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THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY, MAY 6, 2010 7 GRAPEVINE with Mike O'Leary The Way I See It OH, CANADA, land of the free lunch. One of the latest, and possibly the most outra- geous, has to do with the Old Age Security Act. The federal government has been telling us for years that we shouldn't be counting on the old age secur- ity being around. The fund will probably be bankrupt by the time we retire. The math is simple. When the boomer generation starts to hit 65 in a year or so they will expect to start collecting. The problem will be that there won't be enough young people left working to sustain the old age security fund. Continuing to work isn't the answer because once you start collecting you stop paying in. Faced with this financial crisis MP Ruby Dhalla, who represents a Brampton riding, quietly introduced a bill last year which would allow recent immigrants to apply for old age security (OAS) after only three years of residency instead of the existing 10 year requirement. The bill was seconded by that well known liberal….Bob Rae. Why am I not surprised? The reasoning behind the bill, according to Ms. Dhalla and generous Bob, is because aged immigrants experience undue hardship because they cannot access old age security benefits. The trivial fact they have not contributed to the fund shouldn't preclude them from winning the Cash for Life lottery. We have seniors today who are having difficulty paying their taxes on homes they have lived in most of their adult lives. Sen- iors who dutifully worked and Spring Bazaar Members of the Acton Sen- iors Centre host their annual Spring Bazaar and Tea on Sat- urday featuring crafts, draws, a bake table, plants and Granny's attic. The sale and tea runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Acton Community Centre. For details call 519-853-5951. Songs for Hope The Hunter family, formerly of Acton and now of Rockwood, celebrates the too short life of their daughter Emma who died of cancer as a toddler, at the 11th annual Songs for Hope on May 8. The show's new venue is the Roxy on Mill Street. The evening of music is a fundraiser for the Sick Kids Foundation, and features per- formances by Ablet t and Cooper, Jenikz, Nabi Loney and Second Wind. The lasagna dinner is scheduled for 6 to 7 p.m., and the show runs until 10 p.m. For ticket information con- tact the Hunter family at 519-856-9266, e-mail wendi@ musicinthewood.biz or drop into the Music in the Wood in Rockwood. Also at the Roxy…. Welsh singer-songwriter Mar- tyn Joseph takes the stage with his acoustic guitar at a fund- raiser for Acton's FoodShare on May 13. Performing along with Joseph are Rockwood singer- songwriter Glen Soderholm and writer Stewart Henderson. Joseph, billed as a powerful songwriter who often focuses on social lament or protest, will appear as part of a World Vision Canadian tour. Tickets are avail- able at www.ticketwindow.ca or at the Roxy. Doors open at 7:30 for an 8 p.m. show. Ballinafad garage sale Perennial plants, a bake table, crafts and great garage sale items will be available at good prices at the annual Ballinafad United Church garage sale on Saturday. It runs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and breakfast and lunch will be available. The church is located on Trafalgar Road North. Free compost All next week (May 10 to 15), Halton is giving away free com- post at its Waste Management Site on Highway 25 in Milton. People must bring a shovel and their own container or bag between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. daily. There's a seven- bag limit per household. For details call 311 or 1-866- 442-5866, or visit www.halton. ca/waste. Don would be proud Family and friends of the late Don Lindsay are gearing up for this year's ALS Walk for Acton and Georgetown at the Gellert Centre on June 5. Don Lindsay - former Food- land owner, Home Hardware employee and Barbershop Chorus member - succumbed to ALS, commonly called Lou Gehrigs disease, just over a year ago and his loved ones helped raise money for research at last year's walk that generated over $230,000 - the most money raised by any Walk in Canada. Sponsors or those who would like to join the Lindsay family's "Poppa's Posse" for the Walk can call Doreen at 519-853- 2057. Ground breaking new The official ground breaking for Acton's replacement library is tomorrow (Friday) at 2 p.m. when local dignitaries, staff, library lovers and others will celebrate the symbolic start of the $4.1-million project which must be completed by March 2011 to receive $3.3-million in provincial and federal infra- structure stimulus funding. Concept drawings and pro- ject site plans can be viewed at http:www.hhpl.on.ca/acton pro- ject.asp Greener and cleaner Tips and tricks to make your house cleaner and greener will be offered at a free seminar at the Acton library on June 3 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Staff will mix up some homemade clean- ing solutions to help detoxify your home. You can register in person or by phone at 519-853-0301. For more information visit www. hhpl.on.ca Poetry winner Congrats to Acton's Tahira Kraemer, 12, who won second prize in the 2010 Cricket League poetry competition. Her poem I am Music appears in the May/ June issue of the popular kid's magazine and is posted at www. cricketmagkids.com/contests In part, it reads: I sit on my bed with my cur- tains drawn closed Strumming my guitar, hoping nobody knows I strum so quietly I can hardly hear The beautiful sound floating into my ear They say I'm gifted, they say I'm smart "She'll be a doctor! A lawyer! but they don't suggest art I am music, music is me I sing and play in the same key I am music, music is me When I hear it, I am set free Just Another Boondoggle paid taxes who can't afford to eat properly. So what's the logic- al thing to do? Put even more pressure on the fund by easing the qualifications. It gets better, friends. One doesn't even have to live here permanently to qualify. Bill C-428 proposes that as long as someone resides here for a total of three years in the previous 20 years they would qualify. So, if a relative visits for three months a year, for 12 different years in the past 20 year span, they hit the jackpot. Canadians, many of whom have worked here all their lives, will bear the burden of Ms. Dhalla and laughable Bob's gen- erosity. Obviously, this is yet another attempt by governments to buy immigrant votes with your money. Personally, I can't see this bill being passed, but then I've been wrong before when I overestimated "government intelligence." Pardon the oxy- moron. As an old fogey myself, I'm all for young people giving a helping hand to their elders. In spite of the fact our medical sys- tem is going broke, I don't even begrudge them proper medical care when they get here. But if a family wants to bring elderly relatives here, they should look after their creature comforts. They should not expect the Can- adian taxpayers to share in the burden. Here's a good idea. Why don't Ms. Dhalla, generous Bob and any other members of parlia- ment who support this initiative voluntarily give up their gold plated pension plans to support these intended beneficiaries? The chances of that happening and the sun exploding in the next five minutes are about the same. I fear I have lived my life with unreasonable expectations. I used to believe that we elected people who would go off to Ot- tawa or Queen's Park to conduct business which would benefit all Canadians. In the case of our local federal and provincial rep- resentatives I still believe that to be true. All too often I am seeing what I believe to be elected members whose sole purpose is to get re- elected. Economics, national security, quality of life for con- stituents be damned. As long as they are returned to office the world is their oyster. If, at the same time, they cripple what was once a functioning parliament, who cares? This latest boondoggle is merely one of a long string of hare-brained schemes designed to curry favour with local con- stituents. I wonder why these off the wall ideas aren't vetted in caucus meetings? Could it be that other members are just jeal- ous they didn't come up with a similar scheme aimed at their own ridings? I hope not. I hope there are still honourable members dedicated to the common good. Hope may be all we have left by the time these people finish with us. McHAPPY DAYS Councillor Clark Somerville pro- vided service with a smile yesterday (Wednesday) while helping Acton McDonald's staff fund raise during McHappy Day. They spent the day collecting donations as well as one dollar from every McHappy Meal, Egg McMuffin or Big Mac, all going towards the Georgetown Hospital. Celebrations included face painting, balloons and other treats. -Ken Baker photo