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6 uw ° =z = Ss = TIME TO Halton Hills | Thursday, July 22, 2021 | = PLENTY OF CHANGES & NEEDED TO © STRENGTHEN OUR COUNTRY, WRITES MICHAEL CHONG iat. MICHAEL CHONG Column As the number of vacci- nated Canadians contin- ues to rise and restrictions are lifted, we need a plan to recover, make Canada bet- r and secure our future. We need to secure jobs. The pandemic has led to the loss of one million jobs. And over halta ina tow Cae mae in the. sob ero ve managed to keep. Conservatives are pro- posing a comprehensive economic plan to recover these ost jobs within a need t secure a countabality Until recent nt ly, we had no Governor General because of sc: dal. Eight senior enders of our military have resigned or have been forced out be- cause of scai We have military pro- curement systems that can't seem to procure and payroll systems that can- not seem to pay. New anti-corruption Jaws are needed to ensure to secure men- tal health. A 2020 Angus Reid Institute report found § 50 per £ have Je experienced a anncne & SECURE OUR FUTURE in their mental health since the pan ‘ic began, with one in10 saying ithad worsened "a lot." Life- Works reported an even larger impact on workers, with 80 per cent saying the pandemic has negatively impact their mental We are proposing a Can- ada mental health action plan. The plan would in- crease funding for mental health care, offer employ- ers incentives for provid- ing mental health coverage and create a national sui- cide prevention hotline. To prevent another pan- ry. to be better prepared for fu- ture disasters and pandem- ics. Our plan will ensure TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT THEIFPCA SNAPSHOT Anne Philpott photo Awild turkey visits a backyard in the Argyll and Mountainview roads area. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. hort of essen- tial health-care supplies by ndating a national stra- tegic stockpile of essential products and building Can- ada's capacity for manufac- turing vaccines. ‘inally, we need to se- cure our economy. The pan- demic is nearing its end, and we need to get spend- ing under control — witha real plan to balance the budget. Our plan will en- sure Canada avoids a struc- tural deficit while ensur- ing Canadians are support- ed programs LEARN TO BE AN ECO HERO VIRTUAL SUMMER CAMP OFFERS INVALUABLE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION, WRITES RILEY CEROVCEC My name is Riley Cerov- cec. Iam working as an en- : de wind down. The time to secure our future is now. Michael Chong is the MP for Wellington-Halton Hills, and the shadow minister of foreign affairs Sor the official opposition. He can be reached at mi a. ip nator with the Halton Envi- mental Network, a non- profit organization that supports local climate ac- ti on. As a university engi- neering student, the Cana- da Summer Job program has helped me further my skills in project coordina- tion and YOUROPINIONS in: creased my involvement in the community and given me the chance to spread awareness about climate change. This year, I am leading the Eco Heroes Virtual On- 13h RILEY CEROVCEC. Column line Summer Camp from July 26 to 30. This reward- ing, fun experience is tai- lored to educate six- to 10- year-olds about climate change. The camp is broken down into different learn- ing days and is designed to be interactive, with daily activities to do at home. Eco-heroes camp is de- veloped to make learning about our planet fun. As someone who is very passionate about climate change, I am thrilled to be able to teach and educate about the impor- tance of protecting our planet and living sustaina- Im excited to lead this camp, with help from local student volunteers, and present educational con- afun and enjoyable ay. Iam a firm believer that you learn more with some- one who is engaged and ex- pied to share what they thi is what I strive to ae am looking forward to ngel You can sign up by going to haltonenvironet.ca/spe- cial-events/hen-virtual- camp/. I hope you will join me for this one-of-a-kind expe- Riley Ceroucec is the Canada Summer shed Environmental Camj Coordinator at the Halton Environmental Network (HEN). Reach him at ril- eyc@haltonenviron- 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. 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