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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2009-02-19, Page 16PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2009. The Huron County Dairy Producers were in Brussels last week for their annual meeting and they discussed the topic on everyone’s mind this year: the economy. This year’s guest speaker was Patrice Dube, an economist with the Dairy Farmers of Ontario, who spoke to the producers about the importance of a price cap in the Canadian dairy industry. In the uncertain economy, a price cap will go a long way to stabilizing prices and helping producers have incoming funds they can rely on. Dube likened the proposed system to a policy that has already been implemented in Quebec and he says has been working quite effectively. Dube presented charts with a proposed $25,000 quota cap. Quebec has experimented with the cap and Dube said it has worked there, with the cap getting progressively smaller every year. Expansion within the cap was definitely possible, he said, if it were done right. In Quebec it began with a $30,000 cap in March 2007 and it was progressively lowered to the $25,000 it is now as of January. It can work, said Dube, but that it’s all a matter of how the idea would be received if it were brought to Ontario. “It’s all a question of perception. If it’s managed properly and there’s help from the financial sector, it can work,” he said. In Quebec, Dube said, after the policy was enacted, levels went down to the same prices producers were seeing in the late 1990s. A proposed $25,000 cap in Ontario was compared by Dube to a $33,800 figure that saw the time it took to pay back funds cut nearly in half. The $25,000 per year policy would be feasibly paid back in eight years, while the $33,800 figure would take 14 years. Dube also discussed the rate of expansion, saying that with a cap and a limit of 10 per cent borrowing power, expansions will take place over a longer period of time in the dairy industry and that people will see fewer price fluctuations. Talking money Patrice Dube, economist with the Dairy Farmers of Ontario, was in Brussels last week for the annual Huron County Dairy Producers meeting where he gave a presentation. (Shawn Loughlin photo) Dairy producers hear from economist Business Directory D & J CONSTRUCTION Jim McDonald 519-887-9607 - COMPLETE MECHANICAL SERVICE - COMPUTERIZED TUNE-UPS - TIRES - BRAKES MUFFLERS - VEHICLE INSPECTION STATION DAN'S AUTO REPAIR Owned and Operated by Dan & Heather Snell RR 3, Blyth, Ont. N0M 1H0 (on the Westfield Rd.) DAN SNELL, Automotive Technician 519-523-4356 COVERING ALL YOUR CARPENTRY NEEDS CASEY BOVEN Blyth 519-523-4757 • New Homes • Replacement Windows & Doors • Renovations • Soffit & Fascia • Decks • Additions • Trim • Hardwood Flooring ELLIOTT NIXON INSURANCE BROKERS INC. BLYTH, ON N0M 1H0 519-523-4481 MEMBER OF HURON INSURANCE MANAGERS GROUP 4 Generations Since 1910 R. John Elliott Res. 519-523-4323 J. Richard Elliott Res. 519-523-9725 Randy Nixon Res. 519-523-4989 McKILLOP MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY 91 Main St., South, Seaforth Office 519-527-0400 1-800-463-9204 FARM, HOME, COMMERCIAL AUTO COVERAGES AGENTS Graeme Craig 519-887-9381 Shannon Craig 519-348-4237 Donald Taylor 519-482-9976 Banter, Mac Ewan & Feagan Insurance Brokers Ltd. 519-524-8376 Gaiser Kneale Insurance 519-482-3401 Insurance Central Limited 519-235-2211 Cockwell Insurance 519-356-2216 G.L. Barclay Insurance 519-238-6790 Julie Campbell, CIP 519-527-2798 Lynda Vincent 519-527-2204 Dan McNaughton 519-262-3426 Huronview Insurance Brokers Ltd. 519-595-4044 VANDRIEL Excavating Inc. Simon VanDriel 519-482-3783 We Dig For You Call us for... Excavators, Bobcats, Dozers, Trucking, etc. COMPLETE EXCAVATING CONTRACTOR Derrick VanDriel 519-522-0609 • Gravel • Sand • Stone JAMES BROWN PHARMACY 198 Josephine St., Wingham, Ont. 519-357-1629 Hours: Mon. - Fri. 9 - 6 Sat. 9 - 4 Rear Parking Available Delivery available LEE'S SERVICE CENTRE Repairs to all makes & models of cars & trucks Air Conditioning • Car Oiling • Snow Removal 348 Dinsley St., Blyth, Ontario CHRIS LEE: Phone: Bus. 519-523-9151 Mon.- Fri.8 am - 5:30 pm; Sat.8 am - 12 noon Benjamin Moore The Colour Experts 148 Wallace Ave. N.,LISTOWEL Phone: 519-291-5715 Town & Country Decorating Come in and see us • Draperies and blinds • In-stock wallpaper • Wallpaper book orders • In-home consultation also available Heartland Realty Independently Owned & Operated, Brokerage For all your Real Estate needs call salesperson Don Allen 519-523-9125 (H) www.rlpheartland.ca By Dianne Harrison Recruitment OfficerWingham & Area HealthProfessionals RecruitmentCommitteeThe Wingham and Area HealthProfessionals Recruitment Committee is a volunteer committee made up of community, municipal and hospital representation. Our goal is to lead a consistent recruitment effort. We focus on four components: marketing, partnership building, fundraising and communications. Through the co-ordinated management of these companies we have experienced a number of successes in the past year. Most notably we were able to increase physician site visits by 350 per cent over the previous two years. Thesesite visits allow us to showcase theunique features and people of ourcommunity, making us stand outamongst the other 100+underserviced communities inOntario. Another success has been growing our in-house training programs to include more Registered Nurse and Registered Practical Nurse students. We also participate in the restricted registration program which allows medical residents to work in our emergency department. As well, we are pleased to participate in the Emergency Department Mentorship Program. Our current participant is a family physician repatriating from years of practice in the United States. Participating in the program allowshim hands-on time in a ruralemergency room under the guidanceof our staff physicians. It has been agreat opportunity to introducesomeone new to our community anda gracious thank you to the physicians, staff and patients who continue to support him during this training period. Moving forward we are currently applying to become a pilot site for Ontario’s Physician Assistant ER Expansion Project and also hope to attain funding for summer employment for a local health sciences, nursing or medical student. We’ve also had our share of challenges this year. We struggle to get family physicians to commit to setting up permanent practice in the Wingham area. Some of the factorsaffecting their decisions include:hesitancy amongst new grads tosettle down in one community andoften incentives offered by othercommunities are larger, which ismore attractive to a new grad fresh out of residency with a lot of debt. In addition while Wingham and District Hospital continued to offer 24-hour emergency room service we still have at least four unfilled shifts per month. Often these shifts are left open until the last minute and require countless hours of discussions with hospital staff, locums and provincial offices. Lastly, we continue to try to recruit International Medical Graduates (IMGs) to our community. Our challenges thus far have run the gamut of immigrantstatus to licensing requirements. Thecommittee works hard to navigatethe ever-changing requirements andoften involves all levels ofgovernment in sharing ourdifficulties. We look forward to continuing the recruitment effort into 2009 and welcome assistance from the community in a variety of ways. We are currently looking for community-minded individuals to lead fundraising efforts and help us reach our goals. We also ask that any time you meet a medical student, physician, nurse or allied health professional you encourage them to consider a career in rural practice and have a site visit here to see how wonderful Wingham and area is. Wingham forms health recruitment committee By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen