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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, Ju ne 18 ,2 02 0 | 10 ASK THE PROFESSIONAL 33 Main Street South Acton, ON L7J 1X3 Tel: 519-853-1330 Fax: 519-853-4645 Email: Mark@mchlawyers.com Mark Hilliard Mackenzie Chapman Hilliard Barristers and Solicitors The advice offered in this column is intended for informational purposes only. Use of this column is not intended to replace or substitute any professional, financial, medical, legal, or other professional advice. We work for you. legal matters Q A REAL ESTATE LAW Do I need to sign closing documents in person? If you have a closing coming up and you are unable to leave your house to attend your lawyer's office in person to sign documents, you are able to sign closing documents remotely through audio visual conferencing. You should contact your lawyer about how they would arrange that with you and what you need to have access to, such as a printer, scanner, etc. so that you can sign documents and send them back for closing. 905-877-8500 •www.devereauxcemetery.ca A Final Gift to Your Family Main Office: 600 Spring Gardens Road, Burlington Owned & Operated by The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of the Diocese of Hamilton in Ontario Cemetery Address: 12337 17th Side Road, Georgetown Prearranging your burial or cremation is the last gift you can give your family. It releases them from having to quickly make decisions in their time of grief. It also frees them from the need to pay costs associated with your cemetery arrangements. Contact one of our family counsellors to discuss your wishes and options. During these stressful times, I would like to share a lovely gesture I recently experienced. I was just about to leave the house for my daily walk with my husband, and up- on opening the front door found there was a lady ap- proaching holding a potted plant. She apologized for star- tling me and said that she was there to deliver a plant from Knox Church in Georgetown. I thanked her and found a beautiful pink calla lily with a card read- ing "A little something to brighten your day in these anxious times." I emailed Rev. Steve minister of Knox Church to convey my thanks, and was told that a delivery team had dropped off over 100 flowers donated by Kuy- venhoven Greenhouses for churches to give to congre- gants and friends in the Halton Hills area. He then said the local to- tal was actually around 3,000 plants, most of which were sent around by Bethel Christian Reformed Church members. What a wonderful ges- ture, and one that I'm sure was much appreciated, es- pecially during these days when we are stuck at home, and missing family and friends. Thank to to Kuyvenho- ven Nurseries, and the wonderful volunteers who most certainly brought a smile to the faces of so many people. JEAN GRAHAM HALTON HILLS KINDNESS IN FULL BLOOM It's about trust. Our re- lationship with our read- ers is built on transparen- cy, honesty and integrity. As such, we have launched a trust initiative to tell you who we are and how and why we do what we do. This article is part of that pro- ject. The outrage evoked by the unjust death of George Floyd, a Black man killed by police in the United States, has made us pain- fully aware we have work to do here when it comes to racism. As media we have an im- portant role to play in sparking change. I have joined Torstar's editorial leaders in endors- ing seven calls to action from the Canadian Jour- nalists of Colour (CJOC ) and Canadian Association of Black Journalists (CABJ), found here: https://www.cjoc.net/ white-paper. We recognize the need to build diverse teams and provide news coverage that includes a variety of voices to tackle issues that fully represent our diverse com- munities. These actions will make us a better, more fair organization to work for and produce better journalism. Journalists in our news- rooms, including this one, will be invited to join us in this endeavour. We are working quickly to answer the call to action, namely: 1. We are committing to an internal, voluntary de- mographics survey on an ongoing basis. 2. We recognize the need for a more diverse news team and commit to estab- lishing recruitment initia- tives and hiring practices to make that happen. 3. We are committed to identifying and developing talented journalists of col- our in our newsrooms. 4. We will set up commu- nity advisory boards to meet and work with us reg- ularly. 5. We will take part in re- presentation training and workshops to hone our skills as journalists. 6. We are looking at scholarship possibilities. 7. We will be seeking in- sight on best practices in how to work with our friends in education to en- sure diversity and inclu- sion in journalism schools. It takes a community to make a difference. We en- courage you to look around your workplace, school, neighbourhood and dinner table to determine what you can do to drive change. It will not be easy and it will take all of us to make a difference. But it's the right thing to do. Joanne Burghardt is the director of content for Torstar's community news brands of which we are a part. She has been a jour- nalist for 40 years. We welcome your questions and value your comments. Email our trust committee at trust@metroland.com. OPINION TORSTAR RESPONDS TO CALLS TO END RACISM MEDIA HAS ROLE IN SPARKING CHANGE, JOANNE BURGHARDT WRITES JOANNE BURGHARDT Column