave expressed to us that they dont always feelneighbours cat, pets will be free toincluded and they have not always felt safe, and wewander at will. In neighbourhoodsneed to listen to the voices of our students. Thosewith a busybody or two, any cat thatvoices are, for us, the most significant, and we areslips through an open window willresponding to that articulated need for support, saidbe in danger of being arbitrarilyCatholic board education director Michael Pautler.seized and carted off to the humaneThe trustees listened and acted accordingly.society. The Oakville Beaverwelcomes letters from its readers.Letters will be edited for clarity,length,legal considerations andFor that we thank them.Letters togrammar.In order to be published all letters must contain the name,address and phone number of the author.LettersThe human society maintainsshould be addressed to The Editor,Oakville Beaver,467 Speers Rd.,Oakville,ON,L6K 3S4,or via e-mail to this is all for the benefit of the cats,the editoreditor@oakvillebeaver.com.The Beaverreserves the right to refuse to publish a letter.No surprise because animals that live indoorsallegedly survive longer. Were not surprised Oakville Town Council choseWhy do we need special clubs?I'd like to see where they get thisto close the books on any further investigation intoinformation, and whether they'reRE: GSA clubs divisive, by M. Bassi,erally teach and encourage universal accept-Oakville Hydros $17,500 donation to the Ontarioreferring to authentic strays, or wellOakville Beaver, Jan. 19ance of all which means taking it back to theLiberal Party in 2008 and 2009.I totally agree. We do need People Clubs.basics of good citizenship; tolerance; kind-cared-for animals that may spend aDid anyone expect otherwise from our Liberal-People helping people.ness; empathy for all our fellow humanfew hours outside. dominated council?Violence, intolerance of others beliefs, bul-beings. This should be the mandate at allIn any case, the humane society,A full-fledged judicial inquiry would have beenlying, are crimes against all people of whatev-schools no matter their religious slate orwhile well-intentioned, is elected byexpensive $500,000 at least both for the Towner religious/sexual preference/economic sta-teachings. no one and has no mandate to dic-and any involved individuals if they required legal rep-tus. Why do we need special clubs? Do we haveAs said by Dr. Seuss Dont give up? Itate to people how they raise theirresentation.HA club? (heterosexual). Do we have hetero-believe in you all. A persons a person, no mat-pets. Any of the other options presented by staff to coun-sexual parades? Muslim clubs/Hindi/ADHDter how small! And Be who you are and sayNor does the town: animal con-cil really didnt have as much clout as the judicialclub? what you feel, because those who mind donttrol is a legitimate municipalinquiry to make the exercise worthwhile.People are people. Indirectly HCDSB chairmatter, and those who matter wont mind.responsibility, but inventing need-More importantly, council has taken steps to pre-is right, but she said it wrong, we need to gen-L.GRASSET,OAKVILLEless bylaws to micromanage the carevent Oakville Hydro and other bodies receivingand feeding of the family pet is wellmunicipal funds from making similar donations inPud BY STEVE NEASEneasecartoons@gmail.combeyond the activities we expect ofthe future.elected councillors. In doing so, council has made it clear that givingYou may be aware that peopleOakville taxpayers money directly, or indirectly, to abecome extremely attached to theirpolitical party of any stripe is wrong. pets. Creating a situation that setsWere just surprised the parties involved couldntone neighbour against another is asee this in the first place.needless intrusion into the privateThe Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council.The council is located at 80 Gould St.,affairs of individuals, that serves noSuite 206,Toronto,Ont.,M5B 2M7.Phone 416-340-1981.Advertising is accepted on the conditionone and threatens only to cause ten-that,in the event of a typographical error,that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneousitem,together with a reasonable allowance for signature,will not be charged for,but the balance ofsions where none need exist. the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate.The publisher reserves the right to catego-rize advertisements or decline.KELLYMCPARLAND,OAKVILLEwww.oakvillebeaver.com OAKVILLE BEAVERFriday, January 21, 2011 6