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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, Ja nu ar y 24 ,2 01 9 | 8 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 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 editorial@waterloochronicle.ca facebook.com/waterloochronicle @wlchronicle WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Regional General Manager Nelson Parreira nparreira@metroland.com Regional Director of Media Heather Dunbar hdunbar@starmetrolandmedia.com Sales Lead/Advertising Representative Michelle Stevens ext. 795062 Advertising Representatives Cassandra Dellow ext. 795066 Jan Bodanka ext. 795072 Delia Medina ext. 795065 Regional Editor Mike Wilson Reporters Adam Jackson Bill Jackson Namish Modi CONTACT US Waterloo Chronicle 630 Riverbend Dr. Kitchener, ON N2B 2G1 Phone: 519-886-2830 Fax: 519-579-2029 Web: www.waterloochronicle.ca Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 200 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Delivery For all delivery inquiries, e-mail customerservice@metroland.com or call 519-894-3000 OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA EDITORIAL Ontario Premier Doug Ford didn't wait long before creating another stir within municipal government. This time it's not Toronto, but dozens of towns and cities left wondering what changes the province has in mind with the appointment of special advisers to review regional governments in order to make "better use of taxpayers' dollars." Unlike Toronto's appalling experience, where council was slashed nearly in half in the middle of an election campaign, the province is starting with con- sultation this time. But once again, the Ford govern- ment has identified no specific problems with how all these municipalities are working, just vague refer- ences to cutting red tape and finding efficiencies. That's certain to create turmoil for cities and townships with politicians and staff scrambling to figure out what any of this will actually mean for them - good, bad, or perhaps in the end, not much at all. But all that noise has already served to divert at- tention from another announcement the government made on recently to overhaul Ontario's growth plan. And with this one, we do know what it means - and it's not good. The government is dramatically rolling back the density targets brought in under the Liberals and encouraging urban sprawl with single-family homes that can't support public transit. These changes, along with others in Bill 66, the government's wide-ranging omnibus legislation in- troduced last month, are bad news for protecting the Greenbelt, and more broadly the very principle of compact, sustainable growth. The government's plan would take Ontario back- wards by green-lighting urban sprawl once again and saddling future communities with neighbourhoods that have such low density they can't even support a bus service. That means long commutes and more gridlocked highways for everyone. That's not to say this won't be a popular move. In some quarters, it's bound to be. That's because the Ford government is selling it as what's required to get more housing built. With the price of housing rising far faster than incomes, lots of people are being priced out of the housing market across the GTA and the whole Golden Horseshoe region. There certainly is a shortage of affordable housing, both ownership and rental. And there's no shortage of developers who are quick to claim that those problems would be solved, if only the government would open up more land for development. But it's just not true. There's plenty of land ap- proved for development already. Numerous reports have shown there's enough land already set aside for development to accommodate the housing needs of the Greater Golden Horseshoe region and its expected population growth for the next 20 years or more. In Kitchener, there are swaths of development- ready greenfield where builders are sitting idle, wait- ing for a price point. Other greenfield areas aren't expected see a shovel until decades from now. There's certainly no need to remove environmental protections to accommodate more development here, and from and administrative perspective, aside from recommendations on how we can work together even better, we're doing just fine, Mr. Premier. LOTS TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT 'A New Year, a New You!' is screaming from every ad- vertisement possible this month. According to Statista - the leading provider of market and consumer data - the top three New Year's resolutions for Canadians are to improve personal fit- ness and nutrition, im- prove their finances, and travel more. Those are some hefty lifestyle changes. So as good as it felt declaring your resolution for a better life on New Year's Day, three weeks into January those resolutions maybe weighing heavily on you, and marketers are coun- ting on that. Gyms have ads with "New Year, New You" printed on them, and they're offering a dis- counted price, it may seem like everything is falling in- to place for your new, healthier lifestyle. However, this is the time of year people buy a gym membership and never use it. The same can be said for almost every self-improve- ment product on the mar- ket, making January a dan- gerous month to be a con- sumer. No wonder we have Blue Monday, a theory first pub- lished as part of a press re- lease in 2005 by Sky Travel declaring that Jan. 21 is the most depressing day of the year. While the theory was declared nonsense, and just a thinly veiled market- ing ploy, we can't deny the darkened mood that hangs over us in January. It could just be the cold, unpleasant weather, the crash from the holiday high, but whatever causes the blue mood, placing high demands on ourselves in a month we already know to be stressful, may not be the best plan for kicking off the new year. The Dominican Univer- sity of California did a study on goal setting that concentrated on strategies for success. The first step is to map out the goal and break it down into smaller more attainable goals. Make the first step the smallest, something you know you can do, and that success will boost your con- fidence and momentum for achieving the next small goal, and the next, until you've accomplished your main goal. So instead of adding to the stress of January by trying to do a complete 180- degrees or falling victim to marketing ploys, resolve to make a small change. Big changes don't hap- pen overnight, and if we want them to last, we shouldn't expect results to come quickly or easily. Kitty Huisman is a Dufferin resident and Or- angeville Banner contrib- utor. She can be reached at morbidkitty@hotmail.ca MAYBE MARCH IS THE MONTH FOR RESOLUTIONS JANUARY IS TOO GLOOMY FOR HARD WORK, WRITES KITTY HUISMAN KITTY HUISMAN Column