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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, M ay 17 ,2 01 8 | 46464 As part of its compre- hensive coverage of the provincial election cam- paign, the Beaver invited each of the Oakville riding candidates to weigh in on a particular issue. This is the first in a three-part Q&A with your local can- didates. GROWTH: Where do you stand on plans to de- velop the Glen Abbey golf course and what would you do to control urban sprawl in Oakville? Stephen Crawford • PC The people of Oakville have rallied together against the potential de- velopment of the Glen Ab- bey Golf Course and the Ontario PC Party and I, personally, stand behind them. I vow to work tirelessly with the Save Glen Abbey grassroots community co- alition and do everything in my power to ensure that this important part of Oak- ville's cultural heritage is preserved for its citizens and future generations. The Ontario PC Party believes that communities like Oakville should have more control over their own growth. In fact, it was former Ontario PC MPPformer Ontario PC MPPf Frank Klees who initiated the discussion regarding Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) reform in 2013 with the introduction of his pri- vate member's bill, The Preserving Existing Com- munities Act. After the June 7 elec- tion, an Ontario PC gov- ernment's approach will be to respect the local deci- sions of municipalities. Oakville is a vibrant and growing town. One un- fortunate consequence offortunate consequence off that is urban sprawl. In order to properly as- sess the extent of it and be able to find the right solu- tion, we will study its cur- rent aspects in depth and work closely with the Town of Oakville to pre- vent negative future ef- fects and protect ourfects and protect ourf green spaces. Kevin Flynn • Liberal For over 33 years I have been a dedicated advocate for the protection of Oak-for the protection of Oak-f ville's green space for fu- ture generations, includ- ing Glen Abbey Golf Course. I protected more than 600 acres of land that the PC government wanted to pave, creating the Glenor- chy Conservation Area. In fact, Oakville was the sitefact, Oakville was the sitef of the first expansion of the Greenbelt by adding Glenorchy, Bronte Creek and 16-Mile Creek. I re- ceived the Conservation Halton Award of Excel- lence for this work. The PCs shamefully voted against the Green- belt. The previous Conser- vative government sold the Saw-Whet Golf Course from public ownership tofrom public ownership tof developers. PC Leader Doug Ford has threatened to do the same to protected Greenbelt space if he is elected. I am fighting against Ford's reckless threats. I was proud to recently an- nounce the transfer of the Deerfield Golf Course and Fourteen Mile Creek con- servation lands to the Town of Oakville to be pre- served. After many years of personal advocacy, our government also abolish- ed the OMB and formed the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal. With the cre- ation of the tribunal, the determination of Glen Ab- bey's future will be made locally, here in Oakville. I am proud to be a cham- pion of Oakville's green space. EDITOR'S NOTE: Can- didates Lesley Sprague (NDP) and Spencer Oklobd- zija (Libertarian) did not respond by the Beaver's May 14 deadline. Q&A: Oakville The Oakville candidates include, from left, Stephen Crawford (PC) and Kevin Flynn (Liberal). Metroland file photos Check out the latest online on the upcoming provincial election. insidehalton.com/ provincialelection