© BOPINION The IFP - Halton Hills | Thursday, July 21, 2022 INDIGENOUS HIRING RACTICES PRESENTATION A REAL EYE-OPENER, WRITES STEVE LEBLANC ‘STEVE LEBLANC Column It'sabout trust. Our rela- tionship with our readers is built on transparency, hon- esty and integrity. As such, we have launched a trust initiative to tell you who we are and how and why we what we do. This cohumn i is part of that project your trusted news source here in Halton — and most other communi- ties across southern Onta- we're constantly strivingfor fairness and in- clusion. And we're fully aware that this is a never-ending endeavour. One key step toward that goal came last month, with a presentation by Chantal Fraser of Indige- nous Link. A Métis and re- self to building bridges be- tween different groups of le. ple. Among the many ways she does so is offering her insight to companies like mine, which welcomed her thoughts and suggestions § on Indigenous hiring prac- € tices, THE NEVER ENDING ROAD TO INCLUSION The session was, to say ry lesson, Chantal offered a detailed blueprint on how companies can level the playing field — for lack of a better term — for all Prospective employees. sane takeaway recognize (and Poe aly appreciate) that Indigenous person might in many cases anyway — likely approach the job search process much differently than, say, I did decades ago. An Indigenous person be so quick to sing their own praises during an in- terview. That doesn't make them any less suitable for the job. 1 is simply a matter of idening one's idea of bo to go about hiring and how simple measures can goa long way toward puile ing trust and maki company more wel ‘coming to potential new employ- ees. One oft the Series ‘ingful pro; She gave us some valu- able food for thought andis definitely deserving of our gratitude. Steve LeBlanc is news editor of the Metroland community newspapers in Halton. He can be reached at sleblanc@metro- land.com. We welcome your ques- tions and value your com- ments. Email our trust com- mittee at trust@metro- land.com. De Araccoon grabs a snack from a bird feeder on Lawlor Street. Do you have a great local photo TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT THEIFPCA _ SNAPSHOT FN si 2S ise Butt photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. HOUSE PRICES POISED T0 FALL ee PETER WATSON Column "Property values, al- ready slipping, are likely tofallmore than 0p per cent in the coming year.” This quote is from a re- cent report from RBC Eco- nomics. Add this to other news on housing prices and. the new reality is Ca- lians' largest asset is eee value. According to the report, the reason for lecline is a combination of ex- tremely high prices of houses and increasing in- e Bank of Canada's prime. objective is to get contro] over inflation. Put- ting the brakes on inflation with higher interest rates leaves the collateral dam- age of lower house prices. The | panei challenge face signifi- ae ey, ‘for those who had a relatively small down payment and a large mortgage. Many of those home- owners could lose all the equity in their house and even be in the unenviable position of having a mort- gage greater than the value of the property. ome might end up sell- ing their house and walk- ing away from home own- ership while still oO could end up being very ex- sive. Previous generations of homeowners have been re- warded because of decades of escalating prices. Capi- tal gains on a principal res- idence are fax: free, so the financial gains in many cases have een enormous. t_ investments, in- cluding | houses, do experi- ence times with ue of houses people have purchased is significantly higher than any other fi- nancial decision they have made. Financially-extended homeowners have difficult times ahead. Peter Watson, of Watson Investments MBA, CFP®, REP. CIM®, FCSI offers a weekly financial plan- ning column, Dollars & Sense. He can be contacted through www.watsonin- 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 of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concems. to the attention of the news- 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 nnc hocna newsroom@theifp.ca 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 rr Distribution Directors of Advertisin, Cindi Campbell and Graeme Macintosh Director Creative Services 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. 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