in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ju ne 16 ,2 02 2 | 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 Oakville's economy is booming. We gained 1,000 new jobs in 2021, according to the town's 2021 Development Annual Report. Oakville welcomed new companies across various industries and saw growth and expansions at existing companies. We focus on attracting new investment. We re- spond to the needs of local businesses. We support the town's commercial dis- tricts. For the third year in a row, the town was recog- nized by Site Selection Magazine as one of Cana- da's best locations to invest. Oakville's office real estate market outlook is positive. The vacancy rate is de- creasing for a second con- secutive quarter in 2022. The demand for industrial space in Oakville contin- ues to grow, outpacing sup- ply throughout 2021. Oakville council and staff and businesses know that Oakville's livability at- tracts talent, employers and people who want to live here. The employers follow. Our Economic Develop- ment department pro- motes our town for invest- ment with a community profile and digital advertis- ing campaign titled "Where Living Works." We introduced and ex- panded initiatives such as Digital Main Street, our popular patio program and our workplace self-screen- ing program that provided free rapid antigen test kits to 1,140 local business in partnership with the Oak- ville Chamber of Com- merce. The Digital Main Street program is helping more than 450 Oakville business- es establish their digital presence. The program is being extended for two more years. Our town has main- tained its strong financial reserves through thick and thin. We came thought the Great Recession of 2008 be- cause we were ready and nimble. Oakville and Hal- ton Region have kept the highest credit ratings pos- sible. The town's external in- dependent auditor, KPMG, recently issued a "clean" opinion on the town's 2021 financial statements. As mayor, I'm proud that we have always had clean au- dits with no corrections. Our 2022 budget sets the lowest property tax in- crease in the Greater To- ronto Hamilton Area. Our property tax rate is the sixth the lowest of the 25 municipalities in the GTHA. Our strong economic fundamentals enable coun- cil to invest in what matters most to our residents, such as community centres. Our fiscal management enables us to make and keep Oak- ville Canada's most livable community. Rob Burton is the may- or of Oakville. He can be reached at mayor@oak- ville.ca. LIVABILITY ENABLES ECONOMIC PROSPERITY THINGS LOOKING GOOD FOR OUR TOWN, WRITES ROB BURTON A skunk enjoys a drink of water at a home in the Trafalgar Road and White Oaks Boulevard area. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. Lyn Wiggins photo SNAPSHOT Early in their career, as the story was told, there were two major setbacks suffered by a person I once spoke with -- the loss of a job and the loss of real es- tate. The moral of the story was how negative events can have positive out- comes. The person referred to the popular expression, "You play the cards you are dealt." You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control how you re- act. In this case, both the current successful career and real estate success would not have happened unless these major set- backs occurred. I cannot imagine the emotional and financial challenge this person suf- fered. Many are overextended with too much debt, and now that interest rates are rising some may not be able to keep up with payments. Recent homebuyers are facing a slowdown in the real estate market and much speculation about a significant drop in prices ahead. Their fear is they over- paid in a hot real estate market and buying their "dream home" is turning into a nightmare. Some business owners are being squeezed because of supply chain issues, in- cluding being able to pur- chase goods needed in their business and maintaining a qualified staff of employ- ees. There is a lot of change coming for many. Most people do not make changes easily. But we do have the ability to change and that is the key compo- nent of how humans have evolved. Your key to success is how you overcome your setback. Your despair could have a silver lining. Peter Watson, of Watson Investments MBA, CFP®, R.F.P., CIM®, FCSI offers a weekly financial plan- ning column, Dollars & Sense. He can be contacted through www.watsonin- vestments.com. FINANCIAL DESPAIR CAN HAVE A SILVER LINING PETER WATSON Column SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT INSIDEHALTON.COM ROB BURTON Column SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT INSIDEHALTON.COM