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11| The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,N ovem ber 30,2017 theifp.ca A sister-city agreement between Halton Hills and its Chinese counterpart Wenjiang signed in 2016 is evolving beyond just a cere- monial pact. Delegates from Wen- jiang, a district of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan prov- ince, recently visited Hal- ton Hills for the first-ever Wenjiang Festival last month from Oct. 23 to 28. The five-day festival was a celebration of the agree- ment, and featured a num- ber of events including cooking and dance demon- strations, an art exhibit, and a day of hockey games between local squads and teams from Wenjiang. The visit was more than just a celebration, however, with delegates continuing discussions about possible economic partnerships be- tween the two towns that began during a visit to Wenjiang by Halton Hills Mayor Rick Bonnette and members of council and town staff in September. "Canada is No. 1 in the world for hockey, but chil- dren in China are starting to play. It's becoming popu- lar. It unifies our two coun- tries to work together in other areas, like a Chinese solar panel company and Halton Hills entering an agreement," Mayor Li Yi told The IFP during his vis- it. The secretary was refer- ring to a deal struck be- tween Chinese green ener- gy products manufacturer Sichuan Taiyi New Energy Development Corporation and Southwestern Energy Inc., which owns the local hydro utility, to supply 19 semi-solar-powered and high-efficiency street lights to be installed by Southwestern in the Hal- ton Hills Town Hall park- ing lot. The initiative is a pilot project that could lead to further partnerships down the road. "We signed a memoran- dum of understanding with (Sichuan Taiyi New Ener- gy Development Corpora- tion) and our company," said Art Skidmore, presi- dent and CEO of Halton Hills Hydro. "We're looking at sort of "greening" the street light system, and this is a great opportunity for a demonstration project." During their visit to Chi- na a few months back, the mayor and staff were asked to co-host a conference on sustainable development. Members of town staff and council not only took part in the conference - they were featured guests and speakers. "I don't think even To- ronto or anyone has ever done anything like this . where we organized the agenda with the govern- ment in Wenjiang and had a conference room full of 200 people or so, with (Chi- nese) government officials from the local and provin- cial levels," said manager of economic development, in- novation and culture, Da- mian Szybalski. Halton Hills reps also visited schools and hospi- tals during their visit to Wenjiang, which the mayor suggested as other areas where the two communi- ties may one day be able to further collaborate. Building off the budding relationship with Wen- jiang, Halton Hills and the Town of Oakville recently held the Doing Business in China Forum, giving local business owners the oppor- tunity to learn about possi- ble future partnerships with other Chinese compa- nies, as well as potentially opening up the Chinese market to local exporters and manufacturers. "I think we want to keep the momentum going (with this partnership). We've got great momentum right now," said Mayor Bonnette. "I see more economic part- nerships and prosperity moving forward, which will benefit both communi- ties, (and) also both coun- tries." NEWS Chinese sister city deal yielding dividends for Halton Hills GRAEME FRISQUE gfrisque@metroland.com Halton Hills mayor, Rick Bonnette, and Secretary Dao Ming of Wenjiang, China, ceremonially water a "friendship tree" planted in Wenjiang's main park during a visit in September in honour of the sister-city agreement between the two cities. Photo courtesy of the Town of Halton Hills Like us on • www.unitedlumber.ca 12833 Hwy 50 S. Bolton 333 Guelph St. Georgetown 520 Bayfield St N, Barrie †Georgetown Location Only. SERVICESWE PROUDLY OFFER: Online Ordering U-Haul Rental Key Cutting Screen Repair Lock Re-Keying Delivery Estimates Deck Design Colour Match Paint Computer Material Cutting Propane Refill Special Orders Kitchen Design† Circular Saw Blade Sharpening† Dedicated Contractor Sales Reps Fed-Ex† Plexi-Glass Cut to Size† Engineered floor & roof truss design Paderno Sale Still On! A Great Gift Idea! Price Match Promi$e MORTGAGESAREALLWEDO, ANDNOBODYDOESTHEMBETTER. 232A Guelph St. Suite 204, Halton Hills | onlymortgages.ca Only Mortgages is aVERICO Broker. EachVERICO Broker is independently owned and operated. | FSCO No: 10659 CALL ORVISIT OUROFFICETO GETTHE BEST RATESAVAILABLE! MAUR ICE "MOE " FORGET, AMP MORTGAGE BROK ER 38 YEARS OF MORTGAGE BROKERAGE AND BANKING EXPERIENCE 9 0 5 - 8 7 7 - 2 4 2 6CALL TODAY! Purchasing • Pre-approvals • Investment property financing • First-time home buyers advice Refinancing • Renovation • Consolidating debts • Borrowing to invest Speciality Products • Self-employed • Reverse Mortgages for Seniors • Past/present credit issues