Swimming pool – sink or swim?
Dear Editor:
We have heard a lot about a proposed pool in Mount Forest for years but I have still not seen an argument that would make it viable to everyone in Wellington North.
A project this size will only benefit the few, not the many, and asking over $5 million from people that will not only never visit the pool but will for sure never swim in, it is a huge ask.
Taxes and interest are at the highest level in decades and council is looking to put this on the back of taxpayers as a whole.
Has anyone explored support from industry or a public donation for this project?
I think times have changed and so should the way council looks at taxpayers’ money.
Allan Caudle,
Dundas, NB
Trucking ‘hazards’
Dear Editor:
Aberfoyle is on the brink of becoming an industrial hub.
Our quaint hamlet full of history with its beauty mill restaurant and markets, protected waters, community school, active library and park will be subject to the noise, pollution, and traffic problems that will come with a trucking company headquartered at Brock and Gilmour.
Residents of the area are rightfully afraid of the dangers of such a location for industry.
Houses and farmers’ fields should not be bordered by transport trucks. Let’s welcome residential and commercial development that can only enhance our community and say “no” to the hazards of the trucking industry on our doorstep!
Join the fight and call/email your municipal government to stop this before it is too late!
Sarah Piroski,
Aberfoyle
‘Censorship bill’
Dear Editor:
RE: ‘Twisted view’, March 23.
If we are to believe Jim Trautman, Fox News with Tucker Carlson is fake news, while the CBC stands for the truth.
Having followed both CBC News online and Tucker Carlson, I would have to come to the opposite conclusion, at least to some extent. The conservative digital media platform True North features a weekly program called “Fake News Friday,” which highlights news stories from the previous week that it considers to be fake news, and the CBC provides it with much of its content.
Of course, what some consider to be “fake news” is often just a matter of not agreeing with someone’s conservative or liberal viewpoints. It could also relate to media outlets who present news that may be factually correct, but tell only one side of the story, while ignoring or whitewashing news or facts that present a different picture than what they want to paint. We need to be very discerning.
Trautman appears to have the same mindset as our prime minister, who would have us believe that what he and the Liberal Party tell us is the truth, while any opposing views are false, conspiracy theories, misinformation, racist, etc.
The Liberals’ Bill C-11, dubbed by many as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s online censorship bill, is close to becoming law. It gives the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission control over what Canadians see on the internet.
My fear is that this legislation will be used to silence conservative voices using the pretext that they are “fake news.”
Henry Brunsveld,
Puslinch
‘Stand up for the people’
Dear Editor:
Thank you to the residents who have shared their concerns regarding Bill 60 – Your Health Act, by writing their letters to the editor. We have shown we care about stopping Premier Doug Ford and his government from destroying the health services we value so deeply.
Currently Bill 60 has been referred to the Standing Committee on Social Policy, Legislative Assembly of Ontario. When many concerned Ontarians write a submission, short or long, to this committee our collective voices can make a difference.
This government has chosen to:
– abandon their promise of patient-centred care and to embrace a plan supporting profit and greed;
– dismantle hospital services beginning with surgeries and diagnostics;
– devalue the expertise of hospital workers;
– divert tax payer dollars away from hospitals;
– forward tax payer dollars to private for-profit clinics, allowing them to receive OHIP payments and additional monies from patients;
– create a health crisis response which favours Ontarians who can pay more;
– force average Ontarians to languish in the long wait times of over extended emergency rooms;
– be content with the fact that so many Ontarians lack a primary care physician;
– risk the health of Ontarians by accepting emergency room closures across the province; and
– abandon services for mental health needs by cash strapping hospitals and siphoning tax dollars to for-profit clinics.
This government is hellbent on setting up private for-profit clinics as the solution to the province’s health care crisis.
This government cannot ignore the people of Ontario. Our MPPs must vote on Bill 60 with their conscience and their heart! They must stand up for the people of Ontario!
Marta Hoyles and Ken Feakins,
Mount Forest
Why sell old hospital?
Dear Editor:
A notice from Groves Memorial Community Hospital was posted in my apartment window.
The wording “intended to remain dedicated to providing health care services” implies that is Dr. Abraham Groves did not intend for the land to remain in health care service.
The question is asked “What if someone wants to purchase the land to building a condo on the property.”
My question is, why is selling the land even in question?
We have at least 32,000 people needing long-term care. This number is growing every day. We need health care for quite a number of people, long-term care, disabled adults need group homes and many more health crises, even mental health, needs room.
Centre Wellington council and all people stand together. Keep this land and fundraise to have a home in your old age or other problems in our lives. We fundraised for the sportsplex – how much more important is health care?
Lucy Dyment,
Fergus
Paramedic concerns
Dear Editor:
RE: Paramedic response times continue to lengthen as call volume grow, March 23.
In response to the article in this last week’s Advertiser, could you maybe interview the paramedics and ask them why this is a growing problem?
I think Ontario residents would be interested in the ridiculous reasons people are calling for paramedics. Our current system requires all ambulance calls to be fulfilled, but the paramedics are not allowed to say “You called an ambulance for that?”
It also seems that our paramedics need to be very concerned about getting sued by some Ontario residents who feel that their “needs” were not adequately met.
Yes our health care system needs work. Blaming everything on the government is easy and the current trend. I don’t believe that is the case when it comes to this issue.
Rene Pulles,
Fergus
‘Accomplices’
Dear Editor:
As children, many of us played “king of the castle” (or raft, hill, etc.). With effort and overcoming the competition we can climb on the raft. The next job is to prevent others from getting on.
Laisser-faire is free and open trade; capitalism includes preventing others from climbing on the raft and becoming significant competition.
Fratelli Tutti, by Pope Francis makes it very clear that unrestricted capitalism results in poverty and also, “Ultimately, persons are no longer seen as a paramount value to be cared for and respected, especially when they are poor and disabled, ‘not yet useful’ – like the unborn, or ‘no longer needed’ -like the elderly.”
Karl Marks in Das Kapital sees capitalism as ultimately destructive to itself and society. The great American dream that anyone can make it to the top, apart from being false, feeds the idea of me first and others can fight their own way up.
The song “Fie on Goodness” from Camelot states that the meek do not inherit the earth, they inherit the dirt.
Premier Doug Ford does not seem to believe that democracy is government by the people, for the people. He and his 81 accomplices appear to believe in unfettered capitalism.
Chris Woode,
Fergus
Survey questions
Dear Editor:
Last Friday I received a call from Malatest asking my opinion about the OPP. Is this legal? Such a survey doesn’t seem democratic.
Hypothetically if I was in Berlin in 1937 and got a similar call from the Gestapo, it would be a “fishing” call – to gather an enemy list.
We live in a time when unspeakable things have happened in policing, not only South of the borde, where seemingly the police have murdered citizens in front of our eyes, but also in Toronto and our own local backyard.
Aggressive brazen police action does not dovetail well with “to serve and protect.” We need confidence in our justice system, especially at the front end. Absolute power corrupts, and the SIU is seemingly incapable of accurate jurisdiction.
Besides, what would anyone’s opinion mean without an astute going over of facts, other than implicit faith or lack of faith in the idea or institution of policing?
Who pays for such a survey and who directs the information – and to whom?
David Courtney,
Belwood
Era of ‘extinction’?
Dear Editor:
The Trans Mountain expansion pipeline cost keeps climbing; $30.9 billion is the projected cost, but who knows how high it will climb. The price tag was $21.4 billion in 2022. What a hike from the earlier projected price of $12.6 billion. The cost had originally been $4.5 billion!
According to our Crown corporation, the cost is affected by flooding, inflation, archeological finds, difficult geography, and supply chain problems. They are straightforward problems that should have been identified and factored into the real price of this ill gotten fiasco in the first place.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer said that we will lose money from this investment, and if we cancel, we would lose more than $14 billion in assets. That is a powerful statement, but if we go ahead we will probably pay plenty, maybe much, much more cleaning up future spills, fixing production failures and cleaning up the sea when inevitable accidents happen.
We have always been known as a clean country with unbelievable natural landscapes and pristine waters. Have you seen photos of the destruction the pipeline has caused? And the project is going forward in spite of so many warnings about this risky, dangerously polluting project.
We have pledged over and over to clean up Canada’s act. We made pacts with the global community to work towards carbon neutrality. But contrary to that, we move ahead as if Canada’s word counted for nothing!
Trans Mountain Corporation said recently that construction of the project is nearly 80 per cent complete. It expects the pipeline will be in service in 2024.
The official strategy is for the country to be able to get more oil to port to allow us to ship to the world, to get full market price for the oil. But is this the way we want to be seen by the global community, remembered in history books as one of the countries that held out and kept producing deadly sources of pollution and shipping them to other countries?
Will we be denounced in the future for helping to lead the planet into the era of species extinction, unsupportable destruction of the land, water and air, while touting ourselves as some kind of leader in reducing carbon?
Gerry Walsh,
Erin
Walser building update
Dear Editor:
With the arrival of spring, we know that the busy season for Elora is just around the corner. Now that we are venturing out for longer walks, I wanted to update the community on our latest restoration project: the Walser building (located on the south side of the river by the Jack R. MacDonald Pedestrian Bridge).
Most of you know the extensive work and time we have invested in our heritage buildings; the Mill alone was three years of reconstruction. The Potter Building was relocated and rebuilt stone by stone. It was an onerous process that took nearly two years to complete but the result is absolutely stunning.
As managing partner for the Elora Mill, I know the importance and the historical significance that many of our buildings have for residents and tourists. You may notice in the coming weeks some work starting on the Walser Building.
As of now, our work will be focused on stabilizing the structure, in order to prevent any further deterioration. Our work has been developed with and approved by the township’s heritage committee. Although, it is currently permitted for a restaurant and hotel rooms, we have not yet finalized the Walser’s plans.
We continue to make progress on the construction of the residences and expect some initial move-in dates by the end of the year. We understand that the process has been challenging and want to thank everyone for their continued patience.
It is also an exciting time as we watch our vision become reality. We will be providing further updates about our plans, including the Walser Building, in the coming months.
Jocelyn Maurice,
Managing partner, The Elora Mill
Bad advice?
Dear Editor:
Most professionals involved in agriculture and urban development are largely unaware of the history of the land from which they earn an income (leaving important Indigenous aspects out).
I’ve just passed a site in rural Wellington where a five-acre remnant wood lot is being removed. I suspect its very existence is because it was too wet to farm and abandoned in times past. I’ve been told that the value of agricultural property is about $30,000 per acre, so clearly a good business decision. Right?
I’m pretty sure it will require tile drainage to function. The rest of the property has been tile drained in recent times. Tile drainage on long-term established agricultural fields is an admission to the failure of decades of poor farming practices. This is not the fault of the farmer! They put their livelihood on the line every growing season. I believe they often are not receiving good advice. And those who advise them are not at fault either. We often only know what our professors taught us and that was based on what the professor knew. Well intended. Science has changed over the past decades, and now we often have little choice but to depend on industry research. This doesn’t always follow the “scientific method”, but we don’t have a lot of options here. Hard to find third party verifiable research.
Here is a recap of the past 300 years. We had de-forestation, including the loss of our headwaters. We had reforestation which recovered some of the ecological services and helped establish a healthy economy. We now have a new “deforestation”. It’s a repeat of history. Modern conventional agricultural practices and antiquated urban development standards and construction practices. The common thread? Soil. And the lack of knowledge on the subject. I’m an alumni of an “esteemed” learning institute in this county, and I can attest that not much has changed in 40 years regarding knowledge and practical management of this priceless resource.
So, the point? If you depend on industry professionals for advice on your planting season, or you’re a municipality depending on your consulting engineer for best practices, ask some hard but simple questions. A good opener might be “do you know the difference between income streams and science?” I’ve been asked that.
Chris Morrison,
Centre Wellington