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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, July 25, 2012 · 6 Opinion & Letters 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 Circulation: 905-631-6095 -- 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The Oakville Beaver THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Canadian Circulation Audit Board Member THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America Canadian Community Newspapers Association ATHENA Award Neil Oliver Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The OakvilleBeaver 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 KIM MOSSMAN Circ. Manager Giving a gift of life "The need for blood doesn't take a summer vacation." Canadian Blood Services Community Development Co-ordinator Josie DeLeon couldn't have said it any better when discussing the importance of giving blood at this time of year. Donations tend to decline when people are on summer holidays, but the need keeps coming. In fact, approximately every minute of every day someone in this country requires blood, according to the Canadian Blood Services -- a national, not-for-profit charitable organization that manages the supply of blood and blood products in all provinces and territories, except Quebec. Accidents, health problems and, sadly, shootings like the ones that have recently plagued Toronto, require that blood donations be made on a regular basis. A person who has been involved in a serious car crash may require 50 units or 50 donations of blood, while a leukemia patient may need eight units every week. The recently-launched Sirens for Life, a blood donor campaign that sees police, fire and paramedic services personnel, including those in Halton, take each other on to determine who can donate the most blood, should serve as an inspiration to others to roll up their sleeves and give the gift of life. Our first responders are on the front-lines every day and know lives can change in an instant. They're happy to give, but they can't meet the need alone. The Canadian Blood Services website states 4,300 donors are required this summer alone. Canadian Blood Services operates 43 permanent collection sites and more than 20,000 donor clinics annually. Clinics are held regularly throughout the year and are usually announced by Canadian Blood Services in advance. The next local blood donor clinic will be held Friday, Aug. 17 at the Town of Oakville South Atrium, 1225 Trafalgar Rd., from 1-7 p.m. To donate, one must be at least 17 years of age but not over 71 (the maximum age is 61, if a first-time donor). Donors must also be in general good health and feeling well on the day of the donation. Those who have been involved in a life-saving accident or life-saving surgery know well the importance of donating blood. Those who haven't had to rely on the organization's services may need to one day. Call 1-888-2-DONATE (1-888-236-6238) or go online to book an appointment at www.blood.ca. You never know whose life you will save. 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. A vision for the future of healthcare Letter to the editor Letters to the editor 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. Getting a `ripped-off' feeling On a recent trip to the U.S., gas prices ranged from 80 cents per litre to 90 cents per litre. We here in Ontario are paying $1.21 to $1.28 per litre -- that's about 40 cents per litre ($1.60 per gallon) more than our neighbors to the south, when it is Canada that is supplying 40 per cent of their oil. We are being ripped off by our governments and being told to tighten our belts as well. Re: CHAMPS at lawn bowling club, Wednesday, July 4, 2012, The Oakville Beaver We were pleased with your mention of War Amps "Champs" Jamey Irwin and Erich Foerster, and their participation in the Oakville Lawn Bowling Club's annual CHAMP Day. For more than 35 years, CHAMP has provided funding for artificial limbs, including the full cost of recreational limbs, for child Thank you for CHAMP coverage Almost everything that we purchase here in Ontario is 20-40 per cent more than the equivalent goods in the U.S. We have some wealthy friends that actually live most of the year in the U.S. and hardly spend any money in Canada, and yet they collect the GST rebate. Doesn't this tell you that we are definitely being ripped off here in Ontario? Fed up. Keith Simpson, Oakville amputees. It covers travel costs for fittings, counselling, and regional seminars where child amputees see the latest developments in artificial limbs. CHAMP seminars also provide a forum to share concerns and advice. Those wishing more information about CHAMP can contact The War Amps at 1-800250-3030 or visit www.waramps.ca. Danita Chisholm, CHAMP program, executive director I have the good fortune to take part in many conversations about the future of Canada's health-care system. I am an optimist by nature, so I certainly see the glass as more than half-full when it comes to the potential for improving how we deliver healthcare across this country. One of the gaps in today's dialogue on the future of the Canadian health-care system is that we don't have a vision of what we want to achieve. I'd like to see our vision for healthcare to be that we will have the best system with the healthiest population in the world. Declaring this vision would leave no one in doubt as to what we want to achieve. Just as we promote Canada internationally as having the best financial system, shouldn't we want the same for our health-care system, especially since we have all the requisites to be able to achieve this vision? The advantage of declaring a vision for Canada's health-care system is that it would focus our reform efforts at every level of healthcare. At the same time, each healthcare organization, provider, and ministry would have the responsibility of holding one another accountable for achieving this vision. Canadians -- as patients and taxpayers -- would have a direct role as well, by being more engaged and living healthier. To achieve this, we will need a `whole of society' approach to health. So, what can the Health Council of Canada do to create this vision and see it realized? To start, we can strengthen our public reporting role and draw See Time page 9