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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ja nu ar y 28 ,2 02 1 | 6 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 of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the news- 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 insidehalton@metroland.com facebook.com/OakvilleBeav @OakvilleBeaver WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Regional General Manager Jason Pehora Regional Managing Editor Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Director of Distribution Charlene Hall Circulation Manager Kim Mossman Director of Production Mark Dills Regional Production Manager Manny Garcia Directors of Advertising Cindi Campbell and Ryan Maraj CONTACT US Oakville Beaver 901 Guelph Line Burlington, ON L7R 3N8 Phone: 905-845-3824 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Advertising: 289-293-0620 Delivery For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail kmossman@metroland.com or call 905-631-6095. Letters to the editor Send letters to insidehalton@metroland.com. All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at insidehalton.com OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT INSIDEHALTON.COM It's about trust. Our rela- tionship with our readers is built on transparency, hon- esty and integrity. As such, we have launched a trust initiative to tell you who we are and how and why we do what we do. This article is part of that project. If there's one thing we've heard again and again from our readers during the past several months is that you want more -- more updates about the lo- cal impact of COVID and how our leaders are re- sponding, more informa- tion on where and how you can still get out and be ac- tive, more articles on other topics such as education that impact you your fami- ly and your community. It's a paradox of the pan- demic -- at a time when the demand for quality, local news is higher than ever, our ability to cover the cost of producing and publish- ing that news has been se- verely impacted by a loss in advertising revenue. We are grateful for the finan- cial support the federal government has given businesses, including ours, but it continues to be a tough grind. But while our weekly newspaper may have shrunk, our website has grown. Our reporters are adding new content throughout the day -- in- cluding updates to our map tracking COVID numbers across the region, crime re- ports and updates on devel- opment projects. And we want to make sure you can easily access that content, so we're intro- ducing QR codes to our print newspapers. The codes will link you directly to pages on our website where you can find more information about any given topic -- be it a photo gallery or video to accompany an article, up- dates to an ongoing story or in-depth coverage on an important local issue. Using the codes is easy: To access additional con- tent for select stories with QR codes, open your smart- phone's or tablet's camera or QR code reader app, fo- cus it on the square black QR code and select the link. Let's get started: Scan- ning the QR code below will send you to insidehal- ton.com, where you will find more stories that im- pact you and your commu- nity. Karen Miceli is manag- ing editor of Metroland's four community newspa- pers in Halton. We welcome your ques- tions and value your com- ments. Email our trust com- mittee at trust@metro- land.com. LOOK FOR QR CODES ON THESE PAGES WE WANT TO MAKE IT EASY FOR YOU TO ACCESS CONTENT, WRITES KAREN MICELI As we move into 2021, our top priority remains to keep Canadians safe and healthy from COVID-19, while fight- ing for a better and fairer fu- ture for everyone. This includes ensuring that all Canadians have free access to vaccines as soon as possible. To date, Health Canada has authorized two vaccines for use in Canada, Pfizer-BioNTech and Mo- derna, and vaccinations have already started here in Oakville for the most vul- nerable and front-line workers. Until all Canadians have access to a vaccine, we need to keep working together to slow the spread of CO- VID-19. Please continue to wash your hands often, practise physical distanc- ing, wear a mask, avoid gatherings, stay home when possible and above all fol- low our local public health guidelines. If you must go out into the community for essen- tial purposes, I encourage you to download and use the COVID Alert App. The pandemic has not been easy on Canadians' mental health, with many people struggling with fear, the uncertainty of the fu- ture, sadness and isolation. Now more than ever, it is important that we take care of ourselves and others by accessing virtual health re- sources and mental-health tools. Please visit Wellness To- gether Canada (https:// ca.portal.gs) for more infor- mation on the resources available to you. The federal government continues to offer emergen- cy support to those who need it. Here are some addi- tional benefits that we have implemented. • Canada Recovery Bene- fit (CRB) • Canada Recovery Care- giving Benefit (CRCB) • Canada Recovery Sick- ness Benefit (CRSB) • Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) • Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) For more information on these emergency support measures, please visit www.canada.ca/coronavi- rus. Anita Anand is the MP for Oakville. She can be reached at ani- ta.anand@parl.gc.ca. SAFETY MEASURES REMAIN VITAL EVERYONE MUST DO THEIR PART TO SLOW THE SPREAD OF COVID-19, WRITES ANITA ANAND ANITA ANAND Column A fox relaxes atop a garage in the West Harbour neighbourhood. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. Stephen Fowler photo SNAPSHOT KAREN MICELI Column Scan this code to visit our website