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© BOPINION ills | Thursday, January 13, 2022 = 5 GRAEME GOEBELLE TED ARNOTT Column Halton Hills lost one of its strongest pillars and greatest boosters with last month's passing of Graeme Goebelle. In his professional life as a chartered accountant, Goebelle served his clients with his vast knowledge, experience and integrity. He was successful with his he felt an obligation to give back. Goebelle had a passion- ate, enduring interest in our health-care system, anda deep appreciation for our health-care workers and our hospitals. He knew that to fulfil their mission, hospitals need community support; and community engagement helps to build that support. By volunteering his Hime, working with others and encouraging more peo- ple o ‘eet involved, he in- spired others to do the same and contributed sig- nificantly to the excellent care our community re- In recent years, he was appointed to the board of th Mississauga-Halton Local Health Integration Network (LHIN |). The man- 8 date of the LHIN is to focus on the needs of patients, TRUE CHAMPION OF HEALTH CARE break down silos in health care, reduce wasteful and overlapping spending, im- e front-line care and ete everyone in the system working together. His leadership skills soon propelled him into the chair's position. Goebelle was uniquely qualified for this role, and he embraced it wit be minister of health at the time, Deb Matthews, who frequently told me how much she appreciated the great job he was doing. Our entire community joins Graeme Goebelle's family in mourning his passing. But we also cele- brate his life, and give thanks fe rt his exceptional Ne ew t measures 3 to con- front the threat posed 7 the Omicron variant of Ct VID-19 were announced ey the Ontario government on Jan. 3. In consultation with Ontario's chief medical of- ficer of health, these changes are intended to slow the spread of the vi- rus, protect our health- care system from becom- ing more overwhelmed and ultimately, to keep people healthy an ands fate. the | latest, datod publi¢ health advice is available at covid-19.ontario.ca or halton.ca. Stay safe, and take care. Ted Arnott is the MPP Sor Wellington-Halton Hills. He can be reached at ted.arnott@pc.ola.org. SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFP.CA TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT THEIFPCA SNAPSHOT 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 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 ocna newsroom@theifp.ca IndependentAndFreePress @IFP_11 WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Regional General Manager Jason Pehora Joanne Markus photo | Director of Content Api at the Old Dominion Seed Gardens. Do you have a Lee Ann Waterman great local photo pst like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief Deputy Director of Content description. Catherine O'Hara Karen Micel Director rr Ditton BE OPTIMISTIC WHEN INVESTING | 2: Cireulation | Manager Kim Mossman riods where you will lose. Di rs of PERSONAL INVESTING IS INFLUENCED BY HOW YOU THINK, WRITES PETER WATSON Are you }) Pessimistic or optimistic? you are pessimistic about the future, you likely would not want to invest in the stock market. As we all know, the stock market has no guarantee of future re- sults. Some years you lose. The pandemic provides a good lesson on investing. Two years ago, this March, the stock market, as mea- sured by the "S&P 500, was down 20 pel For investors there were two options. Be pessimistic and focus on the tragedy, or silience to fight the pan- PETER WATSON Column demic and resume prosper- ity. After that decline, the S&P 500 gained pe per “cent during the next year. Investors that looked ahead optimistically and continued to hold their stock portfolio were re- warded. Over the last century, the S&P 500 has posted yearly gains about 75 per cent of the time. If you have a long-term mindset, consider invest- ing in a well-diversified, low- cost stock portfolio. Accept there will be pe- Also, accept the reality of human ingenuity to overcome obstacles. If the past 100 years can be used asa guide, the result will be continued economic pros- "Those who own stocks have the opportunity to share in that prosperity. Peter Watson is regis- tered with Aligned Capital Partners Inc. (ACPI) to provide investment advice. Investment products are provided by ACPI. ACPI is a member of the Invest- ment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of ACPI. Watson provides wealth janagement services through Watson Invest- ments. He can be reached at www.watsoninvestment- s.com. Cindi Campbell and Graeme Macintosh 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 For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail Ipotar@miltoncanadianchampion.com or call 905-234-1019. fas Accredited.