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6 uw ° =z = Ss = COLLECTIVE EFFORTS HAVE HELPED KEEP OUR COMMUNITY SAFE, WRITES RICK BONNETTE The IFP - Halton Hills | Thursday, April 21, 2022 | RICK BONNETTE. Column Its been a long two years since we first heard of COVID-19. No one ever signed up for governing during a pan- demic that we really didn't know much about. There was no play book. Thanks to our front-line health-care workers, Hal- her team, town and region- al staff and all of you, the town was able to operate in an efficient matter. It's too early to take the checkered flag and doa vic- tory lap. COVID-19 is still here, so please continue to practise safe protocols and vere to be kind. are starting to get a to some sort of normalcy. The Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce re- cently held its annual Busi- ness Awards night and din- ner. This is a huge event to honour our many fine busi- nesses. Congratulations to all of the businesses and to Lindsay Petch, who re- ceived t the he Employee of the Year Over the past two years we have offered the Al g Fresco in the Hills Pro- £ gram (outdoor Bios) to & THANKS TO ALL WHO STEPPED UP THROUGH PANDEMIC help support the recovery of local restaurants throughout the pandemic. I encourage everyone to show support, if you can, for our community by get- ting out on a patio. aking of truer. ere al ‘ibi- tions in the Si Sionett eee at the Gellert Cultural Cen- tre. Albert Gnosill: A Clos- er Look is featured in the Seven, ony aloe in land- scape painting and thisisa rare 2 opportunity to see his woe exhibition is cour- tesy Ann and Josef Sirka who are donating proceeds from sales of the paintings to the Pomich raini Fund, which provides aid to Ukrainian war orphan: e work of several io cal artists is on view in the lower level of the cult centre in the exhibition Hope/Nadiya. The show includes a variety of styles and media, and artists are donating sales proceeds to charities in support of Ukrainian relief. Both exhibitions con- tinue until May 1.I applaud the efforts of our local art- ists and collectors to raise funds for humanitarian aid in Ukraine, and hope that you will take to visit and pea vi vies exhibits. Rick Bonnette is the mayor of Halton Hills. Follow him on Twitter at m- TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT THEIFPCA SNAPSHOT Ross Pezzack photo A porcupine visits a stretch of the Bruce Trail in Georgetown. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. CANADA FACING MANY CHALLENGES THESE DAYS, WRITES PETER WATSON The goal of a federal budget is is to outline the in- mses, and priorities. | cannot remem- ber a time when there have been more issues needing to be addressed. Our country has too much debt. That problem, I believe, i Then the pandemic hit, and federal spending increased ling to the stagram at @rick | on nettel. SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFPCA country's debt. It was a spending strategy that was costly, but necessary. The budget acknowl: edged our country's debi and announced it would at tempt to return to pre-pan- demic spending and declin- ing deficits over the com- PETER WATSON Column ing years. There isa limit to how much debt our coun- try should maintain, and now isa time for fiscal pru- lence. The intermediate term balancing objective is te control spending, while the same time enchiirecten current programs, plus in- porate some new initia- ‘ves. This includes the new child-care program, the en- vironment and affordable ng. live up to our NATO com- BUDGET AIMS TO BALANCE PRIORITIES mitment on national de- ey will 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 be directed to aare ned our military capabilities and Cindi paripbelt and Graeme Macintos Ukraine. The minority Liberal government eeenk nego: watt the NI (DP, ‘with th the el to continue to govern until Dental care is one of those negotiated spending priorities was ad- dressed in the he budget, The challenge is to be aware of the fiscal reality that too much overspend- ing could greatly hinder our country for decades to come. 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.watsonin- vestments.com. Direct Servi Katherine Porcheron CONTACT US The Independent & Free Pres: 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)