Mayor's Message - September 2020

COVID-19 sure has changed our lifestyle.  We are not enjoying the fall fairs this year and we are having virtual runs/walks for Terry Fox, the Georgetown Hospital and other such events.  Even though our COVID-19 numbers are low, in other surrounding areas the numbers are high.  We must remain vigilant, social distance, wash our hands and wear a mask (unless you have a medical condition).   We should all be concerned with the virus and there is also another important threat that is not going away; that is climate change. 

At its meeting August 31, Halton Hills council adopted a climate change adaptation plan which lays out a series of steps intended to help the town prepare for the effects of global climate change. The plan is mainly focussed on actions the town and its residents can take, recommending additional policies and plans the town can implement to mitigate the effects of climate change, and providing indicators to assess the implementation process.

There are five main goals of the climate change adaptation plan: preparing the town for extreme weather events, increasing town resilience to higher temperatures and more frequent heat waves, increasing town resilience to flooding, preparing for the socio-economic impacts of climate change, and protecting town residents from the health and safety impacts of climate change. It also provides a series of actions the town can take to mitigate the effects of climate change such as upgrading municipal buildings to better withstand extreme weather, protecting and enhancing the town’s tree canopy, and improving the town’s stormwater management capacity.  For every dollar spent on adaptation planning, approximately five or six dollars are saved later in damages.  For more information please visit the web page. 

I also want to acknowledge two staff member retirements.  Dick Spear from Transportation & Public Works and Joanne Wilson from the Gellert Centre.  I’m sure many of you in the community know Dick & Joanne and we wish them a very healthy and happy retirement!