The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday November 28, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER President Media Group Ltd. DAVID HARVEY General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA ANCHOR Circ. Manager `Tis the season to shop local You can't get away from it. Despite the fact the holiday season is now upon us (try getting a parking spot at the mall Saturday afternoon or near the downtown core), we are constantly being fed stories of doom and gloom. It is enough to send us all running for cover or, at the very least, running to pull the covers over our collective heads. Yes, we are in a `technical recession' (an interesting description) and, yes, the stock markets are making nerves raw for the folks who have something invested in the market, but, when all is said and done, Oakville residents are pretty darn fortunate to be able to call this town home. That's why we, as the local community voice, are encouraging those residents who are spending money this Christmas to make sure their dollars stay close to home. Now more than ever, local retailers, car dealers, services and restaurants, to name but a few, need consumers to open their wallets in Oakville, not in Niagara Falls, N.Y or Erie, Pa. It has become a tradition of sorts for families and friends to take a weekend jaunt over the border in search of bargains. Last Christmas, the high-flying loonie made cross-border excursions even more appealing. But that was then and this is now. Our economy is no longer as robust and local retailers are pinning their hopes on a good holiday season. We can't let them down. Think of the money you will save on gas, no lineups at the border or trying to convert Canadian dollars to U.S. While shopping in Oakville, you can pause awhile at the many cafes or restaurants. You can take in old-fashioned Christmas displays and appreciate store owners who are proud of the goods they sell and spend the necessary time answering customers' questions. By spending your hard-earned dollars in Oakville you are helping to keep the community running smoothly. The spin-off effects are tremendous. And before we forget, when you are out shopping, don't forget the local charities that need assistance. Set aside some extra dollars -- or spend less -- and give generously to all the groups and organizations that work so hard to ensure everyone has a happy Christmas. 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, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR On Dec. 6, 1989, a 25-year-old Quebec resident killed 14 women -- 13 students and one staff -- at Montreal's École Polytechnique, before killing himself. The assailant had studied for admission to the school, but was not accepted -- a decision he blamed on "affirmative action" policies. In the suicide note he left on his body, he described his rage against women and identified their pursuit of social equality as the event that Montreal massacre was strategic attack of hatred and fear singularly "ruined his life." He included a list of prominent women in non-traditional occupations -- the province's first woman firefighter and police captain, for example -- and beneath this, he wrote: "[These women] nearly died today." Before Dec. 6, we as Canadians, might have understood incidences of violence against women as individual acts of meanness; a symptom of stress, poor anger management or as an unexplainable accident. But the Dec. 6 rampage was a strategic attack of hatred and fear. What took place on Dec. 6 echoes acts of domestic murder and abuse committed against women even today. Three quarters of Canadian women assaulted or threatened by their intimate partner also describe their partners as controlling in one or more ways. And half of all Canadian women have survived at least one incident of sexual or physical violence. The Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention Services of Halton (SAVIS) provides free, confidential and non-judgmental 24-hour support to all survivors of sexual violence. We advocate against violence in the community at large and promote prevention through community education. This Dec. 6, we remember all women and girls in Canada who have experienced violence. BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com Between April 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008 -- 19 years after the Montreal massacre -- SAVIS's crisis line responded to a total of 411 crisis calls. We provided 809 individual counselling sessions and supplied practical assistance -- bus tickets, holiday drive items, food vouchers and other tangible support -- to female survivors of violence a total of 457 times. SAVIS believes that personal, social and political change will better the lives of all women, men and children. We believe that education and information goes a long way toward the prevention of violence. Remember Dec. 6, and the women who lost their lives that day: Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, AnneMarie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie StArneault, Annie Turcotte, and Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz. NICOLE PIETSCH, COUNSELLOR SEXUAL ASSAULT & VIOLENCE INTERVENTION SERVICES OF HALTON Pud 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.