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A6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday July 11.2001 T h e Oa k v il l e B e a v e r Ian Oliver Publisher Neil Oliver .Associate Publisher Norman Alexander Editor Kelly Montague, Advertising Director Steve Crozier Circulation Director Ten Casas OfficeManager Mark Dills Production Manager Riziero Vertolli Director ofPhotography Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickering N e w s Advertiser. Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise N ew s. Barrie Advance. Barry's Bay This W eek. Bolton Enterprise. Brampton Guardian. B u rlin g to n P o s t. B u rlin g to n S h o p p in g N e w s . C it y Pa re n t. Cd&ngwood/Wasaga Connection. East 'fork Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country R o u te s . E to b ic o k e G u a r d ia n . F la m b o ro u g h P o s t. G e o rg e to w n Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review. Huronia Business Tim es. Kingston Th is W e e k , Lindsay Th is W eek, M a rk h a m Ecno m ist & S un . M idla n d /P e n e ta n g u ishin e Mirror. 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P ! /E L C O M B * / A G O N lt d r O W N OF S O A K V l LLC I ^ RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: O n ta rio Com m unity N e w s p a p e rs A ssociation P re p a rin gfo rT o m o rro w sH e a lthC a re " rr S Si in c e J930 F O RUB U S IN E S S S C T H E A R T S \jW ia u fy j^ w a n l ........ © O akville FOR BUSINESS EXCELLENCE Jinge Bell Fund Canadian Com m unity N e w s p a p e rs A ssociation 0TT^ THE l O N T E B U T T E R F L Y TV A U C TIO N of Oakvnfe q jp K 4 6 7 S p e e rs R d ,, O akville O nt. L 6 K 3 S 4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 C lassified A dvertising: 845-2809 Circulation: 845-9742 mw C N A _j C S M f t n d m q c | o a k v ille g a lle r ie s | T h e O a k v i l l e , M ilt o n a n d D is tr ic t REAL ESTATE BOARD O N T A R I O OPINION SK S u b u rb a n N e w s p a p e rs of A m e rica C a it H OChildtre n 's C h o ir MfeUM Editorials Apples & oranges O ne o f the most progressive ideas in the Ontario health care system was the establishm ent o f C om m unity Care A ccess Centres but now the governm ent isn't w illing to properly support its own initiative. The concept for the centres was a spot where people needing specialized assistance in their hom es, could call and set up such services. In a cashstrapped m edical system, the idea was deem ed not only cheaper for taxpayers but also o f m ore benefit to those making use o f the services. In the past, many o f those now using CCA C program s, w ould have ended up in nursing homes where spaces are already at a premium. But in Halton there's a m ajor problem. W e're in one o f the highest growth areas in the province and w ith an increasingly-aging population. The two fac tors have com bined to place huge pressure on CCA C services. Not surprising ly, the Halton division had requested an increase to deal with the situation. The governm ent's response was to approve a $32-million budget, the same amount as the last fiscal year, despite helping 12,354 clients, a 6 per cent increase over last year. For its part, the Halton CCA C was caught between a rock and hard place when it cam e to budgeting. Part o f its contract with private care providers con tained a clause to open negotiations depending on changing circum stances. This was done and m ore money w ent to front-line workers. Burlington M PP Cam Jackson has com e dow n hard on the Halton CCA C for m isusing its funds but the CCAC rightly contends that it w as facing staff shortages that resulted in it not being able to provide client services. And although the CCA C budget has risen from $21.2 m illion in its first year o f operatio n in 1997, w hat Jackson hasn't factored into the equation is the cost o f having many CCAC clients placed in hospitals o r other facilities. We suggest the C C A C costs w ould pale by com parison. T axpayers d em and good value for th e ir m oney, esp ecially w hen they require services to keep them out o f m ore costly institutional settings. Letters to the Editor The Oakville Beaver welcomes your comments. All letters m ust 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 No reason not to ban pesticide use here " A n e v o l u tio n is ta k in g place," said M ayor A nn M ulvale on June 28. For those o f us to w hom the issu e o f ch e m ic al p e stic id e s is an im portant and passionate one, th is is th e d a y w e h a v e b e e n lo o k in g f o r w a r d to . T h e S up rem e C o u rt has ju s t u n a n i m ously ruled that m unicipalities have the right to restrict or ban and use o f pesticides. In 1991, the tow n o f H udson, Q uebec, passed a bylaw prev en t ing the hom eow ners from using c o s m e t ic p e s tic id e s o n th e ir properties. Two law n-care co m p a n ie s to o k H u d so n to c o u rt. B ecau se o f the S u p rem e C o u rt ru lin g , the m any m u n icip alities a c r o s s C a n a d a th a t h a v e f o l lo w ed th e lead o f H u d so n , are now on solid legal ground. L o ca l g o v e rn m e n t p la y s an im p o rta n t ro le in C a n ad a . T h e p oliticians at this level have an im portant responsibility, that o f safeguarding the h ealth o f their* co n stitu en ts. N ow en v iro n m en tal g ro u p s are ab le to se n d an ev en stro n g e r m essag e to th eir councillors, w hose hands are no longer tied. T he H o u se o f C om m ons E n v iro n m e n t C o m m itte e sa id la s t y e a r th a t la w n c h e m ic a ls in ten d ed for co sm etic p urposes s h o u ld b e b a n n e d b e c a u s e o f th e ir p o te n tia l im p a c t on o u r health and the environm ent. The regulatory system is in disarray and, consequently, o u r children a re n o t a d e q u a te ly p r o te c te d fro m s e rio u s h e a lth ris k s . We h av e b eco m e aw are th a t p e s ti cides play a role in developm en tal abnorm alities -- the increase in ch ild h o o d ca n ce rs and a s th ma. In the 21st century, the m es sage is loud and clear; our en v i ro n m en tal co n cern s n eed to be r a n k e d f ir s t. T h e w e ll-k n o w n p e s tic id e r e d u c tio n a d v o c a te , L o ri S ta h lb ra n d o f th e W o rld W ildlife Fund C anada, is quoted as s a y in g th a t th is S u p re m e C ourt ruling is "one o f the m ost im portant decisions in C anadian e n v iro n m en ta l h isto ry ." W e, in O ak v ille, first b ecam e fam iliar with Lori w hen she spoke to us at the P esticide Forum in M arch and later w as a g u est on R alph R o b i n s o n 's R o u n d T a b le , "Pesticides: A re they harm ful?" P le a se , M a y o r M u lv a le and councillors, give som e very seri ous thought to follow ing the o ut standing exam ple o f H udson and to m aking O akville a pesticidef re e c o m m u n ity . M a d a m e Ju stice C laire L'H eu reu x -D u b e w rote, "O u r com m o n fu tu re -- that o f every C anadian com m u n ity -- d e p e n d s on a h e a lth y environm ent." Letter of the Week Private schools must be held accountable In his letter published June 13, Frank Gue admonishes those of us who, in support o f both public education sys tems, take issue with the "Equity in Education Tax Credit " provision found in Bill 45. In Mr. G ue's world, opposition to this provision is much ado about nothing. Mr. Gue condescends to tell us that " most of us will never read Bill 45". Apparently, that matters not. Mr. Gue proceeds to enlighten us. He implies that, because the Bill · refers "only to eligible independent schools", any reference to " religious" or "private" schools is a matter of semantic nitpicking. Never mind that those attending Ontario's his torically elite "private" schools will receive, according to Tory MPP Ted Chudleigh's research, at least 15 per cent of the $300million subsidy or that the powerful fundamentalist, faith base Ontario Alliance o f Christian (private) Schools played a lead role in lobbying our Premier and the Minister of Finance. In the real world, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck-- it's a duck. Private schools are private schools. The functional word here is PRIVATE. The Harris government, in its pathological obsession to finesse John Snobelen's m anufactured education crisis, intends to subsidize these private enterprises without one scintilla of accountability attached. Provincial curriculum standards and the concomitant provincial evaluation criteria are antipathetic to the Ontario Alliance of Christian (private) Schools. A s the recip ien ts o f public fu n d in g -let us not get involved in a semantic nitpick here- they have got to be made to stand accountable within the same parameters as are the two existing public systems. Then and only then will the citizens of Ontario get an objectively honest and forth right accounting of the scholastic standards o f the schools to which Mr. Gue alludes. Surely, it is only under those condi tions that we will have, as Mr. Gue would want, "honest competition and good example" . Public not left out of education decisions Re: Public left out' editorial, Oakville Beaver Sun. July 8, 2001. The Halton District School Board's (HDSB) con sideration o f Policy Governance, was initiated in the autumn o f 1999, in response to the evaluation o f (all Ontario) school board operations by the governmentappointed Education Improvement Commission. The Board o f Trustees investigated, debated and in June 2 0 0 0 v o te d to a d o p t P o licy G o v e rn a n c e fo r the H DSB. Please note that the trustees, elected by the public, m ade the decision (not the `bureaucrats' as your article im plies). T hat B oard (elected in 1997) voted to adopt Policy Governance, to be implemented beginning January 2001. There was another municipal election in Nov. 2000 and the new ly-elected Board had the opportunity to re-examine the issue and sup ported the direction o f their predecessors, choosing to m ove fo rw ard w ith the im p lem entation o f Policy Governance. It was the trustees - elected by the public - w ho m ade the decision. In fact, tw o duly-elected B o a rd s o f T ru s te e s h a v e a g re e d th a t P o lic y Governance is the right direction. T he Policies and Procedural B y-law s that were ado p ted in Ju n e 2001, w ere w ritten during m any hours o f work by a com mittee o f six (sometimes 7) trustees and these are the guidelines for the board's internal operations, dealing with protocol, procedure, and executive limitations - not unlike the parameters by which our municipal, regional, provincial and fed eral governm ents conduct their internal operations. The Code o f Conduct referenced is intended to help clarify the trustee's role within legal and legislative boundaries. "D eliberate in m any voices, govern in one" refers to decisions (or votes) taken by the board and in no way does this imply the "emasculation" of "the voices o f our trustees and by association, those of the taxpayers" . Your editorial states that, "trustees w on't be able to com plain about the perform ance o f the director or ad m in istrato r p ublicly..." W hat co uld possibly be achieved by publicly complaining about anyone's per formance? If one o f us, as trustee, or one o f our con stituents, has an issue with a staff m em ber's perfor m ance, we will be speaking w ith the director, who w ill be h e ld a c c o u n ta b le . (S e e p o lic y e n title d : "D irector o f Education Role & Accountability:...the Director o f Education's performance will be consid ered to be sy n o n y m o u s w ith o p e ra tio n a l p e rfo r mance.") W hat the board is taking to the public for consulta tion, in O ctober, are the new policies dealing w ith Aims/Ends to be Achieved - the stuff that impacts the community, the students and their families. There will be four well-advertised meetings in the four areas of Halton - with no "public left out" . Mr. Editor, while an editorial is really no more than an opinion, it is often granted, by readers, greater legitimacy - and is usually believed to be factual. In this case, it appears you were misinformed. B a n p e s tic id e u s e n o w As a resident o f Oakville that is against the use of pesticides I am appalled by the num ber o f danger signs signalling the use o f tow n applied pesticides near my home. The park my son plays in has been sp ray ed , the b o u le v a rd w e w alk alo n g has been sprayed., hmmmm I wonder why my son and so many other children in Oakville have brain tumours and cancer. When is this town going to come to its senses and stop spraying poisons where our children play? Now that the Supreme court o f Canada has upheld the law in Hull , Quebec to ban the use off all pesti cides for cosmetic reaso n s, why doesn't the leaders of Oakville make a stand and immediately stop the use o f pesticides. Please I am pleading for you to use your positions o f power and stop this madness. Pesticides are poison, made to kill living things. They should be banned immediately. Doug Campbell Too many people for resources As the United Nations marks today as World Population Day, we enter perhaps the hottest summer in history, with the world's fresh water supply at an all time low. By mid-century, half of the world's inhabitants may lack sufficient water. Although the problem may not seem as severe in the U.S. or Canada as it is in developing countries, three o f the fastest-growing states, California, Florida and Texas, already feel the water squeeze, from restaurants not routinely serving water with meals to 1,500 fires consuming more than 108,000 acres in Florida. Ninety-seven per cent of the planet's waster supply is sea water O f the remaining three per cent, two per cent is locked up in glaciers and polar ice caps. Thus, the world's 6.1 billion peo ple, as well as all animal and plant species, rely on one-third of the one commodity necessary to sustain life: potable water. And another one billion people are added to the world every 12 years, further encroaching on limited resources. Twenty-two countries already depend on other nations for their water - a dependency that could well lead to wars between water-deficient countries and neighbours disinclined to share their own dimin ishing supplies. To prevent a global water crisis, we must focus immediately on: 1. conserving the supply we have; 2. efforts to convert sea water to fresh water; and 3. accelerating pollution abatement and family planning efforts. All interventions to ensure sufficient fresh water for future generations, however, are doomed to fail ure unless the world's population can be brought into balance with its environment and resources. This is the message each of us should heed today. For information on how you can help, all 1-800-787-0038. Mary Chapin Trustee, Oakville Ward 3 Vice-chair, Halton District School Board Annette Kirk Trustee, Oakville Ward 4 Kelly Amos Trustee, Oakville Wards 5&6 Vicki Renton Karen Sandford Pud m o m ,in is she HAS. A by Steve Nease is M e g a n . LEMONADE STAND AT THE OTHER Really c o rn e r THIS MARKET WE li> NEEP TO JOIN Fo r c e s / MJfcFl6URETo b MERGER?/ W E fte F E p "IDCAU.IT a convergence. jl m Werner Fornos President, The Population Institute