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Pa ge 1 0 T hu rs da y, A pr il 23 , 2 01 5 - T he IF P - H al to n H ill s - w w w .th ei fp .c a What year is your room stuck in? Buy one get one FREE* on all manufactured paint April 13 - May 3, 2015 Find a store near you at Dulux.ca insert store address here (max 1 line) insert phone numberstore name and branch *Cannot be combined with any other offer or promotion. Buy any container (3.0L-3.78L) of Dulux or Glidden paint at the regular retail price and get the second container (of equal or lesser value) free. Excludes Flood products. All products may not be available at all locations. See instore for offer details. At participating locations only. © 2015 PPG Industries Inc. All rights reserved. Dulux is a registered trademark of AkzoNobel and is licensed to PPG Architectural Coatings Canada Inc. for use in Canada only. The Multi-Colored Swatches Design is a trademark of PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc. Glidden is a registered trademark of the PPG Group of Companies. 1986. Great year for mullets. Not your walls. Dulux Paint #8454 905-873-1363 214 Guelph St, Georgetown, ON L7G 4A9 NEWS Halton Hills Mayor welcomes news of Connecting Links program An announcement that the province is re-establishing the Connecting Links funding program is seen as wel- come news by Mayor Rick Bonnette. The province is committing $15 million annually to the new program, which will help municipalities pay the construction and repair costs for con- necting links-- municipal roads that connect communities to provincial highways and border crossings. It will be designed to complement the Ontario Community Infrastruc- ture Fund, which provides small, ru- ral and northern communities with funding to build and repair critical infrastructure. The previous Connecting Links program was cancelled in 2013. "While the devil is in the details, it's encouraging to hear that the gov- ernment is going to re-establish a program that they cancelled without prior notice and that placed an unfair financial burden on municipalities," said Bonnette. "Halton Hills pushed back on this decision and I'm glad to see there is some movement in the right direction. We are looking for- ward to working with Ministry on the program for implementation in the spring of 2016." "The first step is to work with the Ministry to develop the details of the program that will meet our needs," said Chris Mills, the Town's Director of Infrastructure Services. A few of the Town's major projects that could be considered for funding under Connecting Links, announced Monday, Mills said include bridge rehabilitation over CNR at Main St. N. (approximately $750,000), asphalt resurfacing on Mill St. in Acton ($2.4 million) and asphalt resurfacing and intersection improvements on Guelph St. between Maple Ave. and Mountainview Rd. ($1.5 million). Mills said all cost estimates would have to be updated. Minister of Transportation Steven Del Duca said the provincial govern- ment is "creating jobs and increasing connectivity across our province." "These highways are essential links in many communities, they car- ry our loved ones, and they carry our economy. This is further proof of our government's commitment to mak- ing travel and quality of life better for Ontario families," said Del Duca. Brad Duguid, Minister of Eco- nomic Development, Employment and Infrastructure, said the Province listened when municipalities told them they wanted it to introduce a new Connecting Links program. "We are committed to consulting closely with our municipal partners to ensure the program returns stron- ger than ever, so we can improve in- frastructure across the province and sharpen Ontario's competitive edge," said Duguid. "The cancellation of the original Connecting Links program created huge problems for municipalities like the Town of Halton Hills and the Township of Centre Wellington," said Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Ar- nott.  "Implicitly, the government is admitting that they made a mistake by cancelling the program in the first place." He said the previous program had provided municipalities with a stable source of funding for up to 90% of the cost of necessary road and bridge re- pairs on provincial highways passing through built up areas. "I want to thank our municipal leaders for speaking up. Many of our elected councillors in Wellington- Halton Hills have been persistently vocal about their disappointment with the Government's decision." He's cautiously optimistic the pro- gram has been restored but warns the details are still sketchy. "Despite this announcement, the government has left a lot of questions unanswered," said Arnott.  "Is this an- nouncement new money, or is it just a shell game and a reallocation of pre- viously promised funding to munici- palities?  Will the Government still be funding 90% of the costs like it used to?  They haven't said." He also said the $15-million com- mitment is considerably less than what the province spent in some pre- vious years under the old program and he hopes the $15 million is only a start. By Lisa Tallyn ltallyn@theifp.ca An aerial view of Guelph St., a Connecting Link through Georgetown.