The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, N ov em be r 25 ,2 02 1 | 20 Please contact us, as soon as possible, if you have any accessibility needs at Halton Region events or meetings. Meetings at Halton Region Regional Council meetings are taking place through web conferencing until further notice. Videos will be posted to halton.ca. Public Notice Halton Regional Council will review the Region's proposed 2022 Budget and Business Plan at the following meetings: • Regional Council Budget Meeting--Wednesday, December 8, 2021 at 9:30 a.m. • Regional Council--Wednesday, December 15, 2021 at 9:30 a.m. The meetings will take place through web conferencing available at halton.ca. The proposed 2022 Budget and Business Plan provides details supporting the Regional portion of the property tax levy, as well as the water and wastewater rate-supported budget. The document will be available on halton.ca as of November 26, 2021. Print copies are available upon request. Please email accesshalton@halton.ca or call 311. Halton residents are invited to provide input on the proposed 2022 Budget and Business Plan. If you wish to register as a delegate to address Regional Council at one of the meetings above, please call 311 or 1-866-442-5866. You may also submit input or comments by email to budget@halton.ca. The 2022 Budget and Business Plan is scheduled to be approved by Regional Council on December 15, 2021. Halton Region 2022 Budget and Business Plan Gary Carr Regional Chair Public consultations are now underway for Halton Region's proposed SolidWaste Management Strategy. The proposed Strategy includes medium (four to 10 years) and long-term (11+ years) initiatives that will help the Region increase the waste diversion rate, extend the life of the landfill and reduce carbon emissions. Provide your input--visit halton.ca/waste to: • read the proposed Strategy; • complete our short online survey by December 10; and • participate in the final virtual Public Information Centre on November 30 or view a recording of the previous sessions. Thank you for your participation--your input is valuable and will help keep Halton a great place to live, work, raise a family and retire. Help shape the future of waste management in Halton 11 25 21 Halton Region is joining the call for accessible and affordable child care spaces for local fami- lies. During their Nov. 17 meeting, regional councillors unanimous- ly passed a motion that encourag- es the federal and provincial gov- ernments to "reach an equitable child care agreement that ac- knowledges the provincial in- vestment in full-day kindergar- ten, and delivers affordable and accessible child care spaces for Ontario families." The resolution, put forth by Oakville Mayor Rob Burton and Councillor Sean O'Meara, comes on the heels of a similar motion being passed by Oakville town council. "We don't need tax rebates; we don't need more money going in- to private sector hands. We need affordable child-care spaces to move this economy forward, and I have great optimism that it's go- ing to happen," said O'Meara. Pressure has been mounting for the Ford government to act on affordable child care in recent weeks, as eight provinces and one territory inked agreements with the federal government under its promise of delivering $10-a-day child care by 2026. Ontario education minister Stephen Lecce has argued that the feds' offer of $10.2 billion over five years will "shortchange" families, while the Trudeau gov- ernment said it's still waiting to receive a strategy from the prov- ince to reduce fees and create child-care spaces that it request- ed seven months ago. "I'm hoping that our resolu- tion will encourage both the prime minister and premier to have their officials get down to it,'" said Burton. The motion passed by council says that child-care spaces in Halton and across Ontario have decreased as a result of the pan- demic, and the lack of child-care spaces "is a barrier to our eco- nomic recovery." It also notes that under the new national child-care plan, parents in Halton would save $14,843 per year for an infant's care in 2026. HALTON PUSHING FOR AFFORDABLE CHILD-CARE DEAL Halton is urging the provincial and federal governments to reach a deal for affordable child care. Santiago Nunez photo MELANIE HENNESSEY mhennessey@metroland.com NEWS "We need affordable child-care spaces to move this economy forward, and I have great optimism that it's going to happe.," - Councillor Sean O'Meara PLEASE RECYCLE THIS PAPER