in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, M ar ch 25 ,2 02 1 | 16 ENJOY A WALK Bundle up and stroll to Bronte. Pick up takeout or window shop. STEP 1 STAY A WHILE Visit 50 uniquely painted Muskoka chairs in the business district and heritage waterfront park. STEP 2 FIND THE HIDDEN LIGHTHOUSE on each chair & tag your photos @BronteEvents STEP 3 brontevillage.net FOLLOW US@BronteEvents Aharmless coffee break can domore harm than you think. Paid for by the Government of Ontario Wear amask,wash your hands and physically distance to stop the spread of COVID-19. Learn more at ontario.ca/covid-19 The Province is provid- ing $2.4 million in funding to help the Town of Oak- ville address the financial impact of COVID-19 on its transit services. Here's what you need to know about the announce- ment: • The announcement was made March 1 by Oak- ville North-Burlington MPP Effie Triantafilopou- los and Oakville MPP Ste- phen Crawford. • This funding is part of the Safe Restart Agree- ment, a joint initiative of the federal and Ontario governments. • The funding is intend- ed to help ensure munici- palities can run their tran- sit systems during CO- VID-19. • At the peak of the pan- demic, transit ridership dropped up to 90 per cent of normal levels for many On- tario transit systems. • In a Feb. 22 report, the Town of Oakville estimated it lost $5.5 million in transit revenue in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. • The March 1 funding is in addition to the $2.4 mil- lion provided to Oakville by the Province for CO- VID-19 transit relief in Au- gust 2020. • The federal-provincial Safe Restart Agreement is providing up to a total $4 billion in emergency fund- ing to help Ontario's mu- nicipalities deliver critical services. PROVINCE EARMARKS $2.4M FOR LOCAL TRANSIT SERVICES DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com Funding has been announced for Oakville transit services. Metroland file photo NEWS