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HP OPINION HAVE YOUR SAY ON HALTON'S STRATEGIC BUSINESS PLAN RESIDENTS’ INPUT IMPORTANT, WRITES GARY CARR With every new term of council, we set priorities and actions required to de- liver on issues that matter to you. With Halton expected to grow from 624,000 to 1.1 mil- lion residents by the year 2051, the priorities cap- tured in the 2023-2026 Stra- tegic Business Plan must reflect the needs of our community. rom clean drinking water to resilient infra- programs, financial assis- tance and family supports, regional programs and “THIS GARY CARR Column services contribute toa high quality of life in Hal- ton. The plan will guide our work to enhance these critical programs, services struc: ture over the next four year: The region has pre- ared a consultation docu- ment to seek input from the public as we work to- gether to develop the 2023- 2026 Plan. It outlines our four proposed themes, GOVERNMENT COULD BE DOING A LOT MORE, AND IT STARTS each with proposed goals, actions and measures. ae we want to hear uu. From now until stakeholders, as wellas In- digenous Peoples, Commu- nities and First Nations to participate in consultation activities and provide feed- back on our consultation ycument. Here 's how to get in- olved: + Take our short online survey at halton.ca; and/ < or - Attend a virtual public open house on April 12 or April 25 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. through Zoom or by phone. Your feedback is valu- able, and it will help en- sure our plan captures the WITH SMALLER of FNS SY 74 Fe Sonia, Ontario Parent KNOW MORE.CA eriigelia Teachers priorities that matter most to the Halton community. Feedback received will in- rm the final 2023-2026 Strategic Business Plan, which will be presented to regional council for ap- proval in 7 To stay up to date, re- view the consultation doc- ument, take the survey or add a virtual meeting to your calendar, please visit halton.ca/strategicplan. Updates will also be pro- vided through our social media channels — Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. On behalf of regional council, I would like to you for your partici- pation. I look forward to hearing the Priorities t from our community — ing together, we help keep. Hal- ton a great place to live, work, raise afamily and re- tire. Gary Carr is regional chair of Halton Region. To contact him, email gary.carr( ca. CLEANING UP AFTER YOUR DOG AN IMPORTANT SAFETY ISSUE This letter is response to the recent story titled “Just devastated': Dog killed by coyote in Oakville backyard and the family is warning neighbourhood residents." I am so sorry for that family's loss and the article is a good reminder of the dangers of wild animals. Living in the country, we have always been aware, so maybe we take it for grant- ed to be responsible. The i by the — "safe pet guardianship." = I think a key factor that g dog owners forget is that § 3 feces attract coyotes your property. If a dog ¥ ? owner never cleans it up or 9 does it in ring, they & do not see being promoted. ” Even if you do not have a dog and your neighbours do, they should be cleaning up the feces as well to in- crease your safety. remember as a kid in the 1970s that our parents had us clean up the yz ry parents didn't want the odour bothering the neigh- bours. I would put money on residents doing it once a year, i Dog owners are 100 pet cent responsible for the lives of their pets and can- not put this on the Town of Oakville. — Stacey Porter, Oakville | woo"uoy]eYyapIsUt