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OAKVILLE BEAVER Saturday, April 25, 2009 · 6 The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 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. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Commentary Guest Columnist NEIL OLIVER Vice-president and Group Publisher, Metroland West DAVID HARVEY General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Metroland Media Group Ltd. includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Caledon Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora EraBanner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian Reverse decline to ensure future Ted Chudleigh, Halton MPP h somewhere in our favoured land there is an optimal tax rate. However, we are nowhere near it, now that our tax code has become a tool of social engineering, through various taxes we pay and tax credits for which we qualify. The McGuinty Liberal government in Ontario has just added to our burden through the planned harmonization of the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) and the Federal Goods and Services Tax (GST). It comes despite the premier's second promise to hold the line on taxes. The melding of these two taxes at first seems benign. It will provide some administrative benefit to small and medium sized businesses in particular. However, Ontarians will see PST charged on gasoline, home heating fuel, electricity and real estate transactions -- to name only a few. In fact, many services that were previously exempt from PST will now have it applied under the harmonization plan set to take effect on July 1, 2010. Premier McGuinty has set that effective date far in the future. It is obvious that his announcement of the harmonized tax is little more than a political balloon he's launched to see how much opposition there is. I fully expect the McGuinty Liberals will find a way to exempt some of the things to which the tax will apply -- especially those that cause the most anger. And so, on cue, we are supposed to conjure up some anger to specific items to be taxed all the while ignoring the elephant in the room -- the harmonization itself. Such tactics have characterized the McGuinty tenure. He pronounces on some change and then reigns it in due to public anger, all the while looking like a hero for `listening to the people.' This `listening' wouldn't be bad, if it wasn't so calculated. And in the end we lose a little more freedom to McGuinty's nanny state. That this game of bait and switch is mistaken for leadership is testament to the general lack of engagement Ontarians have in provincial politics. Unfortunately, this approach is going to cause a lot of Ontarians substantial pain as more people and jobs abandon Ontario. We were first in to the economic slowdown, but having done nothing to reverse the decline, once mighty Ontario, will be last out. We must reverse the decline if we are to restore Ontario to its rightful place, the engine and the heart of Canada. Ted Chudleigh RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America O THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION Mission success MICHAEL IVANIN / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER COLOURFUL FUNDRAISER: St. Bernadette students, teachers and staff pose for the picture during school's the rainbow Mission for cancer awareness. Each student and staff member was asked to bring in $2 or more to donate to the Cancer Society. Each grade was assigned a different colour to wear that represented each type of cancer. The school also held a neighbourhood walk for cancer. The Facebook snapshot and shenanigans of Generation Tame ccording to Maclean's magazine, today's so-called "Generation Tame" teenagers are smoking, drinking and using drugs considerably less than their counterparts from a decade ago. Gleaning statistics from Project Teen Canada -- an ongoing survey of Canadian youths created to put a finger on the pulse of our nation's teens -- Maclean's took a brief break from its recent barrage of doom-and-gloom reportage (The Sky Is Falling) to deliver the good news: apparently while we were collectively out to lunch, our kids experienced a "tidal swing in values", and the generation that adults was certain was up to no good has seemingly forsaken "those timeless hallmarks of teenage rebellion -- booze, cigarettes, drugs and sex." Yeah, right. As a father whose wife insists he go through life sans blinders -- being pleasantly oblivious is apparently not an option -- I can only suggest that if this generation of teens is in reality smoking, drinking and using drugs considerably less than before, it's only because they don't have the time because they're so busy snapping pictures of themselves, A and then posting those pictures on Facebook. Okay, I jest. Maybe today's teens are tame. After all, Maclean's is an undeniably reputable publication and Project Teen Canada is doing superb work, so I'm sure the story accurately notes the findings. But, are the surveyed teens actually being honest? Kids today are Andy Juniper super savvy. Is it possible that they're misbehaving as much as ever, but, unlike previous generations, they're smart enough not to go boasting about it? When I was a youth -- back when approximately 98.6 percent of all teens were certifiable chowderheads -- I was enlisted to take an ongoing university-sponsored survey on drug use. Once or twice a year all those being surveyed would congregate in the school cafeteria and answer a mindnumbingly long questionnaire (the surveys alone were enough to turn a teen onto drugs). And, we would answer with brutal honesty. The survey would wonder: How many times have you used marijuana? And you could hear the whispers: "Hey man, do they mean, like, today? Like, how many times I've used it today?" Finally, while the magazine article was based on statistics that indeed reveal a decline in usage of cigarettes, alcohol and drugs, the survey's findings are nonetheless disturbing. Sure, the percentage of those teens that drink is down by seven percent, but it's still at 71 per cent That's right, more than seven of every 10 teens is still illegally imbibing. Twenty-two percent are still smoking, 31 percent are still toking, and 44 percent are still having sex. Not comforting news. Don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those who think that teens are inherently evil, but I have a hunch that even my angelic offspring occasionally get up to no good. Because, despite what parents might be inclined to suggest under their breath, teens are human. Oh, and because whenever I'm ranting about teen behavior, my wife reminds me of the prodigious scope and stupidity of my own youthful shenanigans. Which affords perspective. Hey, maybe the kids are alright. Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com.