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Pa ge 1 0 T hu rs da y, O ct ob er 2 9, 2 01 5 - T he IF P - H al to n H ill s - w w w .th ei fp .c a NEWS Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott's proposal to establish an Ontario Green Legacy Program to mark Ontario's 150th anniversary within Canada has been endorsed by the Ontario Legislature. Last Thursday, the Legislature voted unanimously to pass Ar- nott's Private Member's Resolution calling on the Government to take Wellington County's Green Legacy Program province-wide by plant- ing 150 million trees beginning in 2017. "An Ontario Green Legacy Pro- gram could be a legacy that all of us in this House can claim as our collective gift to the generations to come," Arnott said during his clos- ing remarks in the debate. "I want to once again express my admiration for the County of Wellington, for the outstanding leadership they have shown in launching their Green Legacy Pro- gram and maintaining it on an on- going basis, such that it has grown into the largest municipal tree planting program in North Amer- ica," Arnott told the House. "They have shown us the way." The Ontario Green Legacy Program has also been endorsed by the David Suzuki Foundation, NeighbourWoods on the Grand, the Ontario Federation of Agricul- ture, the Christian Farmers Fed- eration of Ontario, the Professional Foresters Association, as well as Halton Hills community leader Laurent Thibault. Arnott intends to continue to follow up with the Minister of Nat- ural Resources to see that the Gov- ernment follows through. "Passing my resolution today was the first step towards an Ontar- io Green Legacy Program," Arnott said afterwards. "Now we need to see a positive response from the Government. I intend to continue to raise this with them until they commit to making Ontario Green Legacy a reality." Local MPP's Ontario Green Legacy proposal unanimously endorsed BIKE CHALLENGE REACHES THE MOON: The 2015 Halton Hills Community Bike Challenge has reached its astronomical goal and recorded its 384,000 kilometre cycled this season, which is the equivalent distance of the Earth to the Moon. This milestone was reached on Oct. 3 by the 1,038 participants who signed up for the Challenge. As a result of this extraordinary effort, sponsors donated $62,500 to the Georgetown Hospital Foundation. They include: The Peter Gilgan Foundation/Mattamy Homes $25,000, Georgetown Canadian Tire, $20,000; Halton Epic Tour, $5,000; Georgetown Terminal Warehouse, $5,000; Superior Glove, $2,500; CPI ,$2,000; Ollie's Cycle and Ski $1,000; Young's Dentistry $1,000; HealthSpan Wellness, $500; Betty D'Oliveira Realtor, $500. A celebration event and cheque presentations was held at the Halton Hills Cultural Centre recently. Holding the honourary cheques are (from left) Andrew Jonkman, Georgetown Canadian Tire; Councillor Jane Fogal, chair of the Bicycle Friendly Community Committee; Jennifer McNally, Georgetown Hospital Foundation; Betty D'Olivera, Realtor; Ollie Tuchel, Ollie's Cycle & Ski; Michael Merrall, PWC Epic Tour; Julia Fountain, Healthspan Wellness; Hank Visser, Director Business Development Georgetown Terminal Warehouses and Brenda Sisnett, President Georgetown Terminal Warehouses. Photo by Jon Borgstrom