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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, N ov em be r 26 ,2 02 0 | 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 newsroom@theifp.ca IndependentAndFreePress @IFP_11 WHO WE ARE Publisher Kelly Montague Regional Managing Editor Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Distribution Representative Iouliana Polar Real Estate Kristie Pells Regional Production Manager Manuel Garcia Halton Media General Manager Jason Pehora CONTACT US The Independent & Free Press 280 Guelph Street, Unit 77 Georgetown, ON L7G 4B1 Phone: 905-873-0301 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Fax: 905-873-0398 Letters to the editor 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 theifp.ca Delivery For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail lpolar@miltoncanadianchampion.com or call 905-234-1019. OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT THEIFP.CA It has been eight months since the COVID-19 pan- demic began. While the pandemic has negatively impacted most sectors in the Canadian economy, few sectors have been as negatively impact- ed as Canada's airline in- dustry, with revenues and passenger volumes col- lapsing as much as 90 per cent year-over-year. Airlines, and related businesses such as travel agencies, car transporta- tion and more, employ tens of thousands of Cana- dians. These jobs are at risk of being permanently lost. Travel restrictions and advisories remain in place, necessary for curbing the spread of COVID-19 within and across borders. However, these restric- tions are completely be- yond the control of the air- line industry, which em- ploys many people in Hal- ton Hills. Since the start of the pandemic, Air Canada and WestJet have laid off over 30,000 employees and are losing tens of millions of dollars a day. Dozens of regional routes have been discon- tinued. The Liberal govern- ment has talked about helping the industry and made announcements, but so far no assistance has been forthcoming. The ma- jority of our G7 allies -- France, Germany, Italy, the U.K. and the U.S. -- have al- ready created financial re- lief packages for their air- line sectors. The Liberal govern- ment needs to act with more urgency to rescue the industry -- so vital in a country so large. The federal government has also yet to act on the is- sue of refunds for passen- gers whose flights were cancelled. The Canadian Trans- portation Agency has re- ceived approximately 8,000 complaints from passen- gers between March and August of this year. Both the US Depart- ment of Transportation and the European Commis- sion have required airlines to refund passengers whose flights have been cancelled, but the Canadi- an government has yet to use its power to act. For months, the airline sector has been calling for federal relief. For months, passengers have been ask- ing the government to use its power to ensure refunds are provided. As the Liberal govern- ment delays, a sector that employs tens of thousands of Canadians and links Ca- nadians coast-to-coast is sinking further and fur- ther into crisis. Michael Chong is the MP for Wellington-Halton Hills, and the shadow minister of democratic institutions for the official opposition. He can be reached at Michael. chong.a3@parl.gc.ca. AIRLINE INDUSTRY NEEDS HELP NOW SENSE OF URGENCY REQUIRED TO PROTECT THIS VITAL PART OF OUR ECONOMY, WRITES MICHAEL CHONG Investing in FAANG stocks produced extraordi- narily high returns during the last decade. A return was expected; the extraor- dinary high return was un- expected. Over the last decade FAANG stocks did excep- tionally well. FAANG repre- sents Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google's parent company, Alphabet. If you owned those five stocks in proportion to their market capitaliza- tion, the average annual re- turn would have been 34 per cent for the 10 years ending Aug. 2020. This in- formation was provided by Prof. Kenneth French. Investors of FAANG stocks expected a return. The extraordinarily high return of 34 per cent was unexpected. Otherwise, ev- eryone you know would have bought those stocks, while no owner of those stocks during that decade would want to sell. Will the FAANG stocks perform that well in the fu- ture? If everyone thought that, then there would be very few sellers and there- fore it would be virtually impossible for you to buy those stocks. The decision-making process for buying and sell- ing investments is no dif- ferent than most other de- cisions you make in your life. You have a specific ob- jective, you weigh the facts, and then make a decision. Second guess your deci- sion all you want. A correct decision is based on your understanding of the pros and cons at the time you made the decision. You do not have the lux- ury of knowing what unex- pected events might occur in the future and how those events might affect your in- vesting outcome. You control the infor- mation you have when an investment decision is made. Peter Watson, MBA, CFP®, R.F.P., CIM®, FCSI, of Watson Invest- ments offers a weekly fi- nancial planning column, 'Dollars & Sense'. He can be contacted through www.watsoninvestment- s.com. FUNDAMENTALS OF INVESTING LOGICAL INVESTMENT RETURNS BASED ON EXPECTED AND UNEXPECTED FACTORS, WRITES PETER WATSON PETER WATSON Column A chipmunk looks for the last of the bird feed in a Georgetown backyard. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. Tony Fortunato photo SNAPSHOT MICHAEL CHONG Column