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

6 uw ° =z = Ss = ton Hills | Thursday, October 14, 2021 | THRONE SPEECH 5 OUTLINES : GOVERNMENT'S TOP PRIORITIES, WRITES TED ARNOTT TED ARNOTT Column The Legislative Assem- from the Throne presented by the Lieutenant Gover- nor, the Honourable Eliza- beth Dowdeswell. Dowdeswell was a distin- ral of the Unit- ed Nations. She assumed the vice-regal role as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's representative in the prov- ince of Ontario in 2014. safeguard democratic institutions, and has visit- ed every riding in the prov- ince to support community and stabilizing presence in the province throughout her tenure as Lieutenant Governor, but never more LOOKING AHEAD AT ONTARIO'S FUTURE The throne specch, writ- ten by the government but read by Her Honour, is in- tended to paint a vision of the government's plans for say the effort falls short and — in my opinion — overlook the province's that I served in the Ontario ald lature, I have been present for many throne speeches. But in this parliament, I e had the privilege of watching these speeches as the Speaker of the Legisla- tive Assembly. As Speaker, I am very busy with my duties at Queen's Park. I continue to urge a greater degree of co- operation amongst MPPs. while we debate important matters that will impact the Brovinee’ 's future. I also continue to make the concerns of the people of Wellington—Halton Hills my priority. When the House is sitting, I am in touch with our riding of- fice throughout the day. I work with ministers, gov- ernment and opposition MPPs alike. mn Fridays, as always, I work in our riding office, mostly returning phone calls, responding to emails and participating in Zoom meetings. We seek to en- sure your voice is heard at Queen's Park. Ted Arnott is the MPP for Wellington-Halton so than during the past 18 —_Hills. He can be reached at months. ted.arnott@pc.ola.org. OUROPINIONS SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT theifp.ca TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT THEIFPCA SNAPSHOT Diane Cuthbert photo A turkey vulture visits the Georgetown Fairgrounds. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. CMHC SOUNDS ALERT THAT HOUSE PRICES HAVE BECOME RISKY, WRITES PETER WATSON house value warning has been issued by the Can- ada Mortgage and Housing Corp. It issued its highest rating and specifically mentioned three cities: To- ronto, Hamilton and Otta- wa. According to the Cana- dian Real Estate Associa- increase from 365 to 55 per cone .e CMHC report said, ‘exceptional strong de- home price ap- preciation over the course of the pandemic may have contributed to irrational expectations of continued PETER WATSON Column price growth and, in turn, more buyers entered the market than was warrant- My concern is that after we emerge from the pan- demic, house prices may return to pre-COVID lev- els. What happens if home values decline and results in the house mortgage be- ing higher than the value of the house? This is a risk for the homeowner and the mort- a company. th home prices are puso affordability — prominentissue during the HOUSE VALUE WARNING ISSUED federal election — out of ach. wwning a house has been a good strategy for many who sell the house in order to fund retirement. If you overpay for a house now, will that limit the po- tential gain when you re- ore arent have provided funds to children wanting to get into the housing mar- ket. Will a housing market correction negatively af- fect the parent's well-being and their ability to have a comfortable retirement? Your hou: is your home. It is also a potential risk. Peter Watson, of Watson Investments MBA, CFP®, R.EP., CIM®, FCSI offers a weekly financial plan- ning column, Dollars & Sense. He can be contacted through www.watse vestments.com. 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 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 nne fjocna NEtidaa count oO newsroom@thei IndependentAndFreePress @IFP_11 WHO WE ARE Publisher Kelly Montague Regional Managing Editor Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Distribution Representative a 3 Real Estate Kristie Pell Regional Prato Manager Manuel Gar Halton Moka General Manager Jason Pehora CONTACT US The Independent & Free Press 901 Guelph Line Burlington, ON L7R 3N8 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 Ipolar@miltoncanadianchampion.com or call 905-234-1019. fisAe)