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

in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ja nu ar y 17 ,2 01 9 | 6 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised family of newspapers is comprised f of more than 80 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the news- paper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca editor@oakvillebeaver.com facebook.com/OakvilleBeavfacebook.com/OakvilleBeavf @OakvilleBeaver WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Regional Managing Editor Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Director of Distribution Charlene Hall Circulation Manager Kim Mossman Director of Production Mark Dills Regional Production Manager Manny Garcia Regional General Manager Steve Foreman Halton Media General Manager Vicki Dillane Regional Director of Media Holly Chriss CONTACT US Oakville Beaver 901 Guelph Line Burlington, ON L7R 3N8 Phone: 289-293-0617 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Digital/Flyer/Retail: 289-293-0624 Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 200 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We for verification purposes. We f reserve the right to edit, con- dense or reject letters. Delivery For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail kmossman@metroland.com or call 905-631-6095. OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT INSIDEHALTON.COM We are now well into 2019 and - in Canada - a federalWe are now well into 2019 and - in Canada - a federalW election year. Both are brimming with exciting possibilities. Here's a list of commitments we think Canada's federal leaders and their parties should make this year. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should resolve to get some humility. An Angus Reid poll last month reported his approval rating among Canadians has sunk to its lowest level since he was elected and for the first time since that election he's not considered best choice as PM. Trudeau need only look in a mirror to see why. He ap- peared vain and foolish on his trip to India last April and, to make things worse, his gratuitous, off-the-cuff moralizing often makes him seem smug and hectoring - a prima donna more than a prime minister. At a recent Group of 20 women's panel, for instance, Trudeau pontificated on the supposedly negative "impacts" of male construction workers while suggesting women make better business decisions than men. Whatever point he was trying to make, he needlessly offended a lot of people. In the coming months, Trudeau should stick to matters of policy, do a lot less preening before the cameras and stop pretending he holds a monopoly on virtue. Meanwhile, Conservative Party of Canada Leader An- drew Scheer should get to the centre. Whether he hopes to mimic the success of populist, nationalist politicians in other countries or he's revealing his true self, Scheer took a hard shift to the right last year. In demonizing an innocuous United Nations agreement on migration that Canada was signing, for example, he pandered to anti-immigrant hysteria, wrongly suggesting this country was surrendering control of its own borders. Not only will that strategy not get him elected, it's corrosive to social harmony in a country where one in five people is foreign born.foreign born.f New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh should resolve to finally get a seat in Parliament. The bloom has long fadedfinally get a seat in Parliament. The bloom has long fadedf from his leadership, with early hopes that he could revivefrom his leadership, with early hopes that he could revivef the NDP replaced by the cold reality that his party is drop- ping in the polls, struggling with fundraising and weakened by a rising number of MPs who won't run again. Singh can only turn this around, salvage his career and truly lead if he wins a B.C. byelection this winter. Green Party Leader Elizabeth May should resolve to get focused on winnable ridings. With the Greens capturingfocused on winnable ridings. With the Greens capturingf seats in some provincial legislatures, May could possibly lead the federal party to a historic breakthrough if she con- centrates on a few ridings that already find it easy to be Green. People's Party of Canada Leader - and founder - Maxime Bernier should get back into the Conservative fold he fool- ishly abandoned last year. While we know that's unlikely, he should realize Canada needs no more conservative parties and that he's embarked on an egotistical race to political oblivion. Finally, each federal party should resolve to provide a clear platform on three major issues. How would they con- front global climate change and come close to meeting thefront global climate change and come close to meeting thef carbon-emission targets Canada agreed to at international conferences? How would they get a pipeline built to carry Alberta crude oil to an ocean port? And how would their party end the budget deficits that are again the norm in this country but endanger its future economic health? One last 2019 pledge should come from Halton voters themselves. They should resolve to go to the polls next Oct. 21 - election day. 2019 AN EXCITING ELECTION YEAR The new year offers much promise in our fight against climate change. Emissions projections show that our climate plan is working and there are exciting new developments ahead in 2019. While other political parties deny cli- mate change and block our progress in reducing emis- sions, our federal govern- ment is taking action to re- duce pollution and help Ca- nadians capitalize on the incredible economic op- portunity offered by the global shift toward clean technology. According to the Global Commission on the Econo- my and Climate, shifting to the new, low-carbon econo- my will add $26 trillion to the global economy by 2030, along with 65 million new jobs. Canada is ready to seize this opportunity to mobi- lize our skilled workers, natural resources and fast- growing technology sector. Because all countries are searching for new solu- tions, every clean ap- proach we develop in Cana- da can help our businesses win globally, building a strong and sustainable economy. Our federal government is working with universi- ties, businesses and other levels of government to in- novate and develop new technologies. Already, we are seeing how Canadian ingenuity is making a dif- ference. For example, Nova Scotia-based Carbon Cure is capturing carbon emis- sions from industrial plants and using that car- bon to make better con- crete. This world-leading technology is being used by plants, manufacturers and projects around the world. Closer to home, Cana- da's largest net-zero ener- gy institutional building was opened recently at Mo- hawk College, demonstrat- ing cutting-edge technolo- gy that enables buildings to create carbon-free ener- gy to offset the energy they consume. Net-zero energy homes and buildings are the way of the future and it's exciting to see Canada play a role in developing the technologies needed for this innovative ap- proach. We have a once-in-a-life- time opportunity - not just to save the planet, but to build a better quality of life and take full advantage of the fast-growing market for clean technology. Cana- dians can lead the way in fighting climate change and developing the solu- tions the world needs. John Oliver, member of Parliament, writes month- ly about federal issues impacting the Oakville riding. Visit John's website at johnoliver.mp or contact him at John.Oli- ver@parl.gc.ca. CAPITALIZING ON THE LOW-CARBON ECONOMY CANADA IS READY TO SEIZE THIS OPPORTUNITY, WRITES OLIVER JOHN OLIVER Column EDITORIAL