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A6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday November 3, 1999 T he O a k v il l e B e a v e r M etroland P rinting. P udishing & D istributing L td . includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, A lsto n HeraKYCouner, Bame Advance. BanyS Bay This W eek. Bolton Enterprise. Bram pton Guardian. B urlngton Post. Burtngton Shoppng News. C ity Parent. C oingwoocW ifesaga Connection. East York M rror, Erin A dvocate'C ouTtry Routes. Etobcoke G uardan, Ram borough Post. Georgetown independent/Acton Free Press. Huronia Business Times, K ingston T his W eek. Lindsay This W eek. M arkham Ecnom ist & Sun. M idland/P enetang uishine M irro r. M ilto n C anadian C ham pion. M ilto n Shopping News. Mississauga Buaness Times. M ssissauga News. Napanee G lid e . Newm arket/Aurora Era-Banner. Northum berland News, N orth York M rror. O akvie Beaver. Q akvie Shopping News. O dtm ers Hockey News. O riia Today. O shawa/ViAitby/Clarington Port Perry This W eek. Owen Sound Tribune. P eterborough T his W eek. 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Forever V txng, C ity o f Mark Guardan OPINION RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Ian Oliver Publisher Neil O liver Associate Publisher Norman Alexander Editor Kelly Montague, Advertising Director Martin Doherty Circulation Director Teri Casas OfficeManager Mark Dills Production Manager Riziero Vertoili Director ofPhotography 467 Speers Rd., Oakville O n t L 6 K 3 S 4 (905) 8 4 5 -3 8 2 4 Fax; 3 3 7 -5 5 6 7 Classified Advertising; 8 4 5 -2 8 0 9 Circulation: 8 4 5 -9 7 4 2 Editorials In dire need of road relief The next time you're stuck in traffic going about 10 km/hr in the fast lane of the QEW, consider this: you are probably going a whole lot faster than the combined efforts of the federal and provincial governments are moving towards solving the gridlock problem plaguing highway system in the Greater Toronto Area. As far as the federal and provincial governments are concerned, our highways are just fine. Their collective response is "Problem? What problem? There is no problem." How else do you explain that over the last few decades the federal government has not made any significant road or transit contributions? How else do you explain the province's downloading of funding for transit and a large segment of the high way networks to municipalities? How else do you explain Federal Transportation Minister David Collenette's cancellation of a scheduled appearance at the Trade Corridors Conference at Niagara Falls on Monday? At that conference, Oshawa Mayor Nancy Diamond, who chairs the Mayors' Alliance on Superhighways, warned that a national crisis is looming unless the fed eral government adopts a national transportation strategy to upgrade the country's deteriorating highway system. While Canada's politicians continue to twiddle their thumbs, their counterparts south of the border appear to be more aware of the problem. In 1998, the U.S. pledged $200 billion (U.S.) over six years for highway and transit projects, paid for by gasoline taxes. In Canada, motorists pump out $4 billion a year in gasoline tax revenue, little of which goes back into the highways, transit or railways systems. Perhaps the federal government is waiting for the next election before putting our money to good use. Maybe inviting the Transportation M inister to to the Trade Corridors Conference was a bad idea. He doesn't seem to be listening. Perhaps instead, we should invited him to drive from Toronto to Niagara Falls around quitting time in the middle of the week. Maybe then, we would get his attention. Better yet, maybe we could get his money. Letters to the Editor The Oakville Beaver welcomes your comments. All letters must be typed, signed and include the writer's address and phone number. Send to: Letters to the Editor, The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 M in o rity ru les in H a lto n sch o o ls I am h a v in g d if fic u lty in understanding the Halton District School Board. I can understand their reluctance to close schools, but I do n o t u n d e rs ta n d th e ir la c k o f regard for the children. We are a democratic society where majority ru les. B ut in O a k v ille, the minority is ruling. We are keeping old schools open in m ature areas with few Letter of the Week In search ofw isdomfromM PBonnie B row n W here is B onnie Brow n? The C hretien governm ent is m aking a m ajor policy decision th a t w ill a ffe c t all o f us o v er th e n e x t f o u r o r f iv e y e a r s ( p o te n t i a l l y lo n g e r ) , a n d it would seem that O akville's rep r e s e n ta t i v e is s i l e n t . S in c e being ele c te d , M s. B row n has s u p p o r te d an u n p r e c e d e n te d n u m b e r o f tax in c re a s e s w ith the stated purpose o f elim in at ing the d e fic it and sta rtin g to pay do w n th e N a tio n a l D ebt. Finally, a surplus has resulted, m o s tly as a r e s u lt o f h ig h e r taxes and dow nloading on the provinces. The result o f this has been a reduction in the average standard o f living in this coun try and an exodus o f Canadians to the U.S. and elsewhere. W e are a ll p o o re r now , in term s o f tak e-h o m e pay, than w h e n M s. B ro w n w as f ir s t elected. Now, the L ib eral caucus is debating, behind closed doors, h ow th e lo o m in g s u r p lu s sh o u ld be carv e d up betw een tax decreases, debt repaym ent, a n d m o re s p e n d in g (w h ic h caused this trouble in the first p la c e ). T h is in te rn a l c a u c u s d isc u ssio n is the real d ebate, since th eir m ajority w ill push th ro u g h P a rlia m e n t w h atev er caucus and cabinet eventually decide. D on't you think it would be nice for the voters of Oakville to know what is being said by M s. B ro w n on o u r b e h a lf ? Some feedback from her on her p o in t- o f - v ie w in th is v e ry im p o r ta n t m a tte r w o u ld be m ost welcome. G len D. H erring Simple solution to Trafalgar truck traffic In reply to the letter published on Wed. O ct 2 0 th , by `L .M .' (w h o e v e r th a t m ig h t b e), the an sw er to the questio n -- How are dow ntow n m erchants going to receive their supplies -- is very sim ple. T hose truckers having legitim ate business in dow ntow n O akville can exit the QEW at Dorval D rive, w hich has a speed lim it o f 60 k m /hour and is a fo u r-la n e d iv id e d ro a d , and so u th o f Speers Road it is fenced o ff from the houses on either side. T here are no schools on D orval, and few p e d e s tria n s c o m p a re d to T ra fa lg a r R oad. T he tru ck ers can m ake a left turn from a leftturn lane to R eb ecca S treet, an o th er fo u r-lan e road, w hich will take them directly to dow ntow n O akville. C om p are th is to T ra fa lg a r Road -- it has a sp eed lim it o f 50 k m /h o u r (4 0 k m /h o u r fo r a school zone at M acL ach lan C o lle g e ) and is a tw o-lane road with houses on both sides o f the street. T here is also a retirem ent home (Trafalgar Lodge) and a park on the road. There are many pedestrians using the only sidew alk -- children going to school, sen io r citizen s w alking to the p ark , p eo p le w a lk in g to the GO sta tio n . The houses are close to the road, although separated from it on the east side by a grass boulevard and a sidew alk. On the w est side (the ravine side), there is no boulevard or sidewalk, and the hous es are a few steps from the road. T rafalgar Road has already reached its lim it fo r traffic volum e, according to the Jan. 2nd, 1996, figures released by the Traffic A dvisory Com m ittee -- 18,475 vehicles per 24-hour peri od. Some vehicles are necessary -- police, am bu la n c e , fire tr u c k s -- w h ic h seem to fin d it increasingly difficult at certain tim es of the day to respond to em ergencies. O akville's only hos pital is in our neighbourhood. We have a firehall. We have an am bulance station. All o f these serv ices need u n hindered access to the roads. Cars can pull over to the side o f the road to let em ergency vehicles go past, trucks cannot. So there you have it, a sim ple answ er to a sim ple question. students and, or busing students from new n eig h b o u rh o o d s to these old and und er-eq u ip p ed schools. And to whose benefit? Certainly not the children. The majority of our childrenza deserve to walk to school, not the m inority, the children deserve m odern up-to-date facilities to prepare them for the technologi cal age they are coming into. If closing schools that are under-uti lized is the only way, they so be it. It is the majority who should be considered. Our trustees are putting nostal gia and property values ahead of the children's education. That is appalling. We must invest in our children's education-they are our future. Som e o f our c h ild re n are forced to walk 6.4 km. per day through and past, wooded areas where sexual assaults have taken place to a school o p eratin g at 175% capacity that has asbestos. Our school board has invested $12 million cleaning up mouldy portables and add new portables to house our children who are bused there from new neighbour hoods that have empty lots desig nated for schools. The Halton Separate School Board has managed to open two new schools this year. The public school board is losing enrolment. People are forced into this situa tion to send their children to a new, w ell-eq u ip p ed school in their neighbourhood. For those of us who are not Christian, this is not an option. The school board has put off any decision on closures until June, which means two years at a minimum, until we get any new schools in Halton. C an o u r c h ild re n a ffo rd to wait? P o litic a lly c o rre c t p o s tu re a t b o a rd Your report headlined: "School board's strategic plan short on definitions," doesn't even say the half o f it. They love belief statements, because they're so global and con tain no specifics of performance. If there were statements of performance, then there would be measures o f perfor mance and that wouldn't do, would it? It's wonderful to hear chair Ethel Gardiner say the board needs a new vision to take it into the new century -- we wonder if the board ever had a vision for the old century. Maybe they did, maybe they didn't, but it's scary to hear chair Ethel Gardiner admit that the whole process would be a daunting task. Having to deal with the board is a daunting task in itself -- imagine if they have to do with themselves. Yes, Ethel, you're right in what you said, "Education... has changed forever." However, let's hope it's not forev er. Simon Dann T h e c a s e fo r b u tte r k n iv e s ' Spousal abuse is com m on around the globe. M en beat women and, in some cases, visa versa. Domestic homicides are reported almost weekly in the media. According to Statistics Canada, nearly 75% of the domestic homicides are caused by everything from pushing their spouse down the stairs, knifing them, choking to death, and so on. Statscan recently stated in a federal government publication that only "one-quarter of all domestic homicides involve firearms." In that publication titled Focus on Firearms, there was another very startling revelation. While women are most often seen as the victims of abuse, nearly 40% of the dead in domes tic shootings are, in reality, men. Verbal abuse from both sides of the domestic scene may well continue, but what can be done about the homicides? Since knives appear to be a major contributing factor, should the sale of anything that is sharper than a butter knife be prohibited? If we are going to allow sharp knives, should they only be avail able to butchers, chefs, and other tradespeople who need them? Wouldn't it be wise to pass legislation forcing the registration of all sharp knives? After all, if guns are only 25% of the problem, and they have come under strict government control. Let's not leave the job unfinished. Call or write your M.P. now, and demand action on knives! Peter R. Stricklee _______________________P e te r S tanbridge Marsha Davies Pud Caring people m ade difference I would like to say `thank you' to the wonderful people who stopped to help my children and me after suffering quite a severe bicycle accident on Sept. 27th, 1999, on the Eighth Line just south of Upper Middle Road. People I will never know stopped and called 911 and my husband and stayed with my very upset children until help arrived. I thank you very much for your kindness and caring. Thanks to very loving family and friends, I am recovering very nicely. by Steve Nease Janet Reveil Carousel of Nations a hit Let me take this opportunity to congratulate everyone involved with the Carousel of Nations in making this event a big success. As a member of Oakville Council, I applaud your efforts and pledge my support to growing this event next year. Stephen Sparling Halton Regional & Oakville Councillor