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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, November 25, 2011 · 6 OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 --Open 9-5 weekdays, 5-7 for calls only Wed. to Friday, Closed weekends 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: C Canadian Circulation Audit Board Member A THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association S Suburban Newspapers of America o Canadian Community Newspapers Association ATHENA Award NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager A personal p note The words written in this space are reserved for the voice of the newspaper. Hence you never read the author's name. Editorials are simply opinions meant to provoke discussion (visit www.insidehalton.com, Letters to the Editor), enlighten, challenge, and sometimes celebrate something or someone special in this great town of ours. Today's editorial is a personal one and will be signed. This issue is far too important to let slip by without commenting. On Monday, a task force of researchers recommended women get fewer mammograms in their lifetimes. The guidelines -- the first update in 10 years -- recommend most women avoid routine mammography until age 50, after which they should have the X-ray every two to three years instead of every year or every two years. The reasoning -- if you can call it that -- said women who face routine mammograms may have false positives and be subjected to needless tests and anxiety. We politely argue that a woman would rather deal with a false positive than learn that the breast cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. We politely suggest catching cancer in its early stages gives a person a reasonable fighting chance against this insidious disease. The task force made it clear, though, the recommendations do not apply to the small percentage of women at high risk for breast cancer. However, the report, published by the Canadian Medical Association is a disservice to women and only adds to the confusion about preventive medicine. A woman, perhaps frightened about having a mammogram, will look at this report and will somehow have a false sense of security believing this type of breast screening is not as important as once touted. We sincerely hope women -- before the age of 50 -- continue to monitor their health and advocate for mammograms. They should speak to their family physician and push for that routine X-ray. It could save their life and no stat in any report will change that. ··· In April 2010 a routine mammogram revealed I had several small tumours in my left breast. The cancer had spread to my lymph nodes. Every day I thank my family physician Dr. Anoop Nayar for ensuring I had a mammogram last year. I was not yet 50. I wonder how many women out there need a mammogram, but thanks to this latest report will decide to forgo it. I hope this editorial reaches some of you today. If it saves one life it is worth it -- trust me. Jill Davis, Editor in Chief, Halton Division 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. Letter to the editor Crime bill to boost our safety This is a response to the letter to the editor on Nov. 18 in which a concerned citizen made unsubstantiated statements about the federal Crime Bill C-10, the Safe Streets and Communities Act. Our goals, as a government, are to hold criminals accountable and elevate the rights of victims by introducing effective crime legislation. Bill C-10 targets the most serious of offences. The letter claims that mandatory minimum i i penalties lti "b "backfire" kfi " and d Bill C-10 will result in harsh prison sentences for minor offences. Yet C-10 addresses serious offences such as sexual exploitation of a child or the death of an innocent bystander by the stray bullet shot from the gun of a young offender. In fact, it is house arrest that backfires because it sends criminals a message that such crimes are not severe enough to warrant serious punishment. For example, under our current laws someone who burns down a house and receives a sentence of house arrest can go home after conviction to play video games in their own house. The author also claims that C-10 imposes harsh penalties against all youth. However, the legislation addresses violent young offenders. These violent young offenders are a danger to the rest of us and a danger to themselves. C-10 will require Crown attorneys to seek adult sentences for youth convicted of serious crimes like murder, attempted murder, manslaughter and aggravated sexual assault. This will protect innocent citizens and deter offenders. See Bill page 15 Letters to the editor The Oakville Beaver r 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 r reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. In favour of cottage rail line On a recent trip to a Muskoka cottage, I was surprised by the volume of traffic on Hwy. 400. As I thought about it, I realized that the situation is the same every weekend; thousands of families travel hundreds of kilometres to get to their cottages, separately. I began to wonder if there was a more eco-friendly way for these people to travel to cottage country. Active transit could be a good way to improve the sustainability of Ontario's cottage industry. An express train running through southern Ontario to take people to cottage country would be faster than 200+ kilometres on-and-off traffic. In addition to its personal efficiency benefits, a cottage railway line could significantly cut down on greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles and relieve congestion on northbound highSee Cottage page 15 Pud BY STEVE NEASE neasecartoons@gmail.com