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THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2012 THE NEW TANNER Mayor's Corner By Rick Bonnette On April 25, the ground breaking ceremony for the new Toronto Premium Outlets Centre occurred and construction is set to begin immediately. The new mall is slated to open next summer. The centre is expected to create 500 construction jobs and provide approximately 800 permanent full and parttime jobs. The economic effects will be felt throughout Halton Hills, Region of Halton and the GTA. **** Recently you may have become aware that there had been press about some defibrillators in other jurisdictions that had low batteries and did not operate in an emergency. Please be advised that the defibrillator program that we have put in place includes the following ongoing measures: Defibrillators in Town facilities are physically checked by staff for proper operation each month. This information is recorded and signed. We have in stock, a supply of replacement batteries should one be needed at any time. Our defibrillators have a low battery signal to alert our staff to replace the battery if the battery power goes too low. **** If you have little ones, why not bring them to one Halton Hills's three splash pads to cool down! You can cool down at: Gellert Community Centre, Dominion Seed Park in Georgetown and the Superior Glove splash pad located in Prospect Park, Acton. Splash Pads open Saturday May 19th to Monday, September 3 from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm daily weather permitting **** Now that the warmer weather is here, please be cautious of walking in the woods. Those nasty ticks can spread Lyme disease. There are more and more cases every year. If you want further information on Lyme disease, please visit the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation at http://www.canlyme.com. **** Right now there are hundreds of students in our classrooms struggling to see well and learn to the best of their ability. 1 in 6 kids have a vision problem. Many parents don't realize their child may have a problem because children don't know what normal vision is supposed to look like. Don't guess... have them checked! The cost of the eye exam an eye doctor is covered annually by OHIP until a child is 19. The glasses for the Eye See..Eye Learn program are donated by industry partners and local optometrists for JK students. www. EyeSeeEyeLearn.ca **** Drop by the Civic Centre and visit the Mayor's art wall, currently showcasing our local youth winners for the annual Mayor's Art Choice Awards. **** Congratulations to Julie Conroy who was named Acton Citizen of the Year for 2012. **** Congratulations to: Restore Physio on their grand opening in Georgetown. Salon Estilo on their grand opening in Georgetown Canadian Tire on their grand re-opening in Georgetown Keeping it real! I can be reached by telephone at 905-873-2601, ext. 2342, or by email at mayor@haltonhills.ca or read my blog at www.rickbonnette.blogspot.com or follow me on twitter at: @RickBonnette1 G O Tr a n s i t S e r v i c e Guarantee Begins This Fall Ontario to a regional transportation network that includes seven rail lines spanning 444 kilometres of track, and a regional bus service that connects 16 bus terminals along 2,784 kilometres' worth of routes. Without GO Transit, the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) would need four more Gardiner Expressways and four new Don Valley Parkways to accommodate its car traffic. Investing in public transit is part of the provincial government's plan to strengthen the economy. A strong economy protects the services that mean most to Ontario families - health care and education. GO Transit announced on Monday that they will run an additional weekday train trip along the Milton corridor during morning and afternoon peak periods, starting June 25. Two existing Torontobound trips will depart five minutes earlier along the route to make way for the new train in the morning. Existing afternoon train service will not be affected, although Milton GO Buses departing Union Station at 3:40 p.m., will be discontinued as passengers will have another rail option in the afternoon. "Areas served by the Milton corridor have seen an exceptional amount of population and employment growth in recent years, and this will continue." GO President Gary McNeil adds, "This continues to put pressure on our rush hour service. The new train will keep up with our ridership demands." Passengers are encouraged to check gotransit.com for more information. 9 GO Transit Service Guarantee Begins This Fall Starting this fall, Ontario will offer refunds to GO Train riders whose trains are more than 15 minutes late, except when delays are caused by extreme weather, police investigations, accidents or medical emergencies. The 15-minute guarantee is the next step the Ontario government is taking to ensure the best customer experience possible for GO passengers. This week, Ontario is celebrating 45 years of GO Transit service. The first GO Train departed Oakville Station for Toronto's Union Station on May 23, 1967. Back then, GO served just 8,000 riders a day; 45 years later that number has jumped to over 219,000. The popular transit system grew from a single rail line along the shore of Lake Science Matters By David Suzuki Canada would be a different place without our 80,000 registered charities dedicated to everything from health to economic policy to the environment. We'd be much poorer without the two-million employees and millions of volunteers who devote their time to causes that strengthen our nation. Recent efforts by the federal government and its backers in media and industry front groups like Ethical Oil to demonize and silence legitimate organizations ignore the important role charities play in Canada. That's why environmental and other organizations are joining with Canadians from all walks of life for Black Out Speak Out (blackoutspeakout.ca or silenceonparle. ca en français), launched on May 7 with ads in the By David Suzuki Globe and Mail, La Presse, and Ottawa's Hill Times and culminating in a website blackout June 4. Canadians understand the value of charitable organizations. Close to 85 per cent of us over 15 years of age (22.2 million people) donate to charities every year. Often, it's to help people in other parts of the world. According to Charity Village, Canadians gave $20 million to the Canadian Red Cross, CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada, UNICEF Canada, and World Vision within four days of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. For supporting worthy causes, Canadians are entitled to a small tax break. Canadians also know that our spectacular natural environment is crucial to our national identity, health, and survival, and that we can't always count on governments and industry to look out for its interests. And so they give their time, money, and voices to organizations working on a range of conservation issues from habitat and species protection to clean energy and global warming. The David Suzuki Foundation relies on Canadians for close to 94 per cent of its funding. Canadians also expect transparency and results, which is why our funding and spending information is public. With the help of many Canadians, and along with friends and allies, we've enjoyed many successes. We've increased demand and supply for sustainable seafood, fought for habitat protection for animals such as killer whales, and ensured that invaluable areas like the Great Bear Rainforest and the northern boreal forest get increased protection. Perhaps more importantly, we've facilitated opportunities for Canadians to engage in important discussions about conservation of the air, water, land, and biodiversity on which we all depend. It's why we're astounded by the increasing efforts to stifle so many people and organizations that devote countless hours to the often thankless and less-than-lucrative tasks of ensuring that Canada remains a stellar example of an open and democratic country with strong social values and a clean and healthy environment. If we are committed to these ideals then it follows we should also value freedom of speech and opportunities for a range of viewpoints on matters of national interest. It's fair to place limits on the extent and types of work organizations with charitable status can do. It's fair to ask questions about donations and what, if any, influence they may have on activities. But it is unacceptable to try to silence people with smear tactics designed to discredit them and deny their funding. If our leaders want to pin all their hopes and our future on a twinned pipeline through Alberta and B.C. to ship raw tar sands bitumen to China, then Canadians at least deserve a proper conversation about it. We've seen recent signs of hope, with the Alberta government calling for a national energy strategy, for example, and with people in the media and elsewhere questioning the wisdom of employing an omnibus budget act to gut environmental laws and attack charitable organizations. With continued suppres- sion of those who speak out about the environment and women's and human rights, along with muzzling of government scientists and cuts to government scientific and environmental programs and departments, it's clear we're facing a growing campaign, in part backed by industrial interests, to silence opposition. We expect and deserve better. That's why we're speaking out. Silence is not an option. We're ask- ing all Canadians to join us to help preserve two core national values: nature and democracy. Let's keep Canada strong and free. Please visit the websites of your favourite environmental organizations on June 4 to add your voice. Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation Editorial and Communications Specialist Ian Hanington. Learn more at www.davidsuzuki. org. AnnuAl PlAnt SAle Saturday May 19th 8am `til SOLD OUT ~ NEW LOCATION ~ Acton Acton Horticultural Society Bethal Christian Reformed Church Parking Lot Excellent selection of perennials & shrubs Knowledgeable gardeners will be present Thanks to the following for their donations: Sheridan Nurseries Arnold's Greenhouses The Flower Shed Canadian Tire DiGirolamo's Greenhouses Evergreen Acres Nursery Gillett Haulage & Excavating Lost Horizons Plant Nursery Plant Paradise Country Gardens Sobeys Taylor Nursery John Van Wissen Nurseries & Garden Centre acton@gardenontario.org