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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, February 28, 2013
Volume 29 No. 9
BRIDAL - Pg. 11‘The Citizen’ provides itsannual wedding guide COUNTY - Pg. 29 Council attempts to draftgrant policyAIRPORT- Pg. 10New helicopter businessstarts up at airportPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
Farm groups not happy with safety net programs
MDL bankrupt,
millions in debt
Not for the season
Usually reserved for gymnasiums or beach courts in exotic locations, the norm was thrown
out the window on Saturday as the Blyth Lions hosted their annual snow volleyball tournament
at Lions Park. The tournament began at 11:30 a.m. when the weather was especially brisk as
the teams took to the court (snow). Ten teams competed in the tournament with the finals
marking the tournament’s conclusion around 4 p.m. (Jim Brown photo)
Farm leaders attending the
political forum sponsored by the
Huron County Federation of
Agriculture (HCFA), Friday, made it
plain they’re not happy with federal
and provincial safety net programs.
Presentations by various
commodity groups attending the
meeting complained about cuts to
both federal and provincial
programs.
The Federation’s finance
committee’s brief kicked off the
subject noting that under changes
made by the federal government in
its AgriStabiity program, farmers
will not get any assistance unless
their income drops below 70 per cent
of their historic reference margin,
rather than 85 per cent prior to 2013.
As well, the brief noted, changes
in the federal government’s
AgriInvest program mean the
government will contribute one-third
less.
Ben Lobb, MP for Huron-Bruce
defended the changes saying that
when he was on the Agriculture
Committee, risk management wasn’t
the focus of briefs brought in by
different agricultural commodities
who asked for help with research,
which was the focus of the Growing
Forward II program.
Besides, he said, a 70 per cent
trigger point was better than the 50
per cent that some people on the
committee wanted to use.
Larry Lynn, Huron County
director on the Grain Farmers of
Ontario, told Lobb research was
good but not at the expense of
“cutting the legs out from under risk
management”.
Bluewater Councillor Paul Klopp
agreed farm leaders might have
asked for help with research but that
didn’t mean they wanted cuts to risk
management programs. If
commodity prices should drop it will
be a double blow to farmers to also
have the level of support drop to 70
per cent, he warned.
Later, after Lobb repeated his
statement that farm groups didn’t
make risk management a priority,
Klopp asked him if any of the groups
had asked for cuts to risk
management programs. Lobb
admitted they hadn’t.
Brent Royce, the Ontario
Federation of Agriculture regional
director for Huron and Perth told
Lobb “it was crystal clear from your
government there wouldn’t be more
money for risk management, so it
would have been a waste of time for
the groups to ask for risk
management.”
Lobb replied “What I heard was
that they weren’t asking for risk
management.”
Meanwhile on the provincial level,
several speakers criticized the
provincial government’s decision to
cap payouts from the Risk
Management Plan (RMP) at $100
million.
Lynn pointed out the original RMP
which was just for grains and
oilseeds producers had a cap of $150
million. The program was expanded
to include meat producers and yet
was capped at only $100 million.
Harvey Hoggart from the Huron
County Beef Producers said his
group would like to see the original
RMP limits reinstated.
Phil Dykstra, president of the
Huron County Pork Producers’
Association praised the RMP for
really helping pork producers last
year but said it wouldn’t be as
helpful this year.
“A cap of $100 million doesn’t cut
it,” he said, especially when a good
part of that goes to administration
costs.
Dykstra didn’t let Lobb off the
hook, either. “We’re still waiting for
the feds to be involved,” he said of
the RMP which the federal
government has refused to fund.
Beef producers, hit hard by last
year’s drought, asked for changes to
On Feb. 20 Huron County Council
was given its first look at the 2013
draft budget, leaving councillors to
debate between a 2.75 and three per
cent tax increase.
Deputy-Treasurer Nancy Rennick
presented the budget to councillors,
saying that a 2.75 per cent increase
would provide the county with
$900,000 more in tax revenue,
which would equate to an additional
$11.55 tax on $100,000 of
assessment. A three per cent increase
would equal $12.74 added to a tax
bill on $100,000 of assessment.
Rennick detailed all of the
department’s budgets, saying that
the Public Works Department was
able to cut $200,000 from its budget,
which mainly came from the winter
maintenance portion of the budget.
She also told councillors that there is
currently $1 million in the
department’s reserves.
She also said that $150,000 in
provincial funding was added to the
Former employees of Brussels-
area business MDL Doors could be
out over $550,000 in severance pay-
outs as a result of the company
declaring bankruptcy shortly after a
fire tore through the building in the
early morning hours of Wednesday,
Jan. 23.
On Feb. 8 MDL Doors of the
Brussels area entered receivership
leaving $4,845,000 in secured debt
and $1,993,177 in unsecured debt to
be dealt with.
Approximately one quarter of
that unsecured debt is listed as
employee severances ($518,000)
or employee-related ($40,000).
Unsecured debt is owed by
MDL Doors to 121 different
organizations.
According to bankruptcy docu-
ments received by The Citizen, the
company entered receivership under
Deloitte & Touche Inc. with
approximately $1,301,000 in
assets.
The document states that the plan
of MDL Doors is to collect
outstanding debts against them,
collect their insurance funds and
other assets and consider selling
property “on a liquidation basis,
seek direction and distribution
orders from the Court.”
When contacted, some former
employees of the business refrained
from comment, saying they had yet
to be officially notified and were
uncomfortable commenting until
that time.
Secured debt in the company is
held, according to a court order
related to the statement of
receivership, by MDKJ Holdings
($4,810,000), Canadian Imperial
Bank of Commerce ($1,000),
CIT Financial Ltd. ($31,000),
Toyota Canada ($1,000), VW
Credit Canada ($1,000) and
Ryder Truck Rental Canada Ltd.
($1,000).
Aside from the impact that not
having severances for a period
of time could have on local
employees and their families, local
businesses will also feel the pinch
from this as bills MDL Doors had
yet to pay will remain outstanding
until the receivership process is
complete.
Representatives from MDL Doors
had no comment on the
announcement and directed all
inquires to Deloitte & Touche Inc.
The contact at Deloitte & Touche
Inc. is Wendy Santoro who can be
reached at 519-967-7714.
Caitlin Stidwell, an employee at
Deloitte & Touche Inc.
explained that, while the company
has been appointed to be the
receiver of MDL Doors, they
aren’t able to comment on
anything regarding the company’s
decision.
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
By Keith Roulston
The Citizen
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
County eyes modest
budget increase
Continued on page 27
Continued on page 32