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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, November 28, 2012 · 6 Opinion & Letters The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 905-845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 Circulation: 905-631-6095 -- 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington 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: Canadian Circulation Audit Board Member THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America Canadian Community Newspapers Association ATHENA Award Neil Oliver Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The OakvilleBeaver is a division of David Harvey Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Halton Region Editor in Chief Daniel Baird Advertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor Riziero Vertolli Photography Director Sandy Pare Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production Manuel garcia Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager Another year, another plea Like clockwork, drinking and driving awareness campaigns ramp up weeks leading up to Christmas. The dangers of driving impaired are well known. Not only is it illegal to get behind the wheel while under the effects of alcohol or drugs -- doing so can be deadly. So, why do motorists continue to unnecessarily put their lives and those of others at risk? According to Ontario's Ministry of Transportation (MTO), drinking and driving is one of the province's most significant road safety issues. Over the course of the last 10 years, some 2,000 individuals have died and more than 5,000 people have sustained injuries in collisions involving drunk drivers. Families have been ripped apart; children left without parents; parents left without their children. Why? Because someone thought their drinking wouldn't interfere with their ability to drive. Annually, 17,000 drivers are convicted under the Criminal Code of Canada for offences such as impaired driving, driving with a blood alcohol concentration in excess of 0.08, dangerous driving, failure to remain, manslaughter and criminal negligence causing bodily harm or death. Of those convictions, the MTO estimates that 75 per cent are related to drinking and driving. Seventy-five per cent? Why isn't the message getting through? On roads patrolled by the Ontario Provincial Police, the statistics aren't any better. More than 60 people have died in alcohol-related crashes so far this year -- a 17 per cent increase over last year's death toll. The OPP isn't taking this increase lightly and nor should we. As well, Halton police will be launching its 2012 Holiday R.I.D.E. (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) campaign on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at T.A. Blakelock High School where officers will once again be visiting schools across Halton to educate drivers, particularly young ones, of the importance and responsibility of driving sober and the consequences associated with mixing alcohol or drugs and operating a vehicle. While officers across Ontario focus on nabbing impaired drivers during the R.I.D.E. campaign, we, the driving public, also need to take action against dangerous drivers. If you suspect a fellow motorist is operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, we urge you to contact the police. If it is an emergency, don't hesitate to call 911. When you think a friend or loved one is too impaired to drive, step in and take the keys. Be part of the solution not the problem -- the life you may be saving could be your own. 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. Time to pass Bill C-398 Letter to the editor Letters to the editor The Oakville Beaver 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 reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Thank you from Home Suite Hope On behalf of Home Suite Hope, our board of directors, staff, volunteers, participants and the Empty Bowls steering committee, we again extend our heart-felt thanks to our sponsors and soup providers in making 2012 the most successful Souper Bowl event to-date. This year's sixth anniversary Empty Bowls event exceeded even our most ambitious projections, selling more than 700 tickets and raising more than $100,000 from all sources. Empty Bowls continues to be Home Suite Hope's most successful community fundraising, volunteer engagement and advocacy event. It is also transformational to the work of Home Suite Hope by providing us the means to continue to help our community's most vulnerable and marginalized families. Thank you for supporting us to achieve our mission and vision of helping single-parent families facing the devastation of homelessness. Sincerely, and with deepest gratitude. Janice Moro, executive director, Home Suite Hope Woman abuse stops when all family members get help Re: Woman abuse is secret crime that needs telling, Friday, Nov. 9, 2012, The Oakville Beaver Thanks so much for the recent story during Woman Abuse Prevention Month, titled Woman Abuse is secret crime that needs telling. The reporter did an excellent task of capturing the importance of talking about woman abuse and what can be done to stop this secret crime. As one of the speakers, I would hasten to add Access Counselling & Family Services provides free counselling to women and their children who are involved in abusive relationships. However, we recognize woman abuse will only stop if all members of the family receive service. Change is hard. Please ensure people in Halton know they can call Access Counselling at 905-637-5256 when they are in need. Susan Jewett, executive director, Access Counselling & Family Services Re: Time to kill HIV/AIDS, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2012, The Oakville Beaver GRANs (Grandmothers Advocacy Network) and students of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School recently joined in the Town Square to demand Canada's federal government pass Bill C-398. Meanwhile, big pharmas are lobbying Ottawa not to pass the same bill. Brand-name pharmaceutical companies claim the high costs of their medicines and 20-year patent protection are essential to recoup their significant investment in research. They want greater government support, protections from generic competition and longer data exclusivity. Like all good disinformation, on the surface this seems reasonable. However, a British Medical Journal article, published this summer, is revealing. Researchers found from 1995-2010 pharmaceutical R&D costs grew by $34.2 billion while profit increased by $200.4 billion. Pharmaceutical companies put 19 times the amount of money into marketing and lobbying than into research. And in North America, 50-80 per cent or their R&D costs for basic research are subsidized by tax revenues. They clearly don't need our financial or legislative support. In developing countries, brand name medicines become a moral issue. Since most profit comes from boutique drugs sold in developed countries to treat conditions like erectile dysfunction, treatable diseases like AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria are killing millions of the world's poor because they can't afford medicines. Our parliamentarians can do something about this -- question the assertions of big pharma lobbyists and pass Bill C-398, now before Parliament. Developing countries have waited eight years since we passed legislation to provide Canadian generic medicines. It's high time to make good on that promise. Ann Walters, Oakville