in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ju ly 9, 20 20 | 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 It's our businesses, large and small, that cre- ate jobs and prosperity in our province. And it's their hard work and suc- cess that builds Ontario's economy. When COVID-19 first hit Ontario, the provin- cial government had to take swift action to pro- tect our health. We all faced new limits and re-faced new limits and re-f strictions, but the clo- sures of non-essential businesses left them at risk. The Ontario govern- ment knew it had to act to help businesses get through the crisis. Ontario entered a state of emergency in March, and the government of- fered businesses help im-fered businesses help im-f mediately. We established $10 billion in emergency cash flow for business, cut business taxes and sus- pended WSIB premiums for six months. for six months. f We cut hydro rates forWe cut hydro rates forW small businesses and indi- viduals. We worked to cut red tape and rules that got in the way of business suc- cess. In April, we set up a cabinet-level Jobs and Re- covery Committee to plan the reopening of our prov- ince, consulting with business and community leaders. This committee is over- seeing a staged plan of re- openings, but it also made sure that businesses had the advice they needed to safely reopen. Over 100 health and safety plans, designed for individual business sectors, were re- leased. Working with the feder-Working with the feder-W al government, we de- signed a $900-million com- mercial rent support plan, so that commercial ten- ants, working with land- lords, could save rent dur- ing the crisis. In June, we also put a ban on commer- cial evictions until the end of August. I've worked closely with our local business community to ensure that their views - and needs - are heard. Working with our local Chambers of Commerce, Ontario's small business minister met with business owners at business roundtables. Our community should be proud of the way in which it came together during the crisis, and this includes our business community. Many took up the premier's challenge to innovate and retool to pro- vide made-in-Ontario per- sonal protective equip- ment, keeping people em- ployed. As our local businesses begin to reopen, I urge ev- eryone to support them. Let's stand with them as they create jobs and pros- perity in our community. Effie Triantafilopoulos is the MPP for Oakville North--Burlington. She can be reached at ef- fie.triantafilopou- los@pc.ola.org. WORKING TO PROTECT OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY AS MORE BUSINESSES REOPEN, LET'S DO WHAT WE CAN TO SUPPORT THEM, WRITES EFFIE TRIANTAFILOPOULOS These past three months have brought many challenges, but On- tarians continue to help one another and have demonstrated resilience during the COVID-19 pan- demic. We have assisted eachWe have assisted eachW other by providing dona- tions, following health guidelines, or producing crucial personal protec- tive equipment. Through our commu- nity efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, Oak- ville and Halton have offi- cially entered phase two of "A Framework for Re- opening our Province." Stage two has allowed more of our favourite stores, salons, restaurant patios, and recreational activities to reopen. Even in stage two, there is still a need to fol- low social distancing measures and take pre- cautions to stay safe. Get- ting people back to work while maintaining public health and safety is a top priority for the govern- ment. Throughout this pan- demic, the Ontario gov- ernment has remained committed to improving our economic growth and competitiveness. Recent- ly, the government has made key investments in our province, which in- clude: • Providing $57 million in the Digital Main Street platform to help small businesses create and en- hance their online pres- ence, which will also gen- erate 1,400 student jobs. • Moving forward with 37 major infrastructure projects across the prov- ince using the public-pri- vate partnership (P3) model. The P3 model is part of the government plan to help get goods to markets. • Allocating $10 million to Indigenous small and medium size businesses. • Helping youth reach their full potential by in- vesting over $13 million through the Youth Oppor- tunities Fund. This will help those facing systemic barriers with a focus on Indigenous and Black communities. • Revamping our math curriculum for elementa- ry students to equip them with coding and financial literacy skills needed for the job market. These initiatives will only help our province come back stronger. Stephen Crawford is the MPP for Oakville. He can be reached at stephen- crawfordmpp.ca. CONTINUING TO INVEST IN ONTARIO'S FUTURE WE MUST BE RESILIENT AND KEEP PRACTISING SAFETY MEASURES AS MORE BUSINESSES REOPEN, WRITES STEPHEN CRAWFORD STEPHEN CRAWFORD Column SNAPSHOT A great blue heron soars over Tannery Park. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. Wayne Schnurr photo EFFIE TRIANTAFIL- OPOULOS Column