5 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,F ebruary 17,2022 insidehalton.com For a Free consultation call oakville: 905.842.2022 ToronTo: 416.644.3999 Denied Disabled Benefits? I canhelp. My teamof experienced lawyers can help youwith: •Disability Claims Short-TermDisability, long-TermDisability, CPP •Car accidents •Slip and Falls •Wrongful Dismissal Injured? I don't get paid unless I getYoumoneY. oFFiCeS in oakville and ToronTo eMail: sspadafora@slspc.ca Disability and EmploymEnt law Disability www.shoppersdrugmart.ca 2501 Third Line905-465-3000 478 Dundas Street West905-257-9737NOW OPEN24 HRS EVERY DAY • Patient Counselling • Complete Diabetic Care• Home Visits • Consultations • Free RX Delivery• Free Nutrition Counselling • Vaccinations• Cholesterol, A1C, AFib and DNA Screening lw ys Here toelp You! DE RANGO PHARMACY INC. w 2501 T905-465-3000 • P• H • C AlwaHelp Pharmacist -Fabio De Rango Drug Store/Pharmacy PLATINUM WINNER 2021 Founded in 1991 Peter Watson MBA, CFP®, R.F.P., CIM®, FCSI Jennifer Watson MBA, CFP®, CIM® Accepting new clients. Please visit www.watsoninvestments.com to book a free consultation. Offering safe virtual meetings and e-signatures for new client onboarding. "Our clients enjoy talking about their retirement dreams and we enjoy helping them get there." Peter & Jennifer info@watsoninvestments.com (905) 842 -2100 After a tense debate, the Oakville council has voted not to financially contrib- ute to the legal challenge against Quebec's Bill 21 us- ing public funds. Councillors instead chose to use their own per- sonal funds to make the contribution. The motion, put forward by Coun. Pavan Parmar, would have seen council contributing $10,000 to Na- tional Council of Canadian Muslims, the World Sikh Organization and the Cana- dian Civil Liberties Associ- ation's litigation. "This bill has negatively impacted thousands of Ca- nadian families forcing re- location as we just heard," Coun. Pavan Parmar said after delegations from the Sikh and Muslim communi- ties. "Bill 21 validates and normalizes hate." Quebec's Bill 21, also called An Act Respecting the Laicity of the State, bans the wearing of religious symbols from public insti- tutions. A teacher cannot wear a hijab in school, a tur- ban-wearing Sikh lawyer cannot practice law and a Jewish person cannot work for a government ministry. Recently, teacher from Chelsea Quebec Fatameh Anvari was reassigned for refusing to take off her hi- jab, causing an uproar. A hi- jab is a head scarf worn by conservative Muslim wom- en. "I will make good on my promise to donate $10,000," Mayor Rob Burton said af- ter declaring the motion de- feated. "I'll go further. I will match the donation of any member of council." Coun. Parmar was seen applaud- ing the statement in the liv- estream. When asked if a final amount has been decided, Burton said "as each mem- ber lets me know, I will match." Coun. Sean O'Meara of Ward 1 raised concerns that giving such a contribution would cause Oakville to "over-parent" Quebec and would undermine the ef- forts of Quebec leaders against the bill. "I have spoken to some of the leaders in Quebec," O'Meara said. He said that those leaders have asked municipalities "'do not do this. What you're actually doing in entrenching the other side. You're making it harder for us to dig out be- cause what it turns out to be is the rest of Canada versus the Québécois." He added: "Do not do this, municipalities, be- cause you are making it harder for us to talk to our residents and neighbours and our colleagues in say- ing that what we are doing is the wrong thing." "I do not think we have any right weighing into this from a financial stand- point," Coun. Cathy Dud- deck said. "These are tax- payer dollars and I do not feel comfortable making a donation or providing funds from taxpayer dollars." Parmar responded by saying that "we also have Quebec residents asking for support. We have racial- ized, faith practicing indi- viduals who are asking us to get involved." "Francophones asking people to stay out are not the ones directly impacted," she added. "I want to re- mind my council colleagues that this bill is being chal- lenged by not-for-profit or- ganizations that are com- munity funded. So it is rela- tively small organizations." Had the Town voted in fa- vour of the motion, Oakville would have joined the ranks of Toronto and Brampton, both of which have reached approved $100,000 toward the fight. Mississauga, Calgary and Hamilton voted to show support but did not set aside any funds. COUNCIL DECLINES TO FUND LEGAL CHALLENGE WITH PUBLIC FUNDS MANSOOR TANWEER COUNCIL OPTS TO USE PERSONAL MONEY TO FIGHT BILL 21