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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, February 27, 2013 · 6 Opinion & Letters The Oakville Beaver 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 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, Halton Region 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 Circulation Manager Keep kids safe More and more children are online these days, spending their time in front of computer screens. It isn't just television anymore. Electronic tablets, phones and computers are all vying for youths' attention. Young people are using technology for a variety of reasons. It can range from using it to communicate with friends, to seeking entertainment, or learning about and broadening their knowledge of the world around them. Just like in the offline world, however, parents and teachers need to be fully aware of the risks children and youths may encounter while surfing the Internet. Earlier this month, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) helped raise awareness about the issue by supporting International Safer Internet Day. "In this ever-changing technological world, children and youths are able to connect to the Internet with relative ease, exposing them to risks and harms that can be difficult to keep up with," Insp. Scott Naylor, manager of the OPP's Child Sexual Exploitation Unit, said in a news release. To that end, the OPP wants Ontarians to know about the comprehensive Internet safety resources and tools available through the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (CCCP). While local schools do offer presentations to students and parents about navigating the Net, the OPP also offers up a list of resources, which could prove helpful. The OPP suggests parents and educators visit www.TheDoorThatsNotLocked.ca for age-specific Internet safety information. Other recommended resources include the following: Canadian Centre for Child Protection -- www.protectchildren.ca; Cybertip.ca -- www.cybertip.ca, Canada's tipline to report the online sexual exploitation of children; MissingKids.ca -- www. missingkids.ca, a national missing children resource and response centre; Kids in the Know -- www. kidsintheknow.ca, an interactive child personal safety program for children in Kindergarten to Grade 9; Commit to Kids -- www.commit2kids.ca, a program to help child-serving organizations create safer environments for the children in their care and reduce their risk of sexual abuse. All parents want to keep their children happy, healthy and safe and any information that could help navigate the Net with that in mind is more than welcome. 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. `Pony up' Letter to the editor Canada's loss in Argo win Argo's Oscar win embodies all of Canada's factually historic undercover victories from Wars in 1776 & 1812 to the invention of the light bulb. Ken Taylor's U.S. recognition and appreciation in 1979 was so over the top that Ben Affleck's claim of research oversight verges on wilful blindness. Academy Award-winning movies like The Longest Day, which overlooked Canada, the most successful and third largest battle contingent on D-Day, even cast Ottawa superstar Paul Anka as a U.S. Ranger. This is not new, but it's an old and tired way, in our information era, for a superpower to treat a trusted neighbour. Just because several Hollywood movies feature Edison's refinement of the light bulb in 1879, doesn't mean he really didn't go to Toronto and purchase the first patent of 1874 from its inventors, Henry Woodward and 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 ablackburn@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Mathew Evans. Even if Canada produced a modest film like we did with Escape From Iran, the right answer on Jeopardy would still be Edison. Ken Taylor's Canadians are, according to President Jimmy Carter, 90 per cent responsible for the success of Argo... and the Oscar goes to... Ben Affleck, but once again, Canada, gets the Golden Fleece. Michael John Charette, Oakville According to a June, 2011 Toronto Board of Trade report, gridlock costs the GTA $6 billion annually. It has become apparent, even to hardcore car aficionados, the solution lies in mass transit. Transit is being shortchanged by senior governments that fail to regard it as an essential service, and consequently, refuse to fund it effectively. Shamefully, Canada lacks a National Transit Program which would oblige the federal government to provide its fair share to communities across the country. Adding insult to injury, Queen's Park has embraced feeble excuses as to why it cannot step up to the transit plate by introducing road tolls, a gasoline surtax, and a congestion tax. Such a deplorable state of affairs has imposed enormous pressure on local transit systems. Effective March 3, Route 11/21, servicing east Oakville, will cease to exist from Monday to Friday, between 10:15 A.M. and 12:25 p.m. -- a victim of budget constraints and low ridership. (Two hourly trips have been eliminated completely.) Had those residents content to complain about `empty buses' availed themselves of the service once in a while, conceivably, this decision could have been avoided. With Go Transit considering the introduction of parking fees at its station lots, commuters need to be reminded that Oakville Transit can be boarded for 70 cents when catching the train or bus -- a far sight cheaper and less stressful than driving one's chariot. It's high time the travelling public got serious about gridlock by pressuring senior governments to pony up, while, at the same time, patronizing their local transit systems, starting right here in Oakville? Peter Pellier, Oakville Resident says he spotted wolves, not coyotes, in north end While driving along Hwy. 407, heading south towards the (Hwy.) 403 interchange at 2 p.m. (Feb. 18), I spotted two wolves walking along the boundary fence on the hydro right-of-way property, which runs parallel to the highway at that point. Is this rare, or are wolves now more common in north Oakville? They were definitely not coyotes or dogs, I know the difference. Dave Love, Oakville