HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2019-03-07, Page 19PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2019.
Border needs to be better regulated says McNeil
Continued from page 13
costs about $10,000 so cost is an
issue, recognized Geene.
Property and Land Use
Committee
Fear over how the Huron Natural
Heritage Plan could impact land use
on farms was the main concern for
this committee.
“There is a lot of confusion that
we hope to get cleared up at the
county level,” said Rob Vanden
Hengel.
Central Huron Mayor and Huron
County Warden Jim Ginn said the
plan will use new aerial photos to
create new maps of Huron County
farms. However, changes will not
“kick in” until each municipality
updates its official plan. When that
happens, the municipality will let
each farmer know if there was a
change to their property.
Howick Reeve Doug Harding said
when they passed their official plan
it was “not easy” and that every
landowner received a letter.
“My concern is that people did not
open their letters and were
unaware... please open them. We
have to be aware of changes from
natural heritage and the Municipal
Property Assessment Corporation
(MPAC). We have to keep
communicating,” he said.
Harding added that every
landowner that approached Howick
council about land changes had the
changes reviewed.
Farm Finance Committee
“A major concern of [the Farm
Finance Committee] is the
increasing property tax burden on
farmland,” said Adam Garniss. He
said in five years, bare Huron
County farmland has more than
doubled in assessment value. This
directly affects tax rates.
The committee’s other concern is
the “long tail” DON levels in the
2018 corn crop will have on farmers.
Stating farmers are thankful for
existing government support on the
issue, Garniss wanted to make sure
Thompson and Lobb were aware
farmers need better systems of
prediction, prevention and testing so
that “DON doesn’t catch us so ill-
equipped in the future.”
Dairy Farmers
Last year reminded dairy farmers
that supply management is a
privilege and not a right, said dairy
farmer Glen McNeil, representing
the Huron County Dairy Producers.
The leaky border and decreased
support for supply management and
it’s impact on Ontario dairy farmers
need to be examined, he said.
“We need to educate people to the
benefits and advantages of supply
management,” said McNeil. “[Prime
Minister Justin] Trudeau indicated
he understood and respected us and
assured us we would be supported in
trade negotiations. This was the
standard statement until the 11th
hour when it was agreed that dairy
farmers would give up 3.9 per cent
access to American milk.”
The U.S. dairy industry pressured
U.S. President Donald Trump into
believing more access would save
their industry. It will not, said
McNeil.
“They over-produce and dairy
farmers there are going broke and
exiting the business at an
unprecedented rate,” said McNeil.
Regulating milk supply to demand
is what the supply management
system does in Ontario and it needs
to be protected.
The leaky border needs to be
better regulated as well, added
McNeil. Increased border control
would help.
“The border is a significant issue
and has been for many years” agreed
Lobb. “It used to be pizza kits... U.S.
processors are always trying to find
ways around the rules to get entry
into our markets.”
Lobb then said that drugs and
illegal guns are also getting across
the border.
“I think it is time the Canadian
Border Services Agency (CBSA)
really takes a look at what comes
across our border and keeping illicit
items out. There needs to be more
money invested in CBSA,” he said.
On a positive note, McNeil said
dairy farmers in Huron have really
enjoyed handing out over 7,500
chocolate milk cartons at county
Santa Claus parades as well as
supporting county food banks.
Chicken Farmers
The chicken industry is strong and
vibrant and continues to grow with
1,300 family farms in the province
and 178 in Huron County said
chicken farmer Ralph DeWeerd.
Huron and Bruce Counties produce
$170 million worth of chicken and
represent 16.7 per cent of Ontario’s
chicken production.
The industry supports 22,000 jobs
and contributes over $3.7 million to
the Ontario economy.
“We echo our concerns over
supply management and we share
the same trade concerns with dairy,”
said DeWeerd.
Fire Chiefs
New to the table at the forum was
Shawn Edward, Howick fire chief.
Representing the Rural/Suburban
Advisory Committee, Edward
wanted to encourage farmers to
invest in barn fire protection.
Installing fire extinguishers and
following a maintenence schedule
that includes checking wiring,
clearing dust and cobwebs and
looking for signs of corrosion can go
a long way to fire prevention, said
Edwards.
From 2013 to 2017, there were
over 750 barn fires in the province
with 39 reported injuries to humans
and almost $180 million in losses.
He encouraged both Lobb and
Thompson to look at the National
Farm Building Code, which
regulates the Ontario Building Code.
The national code has not been
updated since 1995, said Edwards.
“Modern farm operations have
become increasingly large-scale
with huge building and
mechanization and large livestock
numbers. We are concerned the
codes do not reflect this,” said
Edwards.
Thompson congratulated the
federation on inviting Edwards to
speak on such an important topic,
while Lobb promised to start “a
dialogue on a potential review of the
national code.”
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Deeper Roots to add
context says Garratt
Continued from page 19
Wettlaufer, written by Kelly
McIntosh and Garratt, a hard-hitting
but compassionate play based on
interviews with families of victims
of nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer,
convicted of murdering eight
residents in nursing homes. The
playwrights also attended the public
inquiry led by Justice Gillese and
continue to interview personal
support workers and nurses working
in elder care in Ontario.
The play follows a group of
fictional siblings who are in the
process of moving their elderly
father into long-term care. The
family grapples with many of the
struggles families in this
circumstance endure: unresolved
rivalries, differences of opinion in
the level of care, siblings spread
across the country, arm wrestles over
power-of-attorney, and their own
conflicting memories of their lives
with their father. The siblings then
learn, as dozens of Ontario families
were confronted with in 2016, that in
the same facility, Wettlaufer has
committed multiple murders. After
that, the siblings closely follow the
conviction, sentencing, and
subsequent public inquiry.
Hill’s talk will be one of three
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being about “The Healing Power of
Art” in palliative medicine, and
“What is a Good Death?” The three
events will be part of a new series
called Deeper Roots, which will
enrich the Festival’s 45th season
with 28 additional events to
complement the five main stage
plays. The events include artist
talkbacks, live interviews with circus
performers, panel discussions on
contemporary agricultural practices,
cake-baking master-classes and
much more.
Hill was recipient of the 2017
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Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, the
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television miniseries The Book of
Negroes, which attracted millions of
viewers in the United States and
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Member of the Order of Canada.
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