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

9| O akville B eaver | T hursday,A ugust 23,2018 insidehalton.com For a Free consultation call oakville: 905.842.2022 ToronTo: 416.644.3999 Denied Disabled Benefits? I canhelp. My teamof experienced lawyers can help youwith: •Disability Claims Short-TermDisability, long-TermDisability, CPPShort-TermDisability, long-TermDisability, CPP •Car accidents •Slip and Falls •Wrongful Dismissal Injured? Sam Spadafora injurY and emploYment law Sam SpadaforaSam SpadaforaSam SpadaforaSam SpadaforaSam Spadafora I don't get paid unless I getYoumoneY. oFFiCeS in oakville and ToronTo eMail: sspadafora@slspc.ca Two organizations re- sponsible for advocating for local businesses took a mo- ment recently to discuss shopping locally and its im- portance not only to those stores, but the community in general. Oakville Chamber of Commerce president Drew Redden said 80 per cent of the chamber's members are small, local businesses. He pointed out shopping at local businesses creates local jobs, which are essen- tial in transforming Oak- ville into something other then a bedroom communi- ty. "We want to put an em- phasis on being able to live and work in our communi- ty," said Redden. "We have a world-class educational institution here, we were just ranked the No. 1 place to live in the country and it is incredibly important that our resi- dents are able to live and work in Oakville, and that starts with shopping local- ly and supporting our small businesses here in town." Redden said shopping lo- cally has multiple ripple ef- fects.fects.f He noted if people are shopping and working lo- cally, that means less peo- ple on the highways, less hours spent commuting and ultimately a smaller carbon footprint. "If our local residents are shopping local, it allows our local businesses to re- flect and respond to theflect and respond to thef needs of our local consum- ers," said Redden. "It also creates healthy competition among our lo- cal businesses, resulting in good prices and more choic- es for our residents and consumers here in town." He said more businesses also means more contribu- tions to the local tax base, which means more funds for public services andfor public services andf events. Downtown Oakville BIA executive director Sharlene Plewman also talked about the importance of local shopping. "It is the only way we can function as a town in termsfunction as a town in termsf of creating an enjoyable place to live with business- es that are thriving. Those businesses and the people who work there are your neighbours," she said. "It is the way to keep your local community healthy and affordable." When asked how the municipality can support local shopping Redden not- ed the chamber would be watching the Lakeshore Road reconstruction pro- ject closely. He said the chamber would be supportive of any economic incentives the municipality can offer to ensure these businesses survive this construction. Redden also said en- gagement between the Town of Oakville and the business community is es- sential. "It is important that when policies and proce- dures are drafted and put forward at town hall thereforward at town hall theref has been that local input," he said. Redden noted the effort the town expends to get people to the downtown or Kerr Street or Bronte areas during special events should be a focus year- round. Plewman said the list of how municipalities can support local shopping is a long one. "They can do a ton. They can look at how the tax structure supports a local store. They can look at ways to increase parking options, ways to increase the ease of parking and the access to the businesses. They can ease bylaws for business operations. Things like easier signage options, less variance re- quests for putting a new sign up, less permit costs, things like that," said Plew- man. "Just reduce the red tape a little bit for those busi- nesses. A small-business owner is already wearing about 18 different hats. If there are ways each task can be simplified, that's huge." She said residents should remember there are options and variety in local shopping that are hard to beat at chain locations. That said, Plewman not- ed people working at chain stores in Oakville are still often local residents and as such shopping at a chain store within the town's boundaries also helps the local economy. OAKVILLE CHAMBER AND DOWNTOWN BIA TALK SHOPPING LOCAL Downtown Oakville during the recent Midnight Madness. Graham Paine/Metroland DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com NEWS BOTH GROUPS SAY THERE IS PLENTY THE TOWN OF OAKVILLE CAN DO TO PROMOTE LOCAL SHOPPING LIVE FRIDAY SEPT 7 8|7C STANDUPTOCANCER.CA STAND UP TO CANCER CANADA IS A CANADIAN REGISTERED CHARITY (REG. # 80550 6730 RR0001). STAND UP TO CANCER IS LICENSED BY THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY FOUNDATION, A U.S. 501(C)(3) CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION. STAND UP TO CANCER AND STAND UP TO CANCER BRAND MARKS ARE TRADEMARKS OF THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY FOUNDATION. IMAGES ARE FROM STAND UP TO CANCER TELECASTS AND EVENTS. THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR CANCER RESEARCH (AACR) INTERNATIONAL-CANADA IS STAND UP TO CANCER CANADA'S SCIENTIFIC PARTNER. American Lung Association's LUNG FORCE, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Farrah Fawcett Foundation, Laura Ziskin Family Trust, LUNGevity Foundation, American Lung Association's LUNG FORCE, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Farrah Fawcett Foundation, Laura Ziskin Family Trust, LUNGevity Foundation, American Lung Association's LUNG FORCE, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Farrah Fawcett Foundation, Laura Ziskin Family Trust, LUNGevity Foundation, National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance, Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer