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4- The Oakville Beaver, Friday November 30, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com Carr stresses importance of healthy communities Continued from page 1 structure over the next few years and it simply can't be done," said Carr. "So when you hear the finance minister saying that the municipalities are whining the reality of the situation is that he has more revenue than we do to pay for these things." With projections showing the federal government reaching a surplus of $64.6 billion by 2013, assistance to the municipalities is long overdue, said Carr. But because the federal government appears less than willing to part with this money, Carr is calling on Oakville's business community to help the Region in its push for federal funding. Carr was quick to point out that those in the audience had a vested interest in seeing this funding goal achieved. "Municipalities are Canada's economic engines and the investment in infrastructure needs to continue. In the 1990s "We need federal investment in the infrastructure in order to maintain the quality of life, otherwise we're not going to be able to provide those services that you need to attract people." Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr in his State-of-the-Region address to the Oakvilles Chamber of Commerce during the fiscal crisis we didn't invest in infrastructure, but now we need to do it otherwise we're going to run into the situation where our roads and our infra- structure begins to crumble," said Carr. "We need federal investment in the infrastructure in order to maintain the quality of life, otherwise we're not going Do you have control issues? We can help. to be able to provide those services that you need to attract people." While the need for federal funding was the dominant topic of Carr's state of the Region address it was not the only topic of discussion with Carr also commenting on the 2007-2010 Halton Region Strategic Plan. "We have six areas we want to concentrate on over the next few years one of them is to control and manage growth for sustainable communities and I think I can talk on behalf of the other councillors when I say that we are going to try and do things differently and not the way they have been done in the past," said Carr. While the second theme looks at protecting and enhancing Halton's natural environment, the third theme focuses on creating and improving safe, healthy, livable, inclusive communities in Halton. "That means having the health services you need, that means having policing on the streets because if we don't have these things people won't come to this region," said Carr. No less important, Carr noted, was theme four, which involves the promotion and strengthening of economic growth and prosperity. "We understand that without a thriving economy all of the things that we care about the most, the schools the health care and so on, can't happen," said Carr, to the business oriented audience. "So at the Region we're coming up with some things that will give you the tools to get the job done." Promoting cooperation and partnerships among all levels of government, including federal, made up theme five with the ensuring of excellence in government and fiscal responsibility finishing the plan as theme six. "We want to keep the triple A credit rating that we have now so we can pay for all the things that we're going to be doing over the next little while," said Carr. With a federal election on the horizon supplying the Region with money to carry out parts of this plan will almost certainly become an issue. European Engineering Combined With Traditional Workmanship "Building on the Brightest Ideas Around Glass" 905.849.0266 Gas Fireplace Repair The new update of the 1122 is an excellent choice for over-pronators or those with a lower arch. It provides maximum motion control, stability and cushioning. 5 Oakville . W E. Q. Solving Problems Since 1982 LE IDD ER M AST UPPROAD E Upper Middle Rd E & 8th Line We Service & Carry Parts for GSW, Insta-Flame, Valor, Drolet Napoleon, Regency, Majestic, Heat-N-Glo, Heatilator, Selkirk, Vermont Casting, Osburn, Hunter, CFM, GTI, Dovre, Pacific Energy, Security, Hearth Stone, Montego, Lennox, Temco, Superior, DRU, Faber, and many other brands. 9 The largest selection of New Balance apparel, accessories and footwear in multiple widths. 8 403 TH TH E LIN E LIN 905.337.9393 www.newbalanceoakville.ca Experience is the difference! 905-845-0701