The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

© BOPINION ‘PLENTY TO CELEBRATE 2 TIME TO RECOGNIZE 2 BLACK HISTORY 3 AND OUR LOCAL * OLYMPIANS, WRITES : z RICK BONNETTE < ~ RICK BONNETTE. Column February is the month to celebrate Black History. The town invites resi- dents to celebrate witha se- ries of education programs presented by Cultural Ser- and the Town of Hal- ton Hills Library. For a complete schedule of activ- ities throug thout — the isit ot (haitonhills, ca). As we ce oan to shape our ct in- clusive and and fouuttabien place to live, work and play, it's essential that we learn from the legacy and engage with the stories of Black Canadians. Beyond February, the town remains committed to offering programs year- round that Spotlight’ Black artists and voic through the Helson. Gal- lery, Culture Days, Halton us Public Library, and ee three local athletes hail- ing from Halton Hills have prompted me to send per- sonal well wishes via Twit- ter and Instagram posts. Residents are encouraged to cheer on our Olympians by sending their own social media messages. A huge cor eraatrons to our local Olymy who make us so proud: » Jasmine Baird (snow- § board): @jasmine.baird : - Sarah Fillier (women's hockey): @sarahfillier16 + Sara Vi i (bob- sleigh): @likeavillain The Town of Halton Hills council and staff believe cl nity groups and organiza- tions contribute to our qual- ity of life and well-being. (CPP) to allocate munici- pal funds and resources to support community-based activities, events and ini- orative approach of work- ing alongside community organizations is an excel- lent example what makes our town so special. I want to thank these orga- nizations for keeping resi- dents in our community connected and engaged. your organization is interested and want to more, call 905-873- M00 ext. 2273. Please note the application deadline is Friday, March lat 4:30 p.m. The town is undertak- ing an Outdoor Ice Strate- gy to review the short and long-term vision for out- doors ice facilities and pro- «ectves of {he study are to engage w: ete conn oe grou] 1d council to de- fine the Outdoor Ice Strate- gy; to find out what out- door ice activities resi- dents are interested in in; de- termine if more outdoor ice facilities/ programs are needed and many others. We are interested in your comments, and I en- courage you to complete the survey at letstalkhal- tonhills.ca. Rick Bonnette is the mayor of Halton Hills. Follow him on Twitter at @RickBonnettel and Ir In: stagram at @rick_bo: TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT THEIFPCA SNAPSHOT Anne Philpott photo Wild turkeys search for food on Ninth Line in Georgetown. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. NORMAL ECONOMIC CYCLES CAN HURT THE INDIVIDUAL Economic activity in Canada ebbs and flows. we can have a recession. Then a recovery. The goal of the Bank of Canada is to manage our economy, provide slow and steady growth and hopefully allow us all to prosper. That's good for the coun- try, but not necessarily good for individuals. When the economy slows, one strategy em- ployed by the Bank of Can- ada is to lower interest rates. The cheaper interest rates are, the more individ- uals will borrow and spend. The Bank of Canada needs to entice consumer spending to increase eco- nomic activit Often there i isa warning PETER WATSON Column not to overspend and accu- te excessive house- hold debt. But lowering in- terest rates was meant to encourage spendi: Economic success does eventually hap Business aetivity picks up, people are employed, and the government col- lects taxes as a result. Economic success | for Canada doe: ly translate to those. ‘con sumers who could not re- sist low interest rates and now find themselves with too much personal debt. wie way the economy ing along Bot pace oe need to i slowed. That will result in the Bank of Canada increasing interest rates. Some individuals with too much debt will not be able to afford higher inter- est rate payments. Those who overspent and helped restart the economy could f face finan- cial hardship. Peter Watson is regis- tered with Aligned Capital Partners Inc. (ACPI) to provide investment advice. Investment products are provided by ACPI. ACPI is a member of the Invest- ment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of ACPI. Watson provides wealth t services through Watson Invest- ments. He can be reached at www.watsoninvestment- 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 w Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2, Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca ocna el newsroom@thei IndependentAndFreePress @IFP_11 WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Monta; Regional General Manager Jason Pehora Director of Content Lee Ann Waterman Deputy Director of Content Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Director rr Distribution Directors of Adverti Cindi Campbell and Graeme Macintosh CONTACT US Burlington, ON L7R 3N8 Phone: 905-873-0301 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at theifp.ca For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail Ipotar@miltoncanadianchampion.com or call 905-234-1019. EO}