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

6 uw ° =z = Ss = BUILDING REDEVELOPMENT ills | Thursday, February 10, 2022 | Hi f=] z= => = = = a o = = = = a 3 STEAM, WRITES TED ARNOTT TED ARNOTT Column inning for the rede- veloumne of Georgetown Hospital is underway — and gaining momentum. The hospital's board and staff have been work- ing in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and other decal partners to opportunity to envision the future of health care in our commu- nity. The Ministry of Health adminis complex, multi Se approvals pro- cess for hospital capital projects. Many communities across the province are in need of new health-care in- icture, so we need to work together. No doubt, th will e process will continue to evolve in the coming years. For many years, I worked very closely with the staff of the Groves Me- morial Community Hospi- tal as they planned for a new hospital in the town- ship of Centre Wellington. There were numerous challenges, including the need to rai dollars locally. We had countless meetings, faced sought the support of no fewer than seven ministers § of health. 2 The community was FOR OUR HOSPITAL'S FUTURE een ond engaged mad sure oe ome ae did not de. generate into fo political football, as — _— has hap, pened 7: “other communit The pen hospital opened its doors to patients in Aug MEP > tor Welling- ton’ Halton Hills, | want to do everything I can to sup- port the plan for redevelop- ment of Georgetown Hospi- ho and help to propel it for- ard. eon Feb. 22, the Ontario Legislature is scheduled to resume sitting, in-person, just as we have throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. As your MPP and as Speaker of the House, I will be there. The Speaker's role in the British parliamentary system is unique. Entrust- ed by both sides of the House to reside over the and debates, the Seon must refrain from partisanship or mak- ing public statements on is- sues that are before the House. Thave taken this respon- sibility very seriously, while I have worked behind ad- dressed and y your Toice is oan ability | to represent our riding ha: enhanced ce a my tine as Speaker, working with id. government and opposi- tion MPPs alike. Ted Arnott is the MPP for Wellington—Halton Hills. He can be reached at ted.arnott@pc.ola.org. YOUROPINIONS SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFP.CA TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT THEIFPCA SNAPSHOT a Stephen Howe photo An eagle rests in a tree on Old School Road. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. RISING INTEREST RATES AHEAD TIME TO ADDRESS THIS REALITY IS NOW, WRITES PETER WATSON The Bank of Canada continues to sound that higher lnterest rates are just around the corner. There are two signifi- cant reasons why. One. Inflation, as mea- sured by the consumer price index, had an annual increase of 4.8 per cent in December. This is the highest level in three decades. The tar- get inflation rate is be- tween one and three per cent. Two. Real estate prices continue to soar. Houses in Canada has appreciated 43 pore cent in the last two “tts time for the Bank of PETER WATSON Column Canada to do its job, and that is to slow down nomic activity and return to a more stable and sus- tainable growth rai ill barge, and the focus of our attention will immediately shift to e many who are overex- tended and find higher in- terest rates unaffordable. This is necessary for the economy, but painful for many individuals. The next scheduled date that interest rates could change is March 2. The consensus is that there will be several rate increases over a short peri- od of time. Our suggestion is to spend a little time looking sorb higher interest rates? What changes will you have to make when interest rates Tatonest rates will rise. The time to address this re- ality is now. Peter Watson is regis- tered with Angra 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 management services through Watson Invest- ments. He can be reached at www.watsoninvestment- s.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 ocna el newsroom@thei IndependentAndFreePress @IFP_11 WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Regional General Manager Jason Pehora Director of Content Lee Ann Waterman Deputy Director of Content Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Director of Distribution Charlene Hall Circulation Manager Kim Mossman Directors of Cindi Campbell and Graeme Macintosh CONTACT US Burlington, ON L7R 3N8 Phone: 905-873-0301 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 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. fisAe)