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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, Ja nu ar y 24 ,2 01 9 | 6 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 80 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns 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 newsroom@theifp.ca IndependentAndFreePress @IFP_11 WHO WE ARE Publisher Kelly Montague Regional General Manager Steve Foreman Regional Director of Media Holly Chriss Regional Managing Editor Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Distribution Representative Iouliana Polar Classified/Real Estate Kristie Pells Regional Production Manager Manuel Garcia Production Shelli Harrison Halton Media General Manager Vicki Dillane CONTACT US The Independent & Free Press 280 Guelph Street, Unit 77 Georgetown, ON L7G 4B1 Phone: 905-873-0301 Classifieds: 905-234-1016 Fax: 905-873-0398 Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 200 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, con- dense or reject letters. Delivery For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail lpolar@miltoncana- dianchampion.com or call 905- 234-1019. OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT THEIFP.CA EDITORIAL Ontario Premier Doug Ford didn't wait long before creating another stir within municipal government. This time it's not Toronto, but dozens of towns and cities left wondering what changes the province has in mind with the appointment of special advisers to review regional governments in order to make "better use of taxpayers' dollars." Unlike Toronto's appalling experience, where coun- cil was slashed nearly in half in the middle of an elec- tion campaign, the province is starting with consulta- tion this time. But once again, the Ford government has identified no specific problems with how all these municipalities are working, just the usual vague ref- erences to cutting red tape and finding efficiencies. That's certain to create turmoil for big city regions like Halton, with politicians and staff scrambling to figure out what any of this will actually mean for them - good, bad, or perhaps in the end, not much at all. But all that noise has already served to divert at- tention from another announcement the government made on recently to overhaul Ontario's growth plan. And with this one, we do know what it means - and it's not good. The government is dramatically rolling back the density targets brought in under the Liberals and encouraging urban sprawl with single-family homes that can't support public transit. These changes, along with others in Bill 66, the government's wide-ranging omnibus legislation in- troduced last month, are bad news for protecting the Greenbelt, and more broadly the very principle of compact, sustainable growth. The government's plan would take Ontario back- wards by green-lighting urban sprawl once again and saddling future communities with neighbourhoods that have such low density they can't even support a bus service. That means long commutes and more gridlocked highways for everyone. That's not to say this won't be a popular move. In some quarters, it's bound to be. That's because the Ford government is selling it as what's required to get more housing built. With the price of housing rising far faster than incomes, lots of people are being priced out of the housing market across the GTA and the whole Golden Horseshoe region. There certainly is a shortage of affordable housing, both ownership and rental. And there's no shortage of developers who are quick to claim that those problems would be solved, if only the government would open up more land for development. But it's just not true. There's plenty of land ap- proved for development already. Numerous reports have shown there's enough land already set aside for development to accommodate the housing needs of the Greater Golden Horseshoe re- gion and its expected population growth for the next 20 years or more. LOTS TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT "A healthy balance" is a term often heard when dis- cussing mental health and wellness. But what does it really mean? What is "bal- ance" and what makes it "healthy"? Think about the num- ber of things we manage in our lives on a regular basis: caring for ourselves, fami- ly, friends, hobbies, work, physical health, spirituali- ty, thoughts, feelings - bal- ance means giving the right amount of time and effort to each one. Imagine that it's a busy time at work and we're working more hours for a few days - that will take away time that we would normally devote to other areas of our life. It may lead to us feeling spread thin and missing things that we would usually do. Doing it for too long can have more major impacts on our well- ness, and we may find our- selves feeling resentful, ex- tra stressed, anxious, down and exhausted. A "healthy balance" will be different for every one of us. Think of it as a pie: we each have one that repre- sents all of our time, and the size of each slice of pie will vary from person to person. Maybe I like social- izing more than you do, so time with friends and fami- ly will be a larger slice. Or maybe there's a slice that I don't have at all because it's not key to my personal bal- ance. We need to choose how we slice our pie carefully and pay attention to how it affects us. Say we choose to skip going for a walk for to- day and have a much-need- ed nap instead; if we're feel- ing a bit worn down, listen- ing to our bodies and get- ting extra sleep may be key to our balance today. But if we skip that walk for a few days and are starting to feel a bit sluggish and restless, we need to think about slic- ing the pie differently and making time for some exer- cise. Each day doesn't need to be identical. Key to identi- fying this is checking in with our thoughts, feelings and body to recognize signs that we need to rejig how we're spending our time. Then it's about giving our- selves permission to do just that and re-establish our healthy balance. Melanie McGregor is the communications and advancement specialist at the Canadian Mental Health Association Halton Region Branch, which provides mental health/ addiction community sup- port and education. Visit www.halton.cmha.ca for more information. STRIVING FOR A HEALTHY BALANCE IN OUR DAILY LIVES EACH DAY CAN BE DIFFERENT, WRITES MELANIE MCGREGOR MELANIE MCGREGOR Column