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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, O ct ob er 29 ,2 02 0 | 6 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 70 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the news- paper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca newsroom@theifp.ca IndependentAndFreePress @IFP_11 WHO WE ARE Publisher Kelly Montague Regional Managing Editor Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Distribution Representative Iouliana Polar Real Estate Kristie Pells Regional Production Manager Manuel Garcia Halton Media General Manager Jason Pehora CONTACT US The Independent & Free Press 280 Guelph Street, Unit 77 Georgetown, ON L7G 4B1 Phone: 905-873-0301 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Fax: 905-873-0398 Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at theifp.ca Delivery For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail lpolar@miltoncanadianchampion.com or call 905-234-1019. OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT THEIFP.CA A cardinal and sparrow meet at a bird feeder in a Georgetown backyard. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. Tony Fortunato photo SNAPSHOT PETER WATSON Column S&P 500 Index perfor- mance in 2020 seems dis- connected to the damaging impact COVID-19 has had on the economy. Early in the year, CO- VID-19 spread around the globe, accelerating change in many areas of the world economy. Millions lost their jobs. Forbes reported many sig- nificant organizations went out of business, while others faced financial dam- age so severe that their sur- vival was questionable. Add in the health conse- quences, plus the psycho- logical impact on people, and this year has been a di- saster. Logic would suggest the stock market would re- flect the pain. Not so. According to the Econo- mist, the U.S. stock market as measured by the S&P 500 index reached a record high Feb. 19. In less than five weeks, the index fell 33 per cent. Based on the severity of COVID-19, that significant decline could seem reason- able. Then, on March 24, the S&P 500 Index rebound- ed 17 per cent over a three- day period. By Aug. 18, the S&P 500 Index had fully recovered previous losses and gone on to set a new high. Why is there the poten- tial that the stock market will perform better than you might imagine, given the chaos the pandemic has created? The answer is simple. The value of stocks repre- sents the aggregate opin- ions of millions of investors around the world. Those investors volun- tarily agree to accept a price to purchase or sell a stock at a specific point in time. Consider that capital- istic democracy. Peter Watson, of Watson Investments MBA, CFP®, R.F.P., CIM®, FCSI offers a weekly financial plan- ning column, 'Dollars & Sense'. He can be contacted through www.watsonin- vestments.com. COVID-19 CHAOS DISCONNECTED FROM STOCK MARKET PERFORMANCE School's in ... in some way, shape or form. For our public educa- tion team, they are con- tinuing to reach out to stu- dents and youth from Grades 1 to 12 to teach them about healthy relation- ships. The need to continue the conversation about healthy relationships, con- sent, bullying and dating violence is even more prev- alent now, as children and teens are more isolated than ever before. This pandemic has and can continue to create situ- ations of being stuck at home with an abusive par- ent and/or stuck in an un- healthy, controlling and abusive relationship. Here are some ways our public education team is working with youth through COVID-19; • Adapting their presen- tation modes of delivery, for example, live virtual via Google Meet or pre-re- corded presentations via a safe YouTube link. In fact, within a few days of launching these options, they have received 55-plus live virtual bookings from both elementary and sec- ondary schools. • Launching virtual youth volunteer opportu- nities for students, as vol- unteer opportunities are now limited with CO- VID-19. • Youth podcast contri- butions -- students can volunteer to be a regular contributor to our newly launched 'The Youth Pod by Halton Women's Place'-- a great opportuni- ty to gain volunteer hours and great experience to put on their resume! • Social media ambassa- dor opportunities -- The team will be soon launch- ing a Youth Ambassador Program, where students can gain volunteer hours by using their social media platforms to educate and in- crease awareness about healthy relationships for their peers. This will be a great opportunity to be- come a part of a great cause, and use their voice and plat- forms for positive change. Whether in a regular classroom setting or not, the focus to reach youth to educate them on keeping safe at home or in their re- lationships is key in pre- venting violence against women. We at Halton Women's Place believe the only way we are going to end abuse towards women is by con- tinuous conversations with youth of all ages. If you are a youth that is interested in getting in- volved in any of the above activities, email Jerusha at jmack@haltonwomen- splace.com. If you are interested in investing in our Public Ed- ucation Program, please email cbozzo@haltonwo- mensplace.com. Carm Bozzo is the man- ager of development and communications for Hal- ton Women's Place. She can be reached at cboz- zo@haltonwomen- splace.com. A VITAL LESSON, NOW MORE THAN EVER EDUCATING YOUTH ABOUT HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, WRITES CARM BOZZO CARM BOZZO Column