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•T he IFP• H alton H ills, Thursday, N ovem ber 7, 2013 7 • Truck Accessories • Upholstery • Heavy Equipment Glass •Window Tinting 354 Guelph Street, Georgetown 905-873-1655 We handle all insurance work. • your window & door professionals • 341 Guelph St., Unit 3 Georgetown 905.873.0236 www.buy-wise.ca info@buy-wise.ca • awarded readers choice 20 times • Visit our showroom GEORGETOWN'S Best Kept Secret! 416-220-2741 46 Armstrong Road, Georgetown ON MiskasWoodProducts.com COMMENT Trade deal good for Canada On October 18, the Government of Canada announced an agreement-in- principle with the European Union (EU) on a new trade deal. This deal, if implemented, is the largest in Canadian history, opening up to Canadian compa- nies the world's largest and wealthiest market of consumers. Opening up foreign mar- kets for Canadian goods and services is a key part of our government's Eco- nomic Action Plan to cre- ate jobs and economic growth. It is estimated, conservatively, this trade deal will create 80,000 new Canadian jobs and add about $12 billion to Can- ada's economy, represent- ing an addition of $1,000 annually to each Canadian household's income. The trade deal, formal- ly called the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA), will see im- proved access for Canadian companies to the EU market of more than 500 mil- lion people. By removing trade barriers between Canadian exports to Europe will increase, while making European goods more available to Canadians. This will benefit Canadian manufactur- ers and workers, especially in Ontario. When CETA comes into force, Can- ada will be the only G-8 country and one of the only developed countries in the world to have preferential access to the world's two largest markets, the EU and the U.S. This will make Canada an even more attractive destination for investors and manufacturers looking to benefit from this access. The expanded opportunities for Canadian companies and new investors will lead to growth in Ontario manufacturing. The negotiations for the trade deal took longer than expected because the Canadian government bargained hard to protect our system of supply man- agement, the system that has protected Canadian dairy, chicken, egg and tur- key farmers since the 1970s. In order to secure the overall agreement, Canada agreed to increase the amount of cheese imported from approximately 20,000 to 36,000 tonnes annually, out of a total of 400,000 tonnes of cheese consumed a year in Canada. The increase in cheese imports is expected to be more than offset by the future in- creases in cheese demand in Canada. In return, the Euro- peans agreed to allow Cana- dian beef and pork, as well as Canadian cheese, into Europe tariff-free. Canadian beef and pork farmers have estimated that this tariff-free access for their products will add about $1 billion annu- ally to their industry. Since the announce- ment of CETA, I have met and talked with a number of dairy farmers in our area. Many are still learning the details of the agree- ment and I want to assure them that I continue to strongly support the system of supply management. I also want to assure them that in the event that they are negatively affected, the government will provide financial compensation to those affected. In addition, the govern- ment has committed to invest resources in marketing and take action at the bor- der to strengthen Canada's system of supply management. This trade deal is the biggest in Ca- nadian history, opening up to Canadi- an companies a market of 500 million wealthy European consumers. It will secure Canada's economic future by di- versifying trade away from our overreli- ance on trade with the United States. More details on the trade agreement can be found at: http://goo.gl/sSOtV4 If you have any questions you can reach me by phone at (866) 878-5556 or by email at michael.chong@parl.gc.ca. --Michael Chong is the MP for Wellington-Halton Hills Michael chong The way we were Service to the community has long been important to the resi- dents of Halton Hills, as seen in this photo from 1893 of the Georgetown all volunteer Fire Brigade. Proudly serving a com- munity of more than 59,000, today's fire department is a pro- fessional organization composed of full and part time personnel. For more information, visit www. haltonhills.ca/fire Photo courtesy of the Esquesing Historical Society; Content by Heritage Halton Hills Fire department circa 1893 'The Internet is full of false claims.' --Mark Loeb of McMaster University see story pages 1, 3 Students at St. Francis of Assisi School in Georgetown pose with the items they collected after recently holding a food drive. Donations went to the Georgetown Bread Basket. Photo by Louise Neely Got a photo you want to share? Email: jmcghie@theifp.ca. aiding the hungry From our readers 'Quote unquote'