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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, December 13, 2012 · 6 The Oakville Beaver 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. 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 905-631-6095 Guest Column Neil Oliver Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metroland West David harvey Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief Daniel Baird Advertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor Riziero Vertolli Photography Director Sandy Pare Business Manager RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association MARK DILLS Director of Production Manuel garcia Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager Website www.oakvillebeaver.com The OakvilleBeaver is a division of Ontario to build on dynamic economic plan Kevin Flynn, Oakville MPP Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville ATHENA Award SUBMITTED PHOTO Santas ON THE FINISH LINE: Victoria Gregatti, left, and Sarah Nixon, both of Oakville, ran the five-kilometre Santa Run Saturday, Dec. 8 in downtown Burlington and finished 77th and 78th out of more than 2,800 runners. The girls also placed in first and second in the women's age 15-19 category, and came in ninth and 10th overall out of 1,757 female runners. he latest job numbers show Ontario continues to be Canada's leader in job creation. Just last week, Statistics Canada reported Ontario created 32,000 new jobs in November -- meaning employment in the province has increased by 378,100 net jobs from the recessionary low in June 2009. The Ontario Liberal government has a strong plan to build an Kevin Flynn innovative and dynamic economy. The job numbers provide evidence that we are on the right track and our efforts to invest in the fundamentals are working. Here is some additional evidence: · The Greater Toronto Area is now the fourth most attractive destination to start a business only behind California's Silicon Valley, New York and London, England. · Ontario has been ranked the most competitive province in Canada for the third year in a row. · Canada's banking system, anchored in Ontario, has been rated the most sound in the world for the fifth straight year in 2012 by the World Economic Forum. · A strong economy protects the services that mean the most to families such as healthcare. Here in town, I can report the new Oakville hospital is now more than 20 per cent complete. It is quickly becoming a reality for our residents, is on time and on budget. Anyone driving near Third Line and Dundas Street can see the walls and concrete slabs being erected, as well as the expansion of Third Line from Dundas to Burnhamthorpe Road. The hospital, the largest provincial investment in any community in Ontario's history, averages 400 workers per day on-site, creating high-quality jobs right here in Oakville. While our government makes sure the new Oakville hospital becomes a reality, Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak continues to float financially irresponsible ideas like the privatization of the LCBO. The loss of revenues from the privatization of these types of agencies means the Conservatives would have to find ways to reduce services or let go teachers or nurses. We've been down that road before, notably with Highway 407 built with taxpayer money and sold by the Conservatives. I believe privatizing revenue-generators is the wrong priority for our province. Instead, we need to be focused on investing in the fundamentals, like healthcare and education while continuing with our plan to build an innovative and dynamic economy. We have much to be thankful for in our community and I would like to wish everyone in Oakville a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. All the best in 2013. T Advice gurus expound on how to survive holiday season recently read some scientists are suggesting humans may well be gradually losing intelligence. Granted, we didn't really need a study by the tall foreheads of modern science to tell us that society, in general, is slowly dumbing down. No, every year around this time the apparent tale of humans in decline is reflected in the How To Survive The Season advice columns published in newspapers and magazines and packaged up all nice and glossy on news telecasts. Alas, this is the Golden Age of gurus. We've reached the summit of self-help. Still, each year these self-proclaimed experts expound exponentially on this topic. Not wanting to seem selfish, I'm passing along their stellar advice. Don't get drunk at the office Christmas party. For some reason this advice seems to top every list. Because so many people out there consciously decide: you know what, I'm going to go the office Christmas party, get totally trashed, stick a lampshade on my head, hit on the boss, strip down to my boxers and dance Gangnam-style across the buffet table. Oh no, wait -- I think that advice column I read suggested I should not do this because it might not be advantageous to my career. Don't eat too much. Because the season is full of mountainous I meals and tempting treats, but apparently all this extra food has (let's do the complex math together) extra calories. So, if I eat too much, I will apparently feel like a bloated blimp and have to spend January in stretch pants. Thanks, advice columnists, for walking me through that logistical landmine. Take time for yourself. This is a great Andy Juniper one. And it's on every guru's advice list. I reminded my wife of this just last weekend as she ran off in 10 different directions to get a thousand things done, as I sat on the family room floor, contemplatively picking my toes. "It's that time of year, honey," I reminded her. "I need to take time for myself. When I'm done picking my toes, I'm going to linger in a bubble bath and read 50 Shades of Gray." Oh yeah, the self-helpers are big on lingering in bubble baths and reading saucy books. And when you're not lingering and getting all sudsy and saucy, you are supposed to laugh. Crazy thought, but regardless of the season, I tend to laugh when I find something funny. I can't stand elbow-to-elbow in an overheated shopping mall and break out into a grand guffaw because a self-helpster told me to. But that's just me. And to survive the season, the advice guys highly recommend: staying true to yourself, which sounds pretty profound, especially amid other suggestions, such as drink lots of water, exercise (apparently, it's good for you), breathe deeply, keep your fingers out of electrical outlets, and -- my personal favourite -- avoid overworking and exhaustion. Do you think? Should I really try to avoid overwork and exhaustion? That's almost as precious as the 10-point list one magazine offered to those suffering seasonal depression. No. seven on the list? Think sunny thoughts. I'm thinking sunny thoughts, I really am. And mere minutes ago, my sunny thoughts and I were flipping through a glossy LCBO flyer containing product advertisements and helpful, handy recipes for assorted cocktails. Like rye and ginger: take a shot of rye, add ginger ale. Honestly, who knew? Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, found on Facebook at www.facebook.com, or followed at www.twitter. com/thesportjesters.