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

w w w .in si d eH A LT O N .c o m O A K V IL LE B E A V E R T h u rs d ay , A u g u st 4 , 2 01 1 6 Re: Local PCs promise less red tape Oakville Beaver, Thursday July 28, 2011 I have to commend Halton MPP Ted Chudleigh who said in your July 28 Oakville Beaver, "an elected PC Government would cut red tape by 30 per cent by the end of its first mandate. "A PC Government would hold the premier and cabinet accountable by docking their pay, if this 30 per cent goal is not reached." This statement would have greater credibility if Chudleigh were to say by how much their pay would be docked. Ted, we look forward to your reply in the next edition of The Oakville Beaver. Alan Holdway, Oakville THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver 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. United Way of Oakville Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America NEIL OLIVER Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metroland West DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLSDirector of Production MANUEL GARCIAProduction Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com MICHAEL IVANIN / OAKVILLE BEAVER IODE HELPS: Iris Harrison, front left, of the Oakville IODE club presents a $2,200 cheque to Melvina Walter of the Women's Centre at the IODE Store, at 432 Kerr St. Also pictured are Barbara Hapton, top left, Helen Trillia, Marilyn Steeves, Alberta Fraser, Kate Longo, and Maureen Cook. ATHENA Award Letter to the editor Letters to the Editor I first want to thank you (reporters David Lea and NathanHowes) for your interest and enthusiasm to uncover thedetails pertaining to the lack of affordable housing in our community, verify the information through the references we shared, and for your delivery of the stories in the Wednesday, July 27 edition of The Oakville Beaver with amazing clarity and concern for the needy in our communi- ty. Thanks to your articles, multiple replies to my e-mail from total strangers have been positive and plentiful along with comments from agency employees and committee members who are all well aware of the challenges too many residents of our community face daily. Thank you so much for making their voices heard. Secondly, I wish to thank the editorial staff at the Beaver for providing expo- sure to the topic of affordable housing and homelessness in our community. While many citizens, including some of our elected officials as well as the author of the only negative e-mail I received prefer to ignore its presence or want to push it outside Oakville's boundaries, many are now seeing that to be a truly inclusive and healthy society, all citizens of Canada have the right to work and live where they choose. "Citizens and permanent residents have the constitutional right to live or seek work anywhere in Canada" (from http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/dept-min/pub/ just/img/courten.pdf). Thank you for providing an opportunity to educate and inform the citizens in and outside of our community. In closing, I must provide yet another quote from Greek philosophy: "An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics." Plutarch (46-120 AD) As we grind our way through a jobless (full time with benefits) economic 'recovery', Canada's wealthiest 3.8 per cent now control 67 per cent of the coun- try's wealth. The lowest 40 per cent of income earning families in Canada have to survive by sharing less than two per cent of the country's wealth. Our income gap has reached its widest point in recorded history. The small steps we have taken to maintain five beds for five single men work- ing to return to productive lives here in Oakville will need to be supported by dramatic changes in the minds and hearts of our communities, business leaders and politicians. I hope and pray that we have the wisdom to make good choices as we work to make the future more livable for every member of our society than our present society currently provides. Affordable housing needed The Oakville Beaver is a division of Re: Local PCs promise less red tape Oakville Beaver, Thursday July 28, 2011 I am very disappointed in the state- ments regarding the reduction in red tape with respect to Ontario Government Regulations. As a small business man I was hoping that we would see from the Conservative party politicians that would stand up and give us true facts and solutions rather than minor silly little examples of the government bureaucracy I agree that we need an assessment and review to cut the red tape for small businesses, but your choice of venues to raise this leads me to concerns about the real intentions of the PC platform and I think as voters we need clarity. The venue chosen cited the example of the red tape a local business experienced in starting back up after a fire. I am sure the example you listed of not using 8.5X14 paper or having colour choices incorrect were not a factor in the delays. Reading the article I would conclude that the red tape that was experienced was conformance to the Ontario Building Code and having a permit to rebuild or perhaps an additional parking request that would necessitate a site plan approval and stormwater management assessment which protects neighbouring properties or perhaps the requirements of the Ontario Fire Code that protects the occu- pants of the facility or perhaps it was the Ministry of Labour Pre Start Health and Safety Review, which again ensures pro- tection for the workers. All these things are necessary to pro- tect the community and are not red tape if understood and followed. Please, Messers Scott and Chudleigh, give us what your real intentions are. This announcement to me makes me think under a Tim Hudak government we can expect more Walkerton water prob- lems and Downsview gas explosions if we were to let businesses self-regulate. Karl Mitchell, Oakville Often times red tape is a necessity Reader asks by how much pay would be docked Garth Brown Garth Brown, affordable housing advocate