The Oakville BeaverLetter to the Editor467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742The 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 thecondition 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 chargedBanning shark fin productsfor, 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 theOakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.NEIL OLIVERVice-President and Group Publisher,MARK DILLSDPlease voice your support for the Town of Oakville to ban shark fin prod-irector of ProductionMetroland WestMANUEL GARCIAProduction Manageructs. DAVID HARVEY Regional General ManagerCHARLENE HALLDirector of DistributionI have written to the Town Council seeking to initiate a shark fin productJILL DAVISEditor in ChiefSARAH MCSWEENEYCirc. Managerban as I see it as a one of the most critical environmental issues of our time,ROD JERREDManaging EditorWEBSITE oakvillebeaver.comafter having discussions with Ward 2 Councillor Pam Damoff, who is support-DANIEL BAIRDAdvertising DirectorThe Oakville Beaver is a division ofive of this initiative. RIZIERO VERTOLLIPhotography DirectorWe will be working together to bring this to Oakville Council and look for-SANDY PAREBusiness Managerward to gaining public support in this effort.RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY:The ocean is the lungs of our planet. Ontario CommunityCanadian Community Suburban NewspapersIf we take out the top predators of the food chain we risk a horrible collapseNewspapers AssociationNewspapers Associationof Americain our oceans' ecosystems. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR:Sharks are apex predators and changes in their abundance can have far-reaching consequences for the structure, function and resilience of marineUnited Wayecosystems; which raises important ecological, socio-economic, and manage-of Oakvillement concerns. ATHENAWorldwide, we are currently killing sharks at a rate of 73 million per year,Awardwith devastating effect: we have decimated shark populations world wide,reducing them by 90 per cent in the last decade.Oakville can drive change by visibly coming together to ban shark fin prod-ucts. Shark finning is a cruel act.Sharks are caught on long lines; the sharks fins are removed while theanimal is still alive, and the shark is thrown back into the water to await itsdeath.Commercial fishing is only interested in the fins because shark meat is of low economical value and takes up too much space. Because of this, we are witnessing one of the cruellest animal slaughters of our time. Shark fin soup is a huge status symbol to many within the Chinese cultureand is often served as a sign of wealth and as a symbolic aphrodisiac. The shark fin is literally tasteless and offers no nutritional value to thedish. By permitting restaurants to serve shark products, we are supporting thebarbaric and reckless shark fin industry . Over the last ten years, the consumption of shark fin soup has risen dra-matically.It is anticipated that at the rate we are fishing, 20 species of shark could bewiped out by 2017, and this could have very serious consequences to the healthMICHELLE SIU / OAKVILLE BEAVERof the oceans and of us.HERE'S TO HOLIDAY INN: From left, Julie McDonald of Holiday Inn; Gopal Rao of IntercontinentalA good example would be the east coast of the United States where the blackHotel Group; Mayor Rob Burton, Mark Brown of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce and Philippa Durbin of tip and tiger shark have been virtually wiped out. Holiday Inn at the recent ribbon cutting ceremony that marked the relaunch of the Holiday Inn Oakville atTrafalgar.See Oakville page 18Upcoming Father's Day and outgoing lawn mower cue memoriest was a sad day this spring when I had to reluctantly retire my disabling condition of vascular dementia I consider how fortunate I was to have known him; how fortu-trusty, 20-year-old lawnmower. The assessing technician the series of small, so-called silent itous to have had him as my father, guiding me, educating me andIshowed me the crack in the gas tank, assured me that it was strokes my father was suffering that would (oh, yes) entertaining me. One of the most important things henot worth fixing or replacing, and said that I should be damn gradually rob him of memory, reason, taught me rather, one thing I learned from his example washappy that it lasted so long: They sure dont make 'em like that logic, lucidity; the gas cap was only the to relish the little things in life. Life isnt necessarily about the biganymore.beginning of what dementia experts call experience or the grand gesture. And I knew he was right. That old mower owed me nothing. The Long Goodbye.Often what is truly worth savouring may seem small and, toStill, I had hoped, beyond all hope and logic, to keep it running. My father passed away 15 years ago. some, insignificant. I have never seen anyone enjoy, as much as heNot out of tightfistedness, but, rather, out of sappy, sloppy senti-But he was lost to us long before that. Lost enjoyed, the dawning of a new day: sitting at the kitchen table,Andy Juniperment.when he snuck out of the house on an icy savouring a cup of coffee and the sports section of the local news-You see, that prized Lawn Boy once belonged to my father.winter night, wearing no winter clothing, paper.Pops had bought that mower, used it to manicure his lawn, apparently trying to break into cars instinctively in search of For 15 years I used his mower, even as it started to show its age.maintained and babied it. Then one day I found him bent over it, warmth, or so police supposed. And lost when we were forced, for And I thought of him every time I practically threw out my shoul-an unfamiliar, confused, apprehensive look on his face. Out of the the sake of his own survival and our own sanity, to place him in a der, cranking that baby to life. I thought of him as the smell of gasblue, his pride would not start. He asked me to help him unlock secure facility, an incarceration that nearly killed me. And that, for mixed with fresh-cut grass. Thought of him as I took pride andthe mystery. Well, Im a mechanical moron. I couldnt figure out all intents and purposes, did kill him.pleasure in manicuring my own lawn.why it wouldnt start. However, it took an infinitely more savvy I still think about him. Think about him often. Whenever Im Fifteen years, and how I miss him. You know, the assessingneighbour only a minute to determine my father had inexplicably sipping a strong cup of morning coffee. Or cracking an ice-cold technician was bang-on: They sure dont make em like that any-crammed something into the mowers gas cap, cutting off the beer on a sticky day. Or enjoying a barbecue. Or a watching a Blue more.needed oxygen supply and effectively disabling the machine.Jays game, a bag of salted peanuts at the ready. All things he Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, found Over the next few years, doctors would enlighten us on the loved. on Facebook http://www.facebook.com, or followed at www.twitter.www.insideHALTON.com OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, June 16, 2011 6