NEED HELP FINDING A JOB? Every 56 seconds of each workday, a Goodwill around the world connects someone to a good job. If you are out of work or under-employed and need help finding employment, then contact us. All job seeker services are FREE Burlington Georgetown Milton Oakville 1-866-557-8324 Employment Solutions Employment Ontario projects are funded in part by the Government of Canada 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 Happy Sweet 16 Monica Love Mom, Dad, Jessica, Nuno, Nicole & Oreo xxx ooo Happy Birthday Jack _ _ _ ! Adam Szlachta *Donation required. Offer based on first visit enrollment, minimum 12 mo. c.d. program. New members only. $30 appliea to initial service fee. Not valid with any other offer. Valid only at participating locations. ?2008 Curves International GEORGETOWN 39 Main St. S. Downtown Georgetown 9057020418 ACTON 374 Queen St. Acton, ON 5198530502 YOUR CURVES WILL AMAZE YOU. Join Curves during our 10th Annual Food Drive. Bring in a bag of non-perishable food items between March 3rd and March 15th, and join Curves for just $30. All groceries will be donated to local food banks. 10 Independent & Free Press, Wednesday, February 27, 2008 Haltons low-income residents continue to struggle to put healthy food on the table, according to a health department study. This and other findings of the Nutritious Food Basket survey were presented in a report to the Regions health and social services com- mittee Tuesday morning. The survey measures the cost of an adequate diet against the financial resources of Halton residents who are at a low-income level. The results, combined with income and housing information, demonstrate the chal- lenges these individuals face on a daily basis. For example, the report illustrates the case of a single mother living in the region with a seven-year-old daughter, receiving assistance through Ontario Works. Her income would be $1,281.55 per month, and rent would take $869 of that. A nutritious diet for the mother and daughter would cost $248.82, which means only $163.73 would be left to cover everything else like heat, hydro, transportation and clothing. These families are more likely to pay the rent and necessary bills and have little or no money left for food, a report from Halton Medical Officer of Health Dr. Bob Nosal said. Clearly, there is a disconnect between what the government provides in benefit rates and the actual cost of eating for good health. The Nutritious Food Basket initiative also showed the average cost for a family of four to have a healthy diet has increased by about five per cent, going from $120.89 per week in 2006 to $127.08 in 2007. The committee went on to support a motion for Regional Chair Gary Carr to write to the Province urging it to speed up the implementation of its Poverty Reduction Strategy. Haltons poor cant afford healthy diet, study finds The Town of Halton Hills wants the provin- cial government to exempt the municipality from paying provincial sales tax (PST). The Town joined other Ontario municipali- ties, including Halton Region, requesting that all municipalities be exempt from paying PST, with the understanding that the savings would be ear- marked solely for infrastructure renewal. In Halton Hills case the savings would be about $290,000 a year. Halton Region would save about $2 million a year. Wards 1&2 Regional Councillor Clark Somerville, who supported the Halton Region resolution, brought the motion to Halton Hills council for unanimous endorsement. Ward 4 Councillor Bob Inglis seconded the motion. After just finishing a tight budget (9.8 per cent tax increase), I think we should look at it, said Somerville at a recent council meeting. With what we pay in PST that would be equiva- lent to a one per cent tax hike. I was quite sur- prised to see the numbers. ...Its important to continue to advocate for our infrastructure needs. The federal government already exempts municipalities from paying GST a $1.35 mil- lion savings to the Town. By Cynthia Gamble, staff writer Town calls on Province to provide PST exemption