The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, March 8, 2012 · 4 More companies came than left town in 2011 tions for our local business community," stated Oakville Mayor Rob Burton in the report. "Companies continue to choose Oakville as their place to do business because of our talented labour force, enviable quality of life and opportunities to partner with international industry leaders. Council will continue to support economic development initiatives in 2012 that help make Oakville a destination for new investment, and a valued home for our existing companies." St. George said 2011 was also a good year for some of Oakville's major employers with both Goodrich Landing Gear and Javelin Technologies experiencing growth in their employment numbers. In September, Ford Motor Company of Canada announced a $2.5-million investment in a research initiative aimed at developing new powertrain systems for hybrid vehicles. In December, Goodrich Landing Gear received a $3.3-million investment from the provincial government to assist the company's research and development while March Continued from page 1 saw Pharma Trust's drug dispensing machines (the MedCentre) rolled out across Ontario hospitals. December saw Sheridan College officially open its new Applied Research and Collaboration Centre. The centre is dedicated for use by the faculty, students and external partners specifically involved in research projects administered through Sheridan's office of Applied Research and Innovation. A number of new businesses also made their way to Oakville in 2011 bringing 639 new jobs and absorbing more than 411,000 square feet of commercial and industrial facilities. St. George pointed out many of these new companies operate within one of Oakville's four targeted growth sectors: professional and financial services, advanced manufacturing, life sciences, and digital media and animation. These new arrivals included Canadian Tire Financial Services that relocated its head office to Oakville in early 2011 resulting in 300 new jobs. "Companies continue to choose Oakville as their place to do business because of our talented labour force, enviable quality of life and opportunities to partner with international industry leaders." Mayor Rob Burton Minor Ball Hockey In Oakville Ages 3-20 yrs old · 7th Season All games played in local arenas. Full player and team statistics online. Members of the Ontario Ball Hockey Association. Register online or in person at National Sports on March 24 from Noon until 2pm. Kids Minor Programs · Learn to Play Program for ages 3 to 6 years old for only $99 · Programs for ages 7 to18 years old for only $155 · Weekend games only and no practices · Season runs from April to the end of June · Try out for our Aces Select Provincial Team · 10 games minimum including our Championship Tournament · 19 & 20 year old Juvenile Division Sunday nights for only $155 Another 100 existing employees transferred to the Canadian Tire facility in the Great Lakes Business Park. Other arrivals included: The Works' corporate head office and restaurant; digital animators Renderwave; stainless steel product firm Fidelity Stainless Ltd.; global freight and logistics company Schenker of Canada; precision machine parts company JM Tek Ltd.; pharmaceutical products Watson Pharma Company; nonferrous metals recyclers Peel Scrap Metal Recycling; Cogeco Data Services GP Inc.; enterprise content management firm Yakidoo; and, the composite metal casting company FusionCast Technology. Not all the news was good admitted St. George who noted a trio of companies left Oakville during 2011 taking 335 jobs with them. "These included Pipeline Studios (digital animation company) that moved outside the GTA to take advantage of a tax credit for film and animation," she said. "Becton Dickinson Canada (medical devices and services company) consolidated offices in Mississauga as did Pattison Outdoor Advertising (advertising and marketing services company)." With so many locations for businesses to choose from, St. George touted Oakville's abil- ity to compete with other municipalities. On development charges, St. George said Oakville's office/commercial development charges currently rank as the ninth highest in the GTA, slightly above the GTA median rate of $17.20 per square foot. Oakville remains less competitive in the area of industrial development charges with the second highest rate in the GTA at $19.49 per square foot. Oakville's 2011 commercial tax rate of 2.14 per cent was slightly below the GTA median rate and ranked seventh lowest among GTA municipalities. Oakville is less competitive in the industrial tax rate area with the 11th lowest rate in the GTA at 3.38 per cent. St. George said land values in Oakville position the town to compete with other GTA communities. At a cost of approximately $716,000 per acre, office/commercial land in the Oakville market is valued below the GTA median price of $903,000 per acre. Market value in Oakville is second highest in Halton, however, it is still well below neighbouring municipalities such as Brampton and Mississauga. Across the GTA, Oakville's office/commercial land values rank ninth lowest among 22 municipalities. For More Information Call 905-484-8478 Or Visit www.ballhockey4u.com GTAA Annual Public Meeting Notice is hereby given of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority Annual Public Meeting relating to the management, operation, and maintenance of Toronto Pearson International Airport. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 2, 2012, at 1:30 p.m. in Lounge Q within the Departures Level of Terminal 1. Parking will be validated. By order of the Board of Directors. Doug Love Corporate Secretary