Looking back at 2011
December 28, 2011
For a small municipality, North Perth saw its share of news over this last year.From the tragic passing of two local volunteer firefighters, to encouraging word of new businesses and developments coming to the area, from the feel-good and human interest photo spreads of local events, to the controversial topic of the day concerning wind energy, The Listowel Banner has brought it all to you.In this edition of The Banner, readers will find part one of our annual year in review — the stories, good and bad — that made local headlines in 2011.To coincide with this annual reflection, we’ve compiled a list of the Top Ten Most Memorable North Perth Quotes.
10. "We come here for many reasons, whether we are here to cheer on survivors as they walk the victory lap, or to remember loves ones we have lost."Kathleen Mack, 2011 Relay for Life chairperson.
9. "As Christians first and farmers second, we believe we should do something to share our abundance with those who are hungry."Farmer John Tollenaar on the local Harvest for Hunger initiative and record-breaking attempt.
8. "I wanted to return the respect and pride in Canadian troops that disappeared in the 1960s and ‘70s, after the Vietnam War. My goal was to take the mural across Canada."Artist Dave Sopha on the Portraits of Honour.
7. "That’s the first time in Silver Stick history two teams from the same centre have won the same year, that’s phenomenal."-Minto Atom Rep head coach Dale Litt on his club and the Minto Midget Reps both winning regional Silver Sticks in late 2011.
6. "I could see the red bolt so I knew. I had seen the flash of red in the window; it was very strange. I knew we were hit with lightning, but still I was thinking, ‘was that lightning?’"Listowel resident Tracey Robson, after her home was struck by lightning in September.
5. "Not wearing seat belts is the biggest killer for teens (in Perth County). Not cancer, not your heart, not West Nile."RN Jim LeSouder at the Listowel District Secondary School IMPACT assembly.
4. "I see no signs of any desire to reduce the deficit, like it was supposed to be happening . . . we’re certainly not reducing the deficit, we’re adding to it."Elma ward councillor Ken Buchanan, reflecting on his first year on council.
3. "How about that?"Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece, on winning the local riding in October’s provincial election.
2. "It was absolutely amazing. What a great testament to these two men. This is a great community and we pull together in good times and in bad. We celebrated and we grieved together. We’re a family and that’s what gets us through."Tami Chauvin, president of the Listowel Kinette Club, on the community’s tribute to fallen firefighters Kenneth Rea and Ray Walter.
And the Most Memorable North Perth Quote of 2011:1. "God bless you, Kenny and Raymond, you’re our heroes."North Perth Fire Chief Ed Smith, speaking at the funeral of Rea and Walter.- S.B.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Monday, December 26, 2011
THINGS TO THANK GOD FOR IN EVERY SEASON
A heart full of joy
the gift of faith
blessings to share
friends and family to love
the miracle of Jesus
Gods amazing grace
the gift of faith
blessings to share
friends and family to love
the miracle of Jesus
Gods amazing grace
Saturday, December 24, 2011
A HINT FOR NEXT CHRISTAMS - BY A .A .MILNE
Obviously there should be a standard value for a certain type of Christmas present. One may give what one will to ones family or particular friends, that is all right. But in a house -party there is a pleasant interchange of parcels, of which the string and brown paper and the kindly thought are the really important ingredients, and the gift inside is nothing more than an excuse for those things. It is embarrassing for you if Jones has apoligized for his brown paper with a hundred cigars and you have only excused yourself with twenty- five cigarettes; perhaps still more embarrassing if it is you who have lost so heavily on the exchange .
And now I am reminded of the friend of mine, Willliam by name, who arrived at a large country house for Christmas without any present in his bag. He had expected to neither nor receive anything but to his horror he discovered on the 24th that everybody was preparing a present for him, and that it was taken for granted that he would require a little privacy and brown paper on Christmas Eve for the purpose of addressing his own offerings to others. He had wild thoughts of telegraphing to London for something to be sent down, and spoke to other members of the house-party in order to disover what sort of present would be suitable.
"What are you giving our host?" he asked one of them.
"Mary and I are giving him a book."
William then approached the youngest son of the house, and discovered that he and his next brother Dick were sharing in this, that, and the other . When he heard this, William retired to his room and thought profoundly.
He was first down to breakfast on Christmas morning. All the places at the table were pilled high with presents. He looked at John's place. The top parcel said "To John and Mary from Charles." William took out his fountain pen and added a couple of words to the inscription. It then read " To John and Mary from Charles and William," and in William's opinion looked just as effective as before. He moved on to the next place. "To Angela from Father," said the top parcel. And "William" wrote William. At his hostess' place he hesitated for a moment. The first present there was for "Darling Mother, from her loving children." It did not seem that an and "Williams" was quite suitable. But his hostess was not to deprived of William's kindly thought, twenty seconds later the handkerchiefs " from John and Mary and William" expressed all the nice things he was feeling for her. He passed on the next place............
It is of course impossible to thank every donour of a joint gift; one simply thanks the first person' whose eyes one happens to catch. Sometimes Williams eye was caught, sometimes not. But he was spared all embarrassment; and I can recommend his solution of the problem with perfect confidence to those who may be in a similar predicament next Christmas
And now I am reminded of the friend of mine, Willliam by name, who arrived at a large country house for Christmas without any present in his bag. He had expected to neither nor receive anything but to his horror he discovered on the 24th that everybody was preparing a present for him, and that it was taken for granted that he would require a little privacy and brown paper on Christmas Eve for the purpose of addressing his own offerings to others. He had wild thoughts of telegraphing to London for something to be sent down, and spoke to other members of the house-party in order to disover what sort of present would be suitable.
"What are you giving our host?" he asked one of them.
"Mary and I are giving him a book."
William then approached the youngest son of the house, and discovered that he and his next brother Dick were sharing in this, that, and the other . When he heard this, William retired to his room and thought profoundly.
He was first down to breakfast on Christmas morning. All the places at the table were pilled high with presents. He looked at John's place. The top parcel said "To John and Mary from Charles." William took out his fountain pen and added a couple of words to the inscription. It then read " To John and Mary from Charles and William," and in William's opinion looked just as effective as before. He moved on to the next place. "To Angela from Father," said the top parcel. And "William" wrote William. At his hostess' place he hesitated for a moment. The first present there was for "Darling Mother, from her loving children." It did not seem that an and "Williams" was quite suitable. But his hostess was not to deprived of William's kindly thought, twenty seconds later the handkerchiefs " from John and Mary and William" expressed all the nice things he was feeling for her. He passed on the next place............
It is of course impossible to thank every donour of a joint gift; one simply thanks the first person' whose eyes one happens to catch. Sometimes Williams eye was caught, sometimes not. But he was spared all embarrassment; and I can recommend his solution of the problem with perfect confidence to those who may be in a similar predicament next Christmas
Thursday, December 15, 2011
WHY IS MUNICIPALITY OF NORTH PERTH STAFF EXEMPT FROM BUILDING PERMIT
Why is Municipality of North Perth Staff Exempt from Building permits
Just when we thought it could not get any worse in our community, it does! Our municipal Clerk has now been discovered renovating a home without a building permit. It has been more than one person who has noticed that there is no building permit prominently posted in the front window of the house or anywhere could be seen on the property.
I personally confirmed on December 12th and 13th with the municipal Building Inspector that indeed there was no building permit issued. He said that it is up to the person to make application and that he was not going to investigate the issue. This begs the question, why are there laws for the residents, who have in the past faced hefty fines and not for the municipal staff?
But wait, it gets worse! The municipal clerk’s husband somehow (and without advertising the position in accordance with our HR Bylaw) was hired as the “janitor” for the municipality. And now the municipality gives him untendered building and renovation contracts for a business he runs “on the side”. Is any of this sounding a little like conflict of interest or grossly unfair to the other small businesses in our community? Well, if you said YES, you are right.
When I attempted to obtain a copy of the invoice for Mr. Berfelz’s contract services company in the renovation of our local library, I was again, outright refused access to this information. This invoice and alleged “quote” was discussed in open council . Despite the provisions of the Municipal Act in particular Section 253 and our own Accountability and Transparency Bylaw (as required by Section 270 of the Municipal Act) public information regarding cosy employment/business relationships is denied.
More recently, the municipality changed auditors. It was stated in the council meeting that the Management Letter was scathing and that the auditors were not interested in providing their services any longer. This should raise some eyebrows in the same manner as it has with councillor Ludington who persistently challenges our Treasurer regarding increased water and sewer rates for Elma. This is despite our Treasurer telling the public only 18 months previously in a mandatory public meeting that the utility rates will NOT increase. The staff of the Municipality of North Perth believe they have an endless source of income, YOU and ME! They also believe that we will not question their conduct, manner of doing business and rampant property tax increases.
All of this should draw the concerns of the ratepayers of North Perth as indicated in my previous letter to the editor. Not only does staff conceal information that is owed to the public and councillors, but some have been running the operations and using municipal funds for their own personal gain. I maybe wrong in some assumptions, but I thought this type of government behaviour is alleged to be occurring in “third world countries” not Canada or more specifically North Perth. Although, I must say in today’s Globe and Mail the headline is “Former French president Jacques Chirac found guilty of corruption”. Let’s face it, none of us are deeply surprised at the French court conviction, but possibly surprised that a court with all of the politics involved would finally go that far for convict their former Prime Minister (and what about former Canadian Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney). We know it can happen anywhere and any time and that is the biggest part of the reason we are in worst economic turmoil in modern history. I, amongst others keep seeing disturbing behaviour within our own local government and for the sake of good governance we keep asking questions of our municipal representatives and our staff. Unfortunately, my questions fall on deaf ears. That is why I am circulating a petition for an in-depth audit of our municipality under Section 9 of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs Act.
RON SCOTT
Just when we thought it could not get any worse in our community, it does! Our municipal Clerk has now been discovered renovating a home without a building permit. It has been more than one person who has noticed that there is no building permit prominently posted in the front window of the house or anywhere could be seen on the property.
I personally confirmed on December 12th and 13th with the municipal Building Inspector that indeed there was no building permit issued. He said that it is up to the person to make application and that he was not going to investigate the issue. This begs the question, why are there laws for the residents, who have in the past faced hefty fines and not for the municipal staff?
But wait, it gets worse! The municipal clerk’s husband somehow (and without advertising the position in accordance with our HR Bylaw) was hired as the “janitor” for the municipality. And now the municipality gives him untendered building and renovation contracts for a business he runs “on the side”. Is any of this sounding a little like conflict of interest or grossly unfair to the other small businesses in our community? Well, if you said YES, you are right.
When I attempted to obtain a copy of the invoice for Mr. Berfelz’s contract services company in the renovation of our local library, I was again, outright refused access to this information. This invoice and alleged “quote” was discussed in open council . Despite the provisions of the Municipal Act in particular Section 253 and our own Accountability and Transparency Bylaw (as required by Section 270 of the Municipal Act) public information regarding cosy employment/business relationships is denied.
More recently, the municipality changed auditors. It was stated in the council meeting that the Management Letter was scathing and that the auditors were not interested in providing their services any longer. This should raise some eyebrows in the same manner as it has with councillor Ludington who persistently challenges our Treasurer regarding increased water and sewer rates for Elma. This is despite our Treasurer telling the public only 18 months previously in a mandatory public meeting that the utility rates will NOT increase. The staff of the Municipality of North Perth believe they have an endless source of income, YOU and ME! They also believe that we will not question their conduct, manner of doing business and rampant property tax increases.
All of this should draw the concerns of the ratepayers of North Perth as indicated in my previous letter to the editor. Not only does staff conceal information that is owed to the public and councillors, but some have been running the operations and using municipal funds for their own personal gain. I maybe wrong in some assumptions, but I thought this type of government behaviour is alleged to be occurring in “third world countries” not Canada or more specifically North Perth. Although, I must say in today’s Globe and Mail the headline is “Former French president Jacques Chirac found guilty of corruption”. Let’s face it, none of us are deeply surprised at the French court conviction, but possibly surprised that a court with all of the politics involved would finally go that far for convict their former Prime Minister (and what about former Canadian Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney). We know it can happen anywhere and any time and that is the biggest part of the reason we are in worst economic turmoil in modern history. I, amongst others keep seeing disturbing behaviour within our own local government and for the sake of good governance we keep asking questions of our municipal representatives and our staff. Unfortunately, my questions fall on deaf ears. That is why I am circulating a petition for an in-depth audit of our municipality under Section 9 of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs Act.
RON SCOTT
Friday, December 9, 2011
A CONCERNED CITIIZEN
December 5, 2011
Municipality of North Perth
330 Wallace Ave. N.,
Listowel, ON †††N4W 1L3
Attention: Mrs. Mayor & Council
Dear Mrs. Mayor & Council:
Re: Perth Meadows
This letter is to formally identify my concern, protest and pending action to stop the further investment in the Perth Meadows Development.
It is clear by Section 106 that North Perth invested in a commercial enterprise in 2008 in the amount of $2.5M in order that the development could be started. This in terms of the Municipal Act is referred to as “bonusing”. The restriction of bonusing in the Municipal Act was to stop municipality’s from supporting businesses with tax dollars.
The fundamental reason for this legislation was to avoid a precedence whereby any business could come forward to any municipality in Ontario for preferential financial treatment (loans, grants and tax reductions) that would be ultimately supported by local, Provincial or Federal funds. This sets an unfair advantage for some businesses and exposes local governments to immense risk.
What is deeply concerning is that the recent resolution to invest another $5.5M is an ongoing breach of Section 106 of the Municipal Act and has pushed the debt of the municipality to unprecedented levels that will fall on the shoulders of the tax payers. It is apparent that this development is not financially viable as a standalone enterprise however, the Council of North Perth is now exposing the municipal corporation not only to a total debt of $8.0M for a condominium development but the operational costs that has caused this business to effectively fail.
What is also of concern are the conflicts of interest of the council members who are part of the board of directors of this corporation and their voting on this matter. I am as are others deeply concerned for the cost of the continuing failure of this business to be now supported by the taxpayers of North Perth. Not only are we making our taxpayers vulnerable to the debt and potential loss of investment, but we are exposing our finances to the unsustainable costs of the enterprise that will no doubt add to the municipality’s deficit.
In a recent discussion with MMAH representative Pearl McDougall the quotation in the Listowel Banner was out of context, in particular since the municipality is not buying property but instead investing in a private commercial enterprise (a condominium development).
With the deepest concern for the financial viability of our municipality, I hereby put the council of North Perth on notice that I will be challenging this recent investment and breach of the Municipal Act in order that our community is saved from financial ruin
Ron Scott
Municipality of North Perth
330 Wallace Ave. N.,
Listowel, ON †††N4W 1L3
Attention: Mrs. Mayor & Council
Dear Mrs. Mayor & Council:
Re: Perth Meadows
This letter is to formally identify my concern, protest and pending action to stop the further investment in the Perth Meadows Development.
It is clear by Section 106 that North Perth invested in a commercial enterprise in 2008 in the amount of $2.5M in order that the development could be started. This in terms of the Municipal Act is referred to as “bonusing”. The restriction of bonusing in the Municipal Act was to stop municipality’s from supporting businesses with tax dollars.
The fundamental reason for this legislation was to avoid a precedence whereby any business could come forward to any municipality in Ontario for preferential financial treatment (loans, grants and tax reductions) that would be ultimately supported by local, Provincial or Federal funds. This sets an unfair advantage for some businesses and exposes local governments to immense risk.
What is deeply concerning is that the recent resolution to invest another $5.5M is an ongoing breach of Section 106 of the Municipal Act and has pushed the debt of the municipality to unprecedented levels that will fall on the shoulders of the tax payers. It is apparent that this development is not financially viable as a standalone enterprise however, the Council of North Perth is now exposing the municipal corporation not only to a total debt of $8.0M for a condominium development but the operational costs that has caused this business to effectively fail.
What is also of concern are the conflicts of interest of the council members who are part of the board of directors of this corporation and their voting on this matter. I am as are others deeply concerned for the cost of the continuing failure of this business to be now supported by the taxpayers of North Perth. Not only are we making our taxpayers vulnerable to the debt and potential loss of investment, but we are exposing our finances to the unsustainable costs of the enterprise that will no doubt add to the municipality’s deficit.
In a recent discussion with MMAH representative Pearl McDougall the quotation in the Listowel Banner was out of context, in particular since the municipality is not buying property but instead investing in a private commercial enterprise (a condominium development).
With the deepest concern for the financial viability of our municipality, I hereby put the council of North Perth on notice that I will be challenging this recent investment and breach of the Municipal Act in order that our community is saved from financial ruin
Ron Scott
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
LETTER FROM CONCERNED PERSON OF NORTH PERTH
Municipal Staff Refuses to Show Invoices to Council or the Public
I have on several occasions requested to see the financial information of the Municipality of North Perth only to be refused by the Municipal Staff. The most recent attempt was met with the following email response on November 17, 2011 from our Treasurer;
The Municipality does not circulate invoices to Council or public review.
This outright refusal should raise the deepest concern to the citizens of this community as it relates to our right to access to our financial information and our ratepayers as “watch dogs” for the possibility of fraud or misappropriation. As a matter of interest you can get a copy of the Prime Minister of Canada’s (Honourable Steven Harper) expense report and receipts at no cost (online access), but you cannot get copy of invoices and expenses related to our on local government. If something seems terribly wrong with this picture, you are absolutely right.
We already know that staff are using the municipal credit cards for personal purchases despite the fact the bylaws do not permit staff to have corporate credit cards. The citizens and council should be deeply concerned as in recent years we have heard through the media about employees and executives of other corporations that have bilked their respective companies of millions if not billions of dollars. In my opinion is the root of our current economic climate, lack of accountability and transparency.
There should be no reason why any member of the public should not be able to look at invoices (at no cost) to see if indeed they are real and from real companies. Instead we have an administration whose mantra is concealment at any cost even to the people who they report to, the councillors. I like others voted for councillors who were going to invoke change, instead we have more of the same as before and staff keep getting away with interest free loans, and are allowed to make PERSONAL purchases using the credit card sponsored and guaranteed by us the ratepayers.
I for one believe the conduct of municipal staff is reprehensible and a travesty related to its municipal credit card fiasco and establishing costly barriers charging it’s citizens ($5.00 per request) to see the invoices that are incurred in the operation of this municipality.
What do you have to hide municipal staff and more importantly, when is this council going to “grow a set” and stand up for it’s citizens rights to the financial information of which we paid hefty taxes to operate this corporation.
I have on several occasions requested to see the financial information of the Municipality of North Perth only to be refused by the Municipal Staff. The most recent attempt was met with the following email response on November 17, 2011 from our Treasurer;
The Municipality does not circulate invoices to Council or public review.
This outright refusal should raise the deepest concern to the citizens of this community as it relates to our right to access to our financial information and our ratepayers as “watch dogs” for the possibility of fraud or misappropriation. As a matter of interest you can get a copy of the Prime Minister of Canada’s (Honourable Steven Harper) expense report and receipts at no cost (online access), but you cannot get copy of invoices and expenses related to our on local government. If something seems terribly wrong with this picture, you are absolutely right.
We already know that staff are using the municipal credit cards for personal purchases despite the fact the bylaws do not permit staff to have corporate credit cards. The citizens and council should be deeply concerned as in recent years we have heard through the media about employees and executives of other corporations that have bilked their respective companies of millions if not billions of dollars. In my opinion is the root of our current economic climate, lack of accountability and transparency.
There should be no reason why any member of the public should not be able to look at invoices (at no cost) to see if indeed they are real and from real companies. Instead we have an administration whose mantra is concealment at any cost even to the people who they report to, the councillors. I like others voted for councillors who were going to invoke change, instead we have more of the same as before and staff keep getting away with interest free loans, and are allowed to make PERSONAL purchases using the credit card sponsored and guaranteed by us the ratepayers.
I for one believe the conduct of municipal staff is reprehensible and a travesty related to its municipal credit card fiasco and establishing costly barriers charging it’s citizens ($5.00 per request) to see the invoices that are incurred in the operation of this municipality.
What do you have to hide municipal staff and more importantly, when is this council going to “grow a set” and stand up for it’s citizens rights to the financial information of which we paid hefty taxes to operate this corporation.
Monday, December 5, 2011
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
RE: SMALLEST ISSUES CAN BE CHALLENGE FOR MUNICIPALITIES
by John Kastner
Stratford Beacon Herald
Saturday, December 3,2001
I read with interest your point of view on the continuing issues with the Municipality of North Perth and Perth County. Not only was there an unfortunate change in Provincial leadership with former municipal council member Randy Pettapiece getting voted in but also the majority of municipal council was voted out and a new council was voted in. People were looking for major change.Whether they got that change is still debatable. The Municipality of North Perth has had many issues that still need to be fixed, one of which is being business friendly, hence the loss of 650 jobs when the Campbell Soup Plant closed down due to municipal politics. As a previous business owner from North Perth who had road block after road block placed in front of her to stop my business from continuing , I am personally aware of the major issues and I think that North Perth is finally trying to allow businesses that are unique and will benefit the Municipality to open and they are taking a stand against Perth County trying to decide what they, as a Municipality, would like for their community. And about time, but too late for me. Julie Behrns the Mayor of North Perth and previous Warden of Perth County will have her hands full dealing with this issue and all the issues left by the previous council and needs to take leadership to make North Perth a better place to live for all and to allow business to open with out all the road blocks that are now in place that make it impossible for business to succeed in North Perth. Perth County is an unneccesary road block and only leads to the Ontario Municipal Board and a lot of money spent to allow you to legally do what you want with your own property.
The insurance business that wants to open is on a one block street that is one block away from a municipal parking lot and library and a factory, across the street from a law office, a few houses away from a resturant in a house and just houses away from what previously was a B&B. The person wants to run her business from her home and do it legally....What is wrong with that? Provincial Polcy Statement or a flawed Master Growth Plan that shows that North Perth has an over abundance of commercial, residential and industrial land or using these two documents in real life situations. Sometimes common sense should be used, if it was not dead, to make decisions. Where is the line drawn for the commercial district in North Perth, half way across the road, 3/4 across the road, at the sidewalk, it all just seems like a waste of time and money to argue this small point and it should be an easy decision, unless of course you involve government bureacracy, the stumbling block for any business. And if a Municipality or County can not make such a simple decision about a home based business why would we allow them to make such a major, possibly health related issue with regards to wind farms. Common sense is dead, but maybe it is time to bring it back.
JUST MY OPINION
RE: SMALLEST ISSUES CAN BE CHALLENGE FOR MUNICIPALITIES
by John Kastner
Stratford Beacon Herald
Saturday, December 3,2001
I read with interest your point of view on the continuing issues with the Municipality of North Perth and Perth County. Not only was there an unfortunate change in Provincial leadership with former municipal council member Randy Pettapiece getting voted in but also the majority of municipal council was voted out and a new council was voted in. People were looking for major change.Whether they got that change is still debatable. The Municipality of North Perth has had many issues that still need to be fixed, one of which is being business friendly, hence the loss of 650 jobs when the Campbell Soup Plant closed down due to municipal politics. As a previous business owner from North Perth who had road block after road block placed in front of her to stop my business from continuing , I am personally aware of the major issues and I think that North Perth is finally trying to allow businesses that are unique and will benefit the Municipality to open and they are taking a stand against Perth County trying to decide what they, as a Municipality, would like for their community. And about time, but too late for me. Julie Behrns the Mayor of North Perth and previous Warden of Perth County will have her hands full dealing with this issue and all the issues left by the previous council and needs to take leadership to make North Perth a better place to live for all and to allow business to open with out all the road blocks that are now in place that make it impossible for business to succeed in North Perth. Perth County is an unneccesary road block and only leads to the Ontario Municipal Board and a lot of money spent to allow you to legally do what you want with your own property.
The insurance business that wants to open is on a one block street that is one block away from a municipal parking lot and library and a factory, across the street from a law office, a few houses away from a resturant in a house and just houses away from what previously was a B&B. The person wants to run her business from her home and do it legally....What is wrong with that? Provincial Polcy Statement or a flawed Master Growth Plan that shows that North Perth has an over abundance of commercial, residential and industrial land or using these two documents in real life situations. Sometimes common sense should be used, if it was not dead, to make decisions. Where is the line drawn for the commercial district in North Perth, half way across the road, 3/4 across the road, at the sidewalk, it all just seems like a waste of time and money to argue this small point and it should be an easy decision, unless of course you involve government bureacracy, the stumbling block for any business. And if a Municipality or County can not make such a simple decision about a home based business why would we allow them to make such a major, possibly health related issue with regards to wind farms. Common sense is dead, but maybe it is time to bring it back.
JUST MY OPINION
Saturday, December 3, 2011
WE SHOULD BE EMBARASSED
this ran on IFpress.com………… comments invited below
By Christina Blizzard, QMI Agency
The Red Cross moves in to help a beleaguered community where children are
living in squalor in tents, sheds and a trailer.
Where can this be? Haiti? Some Third World country in Africa? Not at all.
Welcome to Attawapiskat–an aboriginal community on James Bay, here on your doorstep. Welcome to Shameful, Ontario.
Shameful, because while children are peeing in buckets, while raw sewage is being dumped in ditches, two levels of government are bickering over who should deal with it.
Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence is frustrated. She declared a state of emergency in the community a month ago–and nothing happened. “It’s a crisis we’re facing in our community and it’s time for the government to accept and understand what’s going on and deal with it because no one is stepping in right now,” Spence told reporters.
The community needs new housing, but the feds haven’t given enough money to build it.
Ironically, the great hope for the community was the nearby De Beers diamond mine.
About 100 members of the reserve work there, but they can’t build homes because the Indian Act prevents them from getting mortgages, says Timmins-James Bay MPP Gilles Bisson.
The community’s school was pulled down several years ago because it was contaminated with gasoline from a dump. So 400 children go to school in portables on a massive brownfield site. They start to drop out in Grade 4.
According Bisson, five families live in tents; 20 more live in backyard sheds. About 90 people are shoehorned into a massive construction trailer. The Red Cross announced this week it would move in to provide temporary help to the community. According to a physician who works on the reserve, children suffer from frequent infectious diseases, as well as lice and scabies, because of the close quarters. The children suffer frequent burns from makeshift wood stoves.
The temporary homes have no electricity and aren’t hooked up to sewers, so families are using buckets for toilets–dumping waste in the ditch.
“I often have to remind myself that I’m in Ontario and why are there two sets of standards for on-reserve and off-reserve health care?” said Dr. Elizabeth Blackmore.
The trailer is a disaster waiting to happen, says Bisson. It comprises forty 3-metre by 3-metre rooms. One family lives in each room. The doors are chained at night for security reasons.
“These are people. They’re citizens of Ontario and Canada. And we can’t treat people this way,” he said. “The province is unwilling to take the lead because they’re afraid they may get stuck with the bill and the feds don’t want to do anything — so they’re staring each other down,” he said.
One of the options is evacuating people to Timmins, but Spence says she can’t do that alone. She’s asked for help from the military and from both levels of government.
Kathleen Wynne, the minister responsible for aboriginal issues, says there’s been “confusion” about who has responsibility to send in emergency services.
“It’s extremely important to me that all of us who are involved be doing everything we can. But we can’t operate without the federal government,” she said. “I’m willing to work with them, but the federal government has to step up to the plate.”
Enough’s enough. This is a disaster waiting to happen. Politicians must stop pointing fingers — and end this shameful situation — right now.
christina.blizzard@sunmedia.ca
http://www.lfpress.com/comment/columnists/christina_blizzard/2011/11/28/19028356.html
By Christina Blizzard, QMI Agency
The Red Cross moves in to help a beleaguered community where children are
living in squalor in tents, sheds and a trailer.
Where can this be? Haiti? Some Third World country in Africa? Not at all.
Welcome to Attawapiskat–an aboriginal community on James Bay, here on your doorstep. Welcome to Shameful, Ontario.
Shameful, because while children are peeing in buckets, while raw sewage is being dumped in ditches, two levels of government are bickering over who should deal with it.
Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence is frustrated. She declared a state of emergency in the community a month ago–and nothing happened. “It’s a crisis we’re facing in our community and it’s time for the government to accept and understand what’s going on and deal with it because no one is stepping in right now,” Spence told reporters.
The community needs new housing, but the feds haven’t given enough money to build it.
Ironically, the great hope for the community was the nearby De Beers diamond mine.
About 100 members of the reserve work there, but they can’t build homes because the Indian Act prevents them from getting mortgages, says Timmins-James Bay MPP Gilles Bisson.
The community’s school was pulled down several years ago because it was contaminated with gasoline from a dump. So 400 children go to school in portables on a massive brownfield site. They start to drop out in Grade 4.
According Bisson, five families live in tents; 20 more live in backyard sheds. About 90 people are shoehorned into a massive construction trailer. The Red Cross announced this week it would move in to provide temporary help to the community. According to a physician who works on the reserve, children suffer from frequent infectious diseases, as well as lice and scabies, because of the close quarters. The children suffer frequent burns from makeshift wood stoves.
The temporary homes have no electricity and aren’t hooked up to sewers, so families are using buckets for toilets–dumping waste in the ditch.
“I often have to remind myself that I’m in Ontario and why are there two sets of standards for on-reserve and off-reserve health care?” said Dr. Elizabeth Blackmore.
The trailer is a disaster waiting to happen, says Bisson. It comprises forty 3-metre by 3-metre rooms. One family lives in each room. The doors are chained at night for security reasons.
“These are people. They’re citizens of Ontario and Canada. And we can’t treat people this way,” he said. “The province is unwilling to take the lead because they’re afraid they may get stuck with the bill and the feds don’t want to do anything — so they’re staring each other down,” he said.
One of the options is evacuating people to Timmins, but Spence says she can’t do that alone. She’s asked for help from the military and from both levels of government.
Kathleen Wynne, the minister responsible for aboriginal issues, says there’s been “confusion” about who has responsibility to send in emergency services.
“It’s extremely important to me that all of us who are involved be doing everything we can. But we can’t operate without the federal government,” she said. “I’m willing to work with them, but the federal government has to step up to the plate.”
Enough’s enough. This is a disaster waiting to happen. Politicians must stop pointing fingers — and end this shameful situation — right now.
christina.blizzard@sunmedia.ca
http://www.lfpress.com/comment/columnists/christina_blizzard/2011/11/28/19028356.html
Friday, November 25, 2011
COUNTY OPTS FOR OMBUDSMAN
This ran on Orangeville.com………… comments invited below
By Chris Halliday
Facing a choice between the province’s watchdog or appointing an independent closed-door meeting investigator for 2012, Dufferin County is going with the former.
Last Thursday (Nov. 10), county council agreed to select the Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario as its closed meeting investigator for 2012, should any need for an investigation arise.
The provincial watchdog is the investigator for complaints in many municipalities across the province, except for those deciding to appoint their own — the county, as well as several other municipalities in Dufferin, including Melancthon and Mulmur, jumped on the Local Authority Services (LAS) train in 2011.
So why has the county changed course in 2012, you might ask?
“The Ombudsman won’t cost us anything and we think that they’re capable,” remarked Amaranth Deputy Mayor Walter Kolodziechuk, chair of the county’s General Government Services (GGS) Committee.
“We’ve seen some of their reports that they have submitted elsewhere and we think that they were appropriate reports, professional and we decided to go with them.”
On top of those potential cost-savings, it also appears to take the Ombudsman less time to complete a report when stacked up beside LAS, the GGS committee chair added.
“They’ve been dealing with these sorts of things all along. We see that the reports that they have put in seem to be timely,” Kolodziechuk said. “We think that we would get quicker service here, plus like I said, we’re always looking at the expenses and this will save a few dollars, not much, but some.”
LAS is a service provided by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO). The county didn’t have to foot any bills for closed session investigations conducted by LAS in 2011, however, Melancthon and Mulmur did.
It is not known whether the county’s recent decision to select the Ombudsman will perhaps push, or convince, any other municipalities in Dufferin to follow suit. But Kolodziechuk explained, at least one municipality in Dufferin may be considering the Ombudsman this time around.
“I think all the municipalities were kind of feeling their way, the same as the county, and this will be coming up again in budgets for this year,” Kolodziechuk said. “It will be interesting to see, I know in our municipality (Amaranth), we’ll certainly look at it.
By Chris Halliday
Facing a choice between the province’s watchdog or appointing an independent closed-door meeting investigator for 2012, Dufferin County is going with the former.
Last Thursday (Nov. 10), county council agreed to select the Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario as its closed meeting investigator for 2012, should any need for an investigation arise.
The provincial watchdog is the investigator for complaints in many municipalities across the province, except for those deciding to appoint their own — the county, as well as several other municipalities in Dufferin, including Melancthon and Mulmur, jumped on the Local Authority Services (LAS) train in 2011.
So why has the county changed course in 2012, you might ask?
“The Ombudsman won’t cost us anything and we think that they’re capable,” remarked Amaranth Deputy Mayor Walter Kolodziechuk, chair of the county’s General Government Services (GGS) Committee.
“We’ve seen some of their reports that they have submitted elsewhere and we think that they were appropriate reports, professional and we decided to go with them.”
On top of those potential cost-savings, it also appears to take the Ombudsman less time to complete a report when stacked up beside LAS, the GGS committee chair added.
“They’ve been dealing with these sorts of things all along. We see that the reports that they have put in seem to be timely,” Kolodziechuk said. “We think that we would get quicker service here, plus like I said, we’re always looking at the expenses and this will save a few dollars, not much, but some.”
LAS is a service provided by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO). The county didn’t have to foot any bills for closed session investigations conducted by LAS in 2011, however, Melancthon and Mulmur did.
It is not known whether the county’s recent decision to select the Ombudsman will perhaps push, or convince, any other municipalities in Dufferin to follow suit. But Kolodziechuk explained, at least one municipality in Dufferin may be considering the Ombudsman this time around.
“I think all the municipalities were kind of feeling their way, the same as the county, and this will be coming up again in budgets for this year,” Kolodziechuk said. “It will be interesting to see, I know in our municipality (Amaranth), we’ll certainly look at it.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
LEST WE FORGET
The first chapter of In Flanders Fields and Other Poems (a 1919 collection of poems by John McCrae) gives the text of the poem as follows:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Friday, November 4, 2011
RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS DAY
What a wonderful idea. Doing random acts of kindness for one day of the year. Sorry I think it should be everyday and that is what I do. Hold doors open for people, say hi and just be a great citizen of the community. My move has been very hard but something that was not very hard was deciding on what to do with my free digester. Muelensteen Tires in North Perth holds a green day every year and gives away green products to help us be good to Mother Nature and be responsible for our waste. Last year was rainbarrels and this year was digesters which is one step up from a composter. When I read the letter to the editor in the Listowel Banner about the vandalsim of the composter at Central Public School I decided to donate my digester to them so it would be put to good use. They were so very happy to get it and I am sure they will put it to good use and learn lots of information on how to be responsible for the waste we all produce and how not to pollute the area we live in, also known as taking care of Mother Nature. If you took part in random acts of kindeness day, and it did not hurt, keep it up. Our communities need it. And I am back
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
MY FAREWELL TO ATWOOD / NORTH PERTH
WITHOUT PREJUDICE
TO THE RESIDENTS OF ATWOOD AND NORTH PERTH
IT IS WITH DEEP SADNESS AND REGRET THAT WE ARE CLOSING DOWN OUR BUSINESS AND LEAVING ATWOOD. THE MUNICIPALITY HAS MADE OUR TIME HERE A NIGHTMARE AND REFUSES TO CORRECT THE MISTAKES THAT WERE MADE. THE NEW COUNCIL IS NO DIFFERENT THAN THE LAST, JUST DIFFERENT FACES ( sometimes two faces). WE WILL NO LONGER TRY TO MAKE AN EFFORT TO STAY AND RUN OUR BUSINESS. WE HAVE EXHAUSTED ALL OUR OPTIONS AND MY HEALTH, WHICH HAS NOT BEEN GOOD THE LAST FEW YEARS, IS MORE IMPORTANT AND I MUST PUT IT FIRST. SOMEONE ELSE WILL HAVE TO WATCH OUT FOR THE TOWN. GOOD LUCK !!!!
WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE RESIDENTS OF ATWOOD AND THE SPECIAL PEOPLE THAT HAVE SUPPORTED US. WE WILL MISS ALL OF YOU AND LIVING HERE IN THIS GREAT COMMUNITY. TO THOSE THAT DID NOT SUPPORT US AND DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS BEING DONE TO US, WE ARE DISAPPOINTED THAT YOU ALL HAD AN OPINION, BUT NEVER TOOK THE TIME TO FIND OUT THE TRUTH BEFORE YOU MADE CRUEL AND UNINFORMED JUDGEMENTS AND DECIDED NOT TO SUPPORT US.
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR FRIEND, NEIGHBOUR AND SUPPORTER FROM THE BEGINNING MAXINE SCHOLL. YOU HAVE BEEN A GREAT FRIEND AND HAVE BEEN THERE FOR US FROM THE START AND HELPED US IN MANY WAYS AND WE WILL MISS YOU AND YOUR FRIENDSHIP.
THANKS TO BERT CLARK WHO HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL IN MANY WAYS AND A GREAT MAN OF THE COMMUNITY.
THANK YOU MR BROUGHTON FOR SOME REALLY GREAT DISCUSSIONS AND A GREAT HISTORY LESSON. YOU ARE A WISE MAN.
AND TO OTHER NEIGHBOURS, THANKS FOR BEING SUCH GREAT PEOPLE AND FRIENDS.
AND FINALLY TO THE MUNICIPALITY OF NORTH PERTH, THANK YOU FOR THE EDUCATION, THE FRUSTRATION AND THE VIEW OF MUNICIPAL CORRUPTION THAT MADE LIVING HERE HELL ON EARTH. YOU COST ME MY BUSINESS, YOU COST ME MY HOME, YOU COST ME MY INVESTMENT. BUT WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND AND IN TIME IT WILL COME AROUND AND BITE YOU IN THE ASS. BE SURE OF IT.
SINCERELY AND SADLY
SHERRIE McTAGGART
TO THE RESIDENTS OF ATWOOD AND NORTH PERTH
IT IS WITH DEEP SADNESS AND REGRET THAT WE ARE CLOSING DOWN OUR BUSINESS AND LEAVING ATWOOD. THE MUNICIPALITY HAS MADE OUR TIME HERE A NIGHTMARE AND REFUSES TO CORRECT THE MISTAKES THAT WERE MADE. THE NEW COUNCIL IS NO DIFFERENT THAN THE LAST, JUST DIFFERENT FACES ( sometimes two faces). WE WILL NO LONGER TRY TO MAKE AN EFFORT TO STAY AND RUN OUR BUSINESS. WE HAVE EXHAUSTED ALL OUR OPTIONS AND MY HEALTH, WHICH HAS NOT BEEN GOOD THE LAST FEW YEARS, IS MORE IMPORTANT AND I MUST PUT IT FIRST. SOMEONE ELSE WILL HAVE TO WATCH OUT FOR THE TOWN. GOOD LUCK !!!!
WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE RESIDENTS OF ATWOOD AND THE SPECIAL PEOPLE THAT HAVE SUPPORTED US. WE WILL MISS ALL OF YOU AND LIVING HERE IN THIS GREAT COMMUNITY. TO THOSE THAT DID NOT SUPPORT US AND DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS BEING DONE TO US, WE ARE DISAPPOINTED THAT YOU ALL HAD AN OPINION, BUT NEVER TOOK THE TIME TO FIND OUT THE TRUTH BEFORE YOU MADE CRUEL AND UNINFORMED JUDGEMENTS AND DECIDED NOT TO SUPPORT US.
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR FRIEND, NEIGHBOUR AND SUPPORTER FROM THE BEGINNING MAXINE SCHOLL. YOU HAVE BEEN A GREAT FRIEND AND HAVE BEEN THERE FOR US FROM THE START AND HELPED US IN MANY WAYS AND WE WILL MISS YOU AND YOUR FRIENDSHIP.
THANKS TO BERT CLARK WHO HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL IN MANY WAYS AND A GREAT MAN OF THE COMMUNITY.
THANK YOU MR BROUGHTON FOR SOME REALLY GREAT DISCUSSIONS AND A GREAT HISTORY LESSON. YOU ARE A WISE MAN.
AND TO OTHER NEIGHBOURS, THANKS FOR BEING SUCH GREAT PEOPLE AND FRIENDS.
AND FINALLY TO THE MUNICIPALITY OF NORTH PERTH, THANK YOU FOR THE EDUCATION, THE FRUSTRATION AND THE VIEW OF MUNICIPAL CORRUPTION THAT MADE LIVING HERE HELL ON EARTH. YOU COST ME MY BUSINESS, YOU COST ME MY HOME, YOU COST ME MY INVESTMENT. BUT WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND AND IN TIME IT WILL COME AROUND AND BITE YOU IN THE ASS. BE SURE OF IT.
SINCERELY AND SADLY
SHERRIE McTAGGART
Friday, October 14, 2011
MISSING IN ACTION
I have been M.I.A lately and will be again for awhile. I have had a relapse in my health and I am closing down my business and packing and getting ready to move away from this vortex. When I am finally settled in a place I will again begin posting. Thanks for still checking out my blog and I will be back soon. Sherrie
Monday, September 19, 2011
A VERY SAD TIME
READERS: Had questions on whether to post this. It has been a long battle that has been documented here. I am not finished and will not quit the battle but need to make choices. I must place alot of the blame on a corrupt Municicpality but also others and myself. If you have any questions just let me know.
September 12, 2011
PERTH COMMUNITY FUTURES DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
RE: CAHILL ANTIQUES
199 Main Street
Atwood, Ontario
N0G1B0
It has now been 6 years since we started our business and it has been a hard long battle. We have invested everything we had including all of our savings to try and make this a thriving business. I have suffered and have lived without the neccessities of life all in an attempt to save what I considered my business and my home. Although I was in a what I thought was a business partnership with the Perth CFDC to acheive a thriving business and a home I was left to fend for myself without any help or support from my partners in business and left to pay all costs including legal fees and fines. This property consumed all my time and now has become a huge waste of my efforts.
It is with the most sadness and deep, deep, deep regret that I must now hand over what I worked so hard for, my property, to the Perth Community Futures Development Corporation. I hereby today September 12,2011 reliquish my property for the amount owing to the Corporation. We will be vacating the property on or before November 1, 2011 and will give up our interest in 199 Main Street Atwood Ontario and the keys will be deposited with the Corporation. I will continue to offer the property for sale and will do my due diligence to make sure that the property is taken care of.
September 12, 2011
PERTH COMMUNITY FUTURES DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
RE: CAHILL ANTIQUES
199 Main Street
Atwood, Ontario
N0G1B0
It has now been 6 years since we started our business and it has been a hard long battle. We have invested everything we had including all of our savings to try and make this a thriving business. I have suffered and have lived without the neccessities of life all in an attempt to save what I considered my business and my home. Although I was in a what I thought was a business partnership with the Perth CFDC to acheive a thriving business and a home I was left to fend for myself without any help or support from my partners in business and left to pay all costs including legal fees and fines. This property consumed all my time and now has become a huge waste of my efforts.
It is with the most sadness and deep, deep, deep regret that I must now hand over what I worked so hard for, my property, to the Perth Community Futures Development Corporation. I hereby today September 12,2011 reliquish my property for the amount owing to the Corporation. We will be vacating the property on or before November 1, 2011 and will give up our interest in 199 Main Street Atwood Ontario and the keys will be deposited with the Corporation. I will continue to offer the property for sale and will do my due diligence to make sure that the property is taken care of.
Monday, September 12, 2011
SUIT ALLEGES FRAUD
Suit alleges fraud by former employee
Perth Community Futures Development Corp. seeking $1 million in damages
By LAURA CUDWORTH, Staff Reporter
Stratford Beacon Herald
Perth Community Futures Development Corporation has launched a lawsuit against a former employee alleging about $540,000 was misappropriated.
Perth CFDC is seeking $1 million in damages for fraud, conspiracy, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation from its former lending manager, John-David (JD) Graham.
His role as lending manager gave him sole authority for issuing cheques on loans approved by the organization, the statement of claim says. Graham worked at Perth CFDC from 2001 until April of this year.
Perth CFDC employees first became suspicious in early August when they spoke to an individual at a diesel repair shop about the business's loan. Perth CFDC was told that although Ultimate Diesel Repair had applied for a loan it had never received any of the funds.
"They were directed to accounts which appear to be under the control of Mr. Graham," said Andrew Phillips, lawyer for Perth CFDC.
Other allegations include the approval of loans to non-existent people or that loan advances were fraudulently diverted into Graham's personal or business accounts. The statement of claim also accuses Graham of creating fraudulent invoices from legitimate suppliers, authorizing payment and diverting the funds. In addition, the claim alleges Graham diverted loan payments made by companies which had obtained legitimate funding from Perth CFDC.
Graham declined to comment on the allegations Tuesday other than to say, "It's a misunderstanding that's going to be corrected."
None of the allegations made by the plaintiff have been proven in court.
Perth CFDC successfully sought an injunction last week to freeze Graham's assets, his wife's assets and those of Planet Lovers Ltd., (P'lovers), also named as 1394561 Ontario Limited.
The injunction is temporary and will be addressed again in court Thursday. Phillips is confident the injunction will be extended.
He stressed the investigation is in the early stages.
Perth CFDC general manager Nigel Howard declined to speak about the lawsuit yesterday, but a statement was issued through Phillips on behalf of the organization.
"We wish to assure the public that Perth Community Futures Development takes this matter extremely seriously. We have notified the Ontario Provincial Police and a very thorough forensic investigation is underway. At this time it appears the allegations of fraud are limited to one former employee. Perth Community Futures Development is confident the impact on current operations will be minimal."
OPP confirmed a fraud investigation has been started.
The affidavit of Joan Marie Gerber, business adviser for Perth CFDC, states with payments applied to incorrect accounts the total impact could reach between $700,000 and $1 million.
Perth CFDC is a non-profit organization guided by a 12-member board of directors that encourages local entrepreneurship and grassroots economic development.
Perth CFDC has provided support to more than 150 businesses and has had a financial impact of about $10 million on the local economy.
As recently as February the federal government gave Perth CFDC $1.1 million to help rural businesses here.
Perth Community Futures Development Corp. seeking $1 million in damages
By LAURA CUDWORTH, Staff Reporter
Stratford Beacon Herald
Perth Community Futures Development Corporation has launched a lawsuit against a former employee alleging about $540,000 was misappropriated.
Perth CFDC is seeking $1 million in damages for fraud, conspiracy, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation from its former lending manager, John-David (JD) Graham.
His role as lending manager gave him sole authority for issuing cheques on loans approved by the organization, the statement of claim says. Graham worked at Perth CFDC from 2001 until April of this year.
Perth CFDC employees first became suspicious in early August when they spoke to an individual at a diesel repair shop about the business's loan. Perth CFDC was told that although Ultimate Diesel Repair had applied for a loan it had never received any of the funds.
"They were directed to accounts which appear to be under the control of Mr. Graham," said Andrew Phillips, lawyer for Perth CFDC.
Other allegations include the approval of loans to non-existent people or that loan advances were fraudulently diverted into Graham's personal or business accounts. The statement of claim also accuses Graham of creating fraudulent invoices from legitimate suppliers, authorizing payment and diverting the funds. In addition, the claim alleges Graham diverted loan payments made by companies which had obtained legitimate funding from Perth CFDC.
Graham declined to comment on the allegations Tuesday other than to say, "It's a misunderstanding that's going to be corrected."
None of the allegations made by the plaintiff have been proven in court.
Perth CFDC successfully sought an injunction last week to freeze Graham's assets, his wife's assets and those of Planet Lovers Ltd., (P'lovers), also named as 1394561 Ontario Limited.
The injunction is temporary and will be addressed again in court Thursday. Phillips is confident the injunction will be extended.
He stressed the investigation is in the early stages.
Perth CFDC general manager Nigel Howard declined to speak about the lawsuit yesterday, but a statement was issued through Phillips on behalf of the organization.
"We wish to assure the public that Perth Community Futures Development takes this matter extremely seriously. We have notified the Ontario Provincial Police and a very thorough forensic investigation is underway. At this time it appears the allegations of fraud are limited to one former employee. Perth Community Futures Development is confident the impact on current operations will be minimal."
OPP confirmed a fraud investigation has been started.
The affidavit of Joan Marie Gerber, business adviser for Perth CFDC, states with payments applied to incorrect accounts the total impact could reach between $700,000 and $1 million.
Perth CFDC is a non-profit organization guided by a 12-member board of directors that encourages local entrepreneurship and grassroots economic development.
Perth CFDC has provided support to more than 150 businesses and has had a financial impact of about $10 million on the local economy.
As recently as February the federal government gave Perth CFDC $1.1 million to help rural businesses here.
Friday, August 26, 2011
FROM A GREAT FRIEND
The path of the Light Warrior is lonely;
Filled with loss, rejection and pain.
The Light Warrior illuminates the darkest of corners and;
stands steadfast while others wane.
The Light Warrior carries no sword or shield;
For their Light leads the way.
No darkness can penetrate it's warm glow and;
nothing can withstand its rays.
Courage outshines fear and;
Love triumphs over suffering and trial.
The Light Warrior is armed with Truth and;
Strength will always prevail.
There is little reward for the Light Warrior;
Here in this misery.
Except their light burns ever brighter;
For the enlightened ones to see.
Walk on with courage Warrior of Light;
For our numbers are few.
Shine your light more brightly;
So we may see justice, peace and truth.
Know that you are loved and honoured;
For the sacrifice you make herein,
Nothing on earth is as valuable,
as the Light you hold within.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
COUNCIL HAS HARD ISSUES TO RESOLVE
To the Editor
RE:Lack of change frustrating
I read with interest the views of Bill Smith from Monkton last week in the Banner. I must agree with his view that the taxpayers decided with the last election that change was needed in North Perth.
The previous council was dysfunctional at best, as I have learned personally over the last few yeaars. With the new council we are looking for an honest and transparent municipal council that is capable of making the hard decisions that are fair to all taxpayers of North Perth, not just the selected few.
A Code of Conduct would be a great start, but just that a start. Much more needs to be done to correct some of the issues I have personally witnessed. Council needs to take back control of the municipal office to avoid further embarrassment for mistakes that are made.
I think we have voted in some very good and capable people for council who now have some very hard issues and mistakes from the previous council that need to be resolved. And although they are hard decisions, they should be resolved to be fair to all.
I think Smith spoke for alot of taxpayers in North Perth in his letter and hopefully council is listening. We are willing to give them a chance to make the changes that are needed, but we do need to see that changes are being made.
Sherrie McTaggart
Atwood
RE:Lack of change frustrating
I read with interest the views of Bill Smith from Monkton last week in the Banner. I must agree with his view that the taxpayers decided with the last election that change was needed in North Perth.
The previous council was dysfunctional at best, as I have learned personally over the last few yeaars. With the new council we are looking for an honest and transparent municipal council that is capable of making the hard decisions that are fair to all taxpayers of North Perth, not just the selected few.
A Code of Conduct would be a great start, but just that a start. Much more needs to be done to correct some of the issues I have personally witnessed. Council needs to take back control of the municipal office to avoid further embarrassment for mistakes that are made.
I think we have voted in some very good and capable people for council who now have some very hard issues and mistakes from the previous council that need to be resolved. And although they are hard decisions, they should be resolved to be fair to all.
I think Smith spoke for alot of taxpayers in North Perth in his letter and hopefully council is listening. We are willing to give them a chance to make the changes that are needed, but we do need to see that changes are being made.
Sherrie McTaggart
Atwood
Sunday, August 14, 2011
THE BIG SALE IS HERE !!!!!!!!!!!
For all those people like me who love to knit or crochet the big sale is here again. From August 15 to 27 the annual Spinrite Tent Sale will be giving us incredible savings. New this year on August 20 "Moonlight Yarn Mania" with an outdoor movie on a 25 ft screen. Eat, Pray, Love with Julie Roberts will be showing and the tents will be open until 10 pm. On Saturday meet the designers from 11am to 3pm and from 5pm to 10pm it will be the first annual knitout so bring your knitting or crocheting and lawn chairs and knit while you watch the movie. For anyone who has not attended this event it is a great way to stock up on all kinds of yarn and accessories and great savings.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
NORTH PERTH DOWNTOWN IDEA
A Community Improvement Plan and Streetscape Design Project for three North Perth communities is moving forward.
CAO Kriss Snell says volunteers groups currently invest a lot of funds and effort to enhance the appearance of the downtown areas in Listowel, Atwood and Monkton but no defined plan or coordination exists.
Snell indicates the process will involve the hiring of a consultant and opportunities for public input.
He stresses the importance of establishing what is the "best bang for the taxpayers dollars" when it comes to things like street signage as well as lighting and tree replacement.
Snell estimates the North Perth Community Improvement Plan and Streetscape Design project will cost between $25,000 and $30,000 dollars.
He is hopeful already secured funding through the Province's Rural Economic Development Program can be reallocated to cover half the cost
CAO Kriss Snell says volunteers groups currently invest a lot of funds and effort to enhance the appearance of the downtown areas in Listowel, Atwood and Monkton but no defined plan or coordination exists.
Snell indicates the process will involve the hiring of a consultant and opportunities for public input.
He stresses the importance of establishing what is the "best bang for the taxpayers dollars" when it comes to things like street signage as well as lighting and tree replacement.
Snell estimates the North Perth Community Improvement Plan and Streetscape Design project will cost between $25,000 and $30,000 dollars.
He is hopeful already secured funding through the Province's Rural Economic Development Program can be reallocated to cover half the cost
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
LETTER TO THE LISTOWEL BANNER
Subject: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
In reference to the correction last week in our local newspaper,it seems once again our Listowel Banner seems to have a problem doing something as simple as reporting the facts.Even more worrisome is the accomplishments or the lack thereof,of our recently elected council.
Over the past 4 years we had a council that was dysfunctional and many of those who were defeated last October were at best self serving or upholding the interest of their friends instead of the general population of North Perth.
In 2010 we fixed that ,by electing essentially a new council with the hope they would clean up the messes of the past.Well so far our hopes were misplaced as evidenced by the fact that many old issuse remain outstanding as indicated in the letter by Mr.Scott
I have spoken to a couple of councillors' things don't seem to be progressing and l can only suspect that is because we still have the same administration.There are many of us if not the majority of our citizen, that have been frustrated by the bloated, lack of customer sevice crew we currently have in our town hall. The councillors that I voted for were going to fix that . Nothing has been done to date.
The councillors I voted for were going to pass a Code of Conduct for council so we would finally have accountability and transparency.Nothing has been done to date.
The councillors I voted for were going to clean up the messes of the past council and the Scott legal issue was one of them, and yet again, nothing has been done to date.I was told by one councillor that staff have said council cannot make any decision regarding this legal isssue.It seems to me that the tail is wagging the dog.It is council that should be telling staff what to do and what can be done instead if vis a versa.
So what has council accomplished?? I keep looking for answers but as each week passes and the letters to the editor in the local paper,the answer is obviously, nothing ! We voted for change, we voted for people who will take charge, and voted for people who will move this coummunity forward.
It is time to live up to your election promises and make a difference
Bill Smith
Monkton
In reference to the correction last week in our local newspaper,it seems once again our Listowel Banner seems to have a problem doing something as simple as reporting the facts.Even more worrisome is the accomplishments or the lack thereof,of our recently elected council.
Over the past 4 years we had a council that was dysfunctional and many of those who were defeated last October were at best self serving or upholding the interest of their friends instead of the general population of North Perth.
In 2010 we fixed that ,by electing essentially a new council with the hope they would clean up the messes of the past.Well so far our hopes were misplaced as evidenced by the fact that many old issuse remain outstanding as indicated in the letter by Mr.Scott
I have spoken to a couple of councillors' things don't seem to be progressing and l can only suspect that is because we still have the same administration.There are many of us if not the majority of our citizen, that have been frustrated by the bloated, lack of customer sevice crew we currently have in our town hall. The councillors that I voted for were going to fix that . Nothing has been done to date.
The councillors I voted for were going to pass a Code of Conduct for council so we would finally have accountability and transparency.Nothing has been done to date.
The councillors I voted for were going to clean up the messes of the past council and the Scott legal issue was one of them, and yet again, nothing has been done to date.I was told by one councillor that staff have said council cannot make any decision regarding this legal isssue.It seems to me that the tail is wagging the dog.It is council that should be telling staff what to do and what can be done instead if vis a versa.
So what has council accomplished?? I keep looking for answers but as each week passes and the letters to the editor in the local paper,the answer is obviously, nothing ! We voted for change, we voted for people who will take charge, and voted for people who will move this coummunity forward.
It is time to live up to your election promises and make a difference
Bill Smith
Monkton
Monday, August 1, 2011
DEVELOPING WINGS OF PATIENCE,PERSEVERANCE
Developing wings of patience, perseverance
By IRENE ROTH
We all wish that our daily struggles would go away. But when the going gets tough, many of us wish we could develop wings and just fly away from all of our trials and tribulations until things settle down and we can once again return to some semblance of peace and tranquility.
However, as most of us know, it doesn't usually quite work that way. Most of us go through periods of extreme hardship in our lives. And then, if we're lucky, we go through periods which are less trial-filled and we could just sit back and relax a bit more. However, what if we're like some people (hopefully a very few) who have constant trials to endure. What then? How can we build wings of patience and perseverance to help ourselves get through these times? Well, here are a few tips that can help us along.
1. Be patient. Sometimes our problems will go away if we take them one day at a time and try and focus on as much positive energy as possible. Psychologists say that what we focus on ends up growing. So, if we focus on only the negative aspects of our life, they will grow. If, on the other hand, we choose to stay positive even when trying times occur, we will probably feel better and be much better able to handle the difficulties that we are facing.
2. Practise perseverance as much as possible. It is always easy to give up and to say: It's over....I'm out of here! However, it is much harder to try and persevere amidst hardship. It is never easy to persevere, and the bigger our problem, the harder it can be to practise perseverance. However, perseverance is important so that we don't feel totally destroyed by a situation. If we are impatient, we will only be badgering ourselves and we'll feel increasingly out of control.
3. Try to make the best out of even the most difficult situations. It is never easy to hope for the best, much less to bring it about. But many times, a positive attitude can help substantially when we're in the middle of very difficult and trying times. You may even want to try taking a deep breath and saying a prayer. Sometimes standing back in this way can really help us to come to terms with a bad situation.
4. Try not to think that the worst case scenario will happen. Instead, prepare for some really good things to happen, even if we're not sure that they will. They just might. you never know. But if we think that the worst case will happen, guess what folks...the negative things will occur. It'll be hard in the beginning because it is easier for us to be negative than positive. But once we taste the positive effects of a positive overall attitude, our life will change for the better.
So, hard times will come folks. We have little control over most of those times. But we do have control over is our attitude and how we will handle the hard situations as they come into our lives. So, let's stay positive and hopeful. It will work wonders for all of us!
Irene Roth has a master's degree in philosophy from York University, Toronto, specializing in psychology, character development and ethics. She is currently working on her doctorate in philosophical psychology. She has over 200 published Ezine articles on all aspects of character development and self-esteem issues for teens and adults. She lives in Stratford with her husband.
By IRENE ROTH
We all wish that our daily struggles would go away. But when the going gets tough, many of us wish we could develop wings and just fly away from all of our trials and tribulations until things settle down and we can once again return to some semblance of peace and tranquility.
However, as most of us know, it doesn't usually quite work that way. Most of us go through periods of extreme hardship in our lives. And then, if we're lucky, we go through periods which are less trial-filled and we could just sit back and relax a bit more. However, what if we're like some people (hopefully a very few) who have constant trials to endure. What then? How can we build wings of patience and perseverance to help ourselves get through these times? Well, here are a few tips that can help us along.
1. Be patient. Sometimes our problems will go away if we take them one day at a time and try and focus on as much positive energy as possible. Psychologists say that what we focus on ends up growing. So, if we focus on only the negative aspects of our life, they will grow. If, on the other hand, we choose to stay positive even when trying times occur, we will probably feel better and be much better able to handle the difficulties that we are facing.
2. Practise perseverance as much as possible. It is always easy to give up and to say: It's over....I'm out of here! However, it is much harder to try and persevere amidst hardship. It is never easy to persevere, and the bigger our problem, the harder it can be to practise perseverance. However, perseverance is important so that we don't feel totally destroyed by a situation. If we are impatient, we will only be badgering ourselves and we'll feel increasingly out of control.
3. Try to make the best out of even the most difficult situations. It is never easy to hope for the best, much less to bring it about. But many times, a positive attitude can help substantially when we're in the middle of very difficult and trying times. You may even want to try taking a deep breath and saying a prayer. Sometimes standing back in this way can really help us to come to terms with a bad situation.
4. Try not to think that the worst case scenario will happen. Instead, prepare for some really good things to happen, even if we're not sure that they will. They just might. you never know. But if we think that the worst case will happen, guess what folks...the negative things will occur. It'll be hard in the beginning because it is easier for us to be negative than positive. But once we taste the positive effects of a positive overall attitude, our life will change for the better.
So, hard times will come folks. We have little control over most of those times. But we do have control over is our attitude and how we will handle the hard situations as they come into our lives. So, let's stay positive and hopeful. It will work wonders for all of us!
Irene Roth has a master's degree in philosophy from York University, Toronto, specializing in psychology, character development and ethics. She is currently working on her doctorate in philosophical psychology. She has over 200 published Ezine articles on all aspects of character development and self-esteem issues for teens and adults. She lives in Stratford with her husband.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
THE GREEN THING
The Green Thing
In the line at the store, the cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.
The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."
The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment."
He was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.
Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.
But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.
We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.
But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.
Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that old lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.
Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana.
In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us.
When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.
Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.
But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.
We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water.
We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.
But we didn't have the green thing back then.
Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service.
We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.
But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?
Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smartass young person.
The Green Thing writer unknown
In the line at the store, the cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.
The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."
The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment."
He was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.
Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.
But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.
We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.
But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.
Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that old lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.
Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana.
In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us.
When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.
Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.
But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.
We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water.
We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.
But we didn't have the green thing back then.
Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service.
We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.
But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?
Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smartass young person.
The Green Thing writer unknown
Thursday, July 14, 2011
YOU'RE ALL ALONE AGAINST THE BUREAUCRACY
You’re all alone against the bureaucracy
Jul 14th, 2011 | By Staff | Section: Politics
This ran in the Toronto Sun ………. comments invited below
By Alan Shanoff ,Toronto Sun
There is a good reason for the Ontario Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. We want municipal politicians to act for the public good and not to make decisions or attempt to persuade others to make decisions based on self interest.
So you’d think this legislation would be user friendly and have stiff enforcement procedures.
As Michael Baillargeon, a 64-year-old marketing consultant, can attest, that couldn’t be farther from the reality.
The truth is no authority is prepared to take responsibility for the enforcement of the legislation and, as currently interpreted, the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act (MCIA) forces ordinary residents to act as investigator and prosecutor.
When Baillargeon believed Toronto Catholic District School Board trustee Oliver Carroll violated the act, he couldn’t persuade anybody to take action. Not the Ministry of Education, not the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, or the Catholic school board.
He said, “no authority was willing to assist or act; all I got were eloquently transparent excuses.”
He had to either let the matter drop or retain a lawyer at his own expense to investigate and prosecute. He hired a lawyer and took action. This was no minor expense, as it included drafting a court application, affidavits, attendances at cross-examinations and in court.
I don’t see how this could be done without expert legal assistance or for under $50,000. And if he lost, Baillargeon could have been on the hook for legal expenses incurred by Carroll.
As Baillargeon correctly states, “the legislation is not designed to deter contraventions, but is designed to deter enforcement.”
It’s no wonder conflict of interest applications are about as common as Toronto streets without potholes during winter.
Once Baillargeon started the application, no one at the Ministry of Education would take his calls and he says he was treated as an adversary.
At the same time, Carroll proclaimed the application was “frivolous and vexatious” and he’d be “absolved of any wrongdoing.”
Well, last month Superior Court Justice Jane Kelly released a decision declaring Carroll violated the conflict of interest rules multiple times when he “participated in discussions, moved and voted on motions in circumstances where there was clearly a conflict of interest.”
The 10 conflicts were “serious and indefensible.” Carroll’s daughter is a young teacher and his son had recently applied to be on the list of approved supply teachers, yet he participated in discussions and votes that could have benefited his children.
The details are mind boggling. He even introduced a motion requiring Toronto’s Catholic school board to pay the legal costs of trustees charged under the conflict of interest act.
The act is also overly generous to municipal politicians. It requires that legal action be taken within six weeks after the facts come to one’s attention. That’s a ridiculously short period.
The other problem is there is a defence if the politician can show he acted with “inadvertence” or was merely guilty of a good faith “error of judgment.”
Those are two huge loopholes which make it very risky for anybody to take action under the conflict of interest act.
Carroll, however, was unable to successfully use these defences because he knew or ought to have known he was conflicted. He, along with all other trustees had received two legal opinions which “addressed the issues of conflict of interest.” He attended at a meeting where a lawyer explained the legal opinions.
Worse, he was warned he should not partake in any matter where his or his children’s financial interests could be affected.
How anyone could have ignored the obvious conflicts shows the extent to which the culture of entitlement has infected certain trustees of the Catholic board.
POSSIBLE APPEAL
Carroll is reported as having announced an intention to appeal. If so, there will be more legal expenses and risks for Baillargeon. It will be up to Baillargeon to respond to the appeal. Shockingly, we not only leave it up to private citizens to enforce this legislation but we also expect them to continue paying for a lawyer and funding the costs of any appeal.
If we are serious in our desire that municipal politicians abide by conflict laws then we must give enforcement powers to an official body.
We can’t count on the Michael Baillargeons to be there for us.
http://www.torontosun.com/comment/columnists/alan_shanoff/2009/03/01/8576261-sun.html?utm_source=sharing&utm_medium=addThis&utm_content=You%27re+all+alone+against+the+bureaucracy
Jul 14th, 2011 | By Staff | Section: Politics
This ran in the Toronto Sun ………. comments invited below
By Alan Shanoff ,Toronto Sun
There is a good reason for the Ontario Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. We want municipal politicians to act for the public good and not to make decisions or attempt to persuade others to make decisions based on self interest.
So you’d think this legislation would be user friendly and have stiff enforcement procedures.
As Michael Baillargeon, a 64-year-old marketing consultant, can attest, that couldn’t be farther from the reality.
The truth is no authority is prepared to take responsibility for the enforcement of the legislation and, as currently interpreted, the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act (MCIA) forces ordinary residents to act as investigator and prosecutor.
When Baillargeon believed Toronto Catholic District School Board trustee Oliver Carroll violated the act, he couldn’t persuade anybody to take action. Not the Ministry of Education, not the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, or the Catholic school board.
He said, “no authority was willing to assist or act; all I got were eloquently transparent excuses.”
He had to either let the matter drop or retain a lawyer at his own expense to investigate and prosecute. He hired a lawyer and took action. This was no minor expense, as it included drafting a court application, affidavits, attendances at cross-examinations and in court.
I don’t see how this could be done without expert legal assistance or for under $50,000. And if he lost, Baillargeon could have been on the hook for legal expenses incurred by Carroll.
As Baillargeon correctly states, “the legislation is not designed to deter contraventions, but is designed to deter enforcement.”
It’s no wonder conflict of interest applications are about as common as Toronto streets without potholes during winter.
Once Baillargeon started the application, no one at the Ministry of Education would take his calls and he says he was treated as an adversary.
At the same time, Carroll proclaimed the application was “frivolous and vexatious” and he’d be “absolved of any wrongdoing.”
Well, last month Superior Court Justice Jane Kelly released a decision declaring Carroll violated the conflict of interest rules multiple times when he “participated in discussions, moved and voted on motions in circumstances where there was clearly a conflict of interest.”
The 10 conflicts were “serious and indefensible.” Carroll’s daughter is a young teacher and his son had recently applied to be on the list of approved supply teachers, yet he participated in discussions and votes that could have benefited his children.
The details are mind boggling. He even introduced a motion requiring Toronto’s Catholic school board to pay the legal costs of trustees charged under the conflict of interest act.
The act is also overly generous to municipal politicians. It requires that legal action be taken within six weeks after the facts come to one’s attention. That’s a ridiculously short period.
The other problem is there is a defence if the politician can show he acted with “inadvertence” or was merely guilty of a good faith “error of judgment.”
Those are two huge loopholes which make it very risky for anybody to take action under the conflict of interest act.
Carroll, however, was unable to successfully use these defences because he knew or ought to have known he was conflicted. He, along with all other trustees had received two legal opinions which “addressed the issues of conflict of interest.” He attended at a meeting where a lawyer explained the legal opinions.
Worse, he was warned he should not partake in any matter where his or his children’s financial interests could be affected.
How anyone could have ignored the obvious conflicts shows the extent to which the culture of entitlement has infected certain trustees of the Catholic board.
POSSIBLE APPEAL
Carroll is reported as having announced an intention to appeal. If so, there will be more legal expenses and risks for Baillargeon. It will be up to Baillargeon to respond to the appeal. Shockingly, we not only leave it up to private citizens to enforce this legislation but we also expect them to continue paying for a lawyer and funding the costs of any appeal.
If we are serious in our desire that municipal politicians abide by conflict laws then we must give enforcement powers to an official body.
We can’t count on the Michael Baillargeons to be there for us.
http://www.torontosun.com/comment/columnists/alan_shanoff/2009/03/01/8576261-sun.html?utm_source=sharing&utm_medium=addThis&utm_content=You%27re+all+alone+against+the+bureaucracy
Sunday, July 10, 2011
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY..........
EVERBODY WANTS TO CHANGE THE WORLD........BUT NOBODY WANTS TO CHANGE
TOLSTOY
TOLSTOY
Monday, June 27, 2011
OMBUDSMANS REPORT
OMBUDSMAN CALLS FOR OPEN GOVERNMENT: ANNUAL REPORT 2010-2011
In his Annual Report, released on June 21, Ontario Ombudsman André Marin is calling on the government of Ontario to embrace the worldwide trend toward open government, noting that many of his investigations of government organizations revealed a lack of transparency and accountability to Ontarians.
“Ontario has an opportunity to be a leader here,” Mr. Marin says in the first annual report of his second five-year term as Ombudsman. “When government decision-making remains closed, those it serves are left frustrated and anxious.”
The rise of social media and unprecedented public access to real-time information has had repercussions around the globe – raising public expectations of transparency in government, says Mr. Marin. “The days when governments could control the message and choose how to manage public information are gone,” he says, urging the government to think pro-actively about releasing information instead of simply reacting to requests.
The Ombudsman cited several examples of how his work revealed government decisions that were less than transparent – the best known being the expansion of police powers for last summer’s G20 summit in Toronto. As his December 2010 report, Caught in the Act, documented, the province quietly passed a new regulation under wartime legislation and failed to warn the public about it, contributing to massive violations of civil rights. The province has since pledged to scrap the Public Works Protection Act and better inform the public in future.
Another such case was detailed in Mr. Marin’s August 2010 report The LHIN Spin, after he found Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) had, contrary to their public-engagement mandate, illegally allowed closed meetings for “education” purposes. All LHINs have since changed their bylaws and adopted new guidelines for community engagement.
Other areas of the Ombudsman’s report that touch on the “open government” theme include:
Long-term care home inspections (page 39): While the province was posting inspection results online as promised, the information was often grossly outdated, inaccurate and incomprehensible.
MUSH sector oversight (page 12): Unlike any other province, Ontario shields Municipalities, Universities, School boards and Hospitals (as well as long-term care homes, children’s aid societies and police) from Ombudsman scrutiny, meaning Mr. Marin’s office had to turn away 1,963 complaints about these organizations this year.
The report also includes summaries of many of the thousands of individual cases resolved by the Ombudsman and staff, as well as examples of serious issues that his office flagged and dealt with proactively in meetings with senior officials from the most complained about organizations.
As in previous years, the exposure of lack of transparency in such cases has ultimately led to better governance, Mr. Marin says, citing examples such as his 2006 probe of the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation’s secretive methods, his 2007 investigation of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s initial disinterest in insider wins, and his 2009 revelation of the arbitrary funding cap on the cancer drug Avastin.
In his Annual Report, released on June 21, Ontario Ombudsman André Marin is calling on the government of Ontario to embrace the worldwide trend toward open government, noting that many of his investigations of government organizations revealed a lack of transparency and accountability to Ontarians.
“Ontario has an opportunity to be a leader here,” Mr. Marin says in the first annual report of his second five-year term as Ombudsman. “When government decision-making remains closed, those it serves are left frustrated and anxious.”
The rise of social media and unprecedented public access to real-time information has had repercussions around the globe – raising public expectations of transparency in government, says Mr. Marin. “The days when governments could control the message and choose how to manage public information are gone,” he says, urging the government to think pro-actively about releasing information instead of simply reacting to requests.
The Ombudsman cited several examples of how his work revealed government decisions that were less than transparent – the best known being the expansion of police powers for last summer’s G20 summit in Toronto. As his December 2010 report, Caught in the Act, documented, the province quietly passed a new regulation under wartime legislation and failed to warn the public about it, contributing to massive violations of civil rights. The province has since pledged to scrap the Public Works Protection Act and better inform the public in future.
Another such case was detailed in Mr. Marin’s August 2010 report The LHIN Spin, after he found Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) had, contrary to their public-engagement mandate, illegally allowed closed meetings for “education” purposes. All LHINs have since changed their bylaws and adopted new guidelines for community engagement.
Other areas of the Ombudsman’s report that touch on the “open government” theme include:
Long-term care home inspections (page 39): While the province was posting inspection results online as promised, the information was often grossly outdated, inaccurate and incomprehensible.
MUSH sector oversight (page 12): Unlike any other province, Ontario shields Municipalities, Universities, School boards and Hospitals (as well as long-term care homes, children’s aid societies and police) from Ombudsman scrutiny, meaning Mr. Marin’s office had to turn away 1,963 complaints about these organizations this year.
The report also includes summaries of many of the thousands of individual cases resolved by the Ombudsman and staff, as well as examples of serious issues that his office flagged and dealt with proactively in meetings with senior officials from the most complained about organizations.
As in previous years, the exposure of lack of transparency in such cases has ultimately led to better governance, Mr. Marin says, citing examples such as his 2006 probe of the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation’s secretive methods, his 2007 investigation of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s initial disinterest in insider wins, and his 2009 revelation of the arbitrary funding cap on the cancer drug Avastin.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
INFORMATION ABOUT GONORRHEA
The Centre for Disease Control has issued a warning about a new virulent strain of this old disease. The disease is called Gonorrhea Lectim. It’s pronounced “Gonna re-elect ‘em,” and it is a terrible disease.
The disease is contracted through dangerous and high risk behaviour involving putting your cranium up your rectum. Many victims contracted it in 2007 when they re-elected Dalton McGunity’s Liberals in Ontario and are now starting to realize how destructive this sickness is.
It’s sad because Gonorrhea Lectim is easily cured with a new drug just coming on the market called Votemout. It’s pronounced “Vote-em-out”. You take the first dose in 2011 and don’t engage in such behavior again; otherwise, it could become permanent and eventually wipe out all life as we know it in Ontario.
Please pass this important message on to all those bright folk you really care about
The disease is contracted through dangerous and high risk behaviour involving putting your cranium up your rectum. Many victims contracted it in 2007 when they re-elected Dalton McGunity’s Liberals in Ontario and are now starting to realize how destructive this sickness is.
It’s sad because Gonorrhea Lectim is easily cured with a new drug just coming on the market called Votemout. It’s pronounced “Vote-em-out”. You take the first dose in 2011 and don’t engage in such behavior again; otherwise, it could become permanent and eventually wipe out all life as we know it in Ontario.
Please pass this important message on to all those bright folk you really care about
Friday, June 3, 2011
NORTH PERTH TO HOST PORTRAITS OF HONOUR
An amazing event is coming to North Perth. On Wednesday June 8, 2011 the Portraits of Honour national tour will be at the Listowel Memorial Arena from 3 pm to 9 pm. Portraits of Honour art display by Cambridge resident David Sopha is a national tribute to our falllen soldiers and includes Kurtzville native Master Cpl Anthony Klumpenhouwer who died in April of 2007 while on duty in Afghanistan in April 2007. Admission is by donation for the Military Family fund.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
CHANGE........
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever does.
Margaret Mead
Margaret Mead
Thursday, May 19, 2011
HURON PERTH LANDOWNERS ASSOCIATION
Huron-Perth Landowners: Do you know your rights?
Find Out!
Monday, June 13th
8:00 PM
Crystal Palace
Mitchell Fairgrounds
Special Guest Speaker: Elizabeth Marshall
on Crown Land Patent Grants
No admission fee. Donations welcome.
For more info call: Cindy 519-887-6718 or Karen 519-345-2582
Find Out!
Monday, June 13th
8:00 PM
Crystal Palace
Mitchell Fairgrounds
Special Guest Speaker: Elizabeth Marshall
on Crown Land Patent Grants
No admission fee. Donations welcome.
For more info call: Cindy 519-887-6718 or Karen 519-345-2582
Monday, May 16, 2011
LIFE AFTER CAMPYLOBACTERIOSIS JEJUNI
I have been missing in action for the last month battling the illness caused by the bacterial infection Campylobacteriosis that I contacted from contaminated water. It is a horrible illness that I will have to live with for the rest of my life and it has completely changed my way of life. I now have severe food allergies or as my doctor said "sensitive to food" and if I eat the wrong foods I am sick for days or weeks. I have lost most body fat and some muscle mass and used to be able to lift 50 lb cases at work and now have a hard time lifting a bucket of water. Although the bacteria has been killed with antibiotics the damage it has caused is what is causing the illness now. It has destroyed my ability to digest certain foods and if the food enters my body it goes into "get it out mode". I have been forced to always know where a bathroom is and hardly leave my home when sick. When I have ingested the wrong food I will go for days without eating because it will not stay down, water does not even stay down. It has been a long process of food elimination and now have had to learn a whole new way of eating and cooking. Turkey bacon is not bacon and tofu cheese is not cheese and enough ground chicken to make 2 burgers is about $6.50. It is a whole new way of life that I am slowly getting used to and I thank all the people who have been concerned and helped me while I have been confined to my home, especially my talk show guys who tolerate my emails, Gary Doyle and Jeff Allan of 570 news. Clean drinkable water is essential for life, because if it is contaminated it will take your life away. Thanks all
Friday, April 15, 2011
MUNICIPAL ELECTION FAIRNESS
Municipal election fighters gets legal reprieve
Apr 11th, 2011 | By Staff | Section: 2010 Municipal Candidates
This ran in the KW Record……… comments invited below
Two “passionate” Cambridge residents got a quick lesson in law and a legal reprieve when they took their battle to redo the Cambridge municipal election to court Monday.
Justice Donald Gordon agreed to adjourn the case until next month to allow the pair to pursue hiring a lawyer to present their arguments in proper legal documents for the courts to consider.
The Kitchener Superior court judge said the information presented to him Monday, such as newspaper articles, was unsworn evidence which he could not consider.
Debbie Vitez and defeated council candidate Thomas Vann say the Oct. 25 election was bungled, with seniors and disabled people denied convenient voting areas and having to wait over two hours to vote because of long lines and problems with ballot counting machines.
“We are just two passionate taxpayers” who have no clue about legal procedure, Vitez told the judge. “We just kind of bungled our way through this.”
Vann told Gordon that he is willing to go into debt to hire a lawyer so the concerns of seniors who came to him with their election night problems can be heard in court. The legal costs are estimated at $20,000.
But Gordon warned the pair that the longer this case takes to get to court, the less likely that their request for a new election will be granted as elected councillors have already been in office for six months.
“We want a new election. That is why we are here,” Vitez said in an interview after court.
At the end of Monday’s brief court appearance, Vann said Cheryl Zahnleiter, Cambridge’s assistant city solicitor, approached him about meeting with city staff to explore an alternate solution rather than taking the issue to court.
Vann said that is the first time such an offer has been made. He said he will consider it.
At court, Zahnleiter said the city will be asking the courts to order Vann and Vitez to pay legal costs the city has incurred in this matter.
“I am quite upset especially since we are fighting for the people who have difficulty representing themselves,” Vann said.
Apr 11th, 2011 | By Staff | Section: 2010 Municipal Candidates
This ran in the KW Record……… comments invited below
Two “passionate” Cambridge residents got a quick lesson in law and a legal reprieve when they took their battle to redo the Cambridge municipal election to court Monday.
Justice Donald Gordon agreed to adjourn the case until next month to allow the pair to pursue hiring a lawyer to present their arguments in proper legal documents for the courts to consider.
The Kitchener Superior court judge said the information presented to him Monday, such as newspaper articles, was unsworn evidence which he could not consider.
Debbie Vitez and defeated council candidate Thomas Vann say the Oct. 25 election was bungled, with seniors and disabled people denied convenient voting areas and having to wait over two hours to vote because of long lines and problems with ballot counting machines.
“We are just two passionate taxpayers” who have no clue about legal procedure, Vitez told the judge. “We just kind of bungled our way through this.”
Vann told Gordon that he is willing to go into debt to hire a lawyer so the concerns of seniors who came to him with their election night problems can be heard in court. The legal costs are estimated at $20,000.
But Gordon warned the pair that the longer this case takes to get to court, the less likely that their request for a new election will be granted as elected councillors have already been in office for six months.
“We want a new election. That is why we are here,” Vitez said in an interview after court.
At the end of Monday’s brief court appearance, Vann said Cheryl Zahnleiter, Cambridge’s assistant city solicitor, approached him about meeting with city staff to explore an alternate solution rather than taking the issue to court.
Vann said that is the first time such an offer has been made. He said he will consider it.
At court, Zahnleiter said the city will be asking the courts to order Vann and Vitez to pay legal costs the city has incurred in this matter.
“I am quite upset especially since we are fighting for the people who have difficulty representing themselves,” Vann said.
Friday, April 8, 2011
FROM THE CAMBRIDGE ADVOCATE
From: Gary J Rolko…Listowel Honda
Apr 4th, 2011 | By Staff | Section: Announcements
Hello Everyone,
For those that are unaware, tragedy struck our town on March 17.
While battling a terrible blaze, two of our volunteer firefighters lost there lives.
In memory of Ray Walter and Ken Rae, I will make a donation for every new or used vehicle I sell, too both
The Ray Walter Memorial Fund and The Atwood Firefighters.
This will continue for the entire month of April/11.
Your support is greatly appreciated.
*2011 Honda Civics…0.9% financing up to 60 months, 0.9% lease rate up to 48 months, plus $750 gas card on all Civics*
*2011 Honda CRVs…0.9% financing up to 60 months, 0.9% lease rate up to 48 months*
*OAC, valid until April 30/11*
Gary J Rolko
Sales & Leasing
Listowel Honda
519.291.2490
877.323.9333
gary@listowelhonda.com
www.listowelhonda.com
Apr 4th, 2011 | By Staff | Section: Announcements
Hello Everyone,
For those that are unaware, tragedy struck our town on March 17.
While battling a terrible blaze, two of our volunteer firefighters lost there lives.
In memory of Ray Walter and Ken Rae, I will make a donation for every new or used vehicle I sell, too both
The Ray Walter Memorial Fund and The Atwood Firefighters.
This will continue for the entire month of April/11.
Your support is greatly appreciated.
*2011 Honda Civics…0.9% financing up to 60 months, 0.9% lease rate up to 48 months, plus $750 gas card on all Civics*
*2011 Honda CRVs…0.9% financing up to 60 months, 0.9% lease rate up to 48 months*
*OAC, valid until April 30/11*
Gary J Rolko
Sales & Leasing
Listowel Honda
519.291.2490
877.323.9333
gary@listowelhonda.com
www.listowelhonda.com
Friday, March 18, 2011
FIREMAN'S PRAYER
When I am called to duty, God,
wherever flames may rage,
give me strength to save a life,
whatever be its age.
Help me embrace a little child
before it is too late,
or save an older person from
the horror of that fate.
Enable me to be alert,
and hear the weakest shout,
quickly and efficiently
to put the fire out.
I want to fill my calling,
to give the best in me,
to guard my friend and neighbor,
and protect his property.
And if according to Your will
I must answer death's call,
bless with Your protecting hand,
my family one and all.
~~~~~~
Fireman’s Prayer
wherever flames may rage,
give me strength to save a life,
whatever be its age.
Help me embrace a little child
before it is too late,
or save an older person from
the horror of that fate.
Enable me to be alert,
and hear the weakest shout,
quickly and efficiently
to put the fire out.
I want to fill my calling,
to give the best in me,
to guard my friend and neighbor,
and protect his property.
And if according to Your will
I must answer death's call,
bless with Your protecting hand,
my family one and all.
~~~~~~
Fireman’s Prayer
A VERY SAD DAY
It is with deep sadness we mourn the death of two of our volunter firefighters who put their lives on the line to protect our community. A fire at a dollar store took these men from us and now a community mourns.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
PROPERTY RIGHTS IN ONTARIO
Scott Reid, Conservative MP for Lanark-Frontenac-Lennex and Addington.
I have long been a believer in the importance of entrenching property as a Charter right. That’s why I was happy to conduct a short interview with Mr. Reid this past week on the details of his resolution, and the intended consequences of his legislative efforts.
Canadians with a knowledge of constitutionalism in our country may be surprised to learn that this resolution is even being attempted. Previous efforts at constitutional change have produced divisive results in a nation which seems unable to come to an accord on its own constitution.
Mr. Reid and Mr. Hillier however hope to use a less famous avenue to effect constitutional change: Section 43.
“Unlike the American constitution which has one amending formula,” said Mr. Reid, “Canada has five separate amending formulas… the relevant one (in this case) is Section 43.”
“Section 43 is the process that is used for amending the constitution in so far as it applies to one province… in practice, what you are really doing is amending the constitution of the province (in question).”
Essentially, alterations to the Charter can be made when the legislatures of both a particular province and the federal government concur to that change. The amendment then only effects the particular province in which it was initiated: in this case, Ontario.
Through Mr. Hillier’s motion in the Ontario Legislative Assembly, and Mr. Reid’s mirroring motion in the House of Commons, Ontarians could be the first Canadians endowed with Charter protections for private property.
What, precisely, would this constitutional amendment entail?
The wording of the motion is as follows:
That, in the opinion of this House, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms should be amended to enshrine property rights for Ontarians, as follows:–
1. The following section is inserted after section 7:
7.1 (1) In Ontario, everyone has the right not to be deprived, by any Act of the Legislative Assembly or by any action taken under authority of an Act of the Legislative Assembly, of the title, use, or enjoyment of real property or of any right attached to real property, or of any improvement made to or upon real property, unless made whole by means of full, just and timely financial compensation.
(2) Subsection (1) refers to any Act of the Legislative Assembly made before or after the coming into force of this section.
2. This Amendment may be cited as the Constitution Amendment, 2011 (No Expropriation in Ontario without Compensation), and reference to the Constitution Act, 1867 to 1982 shall be deemed to include a reference to the Constitution Amendment, 2011 (No Expropriation in Ontario without Compensation).
Legalism aside, I asked Mr. Reid what exactly the consequences of property rights protections would be.
“It is purely to protect landowners from losing part or sometimes all of the value of their land. If the government wants to take title from your land, they are required to offer full compensation.”
“One example relevant for farmers: let’s say in order to protect the province’s water and keep the quality pure, we can’t have nutrient waste running into water courses. You used to run your land right up to the end of a stream, but now you must keep the cattle coming from X metres around the stream. That’s a legitimate objective. But the fence isn’t free, and he (the farmer) now can’t use that land. You suffer two losses, and depending on the shape of the water course… some people have lost a quarter of their land.”
Property rights protections are especially important for Ontario’s farmers. Land ownership in rural areas goes beyond simply the control of property: land is directly tied to household income. Losing grazing area for cattle can significantly hamper the ability of a farming family to put food on the table. Through these resolutions, the Government of Ontario will now be required to offer compensation for that loss of income resulting from new land regulations and expropriations.
I asked Mr. Reid whether or not he intended to see property protections spread to other provinces.
“The short answer is yes. There is a saying from the USA: the states are a laboratory for democracy. Hopefully it will be copied everywhere.”
At the provincial level, the proposed amendment is in for a fight. “Because these are amendments that relate to Ontario… once it is passed in the (Ontario) Legislature, historically Parliament respects the decision,” said Mr. Reid.
“The real fight is in Queen’s Park. The Liberals are against this… a Liberal MPP stood up on the day of the announcement and criticised it. He worried about patent law, but this law clearly deals with real estate. They did a knee jerk reaction because it came from the opposition.”
Despite the battle shaping up in Toronto, feedback has been more positive in the halls of Ottawa.
“(I’ve gotten) good feedback from the colleagues I’ve spoken to in the House. I’ve tended to speak to rural MPs… (this amendment) is vital to their interests.”
Many Canadians would be surprised to learn that constitutional law already uses some aspect of property rights. Achieving Royal Assent on August 10th, 1960, Progressive Conservative Prime Minister John Diefenbaker’s Bill of Rights featured property rights in Section 1(a): “enjoyment of property, and the right not to be deprived thereof except by due process of law.” The Supreme Court has in the past been willing to use the precedent of the Bill of Rights in its rulings. I asked Mr. Reid then why he felt a Charter protection was necessary.
“The Bill of Rights is a federal law, quasi-constitutional,” said Mr. Reid, “… The Bill of Rights has no effect on the province of Ontario or on the actions of municipalities, who are frequently the worst abusers of property rights.”
It is only fair that the government compensate those who suffer a loss of land due to their government’s own regulations. Expropriations are the worst abuses of these powers. How fair is it for the government to sweep in and claim your property, without at least paying you fairly for it? I applaud Mr. Reid and Mr. Hillier for their work to empower landowners everywhere. The most important part of these changes is to protect those rural landowners who rely so deeply on land for their livelihoods. No farmer should be deprived of the ability to provide for their families because their government determined the “public good” overrode their ownership. When the necessity of the public good takes hold, landowners at least deserve a just compensation for their losses.
Very soon Ontario will have property rights. Hopefully one day all Canadians will have them too.
The preceding column is syndicated from the National Citizen’s Coalition.
I have long been a believer in the importance of entrenching property as a Charter right. That’s why I was happy to conduct a short interview with Mr. Reid this past week on the details of his resolution, and the intended consequences of his legislative efforts.
Canadians with a knowledge of constitutionalism in our country may be surprised to learn that this resolution is even being attempted. Previous efforts at constitutional change have produced divisive results in a nation which seems unable to come to an accord on its own constitution.
Mr. Reid and Mr. Hillier however hope to use a less famous avenue to effect constitutional change: Section 43.
“Unlike the American constitution which has one amending formula,” said Mr. Reid, “Canada has five separate amending formulas… the relevant one (in this case) is Section 43.”
“Section 43 is the process that is used for amending the constitution in so far as it applies to one province… in practice, what you are really doing is amending the constitution of the province (in question).”
Essentially, alterations to the Charter can be made when the legislatures of both a particular province and the federal government concur to that change. The amendment then only effects the particular province in which it was initiated: in this case, Ontario.
Through Mr. Hillier’s motion in the Ontario Legislative Assembly, and Mr. Reid’s mirroring motion in the House of Commons, Ontarians could be the first Canadians endowed with Charter protections for private property.
What, precisely, would this constitutional amendment entail?
The wording of the motion is as follows:
That, in the opinion of this House, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms should be amended to enshrine property rights for Ontarians, as follows:–
1. The following section is inserted after section 7:
7.1 (1) In Ontario, everyone has the right not to be deprived, by any Act of the Legislative Assembly or by any action taken under authority of an Act of the Legislative Assembly, of the title, use, or enjoyment of real property or of any right attached to real property, or of any improvement made to or upon real property, unless made whole by means of full, just and timely financial compensation.
(2) Subsection (1) refers to any Act of the Legislative Assembly made before or after the coming into force of this section.
2. This Amendment may be cited as the Constitution Amendment, 2011 (No Expropriation in Ontario without Compensation), and reference to the Constitution Act, 1867 to 1982 shall be deemed to include a reference to the Constitution Amendment, 2011 (No Expropriation in Ontario without Compensation).
Legalism aside, I asked Mr. Reid what exactly the consequences of property rights protections would be.
“It is purely to protect landowners from losing part or sometimes all of the value of their land. If the government wants to take title from your land, they are required to offer full compensation.”
“One example relevant for farmers: let’s say in order to protect the province’s water and keep the quality pure, we can’t have nutrient waste running into water courses. You used to run your land right up to the end of a stream, but now you must keep the cattle coming from X metres around the stream. That’s a legitimate objective. But the fence isn’t free, and he (the farmer) now can’t use that land. You suffer two losses, and depending on the shape of the water course… some people have lost a quarter of their land.”
Property rights protections are especially important for Ontario’s farmers. Land ownership in rural areas goes beyond simply the control of property: land is directly tied to household income. Losing grazing area for cattle can significantly hamper the ability of a farming family to put food on the table. Through these resolutions, the Government of Ontario will now be required to offer compensation for that loss of income resulting from new land regulations and expropriations.
I asked Mr. Reid whether or not he intended to see property protections spread to other provinces.
“The short answer is yes. There is a saying from the USA: the states are a laboratory for democracy. Hopefully it will be copied everywhere.”
At the provincial level, the proposed amendment is in for a fight. “Because these are amendments that relate to Ontario… once it is passed in the (Ontario) Legislature, historically Parliament respects the decision,” said Mr. Reid.
“The real fight is in Queen’s Park. The Liberals are against this… a Liberal MPP stood up on the day of the announcement and criticised it. He worried about patent law, but this law clearly deals with real estate. They did a knee jerk reaction because it came from the opposition.”
Despite the battle shaping up in Toronto, feedback has been more positive in the halls of Ottawa.
“(I’ve gotten) good feedback from the colleagues I’ve spoken to in the House. I’ve tended to speak to rural MPs… (this amendment) is vital to their interests.”
Many Canadians would be surprised to learn that constitutional law already uses some aspect of property rights. Achieving Royal Assent on August 10th, 1960, Progressive Conservative Prime Minister John Diefenbaker’s Bill of Rights featured property rights in Section 1(a): “enjoyment of property, and the right not to be deprived thereof except by due process of law.” The Supreme Court has in the past been willing to use the precedent of the Bill of Rights in its rulings. I asked Mr. Reid then why he felt a Charter protection was necessary.
“The Bill of Rights is a federal law, quasi-constitutional,” said Mr. Reid, “… The Bill of Rights has no effect on the province of Ontario or on the actions of municipalities, who are frequently the worst abusers of property rights.”
It is only fair that the government compensate those who suffer a loss of land due to their government’s own regulations. Expropriations are the worst abuses of these powers. How fair is it for the government to sweep in and claim your property, without at least paying you fairly for it? I applaud Mr. Reid and Mr. Hillier for their work to empower landowners everywhere. The most important part of these changes is to protect those rural landowners who rely so deeply on land for their livelihoods. No farmer should be deprived of the ability to provide for their families because their government determined the “public good” overrode their ownership. When the necessity of the public good takes hold, landowners at least deserve a just compensation for their losses.
Very soon Ontario will have property rights. Hopefully one day all Canadians will have them too.
The preceding column is syndicated from the National Citizen’s Coalition.
BOOK WORTH READING
By Debbie Vitez-Cambridge Advocate
This is about a book I just read called Deadly Allies : Canada’s Secret War, 1937-1947 by John Bryden, and it was written in 1989.
This book is about Canada’s secret war from 1937 to 1947, but it also kind of extrapolates (I think that’s the right word) up to 1989 a bit.
When I was talking to the librarian about not liking bees, cause I don’t like bees and I thought it would be a good idea to reduce bees, she got me this book to read to learn how to reduce the bees.
And this books talks about what Canada was up to like on:
Canada did not have the bomb, but it was a world leader in bacteriological warfare and very knowledgeable in chemical warfare. [1]
They [, Emlyn Llewelyn Davies and Otto Maass,] had built in Canada an impressive chemical and biological warfare establishment, and for the foreseeable future it was there to stay. [2]
And then the author goes into later on, like during his time when he was writing the book:
. . . the genetic research now being undertaken even in private labs poses dangers far greater than all the deadly organisms developed in the Second World War combined. Mutants similar to the AIDS virus can now be deliberately, or accidentally, created. [3]
When I was reading the book I learned about this dude Sir Frederick Banting.
It talks about this Banting guy in the book:
Nobel laureate, saver of hundreds of thousands of lives through the discovery of insulin, [Sir Frederick] Banting had written what turns out to be the blueprint for bacteriological warfare research for the next two decades. Even within four years, before the war was over, his ideas for infected bullets and shells, the rearing of disease-carrying insects and the aerial spraying of deadly bacteria became weapons of reality. [4]
His co-discoverer of insulin friend Charles Best also went into biological warfare:
Even Charles Best, Banting’s co-discoverer of insulin, became an adviser to the Defence Research on biological warfare after the war. [5]
I got the idea of doing spraying of the bees to reduce their population, like how it talks in The First Global Revolution about reducing the population, from Banting and his aerial spraying idea.
Population control, necessary as it is, must be planned in terms of human well-being. It is of paramount importance that all countries striving for development should design their population policies. These policies have to be based on detailed exploration of the demographic growth prospects in relation to resource availability and development aims, including the standard of living which each country hopes to achieve. Only through informed assessment of such prospects can development planning be realistic. If the public is to respond to population control needs, it must be given sufficient information to understand the dangers of overpopulation for the individual and the benefits that would flow from population growth restraint. Such conditions are necessary if population planning is to be implemented with humanity. [6]
[James] Craigie, [Richard] Hare, [Dudley] Irwin, [Colin] Lucas and [Philip] Greey all offered suggestions on how to dry and revive infectious bacteria, and what should serves as a carrier. Sawdust took the lead over powdered carbon, starch or sand, and within the week [Sir Frederick] Banting was back in Ottawa asking for an airplane for an experiment in aerial dispersal. [7]
Banting sounds kind of like a nut from reading some of his diary in this Deadly Allies book:
. . . [Sir Frederick] Banting scribbled in his diary about killing “3 or 4 million young huns — without mercy — without feeling” and watching the Germans “wriggle & stew in their own juice — even as they with cruel and evil eye would see us of inferior heritage and stock wriggle.” [8]
The idea of spraying bees can happen, cause it gives an example of being able to do aerial spraying in the 1940′s:
If retaliation was ordered, explained Dr. [Tom] King, the plan was to infect the peat and then fly the bomber in a series of hops — Vancouver, Hawaii — to Japan. There it would disperse its deadly cargo. Five years after Banting’s original sawdust experiment on Balsam Lake in Ontario’s cottage country, the weapon he had only imagined had become reality. [9]
So during World War II spraying weird stuff from planes was a reality.
It talks about other examples of spraying like on pages 95 and 96:
[William] Hagan spoke for the animal disease specialists and they put the cattle disease, rinderpest, at the top of the list followed by the sheep sickness, Rift Valley fever. The latter virus dried well and was very infectious to man. It might be spread by releasing infected mice and other small animals, it was suggested, and be confused in man with influenza or dengue fever. It was not deadly but it could be sprayed over a city and might incapacitate the population, or an army, for up to two weeks. [10]
So for the spraying of the bees I was thinking that you can’t just get rid of every bee, cause then you wont have them to pollinate stuff like apples. I don’t like apples, but I’ll just use an apple as an example.
Say you just have one apple to grow. You only need one bee to pollinate that one apple. All the other bees are just wasted space. So you got to use some of the modern sprays to reduce the population of bees to get rid of that wasted space.
. . . the genetic research now being undertaken even in private labs poses dangers far greater than all the deadly organisms developed in the Second World War combined. Mutants similar to the AIDS virus can now be deliberately, or accidentally, created. [11]
You can gets planes to spray stuff to eliminate the immune system of one type of bee so then they’re gone. Then carefully spray another spray to slowly knock off the other bees with something like cancer.
You don’t want to just dump all the spray on the bees cause then you might get rid of all the bees, which will cause problems for you and you don’t want that as Earth Emperor. So keep giving the bees cancer until you just got one bee to pollinate that one apple.
People might complain about it, but I don’t think it’ll happen, cause in The First Global Revolution it says that people get their thoughts from the media. So as long as the media doesn’t say anything about the aerial spraying going on then you’re pretty good.
. . . the media are one of the main agents in forming public opinion and the thinking of individuals. [12]
And in the Deadly Allies book it talks about that people in Canada don’t care. That’s why most Canadian people don’t know about Canada doing the bacterial warfare stuff. So if people don’t know about labs making AIDS then I don’t think they know about the aerial spraying going on above their own heads.
Perhaps the majority of Canadians do not really care. Surely the real disappointment is the fact that the situation has enabled Suffield to keep its secrets all these years. [13]
If people do start looking into the aerial spraying then you just have Freedom of Information Acts around the world, like Canada’s, where people have the right to request documents, but they don’t have the right to actually get the documents.
Unfortunately, Canada’s Freedom of Information Act defeats this principle. Under the avowed aim of giving citizens rights of access to government documents, both current and historic, it gives only the right to request documents, a right which people have always had. It does not give them the right to get them. It even systemizes secrecy. It allows government departments legally to withhold information indefinitely — forever — for specific defined reasons that cannot be challenged because the person seeking the document cannot see its contents and has no way of determining whether the withhold decision is appropriate or not.
. . .
One of the most effective ways of keeping historians from probing awkward corners of the past is to do what has been done in Canada, the United States and Britain: give the national archives of the country responsibility for looking after records that have not been declassified. Since the archives staff has first consult the department concerned before anything can be released, an extra layer of decision-making is automatically imposed on the retrieval of sensitive material. Add to that chronic understaffing and lack of expertise by access staff, and government agencies such as Canada’s Department of National Defence can prolong secrecy without having to take responsibility for it. The same situation exists in the United States. [14]
If people start asking questions about the aerial spraying then you can just lie to them. John Bryden gives a good example on how to lie to people:
Perhaps the most insidious principle of secrecy that operates in all three countries [, Canada, the United States and Britain,] is the requirement that documents received in confidence from other governments not be released without prior approval. With countries as closely allied as Canada, the United States and Britain, that means that the paperwork pertaining to any weapon exchange, or mutual research or defence planning, can remain forever secret if one party or the other forbids release. Theoretically, and perhaps with some probability, that enables the United States to store prohibited weapons in Canada, at Suffield, and then claim with some truth that it has no such weapons stockpiled. Canada, in turn, can also claim it doesn’t have the weapons because the United States owns them. Nixon set out to destroy all biological warfare weapons in 1972. Did that include whatever the United States might have had at Suffield?
. . .
Perhaps Canada has adopted Britain’s logic for claiming, as it still does today, that it has never had any biological weapons or toxins. Britain never had the anthrax because it was made in Canada; Canada never had the anthrax because it was made for Britain. The same probably applies to all that botulinus toxin; perhaps it has never officially existed in Canada because it belonged to someone else. The only way to eliminate this kind of nonsense among nations is by saving all documents, and having a policy of timely disclosure. [15]
If people start complaining about the aerial spraying then you can lie to them by saying that the spray coming out the back of the planes is normal. Or you can say it’s just to help stop man-made global warming, which was just made up by the people in the last book I read called The First Global Revolution.
In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill. . . . The real enemy, then, is humanity itself. [16]
That’s it.
Daniel Kemp
Footnotes:
1. John Bryden, Deadly Allies : Canada’s Secret War, 1937-1947 (Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, c1989
This is about a book I just read called Deadly Allies : Canada’s Secret War, 1937-1947 by John Bryden, and it was written in 1989.
This book is about Canada’s secret war from 1937 to 1947, but it also kind of extrapolates (I think that’s the right word) up to 1989 a bit.
When I was talking to the librarian about not liking bees, cause I don’t like bees and I thought it would be a good idea to reduce bees, she got me this book to read to learn how to reduce the bees.
And this books talks about what Canada was up to like on:
Canada did not have the bomb, but it was a world leader in bacteriological warfare and very knowledgeable in chemical warfare. [1]
They [, Emlyn Llewelyn Davies and Otto Maass,] had built in Canada an impressive chemical and biological warfare establishment, and for the foreseeable future it was there to stay. [2]
And then the author goes into later on, like during his time when he was writing the book:
. . . the genetic research now being undertaken even in private labs poses dangers far greater than all the deadly organisms developed in the Second World War combined. Mutants similar to the AIDS virus can now be deliberately, or accidentally, created. [3]
When I was reading the book I learned about this dude Sir Frederick Banting.
It talks about this Banting guy in the book:
Nobel laureate, saver of hundreds of thousands of lives through the discovery of insulin, [Sir Frederick] Banting had written what turns out to be the blueprint for bacteriological warfare research for the next two decades. Even within four years, before the war was over, his ideas for infected bullets and shells, the rearing of disease-carrying insects and the aerial spraying of deadly bacteria became weapons of reality. [4]
His co-discoverer of insulin friend Charles Best also went into biological warfare:
Even Charles Best, Banting’s co-discoverer of insulin, became an adviser to the Defence Research on biological warfare after the war. [5]
I got the idea of doing spraying of the bees to reduce their population, like how it talks in The First Global Revolution about reducing the population, from Banting and his aerial spraying idea.
Population control, necessary as it is, must be planned in terms of human well-being. It is of paramount importance that all countries striving for development should design their population policies. These policies have to be based on detailed exploration of the demographic growth prospects in relation to resource availability and development aims, including the standard of living which each country hopes to achieve. Only through informed assessment of such prospects can development planning be realistic. If the public is to respond to population control needs, it must be given sufficient information to understand the dangers of overpopulation for the individual and the benefits that would flow from population growth restraint. Such conditions are necessary if population planning is to be implemented with humanity. [6]
[James] Craigie, [Richard] Hare, [Dudley] Irwin, [Colin] Lucas and [Philip] Greey all offered suggestions on how to dry and revive infectious bacteria, and what should serves as a carrier. Sawdust took the lead over powdered carbon, starch or sand, and within the week [Sir Frederick] Banting was back in Ottawa asking for an airplane for an experiment in aerial dispersal. [7]
Banting sounds kind of like a nut from reading some of his diary in this Deadly Allies book:
. . . [Sir Frederick] Banting scribbled in his diary about killing “3 or 4 million young huns — without mercy — without feeling” and watching the Germans “wriggle & stew in their own juice — even as they with cruel and evil eye would see us of inferior heritage and stock wriggle.” [8]
The idea of spraying bees can happen, cause it gives an example of being able to do aerial spraying in the 1940′s:
If retaliation was ordered, explained Dr. [Tom] King, the plan was to infect the peat and then fly the bomber in a series of hops — Vancouver, Hawaii — to Japan. There it would disperse its deadly cargo. Five years after Banting’s original sawdust experiment on Balsam Lake in Ontario’s cottage country, the weapon he had only imagined had become reality. [9]
So during World War II spraying weird stuff from planes was a reality.
It talks about other examples of spraying like on pages 95 and 96:
[William] Hagan spoke for the animal disease specialists and they put the cattle disease, rinderpest, at the top of the list followed by the sheep sickness, Rift Valley fever. The latter virus dried well and was very infectious to man. It might be spread by releasing infected mice and other small animals, it was suggested, and be confused in man with influenza or dengue fever. It was not deadly but it could be sprayed over a city and might incapacitate the population, or an army, for up to two weeks. [10]
So for the spraying of the bees I was thinking that you can’t just get rid of every bee, cause then you wont have them to pollinate stuff like apples. I don’t like apples, but I’ll just use an apple as an example.
Say you just have one apple to grow. You only need one bee to pollinate that one apple. All the other bees are just wasted space. So you got to use some of the modern sprays to reduce the population of bees to get rid of that wasted space.
. . . the genetic research now being undertaken even in private labs poses dangers far greater than all the deadly organisms developed in the Second World War combined. Mutants similar to the AIDS virus can now be deliberately, or accidentally, created. [11]
You can gets planes to spray stuff to eliminate the immune system of one type of bee so then they’re gone. Then carefully spray another spray to slowly knock off the other bees with something like cancer.
You don’t want to just dump all the spray on the bees cause then you might get rid of all the bees, which will cause problems for you and you don’t want that as Earth Emperor. So keep giving the bees cancer until you just got one bee to pollinate that one apple.
People might complain about it, but I don’t think it’ll happen, cause in The First Global Revolution it says that people get their thoughts from the media. So as long as the media doesn’t say anything about the aerial spraying going on then you’re pretty good.
. . . the media are one of the main agents in forming public opinion and the thinking of individuals. [12]
And in the Deadly Allies book it talks about that people in Canada don’t care. That’s why most Canadian people don’t know about Canada doing the bacterial warfare stuff. So if people don’t know about labs making AIDS then I don’t think they know about the aerial spraying going on above their own heads.
Perhaps the majority of Canadians do not really care. Surely the real disappointment is the fact that the situation has enabled Suffield to keep its secrets all these years. [13]
If people do start looking into the aerial spraying then you just have Freedom of Information Acts around the world, like Canada’s, where people have the right to request documents, but they don’t have the right to actually get the documents.
Unfortunately, Canada’s Freedom of Information Act defeats this principle. Under the avowed aim of giving citizens rights of access to government documents, both current and historic, it gives only the right to request documents, a right which people have always had. It does not give them the right to get them. It even systemizes secrecy. It allows government departments legally to withhold information indefinitely — forever — for specific defined reasons that cannot be challenged because the person seeking the document cannot see its contents and has no way of determining whether the withhold decision is appropriate or not.
. . .
One of the most effective ways of keeping historians from probing awkward corners of the past is to do what has been done in Canada, the United States and Britain: give the national archives of the country responsibility for looking after records that have not been declassified. Since the archives staff has first consult the department concerned before anything can be released, an extra layer of decision-making is automatically imposed on the retrieval of sensitive material. Add to that chronic understaffing and lack of expertise by access staff, and government agencies such as Canada’s Department of National Defence can prolong secrecy without having to take responsibility for it. The same situation exists in the United States. [14]
If people start asking questions about the aerial spraying then you can just lie to them. John Bryden gives a good example on how to lie to people:
Perhaps the most insidious principle of secrecy that operates in all three countries [, Canada, the United States and Britain,] is the requirement that documents received in confidence from other governments not be released without prior approval. With countries as closely allied as Canada, the United States and Britain, that means that the paperwork pertaining to any weapon exchange, or mutual research or defence planning, can remain forever secret if one party or the other forbids release. Theoretically, and perhaps with some probability, that enables the United States to store prohibited weapons in Canada, at Suffield, and then claim with some truth that it has no such weapons stockpiled. Canada, in turn, can also claim it doesn’t have the weapons because the United States owns them. Nixon set out to destroy all biological warfare weapons in 1972. Did that include whatever the United States might have had at Suffield?
. . .
Perhaps Canada has adopted Britain’s logic for claiming, as it still does today, that it has never had any biological weapons or toxins. Britain never had the anthrax because it was made in Canada; Canada never had the anthrax because it was made for Britain. The same probably applies to all that botulinus toxin; perhaps it has never officially existed in Canada because it belonged to someone else. The only way to eliminate this kind of nonsense among nations is by saving all documents, and having a policy of timely disclosure. [15]
If people start complaining about the aerial spraying then you can lie to them by saying that the spray coming out the back of the planes is normal. Or you can say it’s just to help stop man-made global warming, which was just made up by the people in the last book I read called The First Global Revolution.
In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill. . . . The real enemy, then, is humanity itself. [16]
That’s it.
Daniel Kemp
Footnotes:
1. John Bryden, Deadly Allies : Canada’s Secret War, 1937-1947 (Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, c1989
Thursday, March 10, 2011
YES TO POT, NO TO DEBT CLOCK
Yes to pot, no to Debt Clock? Canadian Taxpayers Federation
Posted: 09 Mar 2011 01:49 PM PST
Dear Supporter:
Which of these things is NOT allowed on Parliament Hill – smoking drugs or the CTF’s National Debt Clock?
You guessed it. The bureaucrats in the Department of Canadian Heritage have banned the CTF’s National Debt Clock from Parliament Hill when it arrives in Ottawa on March 17th. Bureaucrats called it a “prop” and cited fears of leaks from the generator.
Yet, every April 20th thousands flock to the hill to smoke marijuana. In 2006, a Christian youth group held a rally with a giant video screen suspended by a crane. Even coffins were paraded around on Parliament Hill.
But not the National Debt Clock.
The truth is, bureaucrats and many politicians don’t want to see the clock and hear the message that Canadians want spending controlled and the federal budget balanced.
And we’re not about to let them off the hook.
E-mail the Minister of Canadian Heritage, James Moore, and ask him to tell his bureaucrats to allow the National Debt Clock on the Hill.
When we asked the Prime Minister’s Office for help getting permission, they said NO as well.
E-mail Prime Minister Harper and ask him to allow the National Debt Clock on the Hill.
Finally, send an e-mail to Opposition Leader Michael Ignatieff asking for his help to get the Debt Clock on the Hill.
Let’s get this clock on the Hill where every MP can see it and hear the message. Thanks for your support.
–Courtenay, Shannon, Troy and the rest of the team
PS: When we drafted the budget for the debt clock tour, we budgeted for gasoline prices to average $1.05/litre. With the recent unrest in the middle-east, gas prices have spiked, forcing us to dig up some more dollars to cover the costs. Can you chip in a few bucks to help us get the clock to Halifax? If you’re unable to chip in a donation at this time, please join the CTF at no cost to receive issue and Action Updates.
Posted: 09 Mar 2011 01:49 PM PST
Dear Supporter:
Which of these things is NOT allowed on Parliament Hill – smoking drugs or the CTF’s National Debt Clock?
You guessed it. The bureaucrats in the Department of Canadian Heritage have banned the CTF’s National Debt Clock from Parliament Hill when it arrives in Ottawa on March 17th. Bureaucrats called it a “prop” and cited fears of leaks from the generator.
Yet, every April 20th thousands flock to the hill to smoke marijuana. In 2006, a Christian youth group held a rally with a giant video screen suspended by a crane. Even coffins were paraded around on Parliament Hill.
But not the National Debt Clock.
The truth is, bureaucrats and many politicians don’t want to see the clock and hear the message that Canadians want spending controlled and the federal budget balanced.
And we’re not about to let them off the hook.
E-mail the Minister of Canadian Heritage, James Moore, and ask him to tell his bureaucrats to allow the National Debt Clock on the Hill.
When we asked the Prime Minister’s Office for help getting permission, they said NO as well.
E-mail Prime Minister Harper and ask him to allow the National Debt Clock on the Hill.
Finally, send an e-mail to Opposition Leader Michael Ignatieff asking for his help to get the Debt Clock on the Hill.
Let’s get this clock on the Hill where every MP can see it and hear the message. Thanks for your support.
–Courtenay, Shannon, Troy and the rest of the team
PS: When we drafted the budget for the debt clock tour, we budgeted for gasoline prices to average $1.05/litre. With the recent unrest in the middle-east, gas prices have spiked, forcing us to dig up some more dollars to cover the costs. Can you chip in a few bucks to help us get the clock to Halifax? If you’re unable to chip in a donation at this time, please join the CTF at no cost to receive issue and Action Updates.
Friday, February 25, 2011
HOW A COMMUNITY SHOULD BE
I ask my readers to indulge me in this post. It is not the usual but it is something that I need to post.
I have a wonderful elderly neighbour who had major hip surgery done a few months ago. She has been a wonderful friend since the day we moved to this property and we help her anyway we can. She is just a wonderfully kind, caring and honest woman who lives alone and although she has family, we live right next door, where her best friend used to live and we love her friendship and help her anyway we can. When I can I cook enough food I take some to her, we bring wood in for her to keep her fire going, shovel the snow, go to lunch with her, take her to appointments and help her with any problems she has if we can. If she had not had the help of another wonderful woman she would not have been able to recooperate in the home she has lived in for so many years and would have had to go to a nursing home. The care she received from this wonderful woman made such an amazing difference. She gave care and companionship and was there for her while she got better. The personal support was just not there from the normal mainstream healthcare that we expect and this woman, a stranger took it upon herself to help this woman out 24 hours a day until she was better, without the expectation of financial gain, but out of the goodness of her heart,and I personally on this blog would like to thank her for giving of herself to help someone else.This is something that is really lacking in our communities these days. Helping each other just does not seem to be important anymore. I would like to provide this womans name to let people know who this wonderful woman is, but can't, but I want to thank her for all the help she has given my neighbour because people who do good things do not hear often enough what a great job they have done and how much what they have done is so greatly appreciated. THANK YOU
I have a wonderful elderly neighbour who had major hip surgery done a few months ago. She has been a wonderful friend since the day we moved to this property and we help her anyway we can. She is just a wonderfully kind, caring and honest woman who lives alone and although she has family, we live right next door, where her best friend used to live and we love her friendship and help her anyway we can. When I can I cook enough food I take some to her, we bring wood in for her to keep her fire going, shovel the snow, go to lunch with her, take her to appointments and help her with any problems she has if we can. If she had not had the help of another wonderful woman she would not have been able to recooperate in the home she has lived in for so many years and would have had to go to a nursing home. The care she received from this wonderful woman made such an amazing difference. She gave care and companionship and was there for her while she got better. The personal support was just not there from the normal mainstream healthcare that we expect and this woman, a stranger took it upon herself to help this woman out 24 hours a day until she was better, without the expectation of financial gain, but out of the goodness of her heart,and I personally on this blog would like to thank her for giving of herself to help someone else.This is something that is really lacking in our communities these days. Helping each other just does not seem to be important anymore. I would like to provide this womans name to let people know who this wonderful woman is, but can't, but I want to thank her for all the help she has given my neighbour because people who do good things do not hear often enough what a great job they have done and how much what they have done is so greatly appreciated. THANK YOU
Monday, February 21, 2011
HAPPY FAMILY DAY ONTARIO
I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT FAMILY DAY. AND PARENTS REMEMBER THE KIDS GO BACK TO SCHOOL TOMMORROW !!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, February 18, 2011
TAXED TO DEATH
On the front page of my local weekly paper the headline reads "North Perth unveils 6.9 per cent budget increase."
We are already the highest taxed in all of Perth County and now are looking at even higher taxes. Hydro has gone up, food prices are going up, gas prices are going up and everything else has gone up thanks to the HST and Dolton McSquinty and his flying monkeys. How much more do they think that jack and jill taxpayer can afford to pay. My income is not going to go up and my money tree is empty. Enough already, I am mad as H E double hockey sticks and I am not going to take it anymore !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are already the highest taxed in all of Perth County and now are looking at even higher taxes. Hydro has gone up, food prices are going up, gas prices are going up and everything else has gone up thanks to the HST and Dolton McSquinty and his flying monkeys. How much more do they think that jack and jill taxpayer can afford to pay. My income is not going to go up and my money tree is empty. Enough already, I am mad as H E double hockey sticks and I am not going to take it anymore !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
LANDOWNERS GEAR UP TO PROTECT THEIR RIGHTS
This ran in the Sun
By Brian Lilley, Parliamentary Bureau
OTTAWA – A group dedicated to protecting property rights for landowners said it is encouraged by the legal victory of an Ontario family that faced massive fines for “improperly” using their own land.
The Ontario Landowners Association has plans to keep pushing for recognition of property rights after a town council in Clarington, Ont., dropped charges, and possible fines of $50,000, against the Jaworski family.
The family’s crime: hosting 72 people at their farm for a seminar on freedom.
“It’s good to see landowners win a case like this,” said Deborah Madill, executive director of the Ontario Landowners Association.
The OLA is trying to educate landowners across Canada about a little known legal document called Crown Land Patents. The patents are the original contract between the crown and the person who acquired the land from the government as Canada was settled.
Those contracts are still in effect today, even for people owning small suburban lots that form only a piece of the original property.
Bob Mackie wasn’t among the lucky contenders. He has been fighting an attempt by the Niagara Escarpment Commission to shut down his archery business. The NEC ordered Mackie to stop all archery activities and remove a sign, portable classroom and an addition on his home.
He lost his case before a Justice of the Peace and was fined $15,000.
“The Justice said she did not have authority to rule on the Patent Grants,” Mackie told QMI Agency.
Mackie points to his patent, dating back to 1798, as his legal defence. Land patents have been upheld by the Supreme Court and in several Superior Court decisions, but Mackie said many court officials don’t know how to deal with the patents.
“Most times, a simple issue is dragged out so long that the defendant is bankrupted or gives up,” Mackie said.
The OLA claims that holding a copy of the patent for your land can help fight intrusive bylaws that might infringe on your property rights, such as bylaws outlawing the cutting down of even a single tree on private property.
Not all land is covered by a land patent, but the often-ancient documents do apply across Canada and the OLA has been working to build resources to help landowners exercise their rights.
Do you have an overly intrusive bylaw in your town? Email us – brian.lilley@sunmedia.ca
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2011/02/15/17288966.html
By Brian Lilley, Parliamentary Bureau
OTTAWA – A group dedicated to protecting property rights for landowners said it is encouraged by the legal victory of an Ontario family that faced massive fines for “improperly” using their own land.
The Ontario Landowners Association has plans to keep pushing for recognition of property rights after a town council in Clarington, Ont., dropped charges, and possible fines of $50,000, against the Jaworski family.
The family’s crime: hosting 72 people at their farm for a seminar on freedom.
“It’s good to see landowners win a case like this,” said Deborah Madill, executive director of the Ontario Landowners Association.
The OLA is trying to educate landowners across Canada about a little known legal document called Crown Land Patents. The patents are the original contract between the crown and the person who acquired the land from the government as Canada was settled.
Those contracts are still in effect today, even for people owning small suburban lots that form only a piece of the original property.
Bob Mackie wasn’t among the lucky contenders. He has been fighting an attempt by the Niagara Escarpment Commission to shut down his archery business. The NEC ordered Mackie to stop all archery activities and remove a sign, portable classroom and an addition on his home.
He lost his case before a Justice of the Peace and was fined $15,000.
“The Justice said she did not have authority to rule on the Patent Grants,” Mackie told QMI Agency.
Mackie points to his patent, dating back to 1798, as his legal defence. Land patents have been upheld by the Supreme Court and in several Superior Court decisions, but Mackie said many court officials don’t know how to deal with the patents.
“Most times, a simple issue is dragged out so long that the defendant is bankrupted or gives up,” Mackie said.
The OLA claims that holding a copy of the patent for your land can help fight intrusive bylaws that might infringe on your property rights, such as bylaws outlawing the cutting down of even a single tree on private property.
Not all land is covered by a land patent, but the often-ancient documents do apply across Canada and the OLA has been working to build resources to help landowners exercise their rights.
Do you have an overly intrusive bylaw in your town? Email us – brian.lilley@sunmedia.ca
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2011/02/15/17288966.html
Monday, January 31, 2011
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY ................
FACTS DO NOT CEASE TO EXIST BECAUSE THEY ARE IGNORED
ALDOUS HUXLEY
ALDOUS HUXLEY
Sunday, January 30, 2011
BY MICHAEL CAHILL - CAMBRIDGE ADVOCATE
What We Have Here Is…
Jan 29th, 2011 | By michaelcahill | Section: Politics
It will come as no surprise to you that I was, (as usual) relaxing in the reading room of my club. I had just set down my glass of Bushmills and was about to open the Cambridge Times when my access to fresh air was suddenly impeded. The cold, bony fingers of the club librarian were slowly closing around my throat as 90 lbs of tweed skirt, and angry womanhood knelt upon my chest. Before I lost consciousness I managed to blurt out, “What we have here is, a failure to communicate.”
Earlier in the day I had merely suggested that the Dewey decimal system was the work of an obsessive compulsive who failed to find a spot on the shelf for a “Facebook.” I stand corrected.
That being said, I can’t help thinking that communicating is something of a lost art. Here is an example. Steven Harper’s Conservative minority junta, no, umm, dictatorship, no, ahh, “government” has expressed an interest in consulting with the opposition leaders on the content of the upcoming budget in March, (stop me if you have heard this one before). Mr. Layton has noted in press reports today that yes, he had a telephone call from the P.M. on Dec. 17 and has heard nothing since. Apparently, Mr.Ignatieff reports having a similar experience.
Perhaps Mr. Harper is a shy and complicated individual. Maybe this explains why not one member of the Conservative caucus will speak publically, answer an e-mail, or tie his shoes without approval from the P.M.O.
My favourite example of timely, and effective messaging is Minister of Finance (and gifted Mickey Rooney impersonator) Jim Flaherty. After taking credit for the fiscal policies of Prime Minister Paul Martin, cutting 2 percent of Government revenue off the GST, and digging a $56 billion dollar deficit hole he is telling us citizens that we should save more and avoid risky debts loads. Kudos to you Jim, kudos.
Before you get the impression that I have some sort of bias against the authoritarian regime of Mr. Harper, (which i hope is obvious by now, and shared by roughly 60 % of Canadians) let’s share the blame equally.
I have many friends on Facebook. Barack Obama, Oprah, Beyonce, and of course, Mandy Richardson. I receive posts, messages, and videos from them at least 2 to 3 times a day. I am also friends with Jack Layton, Michael Ignatieff, Bob Rae, and a number of others. What do I hear from them? Nothing.
In the year 2011, the medium is now officially the message. The traditional, geriatric media has failed to communicate to you what is really going on. Your federal politicians have failed to use the media available to them to communicate with you because of apathy. Because of apathy, and of self centered parochialism you won’t take the time to communicate with them.
A federal election is coming, send a message.
Jan 29th, 2011 | By michaelcahill | Section: Politics
It will come as no surprise to you that I was, (as usual) relaxing in the reading room of my club. I had just set down my glass of Bushmills and was about to open the Cambridge Times when my access to fresh air was suddenly impeded. The cold, bony fingers of the club librarian were slowly closing around my throat as 90 lbs of tweed skirt, and angry womanhood knelt upon my chest. Before I lost consciousness I managed to blurt out, “What we have here is, a failure to communicate.”
Earlier in the day I had merely suggested that the Dewey decimal system was the work of an obsessive compulsive who failed to find a spot on the shelf for a “Facebook.” I stand corrected.
That being said, I can’t help thinking that communicating is something of a lost art. Here is an example. Steven Harper’s Conservative minority junta, no, umm, dictatorship, no, ahh, “government” has expressed an interest in consulting with the opposition leaders on the content of the upcoming budget in March, (stop me if you have heard this one before). Mr. Layton has noted in press reports today that yes, he had a telephone call from the P.M. on Dec. 17 and has heard nothing since. Apparently, Mr.Ignatieff reports having a similar experience.
Perhaps Mr. Harper is a shy and complicated individual. Maybe this explains why not one member of the Conservative caucus will speak publically, answer an e-mail, or tie his shoes without approval from the P.M.O.
My favourite example of timely, and effective messaging is Minister of Finance (and gifted Mickey Rooney impersonator) Jim Flaherty. After taking credit for the fiscal policies of Prime Minister Paul Martin, cutting 2 percent of Government revenue off the GST, and digging a $56 billion dollar deficit hole he is telling us citizens that we should save more and avoid risky debts loads. Kudos to you Jim, kudos.
Before you get the impression that I have some sort of bias against the authoritarian regime of Mr. Harper, (which i hope is obvious by now, and shared by roughly 60 % of Canadians) let’s share the blame equally.
I have many friends on Facebook. Barack Obama, Oprah, Beyonce, and of course, Mandy Richardson. I receive posts, messages, and videos from them at least 2 to 3 times a day. I am also friends with Jack Layton, Michael Ignatieff, Bob Rae, and a number of others. What do I hear from them? Nothing.
In the year 2011, the medium is now officially the message. The traditional, geriatric media has failed to communicate to you what is really going on. Your federal politicians have failed to use the media available to them to communicate with you because of apathy. Because of apathy, and of self centered parochialism you won’t take the time to communicate with them.
A federal election is coming, send a message.
BY JOE LETHBRIDGE - CAMBRIDGE CITIZEN
Like the wings of a butterfly
January 29, 2011
By joel
Like the wings of a butterfly upon my cheek
A gentle and innocent kiss I seek
A warm embrace in loving arms
To protect me from the world’s harms
We will lay upon the tall green grasses
Staring at the sky as the daylight passes
You grasp my hand and hold it tight
This is the love that feels so right
The kiss that felt like a feather; gently touching my skin
How that would feel; I don’t know where to begin
You hold be tight against your chest
A feeling of closeness ; that feelings the best
Tears stream down my face
I never want to leave this place
I feel safe in your arms as you hold me close
To have genuine love ; I want that the most
Joe Lethbridge
January 29, 2011
By joel
Like the wings of a butterfly upon my cheek
A gentle and innocent kiss I seek
A warm embrace in loving arms
To protect me from the world’s harms
We will lay upon the tall green grasses
Staring at the sky as the daylight passes
You grasp my hand and hold it tight
This is the love that feels so right
The kiss that felt like a feather; gently touching my skin
How that would feel; I don’t know where to begin
You hold be tight against your chest
A feeling of closeness ; that feelings the best
Tears stream down my face
I never want to leave this place
I feel safe in your arms as you hold me close
To have genuine love ; I want that the most
Joe Lethbridge
Sunday, January 23, 2011
ELMIRA ADVOCATE - BY AL MARSHALL
Posted by Al Marshall at 8:39 AM 0 comments Thursday, January 20, 2011
A WARNING TO CITIZEN GROUPS AND ACTIVISTS (The Elmira Lesson)
Do join together. There is strength in numbers.
Do not delegate all responsibility/authority to only one or two members. Disaster lies in this route.
Do demand accountability and transparency of the other stakeholders such as M.O.E., local government etc..
Demand twice as much accountability and transparency from your own members. Outside dishonest forces can damage your group but inside dishonest forces can tear you apart.
The standard operating procedure for dishonest forces is mock or psuedo public consultation. The ONLY way they will agree to and participate in it is if they've got it rigged to start with. Why do you think Uniroyal/Chemtura came back to the CPAC table in 2000 after storming out a year earlier? They stormed out over criticism of their unacceptable air emissions particularily affecting the Duke St. residents. The CPAC Chair in private discussions convinced them that CPAC would be a happier place for them. At the time as a CPAC member I questioned why concessions or negotiations were necessary to bring them back. Why do you think since that time both Chemtura and the Ministry of the Environment have publicly stated that CPAC is one of the best and most knowledgable public advisory committees in the province? Do you really think it's because CPAC have held their feet to the fire? I don't think so. Here is my prediction. Within six months of the first public CPAC meeting in 2011, Chemtura will either threaten to walk out or will do so. This for me will be a strong indication that we are on the right track to actually clean up Elmira and restore our drinking water aquifers. Chemtura will come back but this time without CPAC selling the farm.
A WARNING TO CITIZEN GROUPS AND ACTIVISTS (The Elmira Lesson)
Do join together. There is strength in numbers.
Do not delegate all responsibility/authority to only one or two members. Disaster lies in this route.
Do demand accountability and transparency of the other stakeholders such as M.O.E., local government etc..
Demand twice as much accountability and transparency from your own members. Outside dishonest forces can damage your group but inside dishonest forces can tear you apart.
The standard operating procedure for dishonest forces is mock or psuedo public consultation. The ONLY way they will agree to and participate in it is if they've got it rigged to start with. Why do you think Uniroyal/Chemtura came back to the CPAC table in 2000 after storming out a year earlier? They stormed out over criticism of their unacceptable air emissions particularily affecting the Duke St. residents. The CPAC Chair in private discussions convinced them that CPAC would be a happier place for them. At the time as a CPAC member I questioned why concessions or negotiations were necessary to bring them back. Why do you think since that time both Chemtura and the Ministry of the Environment have publicly stated that CPAC is one of the best and most knowledgable public advisory committees in the province? Do you really think it's because CPAC have held their feet to the fire? I don't think so. Here is my prediction. Within six months of the first public CPAC meeting in 2011, Chemtura will either threaten to walk out or will do so. This for me will be a strong indication that we are on the right track to actually clean up Elmira and restore our drinking water aquifers. Chemtura will come back but this time without CPAC selling the farm.
NORTH PERTH-HIGHEST TAXES IN PERTH COUNTY
Ontario Cities Have Highest Property Taxes
Jan 22nd, 2011 | By Debbie Duff Vitez | Section: Politics
CAMBRIDGE ADVOCATE
This ran on the Canadian Free Press………… comments invited below
By Kevin Gaudet Tuesday, January 22, 2008
A new report out of Edmonton shows that Toronto takes the dubious honour for having the highest property taxes in Canada. However, a few other Ontario cities place just behind it at the top of the list. Beleaguered tax-paying homeowners in Ontario have suffered from high rates for years, yet they are still facing large rate hikes this year. The Edmonton report is proof enough that municipal governments should hold the line on spending and give taxpayers a break.
The detailed property tax report issued by the City of Edmonton reveals that some Ontario cities rank the highest in Canada when it comes to property taxes. The cities of Toronto, Ottawa, Brampton, Hamilton and London take five of the top six spots on the list for the highest average property taxes paid. This is something most homeowners in these cities know intuitively every time they pay their tax bill. Now they have it confirmed by an objective report which compared over 30 municipalities across Canada.
Toronto ranked first with the highest taxes paid at $3,912, followed by Brampton at $3,826. Ottawa was third at $3,532; Hamilton and London were fifth and sixth at $3,305 and $3,078 respectively. St. John’s Newfoundland deserves credit for taking last place with the lowest average tax at $1,540, and Surrey, BC was second last at $1,814.
This sad but helpful property tax news is timely as city councils across Ontario are in the early stages of preparing their budgets. As well, Premier McGuinty’s freeze on assessments for homes expired at the beginning of 2008. Not only will tax rates be going up, but for the first time in a few years homeowners will take a second hit if their home value reassessment shows an increase above the average increase. Assessment changes will take effect for 2009 property tax rates.
What is especially helpful about the Edmonton report is that it compares property taxes in a dollar value instead of as a percentage. Some mayors, like Toronto’s Mayor Miller, try to defend high property taxes by hiding behind what appears to be a lower rate than other cities. This is hiding because the average value of a home is high in Toronto so the total taxes paid for a Toronto homeowner are higher. When paying taxes one cares less about the rate paid or the details of the complicated formula used. Instead, one cares about how much money is being taken year over year. That is the only comparison relevant to a taxpayer, not whether the rate is 0.82 in one city versus 1.15 in another city.
The main reason for high and growing property taxes in Ontario is that municipal spending is out of control. Municipalities have a spending problem not a revenue problem. While mayors continue to clamour for more and more money from many sources, their appetites for spending grow unchecked. Data from Statistics Canada shows that municipal revenue across Ontario has been running at three times the rate of inflation. In 2006 municipal revenue was up 6.3% while inflation was only at 2.0%; in 2005 revenue was up 7.2% and inflation was only 2.2%. Despite Ontario municipal revenues ballooning from higher taxes, more transfers from other levels of government, higher user fees and new taxes in Toronto; mayors continue to complain that they don’t have enough.
It is interesting how mayors can work together cooperatively when it comes to demanding transfers from other levels of government or getting new taxing authority from the province. If that same energy were transferred to creating efficiencies and reducing costs, the report out of Edmonton might show a different – and welcome – conclusion.
Jan 22nd, 2011 | By Debbie Duff Vitez | Section: Politics
CAMBRIDGE ADVOCATE
This ran on the Canadian Free Press………… comments invited below
By Kevin Gaudet Tuesday, January 22, 2008
A new report out of Edmonton shows that Toronto takes the dubious honour for having the highest property taxes in Canada. However, a few other Ontario cities place just behind it at the top of the list. Beleaguered tax-paying homeowners in Ontario have suffered from high rates for years, yet they are still facing large rate hikes this year. The Edmonton report is proof enough that municipal governments should hold the line on spending and give taxpayers a break.
The detailed property tax report issued by the City of Edmonton reveals that some Ontario cities rank the highest in Canada when it comes to property taxes. The cities of Toronto, Ottawa, Brampton, Hamilton and London take five of the top six spots on the list for the highest average property taxes paid. This is something most homeowners in these cities know intuitively every time they pay their tax bill. Now they have it confirmed by an objective report which compared over 30 municipalities across Canada.
Toronto ranked first with the highest taxes paid at $3,912, followed by Brampton at $3,826. Ottawa was third at $3,532; Hamilton and London were fifth and sixth at $3,305 and $3,078 respectively. St. John’s Newfoundland deserves credit for taking last place with the lowest average tax at $1,540, and Surrey, BC was second last at $1,814.
This sad but helpful property tax news is timely as city councils across Ontario are in the early stages of preparing their budgets. As well, Premier McGuinty’s freeze on assessments for homes expired at the beginning of 2008. Not only will tax rates be going up, but for the first time in a few years homeowners will take a second hit if their home value reassessment shows an increase above the average increase. Assessment changes will take effect for 2009 property tax rates.
What is especially helpful about the Edmonton report is that it compares property taxes in a dollar value instead of as a percentage. Some mayors, like Toronto’s Mayor Miller, try to defend high property taxes by hiding behind what appears to be a lower rate than other cities. This is hiding because the average value of a home is high in Toronto so the total taxes paid for a Toronto homeowner are higher. When paying taxes one cares less about the rate paid or the details of the complicated formula used. Instead, one cares about how much money is being taken year over year. That is the only comparison relevant to a taxpayer, not whether the rate is 0.82 in one city versus 1.15 in another city.
The main reason for high and growing property taxes in Ontario is that municipal spending is out of control. Municipalities have a spending problem not a revenue problem. While mayors continue to clamour for more and more money from many sources, their appetites for spending grow unchecked. Data from Statistics Canada shows that municipal revenue across Ontario has been running at three times the rate of inflation. In 2006 municipal revenue was up 6.3% while inflation was only at 2.0%; in 2005 revenue was up 7.2% and inflation was only 2.2%. Despite Ontario municipal revenues ballooning from higher taxes, more transfers from other levels of government, higher user fees and new taxes in Toronto; mayors continue to complain that they don’t have enough.
It is interesting how mayors can work together cooperatively when it comes to demanding transfers from other levels of government or getting new taxing authority from the province. If that same energy were transferred to creating efficiencies and reducing costs, the report out of Edmonton might show a different – and welcome – conclusion.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY..........
FIRST THEY IGNORE YOU, THEN THEY RIDICULE YOU, THEN THEY FIGHT YOU, THEN YOU WIN.
MAHATMA GANDHI
MAHATMA GANDHI
Friday, January 21, 2011
DALTON LEAVES US TWISTING IN THE WIND
BY MICHAEL DEN TANDT - STRATFORD BEACON HERALD, JANUARY 11, 2011
Dalton McGuinty has been oh, so quiet lately. It's as though he knows these are his last months in power.
Even last week, after the permier let slip he doesn't plan to serve another full term, it wasn't him who emerged to spin and recant. His underlings did that. Over the years McGuinty has grown adept at limiting contact with the unwashed. Like Mike Harris before him he understands that as you age in power, less is more.
It's easy enough now, eight years in, to jump on the "dump Dalton" bandwagon because, well, he's an incumbant carrying the baggage of two terms. Even politicians who haven't sided over multiple scandals and raised taxes and boosted energy prices and broken numerous promises have a tough time after eight years. Right?
But even by these standards, McGuinty is in a league of his own, I would argue-because of the contrast between what he represented when he took office, and what he represents now.
Conservative partisans like to talk about the Mike Harris era as though it was a golden age of no-nonsense populism. That's wrong. Harris had some good ideas but he was mean, high-handed and divisive. The forced almalgamations, the pitched battles with unions and teachers, left a bitter taste.
That's why, when McGuinty came along in 2003 promising a different way, Ontarians paid attention. Where Harris conservatism was hard, McGuinty would be soft. Where Harris Conservatism was unyeilding , McGuinty would compromise. Ontarians bought it and gave him a majority. And then another.
For months now, turning into years, Ontarians from one corner of the province to another have raised concerns about wind turbines and the Green Energy Act. I live in Grey County, on Georgian Bay, where a large wind farm is planned.
For weeks our local newspaper has run letters, guest columns, personal accounts, from people concerned about all aspects of the development-health, property values, the turbines' inefficiency as a mass power source, defacement of the rural landscape, the impact on wildlife. The list is long.
The local medical officer of health wants a moritorium on wind farms pending further study of the effects on health. The area MPP has called for a pause. So has the MP. Ditto the municipality of Meaford, in which the proposed development, Silcote Corners, is located.
To all this Queen's Park has responded with deafening, crushing silence. It's as though they think that if they pretend not to have heard, no one can blame them for not listening.
Based on the calls and letters I've received, many of those involved in the fight against industrial wind are liberals by inclination. Most are retired professionals. Not many are pleased at the prospect of Tim Hudak, the conservative leader, taking power.
Hudak remains an unknown. And his own position on the Green Energy Act is weak. He says only that planning power should be returned to municipalities. This does little to address the fundemental problems with industrial wind energy.
But here's a bet: Come October, voters in rural and small-town Ontario will turn out in droves to vote for Hudak, warts and all. They'll put up his signs on there lawns. They'll knock on doors for him. NDP Andrea Horvath will get a boost also. For the Liberals, it's decimation time.
That is the future that gentle Dalton has wrought, in his soundproof cocoon. So he's quiet these days, enjoying the moment. Small wonder.
Dalton McGuinty has been oh, so quiet lately. It's as though he knows these are his last months in power.
Even last week, after the permier let slip he doesn't plan to serve another full term, it wasn't him who emerged to spin and recant. His underlings did that. Over the years McGuinty has grown adept at limiting contact with the unwashed. Like Mike Harris before him he understands that as you age in power, less is more.
It's easy enough now, eight years in, to jump on the "dump Dalton" bandwagon because, well, he's an incumbant carrying the baggage of two terms. Even politicians who haven't sided over multiple scandals and raised taxes and boosted energy prices and broken numerous promises have a tough time after eight years. Right?
But even by these standards, McGuinty is in a league of his own, I would argue-because of the contrast between what he represented when he took office, and what he represents now.
Conservative partisans like to talk about the Mike Harris era as though it was a golden age of no-nonsense populism. That's wrong. Harris had some good ideas but he was mean, high-handed and divisive. The forced almalgamations, the pitched battles with unions and teachers, left a bitter taste.
That's why, when McGuinty came along in 2003 promising a different way, Ontarians paid attention. Where Harris conservatism was hard, McGuinty would be soft. Where Harris Conservatism was unyeilding , McGuinty would compromise. Ontarians bought it and gave him a majority. And then another.
For months now, turning into years, Ontarians from one corner of the province to another have raised concerns about wind turbines and the Green Energy Act. I live in Grey County, on Georgian Bay, where a large wind farm is planned.
For weeks our local newspaper has run letters, guest columns, personal accounts, from people concerned about all aspects of the development-health, property values, the turbines' inefficiency as a mass power source, defacement of the rural landscape, the impact on wildlife. The list is long.
The local medical officer of health wants a moritorium on wind farms pending further study of the effects on health. The area MPP has called for a pause. So has the MP. Ditto the municipality of Meaford, in which the proposed development, Silcote Corners, is located.
To all this Queen's Park has responded with deafening, crushing silence. It's as though they think that if they pretend not to have heard, no one can blame them for not listening.
Based on the calls and letters I've received, many of those involved in the fight against industrial wind are liberals by inclination. Most are retired professionals. Not many are pleased at the prospect of Tim Hudak, the conservative leader, taking power.
Hudak remains an unknown. And his own position on the Green Energy Act is weak. He says only that planning power should be returned to municipalities. This does little to address the fundemental problems with industrial wind energy.
But here's a bet: Come October, voters in rural and small-town Ontario will turn out in droves to vote for Hudak, warts and all. They'll put up his signs on there lawns. They'll knock on doors for him. NDP Andrea Horvath will get a boost also. For the Liberals, it's decimation time.
That is the future that gentle Dalton has wrought, in his soundproof cocoon. So he's quiet these days, enjoying the moment. Small wonder.
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