HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-09-20, Page 18PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012.Teachers storm Thompson’s office in protest
Holding their ground
A group of disgruntled teachers made their way to Blyth on Friday to show Huron-Bruce MPP
Lisa Thompson that they disagree with her stance on ongoing teacher/government negotia-
tions. (Denny Scott photo)
Huron East Council defeated a
motion to support Huron County’s
mandatory septic system inspection
program.
At the Sept. 4 meeting of Huron
East Council, Mayor Bernie
MacLellan stepped out of the chair’s
position to discuss the topic, handing
that duty off to Deputy-Mayor Joe
Steffler, saying he should speak to
the topic as Huron County Warden.
MacLellan, in fact, was late to the
Tuesday night meeting, as he was
appearing in a similar capacity at the
Bluewater Council meeting, which
began at 7 p.m. that night.
Several councillors began the pres-
entation skeptical of the program as
MacLellan attempted to sell it to
them.
“This is a lot better than it was
originally,” MacLellan said.
MacLellan said that after a meet-
ing with area haulers, it was agreed
that the program would be rolled out
in conjunction with the haulers who
would pump the tanks, record the
information and have digital cam-
eras provided to them by Huron
County.
There would then be a certification
process where area haulers would be
certified by Huron County as an
approved pump-out service, which
would be the only requirement to be
involved in the program.
MacLellan said that there are ways
to ensure residents comply to the
program. If, after multiple requests
to pump out the tank are made, the
home-owner still refuses, then the
county can go onto the property,
have the tank pumped and bill it
back to the home-owner.
Councillor Larry McGrath said he
felt the program was “a total waste
of money” and if Huron County
wants a mandatory pump out sys-
tem, to implement that in a five-year
cycle.
“I don’t need a bureaucracy like
Huron County,” McGrath said. “The
next thing they’ll do is hire more
people.”
MacLellan, however, insists that
the program will use just one full-
time employee at the county level
and be complemented by the haulers
and summer students who will help
implement the program throughout
the summer.
“I don’t agree with it whatsoever,”
McGrath concluded.
McGrath said that if the goal is to
ensure that residents are pumping
their septic tanks every five years,
that task can be accomplished
through a mail-out, not a complete
program with employees and sum-
mer students.
“We want consistency. We want
everyone to be treated the same,”
MacLellan said. “We want everyone
following the same set of rules.”
The program, like the bylaw on the
composition of Huron County
Members of teachers’ unions aswell as their supporters gathered infront of Huron-Bruce LisaThompson’s Blyth constituencyoffice on Friday afternoon to expresstheir disdain over Thompson’s voteto limit the striking powers of teach-
ers.
Jeff Denys, a teacher at Central
Huron Secondary School as well as a
local representative of the Ontario
Secondary School Teachers
Federation, said that the group, for
only having one day to organize, had
an impressive amount of people
show up for the event and, during his
speech he visited one point consis-
tently: the fight will happen for the
rights of the teachers and their
union partners and it is just begin-
ning.
After having representatives “plas-
ter” Thompson’s door with sticky
notes filled out with their feelings on
recent government action regarding
negotiations between teachers and
their boards, Denys spoke and wel-
comed local NDP representative and
former teacher Willi Laurie to speak
to the group.
Laurie said she was reminded of
when former Ontario Premier Bob
Rae was suggesting changes in
labour in Ontario when she was in a
similar protest in Exeter and said
that everyone there was standing
together just as they were in front ofThompson’s office. “They were attacking programsthen and they are doing that now,”she said. “This will be a big fight.”She said that, during the days ofFormer Ontario Premier Mike Harrisand Rae, she and her fellow teachersnegotiated with the government and
that the results of that are being felt
by current teachers.
“It bothers me that we negotiated
against our own people,” she said.
“But this time we will say no. There
will be no two-tiered system.”
She said that labour communities
are watching the teachers right
now and that they aren’t being self-
ish because teachers are fighting
this fight for other organizations that
may run into it in the future.
Both Laurie’s and Denys’ speech-
es brought condemning shouts of
“Shame” against the government
and policymakers as the two called
for support and change in the way
the government was treating
them with the passing of Bill 115
which freezes their salaries and
prevents them from striking
legally.
Locally, teachers will hold a strike
vote on Sept. 20 prior to the negotia-
tion period with the local board.
Denys said he anticipated the vote
will indicate that striking could be an
option if negotiations don’t go
well.
Huron East Council denies county septic program
Hydrating for a good cause
While lots of places will be holding coffee breaks for the
Alzheimer Society in the near future, Blyth had a one-of-a-
kind Lemonade Stand put on by 5-year-old Kyrah Haak on
Sept. 6. Haak raised just over $400 for the Alzheimer
Society of Huron County. She served ice tea, lemonade,
snacks and coffee because she wanted to help “someone
who really needs it.” The money raised through the lemon-
ade stand, as well as through other coffee breaks, stays in
Huron to support the society and the programs they run. For
more information, visit www.alzheimer.ca/huroncounty or
call 519-482-1482. (Denny Scott photo)www.frankmills.com
Tickets available at the Blyth Festival Box Office
or by calling 1-877-862-5984
Also available online at www.blythfestival.com
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By Denny ScottThe Citizen
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Continued on page 20