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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 ne 9, 20 22 | 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 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 Director Creative Services Katherine Porcheron 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 screech owl visits a home in the Fourth Line area. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. Grad Dewar photo SNAPSHOT Interest rates have been extremely low for years, and that has hurt invest- ment returns from income- bearing investments like Guaranteed Investment Certificates. Many older adults rely on this type of investment. The result of this extend- ed period of low investment returns means their money has not grown very quickly. Among the challenges facing retirees are: Inflation: It has sudden- ly come roaring back. Mak- ing ends meet is becoming more difficult. Medical costs: Many health-care related costs, in- cluding the reality of grow- ing old and needing extend- ed medical services, are not covered by our government. Longevity: The positive reality of better health care and healthy living is people are living longer. From a financial per- spective, a longer life means more years of pay- ing for living expenses. Depending on the accom- modation chosen, the cost can range from expensive to very expensive. Also, as they continue to live in an assisted living facility, se- niors are more likely to re- quire additional care servic- es at an additional cost. As house prices have be- come exorbitant, many parents have provided fi- nancial assistance to their children to purchase their own place to live. Some re- tirees, through their own generosity to their chil- dren, might find they are short of funds to finance their own living costs. Growing old does pre- sent some financial chal- lenges. We recommend you consider these and plan ac- cordingly. 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 Investment Industry Regulatory Orga- nization 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. OLDER ADULTS FACING FINANCIAL CHALLENGES PETER WATSON Column One Canadian killed by gun violence is one too many. Since I was elected to the House of Commons, I have been advocating for a comprehensive strategy to address gun violence. On May 30, as parlia- mentary secretary to the minister of public safety, I was proud to table the reg- ulations to support Bill C-21 in the House of Com- mons. If passed, the bill would introduce a national freeze on handgun owner- ship, making it illegal to buy, own, sell or import handguns in Canada. The bill also fights gun smuggling and trafficking by increasing maximum penalties, and will ensure that long guns can never hold more than five rounds. These tabled changes under the firearms act will enable us to bring these changes to legislation as soon as possible. Bill C-21 also aims to curb violence against women. Red flag laws will mean people deemed a po- tential harm to those around them, particularly their intimate partners, will not be allowed to own firearms. Bill C-21 will also act to take away the firearms li- cences of those involved in acts of domestic violence or criminal harassment. It would increase criminal penalties and provide more tools for law enforce- ment to investigate fire- arms crimes and require individuals who are con- sidered a danger to them- selves or others to surren- der their firearms. Gun violence has no place in Canada. People should be free to go to school, to the park, to their places of worship or to a grocery store without fear of being shot. The math is simple -- the fewer the guns, the few- er Canadians shot. This legislation goes further than Canada has ever gone in a generation to curb gun violence. The assault rifle buy- back program will make it mandatory for those who own them to turn in their assault rifles or to prove they have been disabled and are completely inoper- able. The mandatory buy- back of assault rifles will kick in by the end of this year. I was honoured to play a role in shaping this legisla- tion and I hope that all par- ties in the House of Com- mons will agree to fast- track it to protect Canadi- ans. Pam Damoff is the MP for Oakville North--Bur- lington, and the parlia- mentary secretary to the minister of public safety. She can be reached at pam.damoff@parl.gc.ca. GUN VIOLENCE NEEDS TO END BILL-21 VITAL FOR OUR NATION'S SAFETY, WRITES PAM DAMOFF PAM DAMOFF Column SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT INSIDEHALTON.COM