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Achilles Mazda of Milton 1195 SteelesAve East, Milton ON L9T2X8 289-627-1800 or 1-866-620-3248 www.achillesmazda.ca • info@achillesmazda.ca MAZDA'S NEW YEAR CELEBRATION ON FINANCE OFFERS ONLY DON'T PAY FOR 90DAYS♦ 2015 Mazda3 GX BI-WEEkLY LEASE OffER $85‡ at 0.79%ApR ONLY fOR 36 MONThS / $995 DOWN. ExCLuDES hST. GT model shown REFINANCING? PURCHASING? BOBWOODS, Broker (905) 877-1490 360 Guelph St., Georgetown Five Year Variable FSCO #10259 Division of 1490845 Ont. Ltd. 2.3%2.10%2.10% Variable Rate Mortgage Time to Move? Call Derek CallDerek.ca 905-877-8262 Derek Dunphy Sales Representative Thursday, January 29, 2015 Halton Hills' award-winning newspaper serving Acton & Georgetown 72 Pages 50 Cents (+HST) Readers' Choice, 20 pages insideVisit us at www.theifp.ca facebook.com/Independent&FreePress Twitter: @IFP_11 Safe and sound Halton Hills becomes 65th town in Canada to be designated a Safe Community. See page 4 Special guest The Bishop of Niagara was in Acton on Sunday to officially open St. Alban's Church's new Community Kitchen. See page 20 Not enough judges, an overwhelmed staff and two outdated courthouses unable to handle the rapidly growing population of Halton Region may lead to an increase in cases being thrown out for taking too long to get to trial, judges and lawyers are warning. Ontario Court Justice Alan D. Cooper made his concerns known in a recent ruling dismissing a dan- gerous driving case after it took nearly two years to reach trial. "Without an increase in court resources and personnel, more and more cases will likely be the subject of unreasonable delay applications," Coo- per wrote in his decision. "The court lists are now becoming clogged due to a growing population and the scarcity of trial time." Judicial resources are stretched thin, he added, noting that his appointment in 2004 was the last time a judge was added in the region. Meanwhile, new courthouses have been built in other municipalities, including Kitchener-Water- loo and Oshawa, and a six-floor expansion of the Brampton courthouse was announced earlier this month by the province to meet projected demand in Peel region. "Halton is becoming one of the lost children of the Ontario judicial system," Cooper wrote. "For some reason, its obvious needs have been overlooked." In response to a question about whether a new courthouse is being considered for Halton region, spokesperson for the Ministry of the Attorney Gen- eral Brendan Crawley said: "We recognize that there By Alyshah Hasham Special to The IFP Judges, lawyers issue warning on Halton's aging court system RONALD STOPS BY FOR A VISIT: Kathleen Dills of the Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce joined Ronald McDonald in the Acton Winter Carnival picture frame during the weekend carnival. Ronald McDonald was spending the weekend in Halton Hills, first stopping in at the Georgetown McDon- ald's on Saturday. See photo on page 19. For more Carnival photos go to page 12. Photo by Ray Lavender Continued on page 8