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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, June 3, 2016 | 4 Mayor says Oakville must do more to address poverty by David Lea Oakville Beaver Staff Oakville Mayor Rob Burton called on the business community to join with the Town in exploring ways of combating local poverty during a speech at the Argus Road Holiday Inn, Thursday morning. The mayor made the appeal during his annual Town Economic Update, which was hosted by the Oakville Chamber of Commerce and drew a crowd of more than 200 people. While Burton noted during his speech that the economic outlook of the Town has "never been better," he said not everyone is sharing in that prosperity. "According to 2011 data from Statistics Canada, the percentage of Oakville's population living below the low income measure sits at 8.6 per cent. That's well below the provincial number of 14 per cent, but I don't see this as a reason to be satisfied," said Burton. "Around the world, national and provincial governments seem to treat poverty a lot like they treat their debt. Just as they only pay the interest on their debt, without reducing the principal, they have only been providing the bare minimum of support for those who need help...Our poverty rate is two-thirds the provincial average. Our finances are the healthiest in the province. So if our problem is smaller and our ability to deal with it is greater Oakville Mayor Rob Burton gave his annual Town Economic Update, hosted by the Oakville Chamber of Commerce, Thursday (June 2) and drew on the opportunity to speak about tackling poverty locally. | photo by Graham Paine ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) doesn't it make sense that if Oakville can't fix poverty or put a dent in it no one can?" Burton argued tackling poverty could stimulate the economy and said the business community could participate and benefit. He pointed to a recent report in which the Oakville Chamber spoke about its desire to enter into public/private partnerships in an effort to improve health services. Similar public/private partnerships could be used to benefit social services, said Burton. The mayor said his enthusiasm for this plan comes from seeing how business currently engages with the community citing the way local businesses fund the Oakville Arts Council or how the Canadian-owned engineering firm Hatch donated $3 million worth of solar panels to the new Oakville hospital. "Today I see no reason why Oakville couldn't be the first town in Canada to fundamentally change for the better our approach to poverty and community well-being for everyone, including those who dreamed their lives would be so different from the despair they are living with right now," said Burton. "This surely will require partnership and consultation over time, but it surely will make us able to do more for everyone. Ultimately the most fulfilling work we can do together is to make the place we live and love so much a better place." This goal of tackling poverty was not his only topic as Burton then addressed the Town's economic outlook. He noted that 10 years ago, the Town's taxsupported debt sat at $24 million. This year, he said, that figure it will be down to $6 million. He said Oakville has a system of budgeting see Town on p.13 THE SUMMER HEAT IS COMING NOW IS THE TIME TO REPLACE YOUR FURNACE AND AIR CONDITIONER! $ UP TO WITH CARRIER IN REbATES CASH COOL 1,715 APPLEBY SYSTEMS Delivering Home Comfort from our family to yours sinCe 1967 *Limited Time offer. O.A.C. See store for details. 10 YEAR PARTS & LABOUR WARRANTY* We Service All Makes of Central Air Conditioners and Gas Furnaces LE B A U VAL PON COU& SAVE CLIP Count on the professionals to ensure your system keeps you cool all summer long. Have a system tune-up on your furnace, air conditioner and or fireplace and receive up to $45.00 off. Limited time offer and cannot be combined with any other offer. MAINTENANCE OFFER · 24 HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE · QUALIFIED MECHANICS · QUALITY WORKMANSHIP APPLEBY SYSTEMS FIREPLACE, HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING CONTRACTORS SHOWROOM 2086 Speers Rd. Oakville Mon - Fri 8AM - 5PM Saturday 11AM - 4PM SHOWROOM PHONE 24 hr hotline OAKVILLE 905-825-1893 BURLINGTON 905-335-3203 HAMILTON 905-540-9153 905-825-1929 www.applebysystems.ca