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Has held trustee's job for 26 years McCauley to run in November Current Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB) Trustee Irene McCauley has registered to run for the position again in the upcoming municipal election. McCauley, of Georgetown, registered her candidacy Thursday. She has held the post for 26 years and served as both chair and vice-chair of the board. McCauley is the third candidate to register for the November 13 election, and the first one for the HCDSB trustee position. Other candidates registered to date are Georgetown residents Gillian Tuck-Kutarna and Mike Parkhill, both running for the Halton District School Board trustee position. Candidates must register with the Town's clerk office by Sept. 29. Chamber, MP differ on budget LISA TALLYN Staff Writer The provincial Liberals are sending the right signals in their third budget, says the president of the Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce. The provincial government has sent an important signal to Ontario businesses by quickening the elimination of the job-killing capital tax, by maintaining focused spending and by investing in building our next generation workforce and by creating a co-ordinating body for transit in the golden horseshoe, said Wendy Hue, Chamber president. "We know that having dependable roads and bridges goes hand-in-hand with a robust economy," said Hue. "Halton Hills will benefit from this government's focus on improving infrastructure." The chamber said the creation of a Greater Toronto Transportation Authority (GTTA) was a key recommendation from both the Halton Hills and Ontario Chamber of Commerces that was put into play by the government. Along with the creation of the GTTA, the budget released last Thursday also includes $1.2 billion for public transit, roads, highways and bridges. $670 million to expand the TTCs Spadina subway line and another $95 million for Brampton's AcceleRide project and $65 million for the Mississauga Transitway. There was also $1.9 billion in health spending, including funding toward insulin pumps for 6,500 children with Type 1 diabetes and expansion of breast screening for women aged 50 to 74. Also included in the budget was an increase in welfare benefits and funding for at-risk-youth. Hue said the chamber was pleased to see the government addressing the need for a next generation work force through immigration and new opportunities for apprenticeship programs. "A vibrant and diverse workforce is critical to Ontario's success. Our future depends on today's young people developing the skills they need to build prosperity for Ontario," said Hue. Unlike the Chamber, Halton MPP Ted Chudleigh was highly critical of the Liberals and their budget. Chudleigh said the Liberal government is stuck in a rut and unable to break away from the pattern of "past failures." "For the third straight year the Liberals will run a budget deficit," said Chudleigh. "Their deficit of $2.4 billion comes despite an increase in revenue of $2.2 billion and a savings of $700 million on debt interest due to lower than expected interest rates." He said it's obvious that the Liberals are unable to manage the affairs of the province. "They keep making promises and then ignore them or break them outright. Their track record suggests the proposed York subway is nothing more than empty words, just as their promises of good fiscal management have been." Chudleigh also said other budget issues included no significant progress on health care wait times, reductions to spending on children and youth, agriculture, tourism and northern development. "The short story is that while revenues are up the people of Ontario will increasingly face another chapter in the litany of deficit spending, high taxes, reduced job opportunities, high utility costs and general mismanagement of public affairs." (Lisa Tallyn can be reached at ltallyn@independentfreepress.com)