www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, October 21, 2016 | 16 Oakville poised to fight back on poverty: Mayor by David Lea Oakville Beaver Staff Oakville Mayor Rob Burton says the town is stable and on the verge of a great opportunity to do more to help its less fortunate residents. Burton's 10th annual Oakville Status Report, delivered at Monday night's council meeting (Oct. 17), painted a rosy picture of Oakville's current situation. Highlights of the speech included MoneySense magazine's listing of the town as the third best place to live in Canada -- behind first-place Ottawa and neighbouring Burlington. Oakville has moved up from sixth on this list the previous year. "This is the best ranking we've ever had and this is our third year being among the Top 10," said Burton. "We were also named the best place in Ontario to raise children and the second best in all of Canada. We are Canada's safest community and Canada's healthiest community and our economy is strong." Burton noted the at-or-below-inflation level property tax increases residents have experienced for the last eight years will continue through the Town's 2017 budget. Priorities moving forward continue to include improving roads and infrastructure with 22 km of Oakville roads to be resurfaced this year. Creating community centres in each of Oakville's seven wards is another priority. Burton said this year the Town began work transforming the Oakville Arena and Trafalgar Park into a South Central Community Centre. Planning is about to begin to bring a community centre to the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital site on Reynolds Street. "Every two years, for the next four years, we will be opening a new community centre," said All locAtions Are locAted inside longos & Are open 7 dAys A Week Burton. "In 10 years or sooner, we will add the Neyagawa Boulevard community centre expansion to the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex." Another priority includes increasing Oakville's tree Oakville Mayor Rob Burton canopy, which Burton says the Town is doing by planting more trees, extending tree protection controls to developers' land, fighting the emerald ash borer (EAB) and beefing up its policies with regards to trees on private property. In the area of development, Burton said the Livable Oakville Official Plan continues to protect the town from unwanted intensification. "We've gone from losing 75 per cent of the time at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) to winning 67 per cent of the time," said Burton. "We are being challenged at the OMB now over how we will conduct the planning process that is required to consider the future of the Glen Abbey Golf Course. I am confident of our success in that contest." Burton said Oakville has continued to be a place of refuge and hope for people seeking security, prosperity and new horizons. He noted it was the case when Oakville was a destination along the Underground Railroad nearly 200 years ago and again this year as residents welcomed more than 50 families from Syria. Burton said Oakville has an opportunity to be an even more caring and inclusive community that allows everyone to participate in and enjoy Oakville's livability. He pointed out Oakville's poverty rate is twothirds lower than the provincial average and its assets as a community are well above the provincial average. "With a smaller poverty rate and a greater capacity to deal with it, it makes sense that if Oakville can't solve its poverty than nobody else can either," said Burton. "We've expanded and extended our lowincome transit pass to support people whose means of getting around is challenged. We've strengthened property tax deferment opportunities to help low-income seniors, but we can do more." Burton said Oakville and Halton could be the first municipalities with a comprehensive set of community safety and wellbeing plans to fundamentally change the approach taken in dealing with poverty and community wellbeing. In the year ahead, Burton said his focus would be to engage and expand everyone's participation in the safety and wellbeing of the community. We fill more than your prescriptions. We fulfill your expectations When you need a prescription filled or advice about an over-the-counter medication, you can rely on your Morelli's Pharmacy team to be fast, helpful and knowledgeable. Online Prescription RENEWAL I feel it in my feet! speciAlty compounding AvAilAble At All our morelli's locAtions. 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