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A6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday July 28, 1999 T he Oakville Beaver OPINION Ian Oliver Publisher Neil Oliver Associate Publisher Norman Alexander Editor Kelly Montague, Advertising Director Martin Doherty Circulation Director Ten Casas Office M anager Mark Dills Production M anager Riziero Vertolli Director o f Photography Metrotand Pm ting. Pubfchng & D istributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pckem g News Advertiser, A*ston HerakVCourier. Barrie Advance. Barry's Bay This Week. Bolton Enterprise. Bramprton Guardan. Burlington Post. Bering!cn Sboppng News. City Parent. CcingwoocWVasaga Connection. East York M inor. Erin Advocata'Country Routes. Etobicoke Guardan, Ramborouc^i Post. Georgetown mdependent/Acton Free Press. Hurona Buaness Tmes, K ingston This W eek. Lindsay This W eek. M arkham Ecnormst & Sun. M idtand/P enetanguishine M irror. M ilton Canadian C ham pion. M ilton Shoppng News, M ssssauga Busness Tmes. Ktssissauga News. Napanee Guide. Newmarket/Acrora Era-Bamer. Northumberland News. North York M rror. O akvile Beaver. Q akvie Shoppng News. O tdtm ers Hockey News. O nia Today. O shawaW itby/O anngton Pori Perry The Week. Owen S a n d Tribune. P eterborough This W eek. P icton C ounty G uide. Richm ond HHi/ThornhiH/Vaughan Liberal. Scarborough M irror, S toufM te'U xbndge Trtoune, Forever Ybung. C ity o f Mark Guardan 467 Speers Rd., Oakville O n t L6K3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax; 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-2809 Circulation: 845-9742 RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: B Ontario Community Newspapers Association . Canadian Community f ^ C N A Nowspapor, Association Suburban Newspaper: ■WH 1 % ol America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Editorials Send them packing The Government of Canada has become a laughing stock within the criminal community that smuggles illegal aliens into the country. The latest example saw a boatload of 123 Chinese men and women intercepted by the RCMP off Vancouver Island in ship stinking of human sewage. Stories of the incident told how the poor passengers paid gangs $57,000 to make the wretched voyage. One has to wonder where these people got that kind of money and if they could, wouldn't they be better off staying where they were? Obviously not. The reason for the fees is a chance, not to remain in Canada and be part of the nation, but to disappear into the population at large or make another illegal trek to the United States. But since our west coast is closer and our resources more limited than our U.S. neighbour, Canada is a perfect entry point for North America. Government authorities were shocked to find hand-fashioned weapons hidden by some of those captured after they had been given a meal at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt. Now when they appear for an immigra­ tion hearing, they'll be bound together. This is where our immigration policy becomes a farce. Had these weapons not been found, many of those detained would have followed the lead of those who came before, and fled. Published reports say the Canadian Intelligence Service Canada believes that as many as 8,000 Chinese smuggled into the country are liv­ ing illegally in Toronto. And so those willing to risk the cash and their lives are rewarded with an immigration hearing or just as likely a free pass into the country while thousands of others who follow the rules of immigration wait. When refugee status isn't an issue, as in the case in B.C., those smug­ gled should be sent home. That's the fair way to deal with the issue. 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 New titanium DRNER, new ove& izep IKONS, NBN £PIKEl££S SHOES, NLW OPP clarifies actions of cruisers on QEW The fo l lo w in g le tte r was sen t to the D eta ch m en t C om m ander o f the O ntario P ro v in c ia l P o lice in M ississa u g a -- a copy was filed with The Oakville Beaver by the OPP. Two police cru isers that I believe were from your detach­ ment were engaging the other night in an abuse of their status as p o lice . You may w ant to check ou t who the o ff ic e rs were, because it was probably not a first, and unless someone has a word with them , more people may be abused by them. I was driving on the QEW eas tb o u n d on T h u rs ., June 24th, about 11:30 p.m ., ju s t west of the turnoff for the 403. Two OPP cru ise rs jo in ed up where the construction speed lim it of 80 kph was posted . They slowed down to about 40 kph, one in the left lane, the other in the right. After the 403 exit, they slowed down further to about 10 kph. (For a time, I could keep up without my foot on the gas at all, using au to­ matic transmission creep.) The one in the right iane moved left to straddle the middle and right lanes, so no one could pass. They drove this way for about 10 or 15 minutes, to the place where the construction equip­ ment was working. They then turned off. The road was c le a r and uncrowded. There was no con­ ce iv a b le ex cu se , ex cep t to cause a lot of drivers a lot of fru stra tio n . They m ust have had a hundred cars and trucks craw ling along behind them. No d o u b t, it was a jo k e to them, but not to the drivers try­ ing to get home. The car in the left lane had licence plate num ber ACYA 040. The car on the right had plate ACDL 482. Both cars had all their lights flashing, as if there was some em ergency. The left car had m ultiple flashing lights. The right car had orange lights on top, moving left in sequence, as if to indicate that drivers should move to the left. I pro­ vide this detail because I sus­ pect you could verify which cars had which light equipment th a t n ig h t if you w anted to check my credibility. Som eone should speak to the officers who were driving those cars at that time. I was afraid to try to get by them (w hich would have required driving on the right shoulder), as I d id n 't know w hat they might do to me if I did. I'm not signing this letter, for the same reason. I don't trust them not to continue to abuse their sta­ tus as police. But if you care about the reputation of your force, you should at least do a little infor­ mal in q u irin g , even if you can't run a discipline proceed­ ing on an anonym ous co m ­ plaint. Their conduct was out­ rageous and dangerous. C o n ce rn e d citizen On Ju ly 8th, 1999, I received an anonymous letter (above) from a concerned citi­ zen, regarding the conduct of two police officers. I can't help but wonder how many other motorists felt the same way. The w riter desc ribes two police vehicles travelling side by side strad d lin g all th ree lanes, causing all traffic behind them to slow down significant­ ly- This is a legitimate proce­ dure known as a 'ro llin g block.' It is used to provide a large gap in traffic, for a traf­ fic-related activity, occurring well ahead of the rolling block. Making a case for trees I think trees are important for several reasons. First, they clean the air we breathe. Second, if there weren't any trees, we wouldn't have fires or anything made out of wood. Third, some animals would be running around because they wouldn't have a home. Fourth, we wouldn't have the food that grows on the trees. Fifth, kids wouldn't have things to do like sitting in the shade and making forts. Sixth, our country wouldn't have been discovered since they wouldn't have had boats because they only made boats out of wood. Seventh, we wouldn't have pencil or paper to write this let­ ter. D anielle Ferrone The ac tiv ity is usually co n ­ s tru c tio n -re la te d , and may involve clearing debris off the roadway, placing lane closure dev ices on the roadw ay to close specific lanes for con­ s tru c tio n , to allow heavy m achinery safely across the roadway, or to allow Ontario Hydro to run hydro lines across the roadway. The ro lling block is used because it is much safer for traffic to slow down gradually, than to stop, and be stopped for several m inutes. The rolling block method seldom results in a collision, unlike the abrupt unexpected stop, which causes num erous co llis io n s on our highways. In most cases, the ro lling block can be used w ithou t stopping tra ffic , and by the time traffic reaches the point of the activity, it has been safely completed. I can assure you that none of our officers routinely slow traf­ fic down to a craw l, ju s t to cause frustration to the motor­ ing public. I take pride in the officers that en fo rce the law in our province. J .R . W eekes Staff Sergeant Burlington Detachment, OPP Oakville MP doesn't understand Re: Friday, July 23rd, 1999, article "CN can appeal... " Ms. Bonnie Brown, our M.P. in Ottawa, does a disservice to the residents who successfully gained a landmark decision against CN regarding the use of Oakville Yard for the recently arrived (non-Ford) traffic from Hamilton. Through her comments regarding "the choice factor" and "they're saying somebody else should pay for it," Ms. Brown has done injury to the community at- large and is underm ining the efforts of the Mayor and Council to correct a situation which also involves the newly arrived pres­ ence of dangerous and hazardous material tankers. The Town's own Hazard and Risk Analysis identi­ fies the site as being of the "high­ est assessed risk" to "cause death, injury and destruction, and cause widespread community disrup- Pud by Steve Nease...wi// return tion." Of the seven schools cited, Linbrook and St. M ildred's Lightboum schools face the high­ est risk due to their proximity to the tracks. Despite our keeping Ms. Brown fully informed of the case, Ms. Brown does not seem to understand that money is needed to carry a complaint successfully forward before a federal agency. We would not have won our case without the clout of a public sec­ tor law firm of the calibre of McMillan Binch facing down the full might of CN's legal depart­ ment. Ms. Brown does not under­ stand that the appeal names the com plainants, and not the Agency, as respondents. In short, Ms. Brown has not taken the time to understand the process by which a complaint is brought for­ ward before an agency set up by her government. Nor does Ms. Brown understand that without adequate funds, justice is denied before a federal agency Canada. Contrary to Ms. Brown, tl only choice we have is either abandon our successful complai action and waste the ov $100,000 spend so far before C forced an appeal -- or fight on protect our win and the commur ty 's interests. Certainly, M Brown seems unwilling to su port this community opposite C despite the vindication of o cause by the Agency's rulin against CN. It would explain wl we have not received from M Brown a single written respon or even an acknowledgement any of our correspondence sin the complaint went before tl Canadian Transport Agency months ago. H. Peter Krysmansi Chairnu Oakville Stop-CN-ln-The, Tracks Conunitt Letter of the Week Cedar Croft lands best used by young people Re: Reader laments loss o f Cedar Croft Motor Court, Oakville Beaver, July 12th, 1999 As a long-time Lakeshore Road resident, I too enjoyed the whimsical and beautifully groomed landscapes at Cedar Croft. I am not sure, however, what it is that Gord and Doreen Clark are suggesting should have happened differently. Mr. and Mrs. Powley owned and cared for this property for 80 years. Reading between the lines, I sus­ pect they were handcuffed by the town as zoning and bylaw restrictions had made the venture "non-conform- • *» M g . During the 80 years, they would have paid many tens of thousands of dollars in taxes -- including a 200% increase in 1996 alone. Are the Clarks even thinking of proposing that they should not be permitted to sell this property to whomever they wish? Frankly, it will be a pleasure to see young people playing on fields on this property instead of yet another subdivision. Perhaps, people who think that they should be the arbiters of the disposition of privately owned property, should band together and purchase the property in ques­ tion -- then they could keep it the way they would like, and good for them. Diana Howard Pension funds should be shared Re: The $31-Billion Surplus in the Federal Pension Funds and Reasons why this Surplus should be shared As a result of the public statements made by the Federal Government and its supporters, members of the public have been led to believe that any surplus in the Public Service, Canadian Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police Pension Funds belong solely to the Federal Government. As a former Federal Government employee, I wish to place another point of view before the public. Since about the mid-1970s, all full-time Government of Canada employees have had 7.5% of their salaries deducted as employee contributions towards the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and the Public Service Superannuation Plan. These contributions included a 1 % employee contribution to cover for inflation protection. The first call on the employee contri­ butions is payments to CPP with the remainder being credit­ ed to the appropriate superannuation account. The Federal Government is required to make appropriate employer con­ tributions and, in the case of the superannuation funds, has the responsibility to invest both the employee and employer contributions. The federal pension plans are 'defined benefit pension plans' which have always been considered to be a part of the total compensation package for federal employ­ ees. The pensions paid to retirees are based on salary level, years of service, and the prevailing inflation rate. I, therefore, support the long-term position of the Federal Superannuates National Association, the association that rep­ resents all former federal employees, that the surpluses in these pension accounts should be shared equitably among the federal retirees, current federal employees, and the feder­ al government, i.e. the employer. The federal government, by saying that it alone owns this surplus, is also contravening its own rules on the manage­ ment of pension plan surpluses as laid down in the Pension Benefits Standards Act. David Barber Immediate Past-President FSNA Peel-Halton and Area Branch 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont L6K3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax; 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-2809 Circulation: 845-9742 RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Letters to the Editor IKONS, NBN £PIKEl££S SHOES, NLW OPP clarifies actions of cruisers on QEW Concerned citizen J.R. Weekes H. Peter Krysmansi