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•Th e IFP• H alton H ills, Thursday, June 19, 2014 7 • Truck Accessories • Upholstery • Heavy Equipment Glass •Window Tinting 354 Guelph Street, Georgetown 905-873-1655 We handle all insurance work. • your window & door professionals • 341 Guelph St., Unit 3 Georgetown 905.873.0236 www.buy-wise.ca info@buy-wise.ca • awarded readers choice 22 times • Visit our showroom Your Neighbourhood Cheese Store 96 MILL STREET, GEORGETOWN 905-873-6000 PROduCT SaMPLINGS EvERY SaTuRdaY MORNINGaLL SuMMER LONG! June 21: Meet the Cheesemaker - Award winning cheese maker ShepYsselstein of Gunn Hill Cheese Farm, Woodstock, ON June 28: Chef Sarah, Sarah's Culinary Adventure. Summer Appetizers! July 5: Spanish Olive Oil Expert and Importer from Olivarcorp Custom Cheese andMeat Platters Follow us on Facebook COMMENT Natural beauty deserves being protected Protecting Canada's beautiful nat- ural heritage is one of the most im- portant legacies we can leave to fu- ture generations. Since taking office in 2006, the government of Canada has worked to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) to combat climate change. As a result of government ac- tions, GHGs have declined five per cent since 2005, from 737Mt in 2005 to 699Mt in 2012. This is notable, es- pecially considering that from 1990 to 2005, to- tal emissions grew from 591Mt to 737Mt. While more needs to be done to meet the government's commitment to reduce GHGs by 17 per cent from 2005 levels by 2020, the government is also acting in other ways to protect our environment. Enhanced conserva- tion of our natural areas is one of those ways. On May 15, the govern- ment of Canada announced $252 million for the National Conservation Plan. This plan will conserve Cana- da's natural areas through conserva- tion and stewardship by providing an additional $100 million to the Nature Conservancy of Canada to secure ecologically sensitive lands, $37 mil- lion to strengthen marine and coastal conservation and $3.2 million to es- tablish a complete national inventory of conserved areas in Canada. In ad- dition, the plan will invest $50 million to restore wetlands and another $50 million to support voluntary actions to restore and conserve species and their habitats. The National Conservation Plan will also include $3 million for the Earth Rangers program to encourage environmental stewardship amongst Canadian youth and to expand family- oriented conservation programming. The National Conservation Plan will build upon actions the govern- ment has already taken to protect Canada's natural environment. Since 2006, nearly $600 million has been invested to restore Canada's waters, including oceans and lakes and over $500 million has been spent to protect Canada's diverse species and help spe- cies at risk to recover. In addition, the plan will invest $100 million on top of the $245 million that has already been invested to help the Nature Conser- vancy of Canada conserve ecologically sensitive lands under the National Areas Conservation Program. These investments have resulted in the addition of more than 4,000 square kilometres of ecologically sensitive private lands, and an increase in federally pro- tected areas nearly twice the size of Vancouver Island. Closer to home, $140 million over 10 years has been com- mitted to create Canada's first national near-urban park in the Rouge Valley in Ontario. In Wellington County and Halton Hills, five projects have been funded under the government's Habitat Stew- ardship Program. This funding has allowed Wildlife Preservation Canada to assist in the recovery of the endan- gered loggerhead shrike and the con- servation of associated alvars (sensi- tive grasslands) and short grassland species. The Recreational Fisheries Conservation Partnerships Program has provided funds to restore fish hab- itat in Aberfoyle's Mill Creek. The protection of our environment is one of the most important legacies we can leave our children. That is why your federal govern- ment continues to invest in conserva- tion efforts and environmental protec- tion. -- Michael Chong is the MP for Wellington-Halton Hills MICHAEL CHONG 'Opposition is not the place you want to be ideally...' --MPP Ted Arnott... see story pg. 3 With the summer's hot and humid weather here and ev- eryone is trying to cool down in our backyards, maybe it is time for photos like this. Don Parker took this one while he was a passenger on the MV Silver Sea's Prince Albert II (PA II), sailing the Antarctic region. Got a photo you want to share? Email: cgamble@theifp.ca PICTURE THIS From our readers 'Quote unquote' Continued from pg. 6 High Speed Internet in Rural Ontario The final issue I am bringing to your attention today is the need for greater ac- cess to high speed internet in rural Ontar- io. Lack of access to high speed internet is a concern for many of my constituents. Internet service in rural Ontario is often slow, unreliable, and expensive. In fact, some residents of rural Ontario still have no alternative but dial-up internet. Reliable access to high speed internet is essential in today's economy. Whether you own a farm, run a small business, or just use the internet at home, we all de- pend on being connected. Investment in high speed internet would help our local businesses grow, and help to attract new investment in our communities. The Western Ontario Warden's Caucus has been pushing for the expansion of broadband internet in rural Ontario. The federal government also announced funding for high speed internet in its budget earlier this year. Ted Arnott,MPP Wellington-Halton Hills Priorities must be delivered The Norval truck blitz has raised yet another concern with the trucking routes that run through the residential areas of Georgetown. Not only are these vehicles creating traffic congestion, exhaust and noise pol- lution, this study has confirmed that they are also unsafe. It is time that Halton Hills protects its citizens by rerouting these vehicles to more major roadways. With the exception of local deliveries, there is no reason for transport trucks to be traversing the local roadways, many of which are ill-equipped to handle such traffic (e.g., insufficient turning space, steep grades, proximity to residential homes). If there is anything else that we can do to bring about change in regards to this trucking fiasco then count me in. Sarah Crawford, Georgetown Time to act on transport trucks Good samaritan thanked I would like to thank the honest per- son at Georgetown Market Place who found my purse on June 6 and handed it into the Lotto Information booth. Helen Hilts Halton Hills