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6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday September 12, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 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: NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER President Media Group Ltd. DAVID HARVEY General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA ANCHOR Circ. Manager Greening of debate Green Party Leader Elizabeth May should never have been forced to cry foul or threaten legal action after being told by Canadian networks she would be excluded from the Oct. 1-2 nationally-televised leaders' debate because some of her opponents didn't want her there. While it might have made strategic sense for the political parties to exclude May from the national spotlight, it didn't for the public. So, we must ask, who are the broadcasters supposed to be serving -- the politicians or the public? The Green Party membership has been growing in numbers with each election and is fielding candidates in every riding in Canada. It's all about fairness and whether stronger, longer-established parties should be permitted to abuse their influence with the media to exclude a national party, which represents the beliefs of many Canadians. Fortunately, in the end, a sense of what's fair and what's right seems to have prevailed. As for the TV broadcasters, we suggest they should have showed some backbone and called the other parties's bluff or, better yet, not even sought out their blessings in the first place. We believe those who organize leadership debates should have invited the Green Party leader to participate and dared those who opposed not to attend. Perhaps the combination of public outcry and the prospect of May being provided with free national airtime to discuss her party's platform -- without interruption or contradiction -- helped nudge resistant leaders toward falling like a row of dominos. Whatever the root cause of the about-face by the networks and party leaders involved, we're just glad that things are just as they should have been from the start. Let the debating begin. 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. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR BBF donor says she paid for grandmother's memorial stone Re: Butterfly Foundation was expensive failure, The Oakville Beaver, Sept. 2. I do have some vested interest in this story because I, along with many other individuals, gave money to this organization. It wasn't just any money however; it was money left to me by my dear grandmother who passed away in April 2001. This woman started her own successful restaurant business to raise her four children, which she did alone. I cannot say enough about my respect for her in a time when it was a man's world. This woman owned her own home and lived in that home independent of help until she was in her eighties. She didn't have much, but she did have the capacity to make sure that all of her relations would be taken care of somehow. Upon her death she left all of her grandchildren and great grandchildren $100 each. In July of 2001 I used her "inheritance" to purchase a paver stone (yes I purchased it, and have the documentation to prove it) as a donation to the Bronte Butterfly Foundation (BBF) in honour of her memory. The stone was to read "Edith Moorhead, Dearly Loved." There are always expenses in running any organization and I'm sure that the costs for this one was no different. The fact that the BBF was unable to raise the funds required to build could be the result of many different variables; 9/11 was not one of them. Nor was the tsunami. We could just as easily blame the Canadian Cancer Society. Donations are a very personal thing for individuals. I not only donated to the BBF, but to other organizations as well. Aside from this, we all know that some things fail and some succeed. Mostly due to management. Management is the foundation upon which organizations are built. Whether it's public, private or charitable sectors, mismanagement results in failure. Plain and simple. It's not debatable. I take no issue with the outcome of this organization. I do, however, take issue with the chair of the BBF, Ward 1 Councillor Ralph Robinson, who is quoted as saying something that is irrefutably incorrect. In this article, he stated that "People are of the impression that they purchased trees or purchased benches or purchased brick pavers and that's not true. "They made a financial contribution to a charitable organization for which they received an income tax receipt and that's that". Well that is not that. I gave my money to this Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com See BBF page 7 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.