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Building a strong economy requires forward thinking, foster- ing the condi- tions for business to invest and be competitive and access to a strong workforce. I believe the decisions and the plan of the Ontario Liberal Party to ensure continued economic growth in Halton. Small business growth is key to economic growth. In Halton our eco- nomic strength will be driven by the strength of our businesses, large and Throughout the provincial election campaign the Oakville Beaver will be asking candidates in the Oakville and Halton ridings to respond to weekly questions. Responses from the Oakville candidates will appear each Thursday and responses from the Halton candidates will appear each Friday leading up to the Oct. 6 election. The second question is "What is your plan to strengthen Halton's economy?" The Oakville Chamber of Commerce & Business Development Bank of Canada Pre-Registration & Pre-Payment Required Register online at www.oakvillechamber.com Questions? Call Nesrene (905) 845-6613 x 28. nesrene@oakvillechamber.com P r e s e n t s 2011 Week Small Business Power Up Your Business Invest. Innovate. Grow. Small Business Week recognizes the tremendous contribution small businesses make to our economy, both locally and nationally. It is an opportunity to participate in many networking, information, and educational events. Register today for Small Business Week 2011 Seminar Series. $33 to attend 1 seminar $85 to attend 3 seminars $99 to attend all 8 seminars Trade Show Pricing: Member Rate: $145 Non-Member Rate: $195 HST not included (HST #R107790586) Thursday October 20th at Holiday Inn Oakville at Bronte, 2525 Wyecroft Road, Oakville: Celebrate the weeks launch with breakfast and hear success story Cora Tsouflidou discuss her life as an entrepreneur, the Cora journey, lessons learned, understanding your customers, quality customer service and achieving peak performance with your team. 9:30 - 11:00am Online Marketing: Planning for Success with Ben Molfetta & Aby Alameddine 11:30 - 1:00pm Escaping Social Media Madness with Jonathan Burns 9:00 - 10:30am Sales...What You Need to Know with John Kanary 11:00 - 12:30pm Dare to Care with Darlene Huff 9:00 - 10:30am Networking Edge - Building Relationships for Success with Audie McCarthy 11:00 - 12:30pm Organize or Agonize with Andrew Sherwood Business After Hours & Trade Show 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. FREE ADMISSION Location: Oakville Conference Centre, 2515 Wyecroft Road, Oakville The Chambers popular monthly evening reception is combined with our Annual Trade Show. Come to network with local business leaders, enter into our 50/50 and door prize draws, and enjoy the catering and refreshments. 9:00 - 10:30am What You Need to Know from the Experts with Greg Clarke, David Rickards & Tom Savoy 11:00 - 12:30pm The Myths & Mysteries Work-Life Balance for Entrepreneurs with Steve Howse Wednesday October 19th at Holiday Inn Oakville at Bronte, 2525 Wyecroft Road, Oakville: Tuesday October 18th at Holiday Inn Oakville at Bronte, 2525 Wyecroft Road, Oakville: Monday October 17th at Holiday Inn Oakville Centre, 590 Argus Road, Oakville: Monday October 17 - Thursday October 20 Monday October 17th Location: Holiday Inn Oakville Centre, 590 Argus Road, Oakville: w w w .i n si d eH A LT O N .c o m O A K V IL LE B EA V ER Fr id ay , S ep te m be r 16 , 2 01 1 1 0 What is your plan to strengthen Halton's economy? It takes a well-rounded, m u l t i d i s c i - plinary team, like the Green Party, to be able to conquer such a multi- faceted task as turning around the economy. We have to strengthen the labour pool by giving people a solid education. We have to create sus- tainable workplaces and workforce, knowing that healthy employees make a healthy work environment. All the while making sure that air, sand and sea can support us now and in the future by removing barriers for family farms and local food pro- See Nik Spohr page 18 What is your plan to strength- en Haltons econ- omy? Tax reduc- tions, income splitting and an end to HST charges on hydro and home heating bills will put more money back into the pockets of fami- lies to spend locally. Our efforts to cut red tape and reduce the barriers to starting new businesses can only help entrepreneurs in Halton. Small busi- ness is the largest job creator and we in Halton will benefit from small busi- ness friendly policies that will allow our business sector to thrive. See Ted Chudleigh page 18 Nik Spohr NDP Ted Chudleigh There are a number of ways we plan to create jobs not just in Halton, but across the province and most of our platform attempts to encourage job growth. We want to reward good corporate citizens that create strong, long-term jobs in Ontario. For starters, we will lower the small business tax rate to help create local jobs, as well as help all companies to create jobs if they agree to invest in plants, machinery, computer tech- gy gnolo and skills trainin . Ted Chudleigh PC Karen Fraser Green Indira Naidoo-Harris Liberals pNik S ohr Karen Fraser sIndira Naidoo-Harri See Indira Naidoo-Harris page 18See Karen Fraser page 18 Government can destroy jobs in two ways: using its influence when it shouldnt, or failing to use its influ- ence when it should. Government can prevent job losses by lowering taxes, eliminating monopolies, and discontinuing special advantages that it grants to some players and not to others. It can also do a better job recognizing and pro- tecting property rights. FPO will strengthen the economy by: lowering taxes (e.g., the health premium, the beer tax, the gasoline tax) so people have more money to spend on jobs creating goods and services; making price and free market competition top priority in the provision of clean elec- tricity, so people have more money to spend on jobs-creating goods and ser- vices; eliminating subsidies and Gina van den Burg Freedom Party Gina van den Burg See Gina van den Burg18 WOOD N FLOOR Call KAZ (905) 338-1881 www.woodnfloor.ca W We will beat every written quote! We install all Kinds of Floors, Stairs and Railings Refinish Your Wood Floor Like New Serving Oakville residents for over 20 years. Speak up! You can comment on any story in today's Oakville Beaver at oakvillebeaver. com