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OAKVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 2 0 N A V Y STREET O AKVILLE. O N T A R IO L 6 I 214 Mercedes-Benz CLE.W. & Dorval Dr. NORTH THE OAKVILLE I Five day walk for Record crowd as ick kids hospital Kara strikes again Focus Sports A M E R I C A 'S M O S T AWARDED COMM By Lisa Tallyn m . for most makes & models Lawnmower Service f ,,, S 6 9 . p a f c We can fix it! CURRENT POWER MACHINERY INC. 1 1661 Lakeshore Rd. W. Mississauga (2 b lo c k e s ts o fn S u th d o w n§0 r> Q O OAOii R o a d in C la a rk o )o II w w w .o a k v ille b e a v e r.c o m Bat rabies alert Oakvillefamily undergoing treatment SPECIAL T O TH E BEAVER Ford families rally to save truck plant CAW rally attracts hundreds By Kim Arnott SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Halton Region is urging area resi dents to avoid contact with bats and be cautious around them after two bats found in Halton homes tested positive for rabies. Dave Stronach, a senior advisor with Halton's health protection services, said the bats were found in homes in Oakville and Halton Hills within the last couple of weeks. Six people (residents and visiting family) from the Oakville home, where one bat was found, are currentiy under going rabies treatment Stronach said. He said the Halton Hills residents are not receiving treatment because they did not believe they had contact with the bat. (See `Dem and' page A3) | ; / \ / T A R I 0 4 o m K < While the fate of Oakville's Ontario Truck Plant (OTP) is currently being discussed at the union bar gaining table, hundreds of the assembly line workers and their families held a rally to save the plant Saturday. Organized by Local 707 of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW), the Family Rally was held in front of the new Ford of Canada corporate head office. Hundreds of people, many "Dear Mr. Ford: with children or dogs in tow, Why are you taking turned out to protest the closure decision, which could cost as away my mommy's and many as 1,400 Oakville jobs. daddy's jobs? " Many sported matching yel · Quotation on t-shirt low t-shirts reading: "Dear Mr. at Family Rally Ford: Why are you taking away my m om m y's and daddy's jobs?" On the back, the shirts read, "Fight Ontario Truck Plant Closure." Ford of Canada announced in January that the OTP would be closed in late 2003 or early 2004, with the work currentiy carried out there moving to Dearborn, Michigan. The closure was part of a massive North American restruc turing by the giant automaker. While the union will be battling to save the plant at the negotiating table, many union officials told the crowd that politicians should be doing much more to keep auto jobs in Canada. "Governments have to put some policies in place to pre serve Canadian jobs," said John Teixeira, president of Local 707 of CAW. Employees and their families were urged to pressure politicians at the provincial and federal levels to get involved in the issue and develop a cohesive Canadian auto policy. "It shouldn't just be our union that's fighting for our jobs," said Peggy Nash, assistant to CAW president Buzz Hargrove. "We need our governments to stand up for workers and for investment in this country." (See `Union' page A3) truck CLOSURE PLANT Mosquitoes test positive for West Nile Virus The Halton Region Health Department received confirmation yes terday that mosquitoes in two locations -- one in south Oakville and one in south Burlington have tested positive for West Nile Virus (WNV). Halton is the fourth region in Ontario where positive mosquitoes have been identified. Surveillance activities in Halton have now identified birds and mosquitoes with West Nile Virus. There continues to be a huge number of dead birds reported to the regional health department. "Our surveillance activities indicate an increasing presence of West Nile Virus in Halton, south of the QEW," said Dr. Bob Nosal, Halton's Medical Officer of Health. "The risk to humans is low, but may be increasing. Therefore, I am re-emphasizing the importance of per sonal protective measures to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes, as well as the need to remove mosquito breeding sites from around homes." t 0N 7X B 10 ,, F h H SLO SP Jamie Smith · Oakville Beaver Gary W illiams holds his daughter Jodie on his shoulders to see over the crowd at the Family Rally in front of the new Ford of Canada corporate head office on Saturday. The rally was organized by the Local 707 of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) to protest the pending closure of the compa ny's Ontario Truck Plant in Oakville. Loyalty letter nothing to do with leadership race says Brown By Howard Mozel OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The "loyalty letter" signed by 94 Liberal MPs is about backing Canada's sitting Prime Minister, says Bonnie Brown, not deprecating former Finance Minister Paul Martin. In a telephone interview Monday from her Ottawa office, the Oakville MP explained that while there are sev eral important reasons for the letter, none of them focus on a leadership race. Instead, Brown continued, the docu- " Loyalty to the Prime Minister is a virtue, not a vice." · Oakville MP Bonnie Brown ment is a declaration of support for the PM at a time in the country's history when solidarity is vital. "Loyalty to the Prime Minister is a virtue, not a vice," said Brown, who was among the Liberal backbenchers and ministers on the weekend to unveil the letter on national television. The only people more anxious about the m emorandum than "im patient" Martin supporters grabbing headlines are those in the media, said Brown. As the National Caucus headed into its summer retreat in Chicoutimi, she said the national press continued to cre ate the impression that many MPs were not loyal to Jean Chretien and that some sort of "showdown" was brewing at the event. Not true, says Brown, who main tains the letter simply assured the PM who is still in charge - that MPs are in his comer. The only showdowns that will take place at the retreat, said Brown, will be ones between MPs discussing whether the government should ratify the Kyoto Accord or if Canada should join the U.S. in an attack on Iraq - in short, pre pare for the Opposition this fall and reassure Canadians and the internation al community about who is in charge and how much he is supported. The letter is not an "either/or" state(See `No' page A3) Editorials..................A6 Focus.......................B1 Classified.................B2 Update.....................B4 Hello Oakville..........Cl Auto....................... C8 Fall Registration D1 Sports..................... D4 Sport Chek, Bell World, Gbbo Shoes, Future Shop, Rom Cashway, Rona Lansing, Staples Business Depot, Guardian Drugs, The Bay, Oakville Toyota, Peoples Jewellers, Once Upon A Child Sears, Square One Shopping Centre, Stoney Creek Decor Centre Canadian Publications Mail Product Agreement #435-201 Smart Growth Panel sees public transit as key to unlocking gridlock gories, but they all boiled down to one issue: public transit -- and then the need to Two dozen short term fund it. "The number one thing it solutions to traffic gridlock share a common theme -- comes down to, as well as co ordination, is funding," said public transit. The 24 recommendations Mulvale. Following the panel's rec from the Central Ontario's Smart Growth Panel -- which ommendations, the provincial includes Mayor Ann Mulvale government announced the -- were presented to Golden Horseshoe Transit Partnerships Municipal Affairs & Housing Investment Minister Chris Hodgson last (GTIP) would provide up to $1.25 billion through the week. The recommendations Superbuild fund over the next were presented in five cate(See `Panel' page A7) OAKVILLE BEA /ER STAFF By Angela Blackburn Partial Delivery: Peter C. McCusker · Oakville Beaver The Central Ontario Smart Growth Panel wants to make public transit a viable alternative to the car. F IX /E E STA R # O Q © >CERTIFIED CHRYSLER · JEEP* DODGE w ww. iockwoodchrysler. com P E T E R W a 'S ° N I N V E S T M E N T S 175 W yecroft Road, Oakville 905.845.6653 RETIREMENT PLANNING SPECIAUSTS Free C o n s u lt a t io n 8 4 2 -2 1 0 0 M B A , C E P ., RJPJP-.