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•T h e IF P • H alto n H ills, Thursday, M ay 1, 2014 7 Furnace Air Conditioning Gaslines Boilers Water Heaters Radiant Heating www.BrooksHeatingAndAir.ca New Equipment Precision Maintenance Repair 905-877-3100 • Truck Accessories • Upholstery • Heavy Equipment Glass •Window Tinting 354 Guelph Street, Georgetown 905-873-1655 We handle all insurance work. COMMENT Real estate, business makes us great Businesses want to be in Halton. Whether it's a professional office, manufacturing facility or distri- bution warehouse, Halton offers the right mix of competitive taxes, infrastructure and high quality of life. A critical compo- nent of our commu- nity is supporting and preserving our strong economy, while ensur- ing businesses keep coming to Halton. Regional Council recently received Hal- ton's 2013 Economic Review and I was once again impressed with how the Region's com- mitment to building a strong economy, along with our strong busi- ness community is contributing to a vibrant Region. A strong business investment in the region helped Halton's unem- ployment rate drop to 4.7 per cent in 2013, significantly lower than the rest of the Greater Toronto Area and Ontario. Also helping to lower our unem- ployment rate was more than 1,000 jobs coming to Halton thanks to new businesses, such as Toronto Premium Outlets Mall, Gypsum Technologies, Amazon.com, Da- vid Roberts Food, UPS Canada and Lowes Canada, opening their doors in Halton. Another 2,800 jobs were secured with Ford Motor Company an- nouncing its $700 million invest- ment at its Oakville assembly com- plex. With Halton remaining a cost competitive location within the Greater Golden Horseshoe area for new industrial and office develop- ment, we can anticipate more busi- nesses coming to the area. Halton is also seeing a confident business outlook, with 91 per cent of Halton businesses surveyed an- ticipating economic conditions in Halton improving or remaining the same over the next year. Halton Region is an economic hotspot and businesses are choos- ing to locate here be- cause of our low taxes, with eight consecutive years of a tax freeze; in- vestments in infrastruc- ture, with $289 million committed to roads in the region in 2013; and our high quality of life, with 99 per cent of Hal- ton residents rating the quality of life very high. By continuing to plan for today and tomorrow, Halton Region will continue to support its vibrant business community. To read more about the significant real estate and business investments in the Region or to see first-hand how Halton's strong economy, infra- structure and high quality of life are keeping Halton a great place to live and work, please visit www. halton.ca/economicreview. As always, if you have any Re- gional concerns or comments you would like to share, please feel free to email me at gary.carr@halton. ca. You can also find me on Twit- ter @garycarrhalton, LinkedIn or Facebook. To receive further up- dates on Regional issues, please subscribe to my quarterly e-news- letter, "The Carr Report." -- Gary Carr is the chair of Halton Region GARY CARR The way we were The W.H. Storey and Son Glove Factory on Bower Avenue in Acton was erected in 1882 and razed in 1962. This was a major industry in the community, employing up to 250 people. The Storeys sold the company to H.T. Arnold, a Georgetown resident who ran the business from 1915 to 1954. The post office was built in 1963 on the same site. Photo courtesy of the Esquesing Historical Society; Content by Heritage Halton Hills A storied past 'We (children with autism) are unique and special, and that's fine ' -- Jacob Canning... see story, pg. 13 Local amateur photogra- pher Rein Pater titled this shot 'Finally'. The daffo- dils are finally blooming after the long winter. Got a photo you want to share? Email: cgamble@theifp.ca. A SIGN OF SPRING From our readers 'Quote unquote' www.georgetownrealty.ca edimou@georgetownrealty.ca EFFIE DIMOU Sales Representative Thinking of buying or selling? Call Effie Dimou for all your real estate needs. 905-877-5211 Dir: 416-991-4247 Real Estate Centre Inc., Brokerage