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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, D ec em be r 9, 20 21 | 8 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 newspaper 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 Director of Content Lee Ann Waterman Regional Managing Editor Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Director of Distribution Charlene Hall Circulation Manager Kim Mossman Directors of Advertising Cindi Campbell and Graeme MacIntosh 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 The Ontario govern- ment has recently passed the Working for Workers Act that strengthens work- ers' rights, delivers higher pay cheques, and creates new opportunities. The world of work is changing. Technology is commonplace and more jobs are appearing in this sector. Society is rapidly evolving, and workers need further protection. One of the many chang- es this legislation makes is banning non-compete agreements from employ- ment contracts. Non-com- pete agreements are preva- lent in the tech sector, but they can cover every occu- pation. This type of agreement places restrictions on la- bour mobility and earning potential. By eliminating this, it sends a clear signal that Ontario is open to fair competition and startups. Ontario offers opportu- nities for workers. Individ- uals choose to live and work in Ontario because of the economic possibilities that are available. However, newcomers who have trained exten- sively and worked in a pro- fession outside of Canada experience significant bar- riers when trying to find employment that matches their skillset. The provincial govern- ment is creating a clear path for newcomers to find employment in the profes- sion or trade they previ- ously worked through this legislation. The legislation removes the requirement for Cana- dian work experience, and it ensures the licensing process is completed in a timely manner, among oth- er adjustments. It will posi- tively impact 23 trades and 14 professions. Another significant change within the legisla- tion pertains to temporary help agencies. Steps are be- ing taken to stop bad actors that are denying workers their rights. To ensure everyone who uses an agency is treated fairly, this legislation re- quires temporary help agencies and recruiters to possess a licence and pay a security deposit to operate. Workers should feel safe when using this service. Jerry Dias, national president of Unifor said, "These fly-by-night agen- cies have damaged commu- nities by exploiting the most vulnerable workers, including racialized work- ers, women, newcomers and migrant workers. We commend the govern- ment." Looking into the future, our province's economy is on course to emerge stron- ger than ever, and this pro- posed legislation will at- tract the talented work- force Ontario needs to re- main competitive while strengthening workers' rights. Stephen Crawford is the MPP for Oakville. He can be reached at stephen.craw- fordco@pc.ola.org. ATTRACTING TALENT AND PROTECTING WORKERS ONTARIO ECONOMY ON COURSE TO EMERGE STRONGER THAN EVER, WRITES STEPHEN CRAWFORD Recently the Bank of Canada warned that inter- est rate increases were likely for in the first part of next year in order to put the brakes on inflation. One particular concern we have seen is the rising prices of homes and dan- gerously high amount of household debt -- both of which serve as significant risks to individuals and the country. Then news spread about a new COVID-19 variant. Could this be the start of the next wave that would throw much of the world economy into another slowdown? The result of the news was instant panic. Stock markets around the world plummeted. On Nov. 26, the S&P 500 lost 2.27 per cent which was the largest sin- gle day loss since February. A similar loss happened in Canada. The S&P/TSX Composite index was down 2.25 per cent. Gasoline prices, that had been a strong contrib- utor to high inflation, sud- denly dropped 11 cents per litre. If another wave of CO- VID-19 fears spread, gov- ernments, including our own, will likely continue programs of economic re- lief. This would add to the staggering levels of govern- ment debt that have al- ready resulted from the pandemic. We will recover from the pandemic, but we don't know when. Until then, the financial stability for many is on pins and nee- dles. Peter Watson is regis- tered with Aligned Capital Partners Inc. (ACPI) to provide investment advice. Investment products are provided by ACPI. ACPI is a member of the Invest- ment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of ACPI. Watson provides wealth management services through Watson Invest- ments. He can be reached at www.watsoninvestment- s.com. FINANCIAL STABILITY ON PINS AND NEEDLES NEW COVID-19 VARIANT HAS INCREASED FINANCIAL WORRIES, WRITES PETER WATSON PETER WATSON Column An owl pays a nighttime visit to a home on Walby Drive. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. Barb MacRae photo SNAPSHOT STEPHEN CRAWFORD Column SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT INSIDEHALTON.COM