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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, October 19, 2011 · 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: C Canadian Circulation Audit Board Member A THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association S Suburban Newspapers of America o Canadian Community Newspapers Association ATHENA Award NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief 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 Reliable sources Take Vitamin E. Don't take Vitamin E. Drink red wine. Don't drink red wine. Smother yourself f in sunscreen. Don't smother yourself in sunscreen. Drink coffee. Don't drink coffee. Eat grapefruits. Don't eat grapefruits. Men, get a regular PSA test. Men, don't get a regular PSA test. Women, get a mammogram every year. Women, don't get a mammogram every year. No wonder we are left shaking our collective heads when it comes to lifestyle choices. Every time we think we are doing something good for ourselves, there is a study to suggest otherwise. Recently a report said older women who took a daily vitamin supplement -- even just a multivitamin -- had an increased risk of dying of cardiovascular disease and cancer. That latest revelation should send many of us scurrying for cover. It's also among one of the reasons why the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation may be facing an uphill battle with last week's launch of its "multi-year campaign encouraging women to take action to reduce their risk of breast cancer." "When we asked women about breast cancer risk we learned that many women are not aware of many of the risk factors for developing breast cancer," said Sandra Palmaro, CEO of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Ontario Region. According to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation website, the "campaign addresses established lifestyle risk factors, including alcohol, which research shows few people relate to breast cancer risk, as well as known and potential environmental carcinogens." While we applaud the foundation's work and its message about reducing the risk of this brutal disease, there are so many studies out there open to interpretation, women (and men) are left to flounder in a sea of conflicting data. We suggest anyone wanting information on how to reduce the risk of disease, they should seek out reliable sources, including speaking to your family physician on a regular basis. 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. AIDS can be beaten Are we on the brink of ending AIDS? "Yes!" say researchers worldwide who are investigating the innovative Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART) that also prevents the spread of HIV infection. The evidence is now conclusive: immediate treatment with HAART not only improves outcomes for the person treated, but also prevents transmission of the disease. This is a major breakthrough. Oomama, a local voluntary group that works to give a hand up to African orphans and their caregivers, is relieved that finally, the grandmothers in Africa who are raising millions of AIDS orphans have a window of hope. The disease that killed their children can be beaten. But the road from research to action is far from smooth. Some 34 million people are living with HIV V worldwide; 16 million people require treatment for HIV/AIDS, but only 6.6 million receive it. Oomamas and thousands of f other grandmothers and "grandothers" from all across the country have been pushing the Canadian government to fix Canada's Access to Medicines Regime (CAMR) and get affordable generic medicines to those in need. The Canada-wide advocacy efforts of grandmothers and other civil society organizations, succeeded in persuading the House of Commons to enact such changes, only to see their bill deliberately stalled in the Senate, where it died with the call to a federal election. We, Oomamas will not give up. In the coming session, we are determined to pressure both Houses of f Parliament to fix CAMR. Now that we know treatment is also prevention, it is even more important than ever that Canada honour its humanitarian responsibilities and fix CAMR, To quote Stephen Lewis, past UN See Grandmas page 7 Letters to the editor The Oakville Beaver r 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@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver r reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Right g to strike is a bargaining g g tool With respect to the question of why not make Oakville Transit an essential service, my question is why should it be made an essential service? Is it because if buses stop there will be the inconvenience factor? Most people don't realize the true principle of being an essential service. That is, it is a service that if stopped it poses a direct threat to the health and safety of the public. Public transit does not fit into that equation. Paramedics do. Police do. Nurses do. Jail guards do. Unfortunately politicians have used their legislation-making powers to make many services essential solely because that service going on strike is either annoying or inconvenient. This was the motive behind the TTC being made essential, and (Toronto Mayor Rob) Ford clearly stated this. In fact, if it was up to Mr. Ford, trash pickup would be made essential too. Going on strike is meant to be a tool for employees to pressure the employers to bargain new contracts in good faith. Remember, striking affects both sides: pressure to the employer as they cannot provide their product or service, and loss of income to the employee as long as the strike goes on (strike pay doesn't quite cut it). Both sides want to get a deal done, and you can bet the best deal is the one that both sides negotiate freely without political intervention. Remember that going on strike is a constitutionally given right. If you are going to write a law to rip that away, it better be for a good reason, and frustrated commuters who now have See Transit page 7