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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, October 21, 2016 | 6 A teen exits their home to go to school, a game, a social activity or hang with friends. No parent wants that youth, their child, to return home injured, assaulted, emotionally scarred -- or not to return home. Parents are the guardians of their children's wellbeing. As young people grow up, they will nd we are, through society, conventions, laws, one another, guardians of each other. Last week, the Oakville Beaver attended the sentencing of a former sailing coach convicted of sexually assaulting young boys. The accused pled guilty to three crimes while the nearly 20 others he faced, were withdrawn. The jail sentence was 18 months. Numerous prohibitions were put in place, not the least of which is not having contact with victims or "communicating with boys under the age of 16, except in the presence of a responsible adult, who is aware of his crimes or incidental contact in the course of his employment." Ironically, it was in the course of employment the victimized boys were preyed upon. No sooner was the story published than the social media comments went live -- That's it!; SMH (shake my head); Really? That's all? 18 months for ruining so many young lives? Joke; etc. The social media comments re ected shock, disgust, dismay. At the same time, women were marching to Take Back the Night at Sheridan College. Earlier this season, women, and men, gathered in Towne Square to bring awareness to missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada whose plight or death has not always appeared to be a top priority. We've heard repeatedly from local police Ontario, particularly the GTA, including Oakville, is the human traf cking (a.k.a. human slavery, prostitution) capital of Canada. Vice of cers have admitted they've wept upon encountering a youth, mostly very young teens, who are so damaged by human traf cking, shame and brainwashing at a time when their young mind and emotions are so vulnerable, that police are powerless to connect them with the help they need. Police put out such an offer to help this week. Only one girl was `rescued.' Last week, Leah Parsons, whose daughter Rehtaeh was allegedly raped by a handful of youths -- one pictured in an online post giving the thumbs-up while raping a vomiting young woman -- and suffered so much public shaming, she took her own life, spoke at Sheridan College. Just a few weeks ago, local men in the community donned pink high heels during the Hope in Heels event to raise awareness about stopping gender violence. While we aspire to achieve new echelons of civilized behaviour, respect for our environment, personal freedom, we must never forget respect and human dignity must be the basis of all the rest. We are all the guardians of that for everyone and we must do a much better job. Visit oakvillebeaver.com for in-depth coverage of the events mentioned. 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, 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington ON L7L 5Z1 or via email to ablackburn@ oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Guardians of dignity Editorial "Connected to your Community" 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington ON L7L 5Z1 General Inquiries: (905) 845-3824 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 Volume 54 | Number 85 The Oakville Beaver is a division of Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Vice ­President and Group Publisher of Metroland West Regional General Manager Advertising Director NEIL OLIVER KELLY MONTAGUE DANIEL BAIRD Managing Editor ANGELA BLACKBURN RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Business Manager LORI ANN GZOVDANOVIC Director of Production MARK DILLS MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager Director of Distribution CHARLENE HALL KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager My View Proud Official Media Sponsor For: Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member Not immune to risk of Fentanyl overdoses Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association A s with other parts of Canada, Ontario is grappling with an alarming public health issue: drug overdose deaths related to highly-addictive pain killers. Between 2011-14, nearly 2,500 people in our province died after overdosing on opioids, such as fentanyl. Regardless of whether someone is using opioids with a doctor's prescription or without, accidental overdoses are a real risk in our community. Having dedicated my career to the health-care eld, I am extremely concerned about this trend. Here in Oakville, I have been spreading the message about the risks of fentanyl to our community -- in particular, the threat posed to our young people by illegal street drugs that can be John Oliver Oakville MP Proud Official Media Sponsor For: laced with fentanyl. I hope this article will contribute to public awareness of this problem. If you know someone at risk of an opioid overdose, please contact the Drug & Alcohol Helpline at 1-800-565-8603. This service is free, con dential and available 24/7. see Working on p.7 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. Pud by Steve Nease · LEGO · art · PAINT · New LEGO® Make & Take · Star Wars · Minecraft · Pokemon birthday parties 905-825-9994 - 461 N. Service Rd. W Oakville specklesartstudio.com