‘Serious overreach’
Dear Editor:
As a resident of Centre Wellington, I found it heartening to witness the love, concern, and community spirit evoked by the launch of the rural hospice in Aboyne on Sept. 15.
Equally disheartening was the presence of protestors bearing signs reading, “Hospice Yes – MAID No” and such.
It is a concept as old as Adam and that will forever be valid: if you do not agree with a practice, then don’t access it or partake in it.
But to place boulders of obstruction and opposition in the path of others whose beliefs are as sincere and worthwhile as one’s own is both a serious overreach and also totally unwarranted.
Allan Berry,
Fergus
‘A great weekend’
Dear Editor:
I had the chance to attend the Fergus Fall Fair last weekend and wanted to commend the board and many volunteers on a very successful 2023 fair.
It looked to me to be a record crowd at Friday evening’s tractor pull and there were lots of smiling faces and lots to do throughout the day on Saturday. And best of all, the rain held off until the end of the day on Sunday. What more could you ask for?!
I understand there were some issues with midway rides and the fair was getting a “bad rap” over it. Too bad because it’s important to note that the fair board organizers contract with a midway company to deliver a positive experience. I guess this year the company wasn’t able to do so, to the satisfaction of some.
All in all, I think the board and volunteers organized a great weekend of community fun and enjoyment. They also delivered fully upon their mandate to promote all things agriculture and rural, within Wellington County and beyond. To those very dedicated volunteers involved, please accept my thanks.
Senator Rob Black,
Fergus
Legion thankful
Dear Editor:
Sept. 17 to 23 is recognized across Canada as Legion Week. On behalf of the Royal Canadian Legion, Elora Branch 229, we wish to thank all our community residents both private and business for their continued and outstanding support again this year and invite all to visit our Branch Clubroom at 110 Metcalfe St. in Elora.
During 2023 the Elora Br. 229 Poppy Fund has donated and supported several financial needs locally, provincially and nationally. We have provided 16 donations from the Poppy Fund that supported activities such as the Service Dog program; Homeless Vets; District C Hospital Fund; Provincial Charitable Foundation; Provincial Poppy Fund; British Commonwealth Ex-Services League; Youth Education and the local Cadet Corps to name some. Our contribution during this period has amounted to $26,700.
The 2023 Poppy Campaign begins Oct. 27 and continues through Remembrance Day on Nov. 11. Ceremonies to honour our veterans will be held at the Salem cenotaph at 9:30 am and at 11am at the Elora cenotaph. A Remembrance Day dinner will be held at Branch 229 on Nov. 11 at 5pm. Tickets will be available from the bar steward (519-846-9611) and the dinner is open to veterans, Legion members and the general public.
Please support Legion Week activities, our Poppy Campaign and our Veterans and their families. Lest we forget! Thank you.
Jim Paterson,
Poppy chair,Elora Legion Br. 229
Prefers peace, quiet
Dear Editor:
I could not agree more with the two letters last week that did not want ATVing on our local trails.
I guess I would also be considered a “fun killer” because I prefer the peace and quiet of walking the local trails with my dog and friends. I do want to contend with noisy vehicles tearing up and down the trails with no enforcement of the speeds they travel.
ATVs were given permission to be driven on county roads in 2022 and that is where they belong.
Kirk Bradley,
Centre Wellington
Possible pilot project?
Dear Editor:
We are in a housing crisis that no individual, no municipality, no government can cure on their own. We need an answer that we all contribute to. Here is my proposal.
Municipalities can ask developers for up to 5% of the land that is the subject of a development proposal for recreational purposes. Many just ask for the money. We need the province to enlarge the program to allow it to include residential development by the municipality.
On 100 acres of development this is five acres. For the housing we need to go back to the period during and after the Second World War, wartime or Victory, housing. These were simple rectangular homes 30 feet by 25 feet, a storey and a half, creating about 1,200 square feet of livable space. Houses need to be constructed of simple, durable, easy-to-install materials. No flash, no splash, just utilitarian. No garage, unfinished basement. One bathroom, up to 3 bedrooms.
The plans already exist. If it cost $200/sq.ft., $250,000 would do it, with the municipality contributing the land. Each lot would be one tenth of an acre, so you could build 50 homes on the five acres of every 100 that was being developed. No need for expensive studies, just do it. It worked for my parents, it should work for my children.
The alternative is a generation without hope, without a stake in society, and that leads to chaos. If someone wants to do a pilot project, I volunteer my company’s surveying services. Maybe others can help too.
Rod Finnie,
Erin
Tax changes behaviour
Dear Editor:
RE: ‘Fear-mongering,’ Aug. 31.
A carbon tax will change the climate, by changing behaviour. Consider these examples below:
Increased tobacco taxation has been recognized as one of the most effective population-based strategies for decreasing smoking and its adverse health consequences.
Between 1990 and 2006 Sweden cut its carbon emissions by 9%, while enjoying economic growth of 44% in fixed prices. The main reason for that success, say experts, was the introduction of a carbon tax in 1991. Carbon emissions would have been 20% higher without the carbon tax,” said the Swedish environment minister, Andreas Carlgren. It was the major reason that steered society towards climate-friendly solutions by making polluting more expensive.
To cut greenhouse gas emissions, the Swedish government brought in its basket of sticks and carrots in 1990, including a carbon tax that steadily raised the price of heating oil. Now 95% of homes in Sweden are heated (and cooled) by heat pumps, as people switched away from costly oil burners to cheaper electricity.
Canada introduced its own carbon tax in 2019 and will keep ramping it up yearly until 2030, which will cause the price of fossil fuels to rise relative to electricity. And remember, in Ontario, every three months you get a rebate on the tax you pay deposited to your bank account, to help transition away from fossil fuels.
Increased taxation does change behaviour, which is the whole point of the carbon tax.
Gord Cumming,
Georgetown
‘Medical care’
Dear Editor:
RE: ‘No accountability,’ Sept. 7.
My mother was a registered nurse who worked in Ontario hospitals for 30 years. She would entertain our family with supper-time tales of the waste and unaccountable spending being done by hospital administrations and the ministries of health. She knew there was no use complaining to anyone about it, because “free health care” is the public’s holy grail that no political leadership wants to touch.
In the 1970s hospitals provided what was then called “medical care” but sometime since, the name was changed to “health care.” No wonder people are confused about this issue. Hospitals/doctors are continually advertising for more business and now they are upset that people are showing up at their offices in droves. Advertising works you know! Ask Advertiser publisher Dave Adsett about that.
Before starting an exercise program, consult your doctor. Before taking a vitamin or mineral supplement, consult your doctor. Before changing your diet, consult your doctor. Before buying over the counter medication, consult your doctor. Before buying any medical equipment, consult your doctor.`
Let us change the emphasis back to medical care and stop advertising for more business. Also give every patient an expense receipt so that they know what their visit, medical consultation or procedure actually cost the taxpayers.
It would keep the invoicing to OHIP honest since there is an official accounting being done by the doctors and the patients.
Michael Freiesleben,
Fordwich
‘Skeptical’
Dear Editor:
RE: Disappointed, Aug. 31.
Jeremy Squires asserts that he is amused by the back-and-forth on climate change by older readers. At just more than twice his age, I think I may be one of those older readers he refers to. I do share the view that the climate is changing, and that there is no doubt in my mind that human activity has an impact on the climate. I have trouble with Jeremy’s question: “Why would you ask if science is true?” There may be some science that is considered settled, but certainly not all of it is, otherwise we would no longer need scientists.
It must be then, that ideally it would be the scientific process that we would trust, not necessarily blindly trusting or forever believing the most recent conclusions or predictions, which further science may change?
Science does get proven wrong or needs to change from time to time. I will make the claim that politics often displaces science, or selectively chooses the science upon which decisions are made.
Duane Koster,
Guelph
‘Ludicrous’ laugh
Dear Editor:
RE: ‘AI and hard work’? (Sept. 7)
I read with interest the brief letter by Jim McClure and couldn’t believe what appeared at first sight to be a ludicrous suggestion that AI (artificial intelligence) was the process that permitted moves by developers to buy Greenbelt property.
Standing back I read into the letter that this was intended to ridicule and mock a process that all of us know was based on collusion on the part of the Progressive Conservative government and their developer cronies all setting themselves up for massive profit.
One has to be on the inside to know what is being surreptitiously and stealthily planned, something that even AI has no conception of.
Thank you to the author … and now we can all laugh together.
Peter Little,
Fergus