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

OPINION OPINION B ill 139 gives p lann ing pow er back to m u n icip a lities Rules need to be retroactive to May 2017, writes Burton Oakville will have more control over how and where our town will grow and what we can preserve, thanks to the Building Better Com m u­ nities and Conserving Watersheds Act (Bill 139). This bill received Royal Assent Dec. 12 with all­ party support. The new law overhauls the province's land use planning appeals system and replaces the Ontario M unicipal Board with the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal - but not yet. The governm ent has posted draft regulations that will delay im plem en­ tation o f the new law un­ til April. Under the new appeal system, council decisions ROB BURTON Column that com ply with our pro- vincially-approved o ffi­ cial plan will be more re­ spected. Developers will no lon ­ ger be so easily able to disrupt our com m unity's provincially-approved official plan that guides our growth. As m uch as we can ap­ plaud these reforms, we could applaud more i f the changes were effective as o f the date o f First Read­ ing o f Bill 139 - May 30, 2017, rather than next April. Oakville town and Halton regional councils and I support the govern­ ment's intent to provide a balance between apply­ ing new rules as soon as possible and ensuring "fairness for matters al­ ready in the current sys­ tem." However, there is a need to clearly define what "already in the cu r­ rent system" should mean. Ever since May 30, 2017, m unicipalities all across Ontario have seen developers file "strate­ gic" or pre-emptive ap­ peals at the OMB. There have been six m ajor appeals in Oak­ ville alone. Our councils and I maintain the fairness cu t-off date should be May 30, 2017. Any application after that date had fair notice o f the proposed changes and should not be al­ lowed to avoid the new re­ forms. I have expressed this position in every way available: in a letter to Premier Kathleen Wynne, in testim ony at the hearings on Bill 139, in com ments on the pro­ posed regulations, and in resolutions by Oakville town and Halton regional councils. The public interest re­ quires that applications should have the benefit o f the latest provincial planning policy im prove­ ments. Call or write your MPP to ask the govern­ ment to better protect the public interest by making Bill 139 effective May 30, 2017.- Rob Burton is the may­ or o f the Town o f Oak­ ville. He can be reached at mayor @oakville. ca. Domestic violence can happen to anyone Dear Editor, Seven days. Five women. These women, dead at the hands of their loved ones, were our neighbours our friends, our community members. Over the past couple of weeks, the regions of Peel, Hamilton and Halton saw the deaths of five women, all related to domestic violence. Today, we reach out with deepest and heartfelt condo­ lences to the families, friends and communities of these women. These deaths should make us pause and wonder what is going on; it should not have happened. These tragedies highlight once again that domestic vi­ olence continues to be a grave issue. Anyone who be­ lieves otherwise is looking the other way. It happens everywhere and can happen to anyone. For those of us who work in the violence against wom­ en field, it makes us reflect and question if there was some way we could have reached these women and of­ fered help - in attempts to save them from this dreadful ending. What this highlights for us at Halton Women's Place is that our efforts to enhance community awareness about our services and the countless barriers facing abused women need more fo­ cus, now more than ever be­ fore. Women need to know that our staff is here 24/7 and that there is a safe place for them at Halton Women's Place or at a shelter in their own com­ munity. For women who are expe­ riencing abuse or think they might be: help is available to you. Please call Halton Wom­ en's Place Crisis Line at 905- 332-7892 (south Halton) or 905-878-8555 (north Halton).- Diane Beaulieu, executive director, Halton Women's Place A I R E O N E M A D N E S S S A L E 9 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU BETTER OAKVILLE TO TORONTO PEARSON AIRPORT STARTING FROM ONLY $45. CALL US FOR DETAILS. UPGRADE YOUR FURNACE FOR ONLY f t S tartin g From *Call for Details 10 Year Factory W arranty FURNACE DIAGNOSTIC SPECIAL FAST & RELIABLE SERVICE *Call tor details. Reg. $99 JiMIE ONE H E A T I N G & C O O L I N G www.aireone.com O A K V I L L E 9 0 5 - 8 4 9 - 4 9 9 8 1-888-827-2665 HIGH EFFICIENCY FURNACE & CEN TR A L AIR *C a ll fo r Details P A C K A G E IN C LU D ES : • 95.5% High Efficiency Gas Furnace • High Efficiency Central Air R410A Refrigerant • 10 Year Factory Warranty 7 DAYS A WEEK -- Airport & Out-of-Town Service o | O akville B eaver | T hursday, February 1,2018 insidehalton.com http://www.aireone.com UPGRADE YOUR FURNACE FOR ONLY ft SPECIAL 905-849-4998