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

www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, November 17, 2011 · 18 Plan for bumps en route uch of our success is a result of good fortune. Several billions of years ago when planet Earth was formed, Canada was truly fortunate to have been given a diverse and plentiful supply of natural resources. Last week, however, Canada received a fairly significant economic jolt with one of its resources. The $7 billion TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline was put on hold. The U.S. State Department told the TransCanada Corporation to suggest an alternative route to the current plan of passing through an environmentally-sensitive part of Nebraska. This is after the company has spent approximately $2 billion on land acquisition and stockpiling pipes. TransCanada was ready to build a new pipeline extension that would transport Alberta crude oil to the United States Gulf Coast to be refined. The capacity on the current pipeline system is quickly running out. Canadian oil producers need a way to get their product to the southern U.S. Building a new super large pipeline was going to be a tremendous economic stimulus for Canada and the U.S., creating well-paying jobs in a world that is struggling to preserve jobs and create new ones. The week before this announcement, we learned that Canada lost close to 60,000 jobs the month before. This could be a major setback. The reality is that much of Canada's financial success is based on our abundant natural resources. Now we are faced with a costly delay at best, and potentially the cancellation of this job-creating mega project. Unexpected turns of events often force us to re-evaluate our strategies. When plans do not go as you had hoped, it is crucial to be able to adjust to the new reality. Last weekend, Prime Minister Stephen Harper had a private meeting with President Barack Obama in Hawaii to discuss the delay of the pipeline's construction. Our country's reaction was to re-assess the situation. Our ever-changing world means that sometimes investors lose money. Those investors may be large corporations or sometimes they are individuals like us. We need to be able to take stock of what the event means for us and where we go from here. Perhaps it means that our goals cannot be met M Dollars & Sense By Peter Watson in the same time frame or of the same magnitude as we had hoped. Maybe we are not able to reduce our debt as quickly as we had planned. The idea of retiring may need to be pushed out further in time. If you need to make a change, go ahead and do it. Re-evaluating your objectives and how you tackle them can be useful. Maybe you do have the ability to pay off your debt a little faster. Perhaps focusing more on saving rather than spending could yield beneficial results. Are you paying enough attention to your finances? Contact your investment advisor or financial planner and review your financial objectives. Be proactive and measure where you stand versus your targets. You decide what needs to be done and then go and do it. As part of this re-evaluation, ensure the investment fees you pay are reasonable in your opinion. Are you being prudent with the amount of tax that you pay? There is always an example of something not going as planned. Economic setbacks are nothing new. The probability is that the pipeline will get built. It may take longer and cost more than originally hoped due to events out of TransCanada's control. When setbacks occur that are out of your control, make sure your objectives are ultimately met regardless of whether it takes longer or isn't as straightforward as you originally hoped. Use your advisor to help you re-evaluate. That is what they get paid for. -- Submitted by Peter Watson, MBA, CFP, R.F.P., CIM, FCSI. Editor's Note: A new route for TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone XL pipeline through Nebraska could be designed and approved in six to nine months, the company said in a Toronto Star story yesterday (Wednesday). Nominate a teacher With the nominations now open, the Halton District School Board is encouraging parents, staff and colleagues to nominate a teacher for the Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching Excellence. The program is Canada's way of recognizing the best teachers, promote what they have achieved and share their innovative and successful teaching practices. Winning teachers will receive a certificate, a pin and a letter of congratulations from the prime minister. The recipient's school will also receive a certificate. Additionally, as many as 15 recipients will receive Certificates of Excellence, which include a financial award of $5,000, and 50 Certificates of Achievement will be handed out with $1,000. Nominations close on Nov. 30. Nominations forms are available at www.pma.gc.ca.