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•T h e IF P • H alto n H ills, Thursday, O ctober 2, 2014 5 280 Guelph St. Georgetown • 905-877-7719 (Georgetown Market Place Mall) Licensed Patio Now Open! CAFE • BAKERY • CATERING • PREPARED MEALS DINE IN Deli Meats & Cheeses TAKE OUT NOW LICENCED by the AGCO Visit ourShowroom Today Exceptional Service, Products, Prices & Warranties Serving your community for over 35 Years. Visit our website at www.atouchofclassacton.comf Kitchens Flooring Bathrooms Basements Full Home Renovations 28 Main St. N. Acton • 519-853-1190 Experience theExperience the Difference! THE BAO INSTITUTE FOR HEALTHY LIVING, Georgetown's most complete fitness-and-wellness club. Join today with... • Refreshing Juice Bar • 24/7/365 Member Access • Certified Personal Training Specialist • Group Fitness Classes • Locally owned and operated • BBB accredited business with A+ rating in Georgetown 232a Guelph St., Georgetown 905.877.0771 baoinstitute.comJoin us on The Independent & Free Press has posed a question to municipal candidates and over the next several weeks, their responses will be published. Here are the responses filed by the candidates for Halton Regional Chair to: What do you consider the primary is- sue in Halton Region and how would you address it? The primary issue is how do we keep Halton the best. In a recent survey 97% of Halton residents liked the Region's services. In order to keep Halton the best we need a Chair with strong experienced leadership. I have been a Member of Provincial Parlia- ment, and Speaker of the Ontario Legislature. I have also been a Member of Parliament and for the last eight years I have been the Chair of Halton. I have a proven track record. We need a chair with a proven track record at keeping taxes low, investing in infrastructure, and creating jobs. Halton has been ranked the safest region in Canada for seven years in a row. We need a Chair with a proven track record at keeping Halton the safest region. The primary issue is who has the proven track record at keeping Halton the best. For more information about my background visit www.garycarr.ca The thousands of Halton citizens I have spoken to have unequivocally complained about the gridlock that faces us as soon as we step out of our homes go- ing to work and back. It's the QEW, the 403, the 401, Hwy 25 and others and our complete lack of a comprehensive efficient transit system linking the cities in Halton to Toronto, other parts of GTA and each other. My plan is to: • Involve all tiers of government • Have a stronger voice to get capital funding • Have a permanent futuristic approach that caters to commuters who are only passing through as separate from local residents who are going their own way • There needs to be a solution for trucks and transportation separate from our drivers • There need to be by-passes, dedicated truck lanes, bus lanes and bike/active transport lanes across Halton • We need to link existing transit across GTA for a comprehensive solution to our deadlock. Gary Carr Syed Ali Naqvi Election Day is Monday, Oct. 27 Advance poll dates are: Wednesday, Oct. 15, Saturday, Oct. 18 and Wednesday, Oct. 22. For details on how and where to vote in the election go to www.haltonhills.ca/election2014 Currently the main issue I see in Halton is unemploy- ment; I would work with the Mayor and other Councilors, to make the Region of Halton open to, and attract the kind of businesses that would be around for decades to come. We need a good solid industrial tax base. We will also work on making sure the quality of education offered is up to par, and our residents graduate with the knowl- edge they need for the jobs available. I would also like to see a mentoring sys- tem in place where local youths can serve in some sort of apprentice or co-op program with the local businesses. The progress of which could be moni- tored for the first years of their employment in whatever capacity they choose. This will show that we are not only in- vesting in businesses, but also in the people we serve. John Paulic Halton has many policies on the books-- unfortu- nately it doesn't have many mechanisms to enforce these policies. In areas like transportation the planning is especially poor. I find the mention of "Transit Demand Management" in which people are informed by Halton that their transit habits have become "unsustain- able" unacceptable. The only reason your travel habits will become "unsustainable" is because we keep loading more people onto the same area without any real alter- native transportation plan. We need to promise transportation standards to residents then live up to those promises. Greg Woodruff