in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, M ar ch 4, 20 21 | 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 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 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/OakvilleBeav @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'm proud to share that Moody's Investors Service has upheld Halton Region's AAA credit rating for 2021. The Region has main- tained this distinction for more than 30 years, and it is an essential part of Halton's strong financial position. Moody's analysis praises the Region's strategic plan- ning during the pandemic, stating they are confident Halton will remain resilient and stable despite future im- pacts from COVID-19. Their analysis also rec- ognizes the high quality of our financial plans, practic- es and reports. Below are the credit strengths that support Moody's decision: • The community's diver- sified economy and strong population growth; • Halton's low debt bur- den and exceptional levels of liquidity; • The Region's stable and predictable revenue sources that cushion operating pres- sures including those relat- ed to the COVID-19 pandem- ic; and • Halton's strong manage- ment and mature institu- tional framework. The agency's rating en- sures that Halton Region and its four local municipal- ities continue to access the best possible financing rates available, which minimizes long-term infrastructure capital financing costs. This allows public funds to go further when investing in essential regional works, including road, water and wastewater projects in our community. It also helps keep property taxes low, as we maintain and enhance our infrastructure that help build healthy, complete com- munities. Earning the highest cred- it rating from two interna- tional rating agencies each year -- Moody's Investors Service (AAA) and S&P Global Ratings (AAA) -- is critical to maintaining our strong long-term financial position, especially as we re- spond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2020, S&P Global Ratings upheld its own top rating for the Region, and maintaining this distinc- tion from both agencies is a key objective of the 2021 Bud- get and Business Plan. Moody's credit opinion report confirms that our prudent financial planning during the pandemic will continue to support resi- dents, and helps keep Halton a great place to live, work, raise a family and retire. To learn more about Hal- ton's strong long-term finan- cial position and Moody's analysis of the Region, visit www.halton.ca. Gary Carr is regional chair of Halton Region. To contact him, email gary.carr@halton.ca. HALTON'S FINANCIAL STRENGTH CONTINUES REGION MAINTAINS TRIPLE-A CREDIT RATING THROUGH PANDEMIC, WRITES GARY CARR "They are confident that Halton will remain resilient and stable despite future impacts from COVID-19." GARY CARR Column The stock market hit a speed bump recently. A large number of indi- viduals, inspired by social media, pounced on a specu- lative stock -- in part to com- bine their collective force to defeat some Wall Street me- ga money managers. The wealthy pros were betting against a speculative stock called GameStop. As a result of a social media fren- zy, many investors who could be classified as young, novice and speculative bet against the pros and drove the stock price upward. It was volatility on ste- roids. The opposite end of social media driven feeding fren- zies on stock speculation is academia. In the 1960s, Prof. Eugene Fama developed the effi- cient market hypothesis, meaning that stock prices reflect all available informa- tion. A few weeks ago, this was true for investors speculat- ing in the stock. There was information, and that infor- mation informed trading de- cisions. For a brief time, the effi- cient market impacted the supply and demand for the stock, and as a result the stock price went on a roller- coaster ride. The tragedy of this type of volatility is that it can harm an unsophisticated in- vestor. Normally the markets are more rational. Each day, participants decide at what price they will buy a stock while others decided what price they will sell. Speculating is not invest- ing. It is gambling. It is not a formula for repeatable suc- cess. 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 neces- sarily those of ACPI. Wat- son provides wealth man- agement services through Watson Investments. He can be reached at www.wat- soninvestments.com. THE STOCK MARKET ON STEROIDS VOLATILE SPECULATING NOT A FORMULA FOR SUSTAINED SUCCESS, WRITES PETER WATSON PETER WATSON Column