The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Pa ge 6 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 The Independent & Free Press is published Thursday and is one of several Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The Independent & Free Press is a member of the Ontario Press Coun- cil, which is an independent ethical organization established to deal with editorial concerns. For additional information or to file a complaint, contact info@ ontpress.com or call 416-340-1981. The Independent & Free Press It's time for Ontario to lead Letters to the editor 905-873-0301 Publisher: Dana Robbins General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@theifp.ca) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@theifp.ca) Managing editor: Chris Vernon (cvernon@metroland.com) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@theifp.ca) Classifieds/Real Estate Kristie Pells (realestate@theifp.ca) Classified Call Centre 1-855-415-8237 classified@theifp.ca Accounting 1-866-773-6575 Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@theifp.ca) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@theifp.ca) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@theifp.ca) Get the latest headlines delivered to your inbox by signing up for our twice weekly electronic newsletter. Go to www.theifp.ca and click on 'Newsletter sign-up' at the bottom of the homepage. Shop local, buy local If you believe in the scientific theorem that carbon emissions (driven by fossil fuels) is the main cause of climate change, then you must welcome the initiative by Queen's Park to join a coterie of other jurisdictions (including Quebec) to initiate a cap-and-trade plan. If you're not, then Ontario's plan is more than irk- some. The anti-green thinking goes like this: It is simply another tax that will help kill the economy and pump up the price of fuel at the pumps. It's clear our world is groaning over the continued use of fossil fuels, and Canada (Alberta) is a serial con- tributor because of the oil sands, one of the greatest eco-disasters on the planet. But can a jurisdiction like Ontario really make a dif- ference when countries like India and China expand their use of coal, and Alberta, the bogeyman under the bed, says it will jack up its greenhouse gas emissions by 10 per cent running up to 2020? The answer is yes. If we don't do it, who will? The imposition of a cap-and-trade (Ontario will cap the total amount of emissions, and if companies want to burn more, they'll have to pay for the privilege) is a brave effort to give our children a cleaner and greener future. This initiative might also help clean up Canada's image around the world, in what many are calling the greatest environmental fight of this century. But Canada needs a unified plan and leadership from Ottawa, not Queen's Park. It's shameful how Canada has acted (or not acted) at the United Nations, while Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and other provinces are doing what Ottawa should be doing -- battling the issue head on. Climate change isn't a scientific theorem, but a modern-day malady and Canada is one of the worst offenders. It's way past time we acted to put a cap on this inanity. The cost of all this will, of course, be a big issue and critics will call it another not-so-hidden tax. But what is the other cost -- the long-term one -- that affects the future of our planet and that of our children? If Ottawa won't lead, then Ontario should. Thus, unveiling a pan-Canadian solution for carbon emis- sions should be one of the key issues in the upcom- ing federal election. My family has been selling real estate in Halton Hills since 1992 and year after year I continue to see an influx in the amount of residents making the choice to have a non-local realtor represent them in the sale of their home. Local realtors know the market best and are available to you. We love Georgetown. I raised my children here and my grandchildren are growing up here as well. We have a personal interest in the future of our town. We give back to our community by supporting more than 25 local chari- ties, including Food4Kids and ALS. We sponsor numerous sports team as well as individual child athletes. Non-local businesses do not give back to our town. Help to support our town, its charities and sports teams. I urge you to shop local and help to keep Georgetown the small town that we all love. Dave Krause, Re/Max Real Estate Centre Inc. reconstruct it. During that process the house could have been moved to an- other location because, in its present location, as a Mattamy report states, "it would be incompatible with the subdivi- sion grading." Keeping in mind, this house was de- scribed in the above mentioned Matta- my report as "eligible for designation un- der the Ontario Heritage Act." Members of Halton Hills Council had the power to save it by issuing Intent to Designate. Instead, they paved the way for the de- struction of another significant heritage landmark. Patricia Farley, Halton Hills Branch President Architectural Conservancy of Ontario OPINION Heritage home deserves more At their April 13 meeting members of Halton Hills Council chose to remove the Mattamy-owned farmhouse at 10114 8th Line, on the Vision Develop- ment lands, from the Halton Hills Heri- tage Register, clearing the way for this remarkable piece of Halton Hills' rural heritage to be demolished. Mattamy Homes is an award win- ning multinational company with a proven track record of saving heritage structures in neighbouring municipali- ties. Most remarkably, Mattamy assisted the City of Brampton with the brick by brick reconstruction of the Canadian Pacific Railway Station. The station had previously been stored, disassembled, in a field, which makes the loss of the architecturally significant Halton Hills farmhouse all the more puzzling. Granted the house, which is the only structure in Halton Hills to sustain sig- nificant damage as a result of the 2013 ice storm, may appear beyond repair, but the technology exists to save and Letters must include the author's name, ad- dress and daytime phone number. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 150 words and may be edited for content and/or length. Publication is not guaranteed. Email: cvernon@metroland.com Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 77, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Letters policy