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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 29 ,2 02 1 | 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 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 Director of Content Lee Ann Waterman 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 A chipmunk grabs a snack from a bird feeder on Lindsay Drive. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. Robert Gignac photo SNAPSHOT SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT INSIDEHALTON.COM It's about trust. Our rela- tionship with our readers Is built on transparency, hon- esty and integrity. As such, we have launched a trust initiative to tell you who we are and how and why we do what we do. This article is part of that project. Withholding informa- tion goes against the very nature of a journalist. But when does leaving out cer- tain details of a story -- from an ethical standpoint -- become the right thing to do? That's a question being asked more and more in newsrooms (of the virtual variety) these days, as the spotlight continues to shine on the problem of racism, in all its ugly forms. Recently a colleague of mine shared the concerns of two Halton students who've faced racism with- in their school community -- and said they've been told of similar experiences from their peers. Before publishing the article, it was decided that some nasty-worded ques- tions allegedly directed at students of Asian descent would be potentially hurt- ful -- either to the youths themselves or those shar- ing their ethnicity. With that said, they were not included. This type of decision isn't made lightly. As journalists, we strive to uncover and share as much information as possi- ble. But rest assured, our intention is never to hurt or offend. So if graphic or poten- tially harmful aspects of a story can be omitted with- out compromising our ability to adequately in- form our readers, that's what we'll do. Transparency and in- tegrity can often butt heads when it comes to sen- sitive subject matter, and as conscientious as we be- lieve ourselves to be, there's no foolproof set of rules that govern our deci- sions on what to report and what not to report. The factors that weigh into how a story is reported can be as varied and com- plex as the stories them- selves, and we take pride on how seriously we view that. As each new story un- folds, we meet it with the best interest of our readers at heart. We strive to be re- sponsible every bit as much as accurate and bal- anced. Of that, you can be cer- tain. Steve LeBlanc is news editor of Metroland's Hal- ton community newspa- pers. We welcome your questions and value your comments. Email our trust committee at trust@met- roland.com. JUST WHAT'S FIT TO PUBLISH? THE ANSWER ISN'T AS SIMPLE AS YOU MAY THINK, WRITES STEVE LEBLANC Some years you win when your stock portfolio increases in value. Win- ning is easy. Anyone can handle a victory. Losing is different. Sig- nificantly different. That is where courage is needed. There was a sudden de- cline of stock values after COVID-19 invaded North America. Many investors lost about one third of the value of their stocks. Then suddenly, the mar- ket had a full rebound and went on to post significant gains. Again, in round num- bers, the portfolio was up about one third higher than before the pandemic. When the market de- clined, many investors sold and kept selling, even after the markets started to re- bound and went on to post new highs. Panic selling is far too common. Humans are not hard- wired to accept financial losses. We know from research, and our own experience, that a stock market decline in value is significantly more difficult to tolerate than the pleasure of an in- crease in value of the same magnitude. History shows us that you will lose money if you own stocks. Those that were able to resist the temptation of selling at a loss were rewarded. That is not a guarantee, but based on past decades of history it is a certainty. It takes courage to own stocks. 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. OWNING STOCKS TAKES COURAGE STOCKS ARE VOLATILE AND IT'S NORMAL TO LOSE MONEY SOME YEARS, WRITES PETER WATSON PETER WATSONColumn STEVE LEBLANC Column