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Thursday, July 16, 2015 - The IFP - H alton H ills - w w w .theifp.ca Page 7 Furnace Air Conditioning Gaslines Boilers Water Heaters Radiant Heating 905-877-3100 proud local dealer of Canadian made products .ca Time to Move? Call Derek CallDerek.ca 905-877-8262 Derek Dunphy Sales Representative • Truck Accessories • Upholstery • Heavy Equipment Glass •Window Tinting 354 Guelph Street, Georgetown 905-873-1655 We handle all insurance work. COMMENT The way we were Local liquor prohibition was enforced in front of the Town Hall in Acton on May 6, 1911 when 100 gallons of beer were seized from the Dominion Hotel and poured into the ditch. Text & photo courtesy of John Mark Benbow Rowe, Acton: The History of Leathertown Before 2-4 became part of Canadian vocabulary Judy Adam sent this photo of a magnified view of the conservation area and Alliance Church steeple in view from higher elevation.   Have a photo you want to share? Email cgamble@theifp.ca A VIEW FROM ABOVE From our readers Reform Act a victory On June 23, the Reform Act, 2014 was granted Royal Assent by Governor General David Johnston, after it passed the Senate of Canada on June 22, 38 to 14. It will now come into force later this year, on Oct. 26. Eighteen months after the Reform Act was introduced in the House of Commons, it is now the law of the land. The road to its passage was hard- won and the bill was subject to much scrutiny and debate. The bill was amended to gain support from MPs in the various parties in the House of Commons. As a result, the Reform Act was passed with support from all rec- ognized parties in the House of Com- mons, 260 to 17. Ultimately, the bill passed for one reason: Tens of thou- sands of Canadians, including many in Wellington County and Halton Hills, spoke up and voiced their support for the bill to MPs, who responded by vot- ing for it. Thank you for your support. Without it, the Reform Act would never have become law. The hard-fought battle to get the bill passed demonstrates that the changes in the Reform Act are significant. And the multi-party sup- port for the bill demonstrates it is possible to set aside par- tisan differences, reach across the aisle and work across party lines to advance issues in the public interest. The Reform Act will rein- force the principle of respon- sible government in the House of Commons, making the ex- ecutive more accountable to the legislature and ensure that party leaders, including the Prime Minister, are more ac- countable to party caucuses. The Reform Act will remove the statutory requirement, in place since 1970, which mandates that leaders approve party can- didates. It will allow MPs to de- cide whether the leader or cau- cus can expel MPs from caucus and how the caucus chair is selected. It will allow MPs to choose an in- terim leader, in the event of the leader's removal, sudden res- ignation, incapacity or death. Finally, it will allow MPs to for- malize the rules to review and remove party leaders, there- by enhancing the democratic accountability party leaders to elected MPs in party caucuses. The passage of the Reform Act is a victory for Canadian democracy. It demonstrates that Par- liament, while very old and sometimes archaic, is capable of reform and renewal. It is my hope that the passage of the Reform Act is the beginning of further reforms of Parliament to strengthen our democracy and prepare it for the chal- lenges Canada faces in the 21st century. Michael Chong is the MP for Wellington-Halton Hills. He can be contacted at michael. chong.c1a@parl.gc.ca MICHAEL CHONG