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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, Ju ly 23 ,2 02 0 | 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 family of newspapers is comprised f of more than 80 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/OakvilleBeavfacebook.com/OakvilleBeavf @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 I was in Ottawa on July 8 for the tabling of the fiscal and economic snapshot by Finance Minister Bill Mor- neau, who highlighted how our government was able to use Canada's strong fis- cal position to stabilize our economy and support Ca- nadians during COVID-19. Since the beginning of the pandemic, our govern- ment's first priority has been to give Canadians the support they need with the largest peacetime invest- ment in Canadian history. Canada's deficit is ex- pected to hit $343 billion this year, a figure largely attributed to pandemic-re- lated support programs. That is a staggering number, but the cost of in- action would have been far greater, not only to Cana- da's fiscal position, but to the health and safety of Ca- nadians. Our economic success is fundamentally linked to public health outcomes. The best economic policy continues to be containing the spread of the virus. The good news is that in- terest rates are low, and the cost of servicing the debt is actually $4 billion lower than we projected in our last fiscal update. Canada has put in place one of the most compre- hensive response plans in the world, while at the same time maintaining a low-debt advantage. Canada's bottom line re- flects the necessary ac- tions our government has taken to get Canadians through this crisis. If we had not stepped in with the Canada Emergen- cy Wage Subsidy (CEWS), millions of jobs could have been lost. Without the Can- ada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), many Ca- nadians would not have been able to cover their dai- ly expenses, as 8.16 million took advantage of the pro- gram. The Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) helped hundreds of thou- sands of businesses stay afloat. Seniors have re- ceived one-time Old Age Security bonuses and 3.7 million families eligible for the Canada Child Bene- fit (CCB) got an extra $2 bil- lion in payouts in May. The Canadian economy created almost one million jobs in June. We are still at the stage where we are managing a health crisis, but know that the govern- ment is already working with the provinces, territo- ries and Indigenous peo- ples about reopening the economy and the path for- ward. Pam Damoff is the MP for Oakville North-Bur- lington and parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services. She can be reached at Pam.da- moff@parl.gc.ca or www.mpdamoff.ca. UNPRECEDENTED SUPPORT FOR CANADIANS LARGEST PEACETIME INVESTMENT IN OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE DURING PANDEMIC, WRITES PAM DAMOFF The alarm clock face is blinking at you like a neon sign on the fritz, but un- folding yourself out of bed is optional -- at least for an- other half-hour. Everyone else in the house stumbles to life, out of sync, like "Lost in Space" characters dropping out of suspended animation. You're safe in a bubble but working from home -- "life- ing from home" -- as a friend of mine put it. The morning rituals that populated your sun- rise are undefined or have been readapted digitally. You may have that Zoom meeting at 10:30 a.m. and a day on the laptop carved in pencil -- but a big whack of time normally dedicated to slapping on your public face, herding your family toward their needed desti- nations, leaping in your car to wait in line at the Star- bucks drive-thru for your Americano, followed by the sprint to grab the GO train or worse, stare down the QEW shuffle and on to face your office day just isn't there. It went poof. Life will re-emerge but now something new is prodding the inner recess- es of your scalp. It's a voice saying, "maybe the uni- verse is offering me a way off the gerbil wheel." But how do you moti- vate to reinvent your life while at home? Where do you start? I'm going to offer a few thoughts. Take them, leave them, adapt them or try them on for size. It's all up to you. The hurry-up-and-wait universe we find ourselves in is ideal for reinvention. Know that structure, lists and planning are fine, but it is not motivation and isn't going to get you scis- soring off to fulfillment at a gallop. Motivation comes from seeing positive change, however small, not just as- piring to it. Peaks and val- leys are part of the process so allow for gobs of nothing getting done. Don't let it hobble you. Stephen Ilott is a profes- sional home organizer with decluttering.ca and author of "The Domestic Archaeologist." For more information, visit www.de- cluttering.ca or contact him at info@declutter- ing.ca. HOW TO SELF-MOTIVATE WHILE YOU'RE AT HOME HURRY-UP-AND-WAIT UNIVERSE MANY OF US ARE NOW IN OFFERS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR REINVENTION, WRITES STEPHEN ILOTT STEPHEN ILOTT Column SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT INSIDEHALTON.COM SNAPSHOT A dragonfly visits a backyard in southeast Oakville. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. Marylou Oliver photo PAM DAMOFF Column