halton region councillor

I had a few moments to reflect on my post from last year. That post marked the 1 year into this term of office after being elected to my second term as Regional Councillor in Milton.

I remarked that 2019 was pretty stressful with everything that was going on. From Regional review by the province to the possible impacts of Bill 108 and more. Budgets were tight and we had some hard decisions to be made in the 2019/2020 budget.

However I looked towards 2020 with some optimism and hope that things would “get better” Not even 3 months into 2020 our community, our province, our country and the world was enveloped in a pandemic. For those first few days, weeks and even months we had no idea what was going to happen. Everything was new. Daily press conferences by the Prime Minister and Premier of Ontario became a ritual…a must watch to get as much information to the public as possible. Then began the “what ifs” of the pandemic. What if this wasn’t going away? What can we do to beat this? Should we wear masks? Should we stay home?

The information came at us constantly and consistently each and every day. Some days it would look good and the other days the changes to the way we would be living our lives became almost palatable. Then something happened.

Our community really came together to meet the challenges. Groups like #miltonstrong – Support for your local businesses and Community and others came into existence. Each and every day pots and pans were clanging with Let’s Make Some Noise Milton! and our community grew stronger.

Now as we approach the end of the year, the challenges still exist and in some cases have become worse. The active case counts continue to rise, our long term care homes where our loved ones are now deep into this pandemic and we are losing our friends and family members to this virus.

Looking forward to the coming year we have some things to look forward to. The vaccine is almost ready and through the first part of the new year is expected to be delivered. I’m not going to get into the politics of the moment about the how and when…we can hope it will be sooner rather than later.

Again, looking back on my words of last year and how optimistic I felt about the year 2020…some might say I should be cautious about 2021.

Thing is I DO feel optimistic about 2021 and beyond. I’m confident that as we turn the corner on 2020, there is some hope on the horizon. Yes the numbers continue to rise and as a community we need to deal with that. We need to get back to the basics and see if we can stem the tide and concentrate on helping those in long term care homes get through this.

We need to keep focus on our friends and family to make sure they continue to be safe through all of this as well. And when I say friends and family I also mean our community as a whole.

Our business community needs your help. We can do our part by shopping local this holiday season. Finding a local small business who has what we need and get it from them. We need to support our restaurants by ordering take out, and if they have it available, gift cards to give our friends as presents. Encourage that local focus because it will not only help our local business owners but our community as a whole.

I know that over the next 28 days as we check off our calendars and count down to end 2020, we’ll be doing a lot of reflection. I don’t want to look back however, I want to look forward. As one of my favourite sayings goes “Whats Next!”

I still feel optimism that 2021 will be a good year. We are going to face our challenges head on and be a better community, province and country afterwards.

If you feel the same way, post some comments below and share this with your friends. Let the bells ring not just for the holiday season that is approaching us, but for the fact we as a town, community and family will make the next year of 2021 great. Let’s keep looking forward, be positive, be careful and keep the discussion going about how we’re going to make 2021 a year to remember.

There are many of us who for the last several months have been wishing that this year of 2020 be over as quick as possible.  It is our goal to make the end of 2020 as memorable and inspiring as possible.

It is that time of year when families begin to think about the holiday season such as finding the perfect gifts, baking cookies, and decorating the tree.

This is not the reality for many families across Halton who will struggle to provide their children with an enjoyable Christmas.

Even purchasing a single gift for their child is out of their reach.  The need will be greater this year as the pandemic has devasted even more families.

The Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation (TJSF) and Halton Region Police Service (HRPS) are commencing the annual Miracle on Main Street Toy Drive.  This is the third year of the merger between the two entities to collect and distribute funds and toys to families in need throughout the Halton Region.  The merger has allowed the organizations to enhance the annual donation drives and to work collaboratively to help more families in need than ever before.

The Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation is a Milton-based charity started by wrestling legends, humanitarians, and philanthropists; Tiger Jeet Singh and his son Tiger Ali Singh.

For the last eleven years, the TJSF has organized the Miracle on Main Street initiative which has raised millions through donations and sponsorships for underprivileged families, local charities and public schools, in addition to purchasing thousands of toys for the young patients at McMaster Children’s Hospital and SickKids.

Since 2015, TJSF has donated $175,000 to public schools to support initiatives such as mental health, inclusive classrooms, literacy, coding, and breakfast programs.

Since 1999 the Halton Regional Police Service have supported families through Toys for Tots campaign. All donations collected are distributed to Halton schools, community agencies and families.

To keep everyone safe, modifications have been made this year and instead of holding a live event which has become an annual tradition in Milton, TJSF will be launching an online donation campaign with every dollar raised going towards the purchase of a new toy. The online campaign will run until Christmas Eve.

The community is also encouraged to donate new unwrapped toy to be dropped off at one of our many locations around Halton.

You can get more information at www.miracleonmain.ca

I can tell you right off the bat, one of the top, if not THE top question I have been getting recently from Milton residents is “What can we do to help?”

We continue to see the numbers of COVID-19 infections increase in Milton and Halton Region. No municipality, no province and no country has been able to escape this sobering fact…the second wave has hit us and hit us hard.

“We were doing so well during the summer”…. “We worked so hard to flatten the curve.”

We did a great job. The community was united in focus and determination to stop the spread and stayed home. We ordered take out from local restaurants and we only shopped when it was necessary to do so. Many people started working from home and some have changed the way they do business. Some of our students are staying home and learning virtually and adapting to those challenges so well.

Something happened along the way. I remember hearing things like “at least we’re not like the United States.” And yet our numbers continue to climb rapidly despite the inconsistencies in the amount of people being tested. There have been perceived mixed messages about what we do…bubble or no bubble…how many people can we invite over vs. only your immediate family…coupled with our own rationalizations of the rules. “I guess its ok if we do this!”

Each and every day the numbers continue to rise. As I mentioned in a few posts back and in my most recent podcasts, we have gone from 6 active cases at the beginning of September in Milton to now close to 300 near the end of November. A large number of those cases are from our LTC facilities, but the fact remains is this virus continues to spread and we need to do something about it.

These are challenging times and I join with the voices of many municipal leaders in Halton and across the country in asking our residents to stay in their home communities during the holiday season. Shopping for Christmas presents is on the top of many peoples minds (including yours truly) but as has been said since this all began, we are in different times.

While Halton’s numbers aren’t at the level of say Toronto or Peel, they are still concerning. We hope that people from these “hotspot” areas respect our wishes in staying out of other regions to avoid further spread of COVID-19.

What is more important that that is your local community needs support. Your local companies, businesses and restaurants need you more than ever. As the holiday’s continue to get closer and closer PLEASE consider local first when you are shopping. Whether its ordering dinner, or buying Christmas presents for family and friends, do a quick search in Milton first.

These companies support our local community. If there is a fundraiser somewhere, guys like the Rad Brothers and Troy’s Diner are the first ones to offer gift cards or prizes. Companies like The Dance Shoppe offer their locations to drop off food for charities like Food For Kids and the list goes on and on. They need your help now more than ever. Please consider local first before jumping on Amazon.

How else can you help? Limit your travel…go out only when necessary. Wear a mask properly – when indoors and even outdoors when you can’t keep the 6ft distance. Be courteous to others when out shopping or walking. When you are out shopping, please be kind to the employee’s at the store. They are doing their job and if they ask you to wait a little before going into the store, or they remind you about your mask…they’re doing their job! My colleague Halton Hills Councillor Clark Somerville reminds us all the time…”Be Kind, Be Kind, Be Kind!”

And finally, take a moment and say a prayer or give a good thought to those suffering from COVID-19 right now. As its been reported recently, Allendale LTC home in Milton is suffering from a high number of COVID-19 cases spreading through the residents and staff. They could use some good thoughts and prayers right now for the residents, families of those living there and the staff. Everything is being done to protect them and there are probably future challenges ahead. Please think of these people and keep them in your thoughts.

I close with a message for Milton residents. We WILL get through this but its going to take some time. We have to be patient and we have to be diligent every single day. We as Miltonians have to keep focused on the goal of once again flattening the curve and doing everything we can in our power. Wash our hands…sanitize often…stay home unless necessary to go out…keep that 6 foot distance…wear a mask…and be kind!

We are #MiltonStrong … we’ve done it before and we can do it again.

Be safe!

Mike