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Budget delivers on promises Drinking In May, Canadians re-elected our government and gave us a mandate on economy recovery. We are listening to Canadians, and several weeks ago, Parliament passed the federal budget for 2011-12 (fiscal year of April 1-March 31). The budget responds to the thousands of constituents I heard from during the election who voiced concerns about jobs and economic growth. It builds on the successful first phase of our Economic Action Plan, by rolling out the second phase. This second phase is a prudent plan to create jobs and economic growth, all the while eliminating the deficit without raising personal income taxes. The budget delivers on our recent election commitments. We are implementing our commitment to support small business job creation by introducing the Hiring Credit for Small Businesses. This credit will waive Employment Insurance (EI) premiums for small businesses who hire new workers. We are also extending the EI work-sharing program, a successful program that saved 277,000 jobs during the recession. The budget also fulfills our promise to help seniors, by increasing the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) by $300 million. This new money will provide an additional benefit of up to $600 a year for single seniors and up to $840 a year for senior couples. This will help more than 680,000 lowincome seniors, especially with the rising cost of food and fuel. We are also extending the ecoENERGY Retrofit-Homes program, which assists homeowners in making their homes more energy efficient by providing grants of up to $5,000. This will help meet the challenge of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It will also help households with the rising cost of energy. As promised, we are strengthening pub- 9 Independent & Free Press, Tuesday, July 19, 2011 Michael Chong lic health care in Canada by attracting doctors and nurses to under-served rural communities. Doctors can have up to $40,000 in federal student loans forgiven, nurses up to $20,000, if they move to work in underserved rural communities. Finally, we are strengthening the accountability of the federal political system. The budget gradually reduces the publiclyfunded subsidy paid to political parties, completely eliminating it by 2015-16. Currently, parties receive an annual subsidy of $2.04 per vote received in the previous federal election. By eliminating this subsidy we will generate annual savings of $30 million. The ban on all corporate and union donations will remain in place, as will the federal tax credit for personal political donations. Budget 2011-12 delivers on our commitment to continue Canada's job creation and economic recovery. Our Economic Action Plan is working and since the recession ended two years ago 540,000 jobs have been created, the vast majority full-time. Last election, Canadians told us they want prudent economic management. That is what we are delivering. For more information on Budget 201112, visit www.budget.gc.ca or contact me (866) 878-5556. --Michael Chong is the MP for Wellington-Halton Hills and Driving Can Distort Life. Best Buy CORRECTION NOTICE NEWSPAPER RETRACTION FOR THE BEST BUY JULY 15 CORPORATE FLYER On the July 15 flyer, page 1, please note that the HP TouchPad Wi-Fi Tablet was advertised with incorrect Reward Zone points. Be advised that ONLY 1000 RZ points will be provided with purchase, NOT 1000x. We apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused our valued customers. NOTICE OF ROAD CLOSURE The Town of Halton Hills Infrastructure Services Department is advising of a Temporary Road Closure to vehicular traffic for the following dates: Drink and drive, and your life may never be the same again. You not only risk your life when you drink and drive, you also risk losing your license, incurring expensive fines, doing time in jail or even causing injury or death to an innocent bystander. With all these consequences facing you, driving under the influence is the worst decision you can make. Don't take chances with drinking and driving; there's always a better alternative. Call me Call me today today for an for an appointment! appointment! Top quality professional products employed by a current haircare stylist. From Tuesday, August 2, 2011 to Tuesday, August 23, 2011. Third Line from 5 Side Road north to 10 Side Road will be closed to all through traffic. Access for the local residences will be maintained during the closures with some restrictions. Specific notices and instructions will be provided to affected properties. The temporary road closure of Third Line is required to facilitate the construction of the new Halton Region feeder watermain and Zone 5 Reservoir. All questions or concerns should be directed to Darrell Smith of Halton Region at 905-825-6000 ext. 7102. Reference Halton Region File No. W-2349C. 98 905-873-6871 30 McClure Crt. (across from Dominion Gardens) 1 Halton Hills Dr., Halton Hills, ON L7G 5G2 Tel.: 905-873-2601 Fax: 905-873-2347 Wednesday, July 20 Open Devotions: Prayers, scripture readings, music, refreshments. All are welcome at 7:30 p.m. to 20 Donaghedy Drive, Georgetown. Info: 905-873-0661. Sponsored by the Baha'is of Halton Hills. Bruce Trail hike: Level 1, 5-6 km loop hike on local trails. Depart at 9:30 a.m. from the Georgetown Market Place parking lot between Zellers and the grey medical building. Bring water and snacks. Lunch at a local eatery after the hike. Leader: Maureen, 905-873-9757 mosmith@cogeco.ca Acton Orators Toastmasters: meets 7 p.m. at Knox Presbyterian Church, 44 Main St. N., Acton. Info: Judi Hopper, 905699-9777 or ActonTM@gmail.com. Future meetings: Aug. 3, 17, 31. Wednesday Garden Eucharist will be held 7:30-8 p.m. in the St. Alban's Outdoor Chapel on the banks of the Credit River, 537 Main St. Glen Williams, every Wednesday evening, weather permitting, from June 1 to September. Community Calendar Yoga in the Park runs for six weeks (until August 11) every Thursday night at Prospect Park in Acton. Classes are from 7-8 p.m.; registration opens at 6:30 p.m. Yoga in the Park is a fundraiser hosted by Staying Alive Fitness for the Acton Food Share and the Links2Care Backpack Program. Everyone is welcome with a non-perishable food donation for the Acton Food Share or a cash donation for the Links2Care Backpack program. Please contact SAF at 519853-2650 or info@stayingalivefitness.com for more information. Free job workshop: on Employment and Re-training programs, 1 p.m., hosted by Links2Care Employment Resource Centre, 45 Mill Street East, Acton 519-853-5014. Find out what your options are. Youth Drop in Basketball on Thursday afternoons, 1-2:30 p.m., until August 18 at Christ the King Secondary School for ages 13-17 years. All skill levels welcome! Admission $3. Thursday, July 21 Summer euchre: Come play euchre, Thursdays, 7:30 p.m. at the Limehouse Memorial Hall. Sponsored by the Limehouse Memorial Hall Board. All welcome. Visit www.theifp.ca/whats-on/events/