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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, D ec em be r 14 ,2 01 7 | 10 DENTISTRY ON SINCLAIR NOW IN ACTON GEORGETOWN 99 Sinclair Ave, Suite 306, Georgetown, ON L7G 5G1 905-877-0107 ACTON 372 Queen St. E., Acton, ON L7J 2Y5 519-853-1300 www.dentistryonsinclair.com Convenient Evening Appointments New Patients AlwaysWelcome Dental Emergencies Seen Promptly Dr. Denis Beauchesne Dr. Michael Hutter Dr. Jennifer Chitilian Dr. Camille Farrugia Dr. Anna Primus Downtown georgetown call to book your appointment 905.873.1470 The mayor of Halton Hills was invited to Chica- go to discuss climate change and sustainability, ultimately signing a char- ter with 50 other mayors. The meeting, called the North American Climate Summit, took place in Illi- nois and Halton Hills May- or Rick Bonnette found himself there from Dec. 3 to Dec. 6. Bonnette was for- mally invited by mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel, and was one of only three Canadian mayors to at- tend. The summit focused on the effects of climate change and creating sus- tainable environments. The days were jam-packed with information sessions, workshops and speakers, including an address from former president of the United States Barack Oba- ma. According to Bonnette, he was sought after by the summit because of the many things Halton Hills does to be sustainable. For the past several years, the Town has imple- mented a number of pro- grams to keep the town sus- tainable. In 2017, Halton Hills council adopted a cli- mate change adaptation (resiliency) plan, and it will help with a number of things: a natural capital as- sessment, which will iden- tify significant environ- mental areas that can be le- veraged to increase the Town's planning for cli- mate change; a greenhouse gas emission modelling ex- ercise to better understand how climate change will likely affect Halton Hills; and a town facility vulner- ability assessment, which will take a look at any cli- mate-related vulnerabili- ties at the Town's facilities. In 2010, Green Develop- ment Standards were im- plemented, which is a green building certificate program. Developers who look to build in Halton Hills have to adhere to a number of green initia- tives, and are given points for every green problem they implement. If they don't earn enough points, they aren't allowed to build. Last year, Halton Hills signed a 'twin city' agree- ment with Wenjiang, Chi- na, and Bonnette said it's because of the Town's sus- tainability initiatives. "Here's a city of 22 mil- lion and they came to Hal- ton Hills," he said. "We are getting some reputation." During the trip, the mayor gave an address and spoke about Halton Hills, and was part of a panel alongside the mayors of Knoxville, Honolulu, Pitts- boro and others. "The Chicago Accord is the road forward to deliver the protocol of the Paris agreement," he said. "There were 51 mayors re- presenting 10 countries, most continents, and 61 million people." When it came to his turn to sign the accord, Bon- nette was overwhelmed with emotion. "There's this sense of pride for our community, that we were recognized," he said. "There's all these mayors from around the world and here's Halton Hills, which proves, in my mind, you don't have to be big to be successful. We punch above our weight." Bonnette said when Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris, spoke at the summit, her words resonated and will continue to resonate with him for a long time. "She said, there is no Planet B ... We have to get it right." Fighting climate change starts at the local level, and Bonnette is confident Hal- ton Hills is on the right track. "Municipal leaders are the leaders of climate change . and I can honestly say that about the team at Halton Hills," he said. "We brought in a green plan in 2007 and we're ahead of most municipalities in On- tario." NEWS Mayor attends North American Climate Summit in Chicago KATHRYN BOYLE kboyle@theifp.ca When it came to his turn to sign the Chicago Accord, Mayor Bonnette was overwhelmed with emotion. Halton Hills photo