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3 | The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,M ay 13,2021 theifp.ca Spring is back, and so is our 16th Annual Super Spring SpecialON NOW ! - Oil & Filter (Includes up to 6 litres regular oil) - Complete top to bottom check over - Installation of summer tires on rims included (wheels 20" and up $10.00 extra) - $5.00 Tim's Card - 4 litre Jug of Washer Fluid eXTraS $8995* Call for an Appointment *Most Vehicles Prices are +HST 45 Mountainview Rd. N., Georgetown 905.877.7958 hassellsauto@bellnet.ca • hassellautomotive.com $6995*69 Only Synthetic oil (up to 6 litres) Silver 2018 Halton Hills hassell automotive sales & service Silver Ranked within sight of the top 100 Canadian com- munities to live by Mac- lean's magazine in 2019, Halton Hills is now closer to the bottom of the list. In 2019, Halton Hills ranked 106th out of 415 as- sessed communities. The latest rankings, released this spring, had the town sitting at 293rd. But despite the drop, the town has seen a marked in- crease in real estate prices driven by people eager to live in Halton Hills. "I find that Halton Hills has a real pride of owner- ship," Melanie Frazer, ex- ecutive director of the Hal- ton Hills Chamber of Com- merce, said. "People love the fact that our local busi- ness owners actually live here." Maclean's list was re- leased earlier in the month and new considerations have shaken Halton Re- gion's rankings. While Hal- ton Hills fell the furthest, 2019 champion, Burling- ton, has been unseated, falling to 13th. Halifax is now No. 1, followed by Charlottetown. "It's pretty special actu- ally," Frazer said about the business community in Halton Hills. "There's a great interest beyond 'how does this benefit my busi- ness' and instead 'how does this benefit my communi- ty?'" This year's data points considered the value of re- mote work and thus elimi- nated assessments of the local economy in favour of assessed internet quality. For Halton Hills, Mac- lean's ranked internet quality as its top feature, followed by low crime, and access to amenities. "The chamber has been working remotely since Ju- ly, and we've been thinking long and hard about if (re- mote work) is the future of business," Frazer said. "It's not -- We need to be in front of each other and our members." For many local busi- ness, Frazer said the appe- tite for full-time remote work was low. "We're realizing Zoom does not make for a great connection," she said. With real estate costs as evidence, many prospec- tive buyers may be looking at Halton Hills as a middle ground for the future of work. "People from downtown Toronto know they'll be able to work a little bit re- motely," Frazer said, "but I don't think it will go back to 100 per cent in office." Halton Hill's neighbour, Brampton, enjoyed a mas- sive improvement from its 2019 rank of 199th, climbing above all of Halton Region and landing at 13th. Inter- net quality, community, and amenities were cited as top features. "Halton Hills is on the cusp -- we're kind of in lim- bo right now," Frazer said. "We're a small town but we've got a lot of growth ahead of us. We've got to hold on to those small- town roots." NEWS BIG DROP FOR TOWN IN 'BEST COMMUNITIES' RANKING BRYAN MYERS bmyers@metroland.com Maclean's ranked Halton Hills as the 293rd out of 415 best communities to live in Canada. In 2019, the town ranked 106th. Metroland file photo