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The Oakville BeaverGuest Columnist467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742The 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 Priorities in Haltonfor, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.Lisa Raitt, Halton MPNEIL OLIVERVice-President and Group Publisher, MARK DILLSDirector of ProductionMetroland WestMANUEL GARCIAProduction Managers we begin a new year, it is important for us to reflectDAVID HARVEY Regional General ManagerCHARLENE HALLDirector of Distributionon the past and what we have accomplished 2010JILL DAVISEditor in ChiefSARAH MCSWEENEYCirc. ManagerAwas truly Canada's year to shine on the world stage.ROD JERREDManaging EditorWEBSITEoakvillebeaver.comEarly in the year,from coast,to coast,to coast,weDANIEL BAIRDAdvertising DirectorLisa RaittThe Oakville Beaver is a division ofwatched as athletes competed during the VancouverRIZIERO VERTOLLIPhotography DirectorOlympic and Paralympic Games. We are proud of ourSANDY PAREBusiness ManagerCanadian athletes who brought home the most gold medals won by any host coun-RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY:try in the history of the Winter Olympic Games.Ontario CommunityCanadian CommunitySuburban NewspapersIn June, we hosted world leaders at the G-8 and G-20 conferences in MuskokaNewspapers AssociationNewspapers Associationof Americaand Toronto.And in July,a record number of people celebrated Canada Day onTHE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR:Parliament Hill during the 22nd visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.These events inspired patriotism here at home and projected Canada's leader-United Way ship around the world.of OakvilleOf course the economy remains our number one priority. While the globalATHENAAwarecovery remains fragile,Canada's Economic Action Plan is keeping our recoveryrdon track. Canada's economy has grown for the past five straight quarters and sinceJuly 2009 more than 420,000 new jobs have been created.Our efforts have not gone unnoticed. TheWall Street Journal praised Canada,saying,"the country has pulled through the downturn in better shape than most of its peers,with the healthiest banking system and strongest economic recovery inthe Group of Seven."In January I met with representatives of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce ata budget consultation roundtable I hosted. Those representing local business toldme that low taxes are encouraging businesses to invest more in the Canadianeconomy, which is stimulating job creation and economic growth. Helping busi-nesses grow and create more jobs is good news for the economy,and good news forCanadian families,especially here in Halton.While we are focused on new ideas and economic recovery,Michael Ignatieff andhis coalition partners are focused on raising taxes and forcing an unnecessary elec-tion. Ignatieff recently said "We are ready for an election,and we think Canadiansare ready for an election."I don't think Canadians want an election and I don't think Canadians want highertaxes.Canadians in Vaughan rejected the idea of an Ignatieff led coalition government byelecting former OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino to represent them in Ottawa.And The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has rejected Michael Ignatieff's plan toraise taxes saying it is "the wrong thing to do if you want to create jobs and growth inMICHELLE SIU / OAKVILLE BEAVERthe economy".RECIPE FOR NUTRITION: Angela Borgeest (left) who organizes the Family Wholistic Health Fair event As we move into 2011, I would like to wish you all the very best for the New Year. and Christine Smith (centre) of the International Organization of Nutritional Consultants (IONC) with event sponsor We are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful, safe, and diverse community.Shawn Trickett of iGita Yoga Studio in Oakville as Borgeest handed over a $2,000 cheque to the IONC. The funds While our Conservative Government works in Ottawa to ensure that never changes,were raised at the fundraising health fair and the IONC will use it to educate low-income families on nutrition.I remain focused on our priorities, Here for Halton, Here for Canada.When the Big Clean morphed into the Prodigious Purgeall it what you will. A prodigious purge. A colossal decluttering. A comes to throwing things out). No, wereable to part with.Chousehold cleanse of epic, if not Biblical proportions. Okay, more unwitting, lazy accumulate-ists.Also piled high in those rooms: junk from when the boys returnedmaybe Im understating, but still.To boot, were a little gun-shy: the lasthome from university, trash in tow you know, furniture patternedA few weeks ago, we had hardwood installed in our bedrooms. The time we did a major culling was prior towith untold stains, gouges, dents and rips (general university wear andinstallers did a heck of a job, but created a heck of a mess. By the time moving to our current house, and that didtear). they finally departed, at 9 p.m. on a Friday night, the whole house was not go well. Somehow the junk guys mis-All in all, The Prodigious Purge has been a massive, mind-numb-upside down and blanketed in a layer of hardwood dust. took treasured stuff for junk and all ouring undertaking. But, given another month or two of daily, diligentFurthermore, the half of the house where theyd actually worked sentimental Christmas decorations wentlabouring, I think we might almost be done. Almost.qualified for disaster relief. Seriously, celebrities were calling offering AWOL. Theres a U.S.-based talk show named after its hostess, OprahAndy Juniperto participate in any TV special created to assist us; Kim Kardashian But I digress (as has become my forte).(perhaps youve heard of her), who occasionally invites an organiza-actually showed up at our door with a film crew and 10 personal pub-Buried in the kids rooms we found grade-tional guru named Peter Walsh to demystify decluttering. Walshlicists, but something told us she was just seeking more publicity.school notebooks, and toys and books outgrown eons ago. We foundnotes that while we tend to have smaller families and larger homesAnyway, the hardware guys had set us up for one ugly, epic week-clothes that might have fit and been in style when Savage Gardenthan our ancestors, we essentially have less livable space.end of cleaning. But in the midst of that cleaning, an odd thing hap-topped the pop charts. Like the size of the piles, the job just continuedThe guru believes that by decluttering our homes, we actuallypened: The Big Clean morphed into The Prodigious Purge. to grow.declutter our personal lives, bringing us increased clarity and focus.Rolling up our sleeves, we ripped apart entire rooms, sorting What we thought was a weekend of work, is ongoing. Which is toWell, I dont know about all that mumbo-jumbo, but I do knowthrough years of accrued crap, bagging and boxing into various piles say that we hired a junk company to cart a truckload away. And nowthat watching the junk trunk drive away felt pretty darned good. from garbage to Goodwill and recyclables that just kept grow-we have another truckload ready.Liberating. And somehow cathartic.ing.Last week I found myself in the basement cleaning out the furnace Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, found Honestly, were not pack rats. We dont hoard compulsively. We rooms. Yikes. There were dusty, dilapidated boxes, untouched fromon Facebook http://www.facebook.com, or followed at www.twitter.dont have deep psychological issues (well, we do, but not when it our previous move eight years ago, that I thought we might just becom/thesportjesters.www.insideHALTON.com OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, February 10, 2011 6