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© BOPINION “CANADA NEEDS A MORE - SERIOUS FOREIGN POLICY = ENERGY MUST BE 2 TREATED AS A VITAL S NATIONAL SECURITY & INTEREST, WRITES 2 MICHAEL CHONG MICHAEL CHONG Column Exporting Canadian natural gas is vital not on- ly to our economic inter- ests, but to our security ~~ also consistent with the environmental goal of using natural gas in the transition to non- emitting sources of ener- gy. And nitrogen fertilizer made from natural gas is essential for our food sup- We must also under- stand that Putin consid- e Arctic a core stra- fete. interest. He has spent The Russian Federa- tion’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine is the most sig- nificant European war since 1945, and a serious violation of international law. I support the actions taken by the federal gov- ernment to date. Parlia- mentarians are united in rt of Ukraine against this attack on a European democracy. While the immediate measures announced by the government are a good start, in the long term Canada should move to- ward playing a greater re. in con pang to Eu- e and th America’s collective « defence and se- curity. We must recognize that energy is a vital national security interest. Russian President Vladimir Putin understands this. So does the European Commis- sion, which in 2015 called a strategic energy partnership with Canada. Russia supplies 40 per cent of Europe’s mec gas and, in my opin‘ uses its leverage to intimi date Europe and Ukraine. a Russia cuts energy sup- to pe, people wil reeze, factories will shutter and Europe’s $ economy will grind to a £ halt. re- sources there in recent Canada, like Ukraine, shares a border region with Russia — the Arctic Ocean. We can no longer afford to take our security in we Aretic for granted. eed a robust plan to defend Canada’s Arctic sovereignty and security that includes purchasing modernizi system, fixing our nation- al shipbuilding program, and American allies in the Arctic. The world has changed irreversibly. It’s time for Canada to get serious about foreign policy, in- cluding the threats posed by autocrats in countries like Russia and China. This starts with treat- ing e onergy as a vital na- urity interest ora Aovelonine the means to defend our sovereignty and our security in the Arctic. Michael Chong is the MP for Wellington—Hal- ton Hills, and the shadow minister of foreign affairs for ihe official opposition. He can be reached at michael. chong.a3 TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT THEIFPCA SNAPSHOT Anne Philpott photo Aswan explores a rural area along 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. INTEREST RATE HIKES WILL BE PAINFUL INCREASE TOUGH BUT NECESSARY FOR ECONOMY, WRITES PETER WATSON The Bank of Canada has warned us of pending inter- est rate increases for along time. Recently, terest rates increased by one quarter of one per cent. Many are anticipating six interest rate increases over a relatively short peri- od of time. These increases are necessary to slow down economic activity in order to bring inflation under control. As borrowing costs in- crease, many will find it more difficult tomake ends meet. We know that a sig- nificant number of people live pay cheque to pay PETER WATSON Column cheque, without much room for additional costs. Plus, inflation means we are ‘ing more for pur- chases than we have in the past, and this too is a bur- den. Add in Russia invad- creases, particularly at the gas pumps. Personal expenses are escalating quickly. Consid- er this fiscal "tough love." For the good of our country and all Canadians, interest rates have to rise. Even though it will hurt many. Now is the time for indi- viduals to be proactive. Your expenses are increas- that upward trend is going to continue over the next year — and per- haps longer. What costs do you cur- rently have that can be re- duced or eliminated? De- pending on your financial circumstances, you might have to be aggressive at finding areas of savings. ‘Tough times are ahead. Peter Watson is regis- tered with Aligned Capital Partners Inc. (ACPI) to provide investment advice. 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 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 nne fjocna NewresaiaCounet oO 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 Advertisin, Cindi Campbell and Graeme Macintosh Director Creative Services Katherine Porcheron CONTACT US The Independent & Free Pres: 901 Guelph Line Burlington, ON L7R 3N8- Phone: 905-873-0301 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Fax: 905- Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and Investi provided Dy ACPL ACPIis a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Orga- nization of Canada. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not neces- sarily those of ACPI. Wat- son ie - agement services through jatson Inbesiments. Hecan at www.wat- soninvestrents corn, 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 Delivery For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail Ipolar@miltoncanadianchampion.com or call 905-234-1019. EO}