11 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,July 16,2020 insidehalton.com With social circles and social gatherings, you now havemore options to safely see friends, family and loved ones. Visit ontario.ca/socialcircles Paid for by the Government of Ontario Social Circles • Always the same group of up to 10 people • Close contact like a hug is allowed • You can only belong to one circle Social Gatherings • Can be any group of up to 10 people • Maintain physical distance (2 metres) • You can gather with different groups of up to 10 people The Province of Ontario has announced that Halton Region will receive $450,000 to drive local tourism as it rebounds from the CO- VID-19 pandemic. Ontario's Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries Lisa MacLeod discussed the funding and the impact CO-funding and the impact CO-f VID-19 has had on tourism during a press conference at the Bronte Harbour on Fri- day, July 3. She was joined by Oak- ville MPP Stephen Craw- ford, Oakville North-Bur-ford, Oakville North-Bur-f lington MPP Effie Triantafi- lopoulos, Burlington MPP Jane McKenna and Maria Fortunato, executive direc-Fortunato, executive direc-F tor of the Hamilton Halton Brant Regional Tourism As- sociation. "With COVID-19 our sec- tors were hit first, we were hit hardest and unfortu- nately we will take the lon- gest to recover because we are facing a triple threat. First and foremost is the public health issues...the second is the economic crisi- s...and finally a social cri- sis," said MacLeod. "Just because we flick the switch and we're open for business doesn't mean peo- ple will want to go back to their old consumer beha- viours, which is why the ministry is investing $13 mil- lion to encourage Ontarians to reconnect in their own communities." In Halton, MacLeod said the province is investing $350,000 into the regional tourism organization to de- liver locally driven market- ing programs that will show residents exactly what their communities have to offer. This investment was made possible through a partnership between the provincial agency Destina- tion Ontario and the crown corporation Destination Canada. The minister said another $100,000 will go to- wards the Burlington Sound of Music Festival, so that event, which was cancelled for 2020, will be viable infor 2020, will be viable inf 2021. Festival organizers ap- plied for these funds through the Province's Cele- brate Ontario program. MacLeod said in the months ahead she hopes to open a new funding stream that festivals can apply for. "In total today I am an- nouncing $450,000 so that the people of Oakville and Burlington will be able to start to get back to normal and start to reconnect with their loved ones, their neighbours and their local businesses," said MacLeod. "It is not going to be easy, which is why I have engaged on a tour across Ontario to demonstrate that whether you are going to a local pa- tio, a local ice cream shop, a local tourism attraction, a gallery, a museum, even your public library, it is safe because we put in place the rigorous safety protocols for both the patron and the worker." Fortunato said the fund-Fortunato said the fund-F ing would help the local tourism industry and noted the announcement demon- strates the province's com- mitment to support local businesses as they reopen and begin their journey to- ward economic viability. The announcement was also well received by Oak- ville Councillor and Visit Oakville Tourism board member Sean O'Meara. "It's much needed. A lot of our businesses and at- tractions are hurting," he said. "We know a lot of people are going to be having stay- cations, we want to make sure they come and support local. I thank the premier and Minister MacLeod for making those contribu- tions. I look forward to see- ing them rolled out and put into action." The province has also an- nounced the launch of Onta- rio Live - a new virtual hub designed to promote and support businesses in the tourism, sport, and creative sectors. The new hub reconnects Ontario artists, tourism op- erators, attractions and businesses with online audi- ences from across the prov- ince and around the world. PROVINCE MAKES $450,000 INVESTMENT TO AID TOURISM DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com Hon. Lisa MacLeod, Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries announces Halton Region will receive $450,000 in tourism support Graham Paine/Torstar NEWS