HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-04-07, Page 1CitizenTh
e
$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, April 7, 2011
Volume 27 No. 14
SPORTS - Pg. 13Winter sports teams are celebrated BUDGET - Pg. 28 North Huron to present its budget on April 18FIREFIGHTING- Pg. 6Training Centre remains onthe budget, despite weatherPublications Mail Agreement No. 4005014 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
An announcement years in the
making was celebrated at an
Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh farm
on April 1 with the inclusion of a
Risk Management Program (RMP)
in this year’s provincial budget.
Huron-Bruce MPP and Minister
of Agriculture, Food and Rural
Affairs Carol Mitchell appeared
alongside other local agricultural
figures Friday morning to discuss
her government’s inclusion of the
RMP in the 2011 budget, which
Mitchell has called “The Farm
Budget”.
Mitchell says that $150 million
has been earmarked for the RMP
that is expanding on the grains and
oil seeds pilot program from several
years ago and integrating other non-
supply managed commodities, such
as cattle, hogs, sheep and veal. A
self-directed RMP will also be
implemented for the edible
horticulture sector.
Mitchell says the process started
months ago with consultation with
several farm commodity groups and
that consultation will continue in the
coming months as the finer points of
the plan continue to be ironed out.
Mitchell says that specifics have
not yet been determined, but as she
meets with leaders of the different
commodity groups to outline needs,
the program will develop and
hopefully be ready to go by the end
of spring, she said. The grains and
oil seeds division of the plan,
however, as a pilot program has
already been implemented for
several years and is in its final stages
of development, she said.
Mitchell said that the work of the
Ontario Agriculture Sustainability
Coalition (OASC), a body
comprised of several commodity
groups, should be thanked for its
efforts in developing and lobbying
for the plan. Without their work, she
said, the plan would have never got
to the point that it is now.
“We count on our farmers,”
Mitchell said. “And the McGuinty
government thinks that farmers
should be able to count on us.”
Mitchell went on to stay that
giving farmers the stability to stay
on their land was something that was
important to her.
She said that the inclusion of RMP
in this year’s budget should help to
keep farms, as well as rural
communities, healthy. Mitchell said
that you can’t have farms without
rural communities and that was part
of the thinking behind the
development of the program.
“I’m extremely proud,” she said.
“This couldn’t have been done
without the hard work and support
of everyone in this room.”
Mitchell started picking out
farmers who were in attendance,
citing discussions that she had with
them as far back as 2005.
“I’ve had a lot of really good
chats,” Mitchell said while laughing.
“Some chats were not in as soft of
voices as others were, and I’m
talking more about me.”
Mitchell said that after those
initial discussions, she began to
understand the need for a full-scale
The deadline for Citizen of the
Year is quickly approaching and
nominations have been...
underwhelming to say the least.
We here at The Citizen know that
there are plenty of people out there
doing great things in the community
and they need to be recognized, so
be sure to cast your vote so these
great people can be honoured for the
heroes they are.
To date we have received six
nominations; five of them for
Brussels and area and just one
nomination for Blyth and area.
The deadline for Citizen of the
Year nominations is April 30, so be
sure to have your say. On page 10 of
this newspaper a nomination form
can be found, be sure to give it some
consideration.
Last year’s winners were Jim Prior
for Brussels and area due to his
extensive work with the
Accommodation Review Committee
process and his history of working
with service groups and Brussels
Minor Hockey, while Jean Nethery
was the choice for Blyth and area
due to her tireless efforts in
volunteering throughout the
community.
Central Huron Council presented a
budget proposal to its residents on
Wednesday night that included a tax
increase of 3.95 per cent, after
turning down a proposal that would
result in a six per cent tax increase.
Central Huron held its monthly
Committee of the Whole meeting on
March 31 and voted in favour of
presenting this proposal to the public
as the “finished” budget proposal.
The budget, however, has yet to be
officially ratified by council. It will
be formally considered for approval
at the April 11 council meeting.
The point of contention between
the two proposals (a third would be
added, but not accepted, at the
March 31 meeting by Councillor
Burk Metzger) was road work on
Telephone Road. In the proposal that
was presented to the public last
night, the project was added as a
contingency. This means that while
funds have not been officially
allocated to the project, if funds
were to come available, whether
through an unexpected surplus or
tenders coming in lower than
expected, it will have been
documented that these funds would
go towards the Telephone Road
project.
For Central Huron, listing the
project as a contingency is
important, as the municipality has
ended the past two years in the
black, to the tune of over $200,000
in both 2010 and 2009, so the
potential for a surplus to allocate is
very real.
If the project were officially
included in the budget, however, it
would affect the tax rate, as the
municipality is legally obliged to
pass a balanced budget. This,
Director of Finance Terri Taylor
said, is a way to unofficially allocate
dollars to a project without cutting
out a portion of the budget for it.
There was some concern raised by
Councillor Brian Barnim regarding
the amount of money in the budget
that would be going toward the
Regional Equine and Agricultural
Centre of Huron (REACH) and he
felt that while time was short (the
budget had to be ‘finalized’ prior to
going to the public on April 6), that
portion of the budget warranted
more discussion.
At the time, however, the motion
to approve the budget (for
presentation to the public) was on
the floor and had to be voted on. The
budget was then passed, and further
discussion was not allowed.
There may, however, be further
discussion this Monday, April 11
before the bylaw to adopt the budget
is officially passed.
Councillor Alison Lobb, however,
said that it wouldn’t be right to leave
the people of REACH unsure of how
much money they would be
receiving in the budget.
Chief Administrative Officer
Kevin McLlwain said that the funds
are currently sitting in the budget’s
donations section and did not
necessarily have to go to REACH.
He said the money could be
reassigned to a capital project if
that’s what council wished.
It was that uncertainty that Lobb
objected to, saying that REACH
Risk management
included in 2011
provincial budget
Central Huron presents 3.95
per cent tax increase to public
April 30 is deadline
for Citizen of the
Year nominations
Taking a dip
Erin Dolmage of the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority (not pictured) was at East
Wawanosh Public School on March 30 to talk to students from Kindergarten to Grade 4 about
river safety this time of year. To demonstrate how cold the water in local rivers can get, she
had students submerge their hands in a bucket of ice water for 20 seconds. Braving the cold
was, from left: Connor Hallahan, Nate Bloemberg and Charlotte Campbell. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 28
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 28