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T h e O a k v il l e B e a v e r A6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER OPINION Wednesday, May 26, 1999 Ian Oliver Publisher Neil Oliver .Associate Publisher Norman Alexander Editor Kelly Montague, Advertising Director Martin Doherty Circulation Director Teri Casas Office Manager Mark Dills Production Manager Riziero Vertolli Director of Photography MOrotand Printing, Publishing & Distributing Lid., includes: Ajax/Pckering News Advertiser, Alston HeraicVCouner, Barrie Adv»ice, BerryS Bay This Week. Bolton Enterprise. Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News. City Parent, CoingwoocVWasaga Connection. East York Mrror, B in Advocata'Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardan, Ranborough Post. Georgetown IndependenVActon Free Press. Huronia Busness Tries. Kingston This Week. Lindsay This Week. Markham Ecnomist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror. Milton Canadian Champion. Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mesissauga News. Napaiee Guide. Newmarket/Aixora Era-Banner, Northumberland News. North York Mrror. Oakv*e Beaver, Qakvie Shopping News. Oidtmers Hockey News. 0 * a Today. OshawaYVhrtby/Oarington Port Perry This week. Owen Sound Tribune. Peterborough This Week. Picton County Guide. Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouftville/Uxbridge Trtxjne. Forever Ytxng, City ol'rbrk GuanJan 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-2809 Circulation: 845-9742 RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association . Canadian Community • ♦ C N A Newspapers Association S K \ Suburban Newspapers ol America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: O T ^ M H f f If Prrptrmg far Tomorrow't Hrmllh Carr n TV AUCTION T v m c a .... ^ m WVILLE _ _ _ C entre ~ JiryqlE Bell Fund United Way ol Oakville E d i t o r i a ls Following a trend With the closing of its doors at its Kerr Street branch, the Bank of Montreal is the last financial institution to leave this area of town. In its heyday, Kerr Street boasted four banks that catered to the neighbour­ hood residents and businesses. But just as the concept of neighbourhood banking has ceased, so has the feeling of place on this north-south thoroughfare. Of course there are reasons why the banks have left the area and they're all monetary. Sure, bank types like to dress up bank clo­ sures as being positive for the consumer. They say that consolidation of branches means cus­ tomers can travel farther but will be greeted in more modem quarters with staff who can fulfil all of the client's needs. There are still some hold­ outs on the banking scene in the Kerr Street area, such as the Bank of Nova Scotia at Dorval Drive and Speers Road. But even so, we wonder just how long it will be until this branch is closed, another victim of progress. What they really mean is that they can save a bundle for each branch they close and even more with the introduction of more bank machines which not only eliminate the need for personal service but also cost the client for the privi­ lege. User-friendly maybe but cost-effective? For the banks yes but for the cus­ tomers, no. There are still some hold-outs on the banking scene in the Kerr Street area, such as the Bank of Nova Scotia at Dorval Drive and Speers Road. But even so, we wonder just how long it will be until this branch is closed, another vic­ tim of progress. It's all a bit ironic. Oakville used to mirror other Ontario communities, with a plethora of gas stations. Customers were told that choice was good and when the oil giants decided that larger self-serve stations were more efficient and profitable for them, they said the public would benefit through lower prices. And we all know how that turned out. Fewer stations, less choice, same price. The banking game is no different and is going down the same road. For less choice you travel further and pay more insidious user-fees. Somehow the con­ cept of the mattress as a bank doesn't look so bad. At least your capital will remain intact if you decide to leave it there. Now that's progressive. Letters to th e Editor The Oakville Beaver welcomes your comments. All letters must be typed, signed and include the writer's address and phone number. Send to: Letters to the Editor, The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 <§rabuate JOE CLARK / SCHOOL OF CHARISM A S o m e t i m e s y o u V e j u s t g o t t o v e n t Wake up and sm e ll jh e death ? We are the most all-consum ­ ing, w asteful creatures on the p lan e t and our b la tan t d is re ­ gard for all that is natural and holy is appalling and d isgust­ in g . W e te a c h o u r c h ild re n through our actions and oppo­ site of what we truly believe in o u r h e a r t o f h e a r ts . I t 's so much easier to do nothing and focus on m inu te d e ta ils th a t have no c o n se q u e n c e in the grand schem e of things. It is so baffling to me. We had better take the C o lo rado road signs Pleased to be CCS partner On behalf of the Oakville Unit of the Canadian Cancer S ociety , we thank you for your m edia support in our recent door-to-door canvass campaign. We were particu­ la rly ap p rec ia tiv e o f the prominence given to our cor­ porate canvass initiative. The O ak v ille U nit has taken on the ch a llen g e to restore our main fundraiser to the status o f bygone years. With yours and the rest of the com m unity's assistance and support, we anticipate this will be our best year yet. We hope that we will be able to count on your contin­ ued support in future ventures to continue the fight to eradi­ cate cancer and help improve the quality of life of those liv­ ing with cancer. Carol Gordon Cindy Popp Co-Chairs, 1999 Residential Campaign Canadian Cancer Society, Oakville Unit very seriously as parents. Start m an ag in g o u r liv e s and our fa m ily m uch m ore c lo se ly . Find out what is going in our k id s' heads. I t 's our responsi­ b ility and duty. Get o ff your butts and do it! Looking fo r a cup o f truth? A farmer from Quebec leas­ es land in O ntario . He plants vegetables and harvests them, h au ls them back to Q uebec , processes them then sells them b a c k to O n ta r io fo r a very handsom e profit. So why is it w hen th e fa rm e r in O n ta rio that owns and leases the land to th e Q u eb ec fa rm e r c a n 't plant the same vegetables, har­ vest them and sell them here in O n ta r io , b a re ly b re a k e v e n ? ...M a y b e M ik e H arris knows. Quebec company lands very la rg e re v e n u e F e d e ra l and Provincial tenders in Quebec that run for extended periods o f tim e allow ing com pany to finance m any upcom ing p ro ­ jects. Some o f the projects are in Ontario. There is no chance for the O ntario com panies to co m p ete w ith the rid icu lo u s pricing quotations subm itted. O ntario com panies are forced out o f the m arket and usually end up ou t o f b u s in e ss ...M a y b e , M ike has som e answ ers for us puzzled Ontario companies. N o d o u b t in h e r m in d Your recent article on the all­ candidates meeting implied that the sparse turnout was due to apa­ thy. Let me explain why I was not there. I take my responsibility to vote seriously and usually do attend such meetings. However, this election I don't need to. I already know who I am voting for and cannot imagine anything that the candidates could say to change my mind. This is not apathy. On the con­ trary, I feel very strongly. I have spent these last four years in a perpetual state of outrage, waiting for the next chance to get rid of the Harris government. In this riding, Kevin Flynn has the best chance of defeating the PC candi­ date and that is what I care about. I do not see how anything could be worse than the Tories. There was no po in t in going to the meeting, because I would vote for Kevin Flynn even if he had two heads. Jayne Kulikauskas Taxp ayers d eserve b e tte r Re: STOP Payment - "Letter o f the Week" Oakville Beaver May 12th/99 I agree completely with A.A. Alkerton's letter regarding legal fees for the ST O P-C N -IN - THEIR-TRACKS group. We have lived in this town since 1963 and these railw ay yards were in operation at that time. The residents living near the tracks and com plaining of the noise have only them selves to blame. They chose to live in that location and that is no reason for the taxpayers in the rest of the town paying for this group's legal costs. In other words, living by the tracks was this group's choice. I am left wondering how many o f our tax do lla rs are throw n away on single issues without the general taxpayers' knowledge? A. Nisbet Strong arm trade deli spe­ cials? A C anad ian m a n u fa c tu re r lands a contract to supply its product to a US-owned store or franch ise in C anada. The US m anufacture runs its p roduc­ tion line in the US or M exico an extra hour on Friday to sup­ ply all o f Canada with its prod­ uct. The C an ad ian com pany runs all week. The return poli­ cy at the store is "Cash back or new p roduct to custom er, no q u es tio n s ." B oth the US and the C a n a d ia n m a n u fa c tu re r have to take back all returns no question...M ulroney free trade benefit?...A ny idea what store this is? Give us equality or butter my toast. M ost co lleg es in the area o ffe r very good to ex ce llen t training for food service indus­ try positions. The m ore chal­ lenging and renow n co lleges are very d em an d in g and set very high standards for the stu­ dents in this area. After a stu­ dent leaves his or her tw o to three year course and then one to two year apprenticeship pro­ gram , m eets the c rite ria , and now is l ic e n s e d by the p ro v in c e and re a d y fo r e m p lo y m e n t. I w as f lo o re d w hen I found ou t w hat th e ir s ta r t in g w ag es w e re , ju s t s lig h tly h ig h er than flip p in g burgers at M cDonalds. Then I read what a TTC driver sitting on a subway seat for his shift, pushing stop and go is getting paid and I ju s t about hurled . B oth re sp o n s ib le fo r p u b lic health and safety....A pples for apples, not even close. Dave Cam pbell Pud by Steve Nease Letter of the Week Top 10 reasons to determine vote Here are 10 points, I believe, Ontarians would be w ise to rev iew w hen they co n tem p la te who they're going to assign their vote to and they are: 1. W hether you 're a union-due ravaged nurse, jan ito r , teacher, tran s it d riv e r or assem b ly -lin e employee, the 30% income-tax cut from the Harris C onservative's first-term has rew arded you with an after-tax income increase in excess o f the rate of inflation for your hard work! 2. We can be-proud that we at last have a gov­ ernm ent with the guts to halt the snow balling edu­ cation portion of our property taxes that seem ingly irresp o n sib le (pam pered) school board tru stees proliferated for a decade prior to the Tory land­ slide last election day. 3. Finally, our schools will have uniform crite­ ria to meet, to ensure the student in Thunder Bay aims for the same standards as the student in the G.T.A. 4. Gone are the days when the Bobby R ae's of the province would sucker-punch m otorists with petroleum tax increases of 3.4 cents per litre and where the N.D.P. would slap a hefty 5% tax on our insurance premiums. 5 . W h ile o ld P rim e M in is te r C h re tie n is expanding the num ber of M .P.'s on Parliam ent Hill in Ontario, the Conservatives are dim inishing the num ber of bureaucrats in the Legislature, trustees in our schools, and councillors in our city halls. 6. The L ibera ls and N .D.P. m ight be d is illu ­ sioned to learn that even Prem ier Roy Rom anov's N .D .P. co u ld n 't res is t a sales tax cu t to bo lste r Saskatchew an's stagnating economy. 7. Soon Ontarians will no longer have to worry about those unbearable, sm og em itting vehicles that may be su ffoca ting them on the congested arteries in M ega-M el's Toronto as our conscien­ tious environm ent minister, Norm Sterling, refuses to licence any o f these vehicles not m eeting gov­ ernm ent em ission requirem ents. 8. W ouldn't you prefer Conservatives who are a little 'tax -cu t' happy over a bunch o f w affling , everything to everybody, 'tax and spend' happy Liberals or N.D.P.-ers wound-up in paranoia over hospital restructuring. 9. Look around at the vibrant new local devel­ opment in your neighbourhood that thanks to the Harris agenda will likely take us from over a one- h a lf m illio n new jo b s in the f irs t te rm o f the C onserva tives to , w ith our p resen t m om entum , well over a m illion new job s in four years from now. Yes, the dignity o f a jo b over welfare! 10. Feeble m ayors, m unicipal councillors and elderm en who are renowned for their authorizing raises for municipal transit, city staff, road w ork's crew s, police, and fire-figh ters in excess o f the inflation rate, which often plunge city and regional budgets into the deficit sphere, could learn much from the f isca l p ru d en ce d e m o n s tra te d by the Tories. The election is about who can better spend the tax-payers money, the governm ent or the tax-pay­ ers them selves? That is for you to decide. David C. Searle i