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6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday April 28, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 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. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Commentary Guest Columnist Elimination of GTA pooling Gary Carr Halton Regional Chair On Thursday, March 22, the Provincial government announced the 2007 Ontario Budget. An important piece of the budget for Halton taxpayers is the eliminaGary Carr tion of GTA pooling, which Halton Region has been It is important advocating for. now for Halton GTA pooling was established in 1998 to share social to continue to assistance and social housing costs across the GTA. Since the program started Halton Region has conpush the tributed $325 million to the City of Toronto for its Provincial social services costs. Government for As part of the provincial government's plan, pooling the funding will be reduced by one-sixth of its 2004 levels each year commitments until the program is completely eliminated by 2013. and financial This will result in a savings of approximately $6 million tools we need this year alone for Halton Region. to ensure that GTA pooling was an unfair burden on Halton taxpayers and those across the GTA. I applaud the Ontario govgrowth pays for ernment for listening to the advocacy efforts of myself, itself, and that Halton's four mayors, as well as regional and local the cost of councillors, by taking steps to eliminate GTA pooling. growth is not The elimination of GTA pooling puts us one step furon the backs of ther to ensuring fairness for Halton. our current It is important now for Halton to continue to push residents. the provincial government for the funding commitments and financial tools we need to ensure that growth pays for itself, and that the cost of growth is not on the backs of our current residents. GTA pooling was just one of the many shortfalls facing Halton Region with impending growth as a result of the Province's Places to Grow Plan. To address the shortfalls, Halton will continue to ask the Province to provide an enhanced municipal infrastructure funding program, make immediate changes to the Development Charges Act, and address inequalities in provincial cost sharing requirements. A review being undertaken by the Province is not timely enough. We will continue to call for immediate action to allow Halton to address the current infrastructure deficits and respond to the objectives in the Places to Grow Plan To find out more about the elimination of GTA pooling, you can contact Halton Region at 905-825-6000, toll free 1-866-4HALTON (1-866-442-5866), TTY 905-827-9833, or visit our website at www.halton.ca. I would like to remind you also, that if you have not visited our page on Fairness for Halton, please do so. There you will find a postcard that you can forward to your local MPP and MP to support our efforts to achieve fairness for Halton. NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director TERI CASAS Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production Metroland Media Group Ltd. includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Caledon Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION When the biggest tool in the shop is the one holding the hammer M y father once built a big, bold entertainment centre that stood sturdy, tall and proud, complete with shelves for speakers and books, drawers and fancy cabinets for storing wine glasses. I, on the other hand, once took a sorry slab of wood, casually sanded it, covered it with about 10 coats of shellac or varnish ­ unlike my father, I don't know the difference ­ and tried to pass it off on my woodworking teacher as my major project for the semester. Voila! A cutting board. "You know," I told him, "for cutting things on." My father received rave reviews for his masterwork. People marveled at his creativity (he built the unit from plans hatched out of his own head and sketched with his own hands), his talent with tools, his incredible craftsmanship, his eye for detail and his ability to create things that function the way they were meant to function. My woodworking teacher shook his head in defeat, gave me a D grade and asked whether I'd like to cross the hallway with the girls and give home economics a shot. But I want you to know, dear readers, I did not let my teacher's damning comments defeat me. I did not put my tail between my legs and run and hide over in home economics. No, I took his words as a personal affront, indeed a challenge. First off, I took that cutting board home to my mother, who hugged me and thanked me and praised me, and then tucked that board in the deep recesses of a cupboard where it was sure not to get scratched or otherwise damaged. I returned to shop ever-more Andy Juniper determined to prove my teacher wrong. My father was forever creating knickknacks. My mother was a knickknack collector ­ our house was festooned -- and she loved his creations. Those creations -- practical, whimsical, whatever -- could light up a room. One thing my father had not created was a doorstop, which we were in dire need of because down one busy hallway was a door that was forever closing on its own -- like it had a mind of its own, or was possessed by ghosts -- and usually at the most inopportune times. Like when you were walking down that hallway loaded down with drinks and munchies for hungry friends. I decided the face of my doorstop would be a dog since we were a dog-loving family. I'd trace an outline of the most adorable dog imaginable on wood, then cut it out with a miter saw or a chisel or scissors or whatever the hell you use to cut wood. Then I would screw this cut-out dog into a finely-crafted piece of wood -- thick at one end, thin at the other -- and there would be the perfect doorstop. I recall that my mother was practically in tears when I handed her my doggie doorstop. "It's a doorstop," I confirmed, seeing slight confusion on her face amid other emotions she was having trouble controlling. "To stop the door," I needlessly added. While somewhat flawed and slightly misshapen, it was indeed a doorstop -- one that had earned me glowing praise from my woodwork teacher, and a D+ mark. My mother loved it, so much that she took it with her into her bedroom, saying it was far too fine a work of craftsmanship to be relegated to a lifetime of lowly door-stopping. Apparently when it comes to woodwork, some men are good with tools. Others are just tools. Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com.