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is id eh al to n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | Th ur sd ay , A pr il 5, 2 01 8 | o o EDITORIAL - ABOUT US OPINION C a th o lic b o a r d m is s e s th e m a r k The Halton Catholic District School Board is way off base with its ban on donations to charities that may fall foul of its interpretation of religious doctrine. The board's trustees are getting a lot of push-back on their decision, and rightly so. Some 21,000 people signed an online petition against it. Students spoke out and the leader of the board's teachers union called the ban "needlessly divisive." Even the chair of the board, Diane Rabenda, made it clear she personally disagrees with it. Nonetheless, the trustees forged ahead with this ill- advised measure. It bans fundraising or donations for non-profits and charities that "directly or indirectly" support abortion, contraception, sterilization, euthana­ sia or embryonic stem-cell research. The ban is so broad that it catches many mainstream charitable groups in its net - including the Canadian Cancer Society (which currently isn't funding stem-cell research but has in the past and could in the future). The board and its 33,000 students raise about $12 million a year. No wonder one of the students protesting this deci­sion, 17-year-old Ben Sabourin, told a board meeting: "I will not stand here and be told by this board that I am any less of a Catholic for helping sick children and can­ cer patients." The trustees who voted for the ban should ask them­ selves a few questions. They should wonder, for exam­ ple, why none of Ontario's 28 other English Catholic school boards (or the seven French Catholic ones, for that matter) have felt it necessary to adopt such a prohi­ bition. They should wonder about the wisdom of adopting a ban so comprehensive that it prohibits donations to an organization that even "indirectly" supports contracep­ tion or stem-cell research. A publicly-funded school board should not be trying to ban charitable giving on the basis of a few trustees' strict interpretation of religious doctrine. Aside from being wrong, it will only fuel opposition to the whole idea of separate Catholic boards. The Halton Catholic board has been down this rocky road before, and it has always led to a dead end. The board refused for five years to allow girls to receive the HPV vaccine in school, arguing it sent a "mixed message on chastity" And it tried to ban "gay-straight alliances" until protests forced it to change its mind.This is another wrong decision. T r u d e a u L i b e r a l s d r o p w e ll b e h i n d T o r i e s in p o p u l a r i t y . . . The Oakville Beaver, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 80 community publications across Ontario. o ° O •o m etrolandmedia " Connected to your community* The Oakville Beaver is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the newspaper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca nnc Aoena NewsMedia Council > lnsideHalton.com editoi@oakvillebeaver.com H facebook.com/OakvilleBeav Hi @OakvilleBeaver Changes to Halton recycling start this week Plastic bags, packaging can be recycled: Carr Over the years we have made significant invest­ ments in waste manage­ ment including waste re­ duction technology and improving our curbside collection services such as the blue box and green cart programs. We have also seen a real commitment from resi­ dents to reduce household and community waste through increasing par­ ticipation rates and the useful feedback provided on our programs and ser­ vices. A common theme among residents is the amount of recyclables GARY CARR Column that become windblown litter on windy days and unacceptable plastic ma­ terials. I am pleased to share that starting this week, all Halton residents, busi­ nesses and facilities can include plastic bags and plastic overwrap in their recycling. This means ev­ erything from plastic shopping bags to packag­ ing around bathroom tis­ sue and newspaper bags can be placed in the recy­ cling and diverted from the Halton Waste Manage­ ment Site (HWMS) land­fill. In addition, to reduce litter on windy days, resi­ dents in single family households have the option to place recyclables in clear plastic bags for curb- side collection. Residents can continue to use the blue box only, or use a com­ bination of both - whatever works best for your house­ hold. We are always looking for ways to improve our waste diversion rates and ensuring that we are pro­ viding the best possible customer service. And, thanks to resident com­ mitment to waste reduc­ tion, Halton Region has one of the highest blue box participation rates across the province and 90 per cent of blue box material collected in Halton is sold and recycled into new products. Together, we have also extended the li­ fespan of the HWMS from 2012 to 2044 - more than 30 years longer than expec­ ted! Enhancements and ser­ vice improvements like these and your continued participation in waste management services keeps Halton a great place to live, work, raise a family and retire. To find more informa­tion, recycling tips and a list of acceptable materials please visit halton.ca/ bluebox, download the OneHalton app or call 311. - Gary Carr is regional chair o f Halton Region. CONTACT US WHO WE ARE Oakville Beaver 2-5046 Mainway Burlington, ON L7L5Z1 Phone: 289 -293-0617 Classifieds: 1 -800-263-6480 Digital/Flyer/Retail: 2 89 -29 3 -0624 Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 200 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Delivery For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail kmossman@metroland.com or call 905-631-6095. A .c c r £ d i t e FDSA* VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague kmontague@metroland.com | 289 -293-0614 Director Advertising Daniel Baird dbaird@metroland.com | 289 -29 3 -0624 Regional Managing Editor Catherine O'Hara cohara@metroland.com | 289 -293-0615 Regional Manager Digital Content Karen Miceli Director of Distribution Charlene Hall Circulation Manager Kim Mossman kmossman@metroland.com | 905-631-6095 Director of Production Mark Dills Regional Production Manager Manny Garcia http://www.mediacouncil.ca mailto:editoi@oakvillebeaver.com mailto:kmossman@metroland.com mailto:kmontague@metroland.com mailto:dbaird@metroland.com mailto:cohara@metroland.com mailto:kmossman@metroland.com