HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2001-01-10, Page 7Important Information
for all Canadians about
responsible firearm ownership
An update on licensing
Grace period introduced
Firearm owners who applied for their licence before the deadline will not be penalized if they did not
receive their licence by January 1, 2001.
This grace period will last until June 30, 2001. It only protects people who applied for a licence before
January 1, 2001. Firearn owners and users who did not apply for a licence or who don't have a valid
Firearms Acquisition Certificate (FAC) may be subject to penalties
under the L.riminal Code.
For more information, assistance or
forms, call 1 800 731-4000 or visit our
Web site at www.cfc.gc. Canada
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To comply with the Firearms Act requirement for firearm owners to have a
licence as of January 1, 2001, Canadians sent in their licence applications in
record numbers. To meet this demand, temporary licences are being issued
to eligible firearm owners.
Public safety remains the cornerstone of the firearms program. Temporary licences
are only being issued to those who are successfully screened against Canadian
Police Information Centre (CPIC) databases. And, like all other firearm licence
holders, those with temporary firearms licences will be continuously screened
against police databases.
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These public safety checks conform to the Firearms Act and keep firearms
away from those who should not have them.
Temporary licence holders are not permitted to acquire firearms. However,
they will be in legal possession of their firearms and they will be able to get
ammunition. Temporary licences are only valid until June 30, 2001 or until
those eligible receive their five-year licence.
Temporary licences issued to meet demand
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judged too small at only 630
square feet, will be enlarged
to 1,300 square feet by knock-
ing out a wall and taking over
the adjacent council cham-
bers. The larger quarters will
allow two more computers to
be used in the library plus a
wider selection of library
materials. The former village
council had already set aside
$50,000 for the renovation.
THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2001. PAGE 7.
County councillors begin to talk budget
Huron County will be work-
ing toward a target of a 3-3.5
per cent budget increase for
2001.
In their first full meeting
Thursday, the members of the
2001 Huron County council
put in overtime discussing
issues that will have to be con-
sidered in planning the budg-
et. Following their regular
meeting, councillors went into
a committee of the whole to
discuss the budget issues,
working on into the afternoon
after a lunch break.
Two per cent of the increase
would come from commit-
ments to pay increases to
union and non-union employ-
ees with another one to one
and a half per cent allocated
for priority items.
County Clerk-Admin-istra-
tor Lynn Murray told new
members of council that the
budgeting process has become
much more complicated
because downloading from
the province has given the
county several new areas of
responsibility like public
housing and ambulance that
ballooned the budget from
$25 million to $100 million.
"We're still trying to do
business while the world
changes," said Murray of the
continued downloading from
the province.
Budgeting becomes difficult
due to lack of information on
some new responsibilities, she
said. For instance, while the
takeover of ambulance service
has been accomplished under
for the same $3 million-plus
costs the county was previous-
ly paying to the province to
run the service, taking over
administration of ambulances
brings up a whole new cost
area which the province previ-
ously paid. In the case of
ambulance stations owned by
hospitals, for instance, some
of the ambulance costs were
folded into hospital costs. As
these costs are entangled, the
county will begin to under-
stand how much it should be
budgeting for administration.
Then there's the issue of
upgrading the training of para-
medics. It has been estimated
to cost $750,000 in training to
bring all Huron paramedics up
to level two training from
level one. The province used
to pick up the cost for this but
won't now — though there are
some indications it may pay
half the cost, Murray said.
But, Murray said, some
research has shown that is
would save more lives if more
members of the general public
were trained in CPR so they
can administer immediate aid
to someone in cardiac arrest,
than to increase the level of
training of paramedics.
What's more, said
Councillor Rob Morley, high-
er levels of training will mean
Huron would have to compete
for paramedics with large city
ambulance services, driving
up costs.
Another budget problem for
2001 is the ongoing policing
issue. The $90 per household
cap for townships and villages
is due to expire, and there has
been no agreement on a coun-
ty-wide system. In fact, the
county will be in court in
February for another hearing
on a challenge on how to allo-
cate the $900,000 annual sav-
ings to municipalities if the
county signs a county-wide
policing contract.
Because of court challenges
these savings have already
been lost for 1999 an 2000.
The county also faces
uncertainty over the welfare
program where the province
has set targets for placements
of sole support clients and will
penalize municipalities $1,000
per participant below the tar-
get.
Though the county has been
able to meet these targets in
the last two years, the target is
becoming higher and many of
the clients are undertrained.
The province, however, is pro-
viding no more money for
training.
On the positive side of wel-
fare, the strong economy has
meant the 2000 budget was
underspent by more than
$500,000 but predictions of a
recession in 2001 could quick-
ly change that.
It's a bargaining year for
two unions at the homes for
the aged. The first bargaining
meeting with the nurses union
brought a demand for a 14 per
cent increase in the first year.
The county countered with an
offer of two per cent per year
for the next five years.
Meetings set to stimulate economic development
Two upcoming meetings
will attempt to help munici-
palities and local groups stim-
ulate community economic
development.
Huron County council, at its
Jan. 4 meeting, approved sup-
port for "Focusing on
Community Economic
Development", March 22
from 5-10 p.m. at the Seaforth
Legion. The meeting will be
held for an invited audience of
municipal councillors, eco-
nomic development commit-
tee members and senior
municipal staff from the nine
municipalities.
Norm Ragetlie, municipal
economic development pro-
gram lead with the Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Affairs will lead off the
evening.
A panel discussion on local
successes including Seaforth's
business retention and expan-
sion initiative, the Wescast
Industries expansion team
from northern Huron, the
Huron Tourism Association
and the Manufacturing
Strategic Initiative will be
held after a working dinner.
Nancy Ross, a regional eco-
nomic development consult-
ant will facilitate a session on
what it takes to foster econom-
ic development at the local
level.
Earlier, on Feb. 15, a
Community Funding Forum
on Prospects, Partnerships and
Proposals, will be held at the
Seaforth Legion with atten-
dance open to anyone interest-
ed from community groups to
municipal officials. Co-spon-
sored by the county, Huron
Business Development
Corporation and OMAFRA, it
will feature displays and pre-
sentations on a full range of
funding initiatives.
County council briefs
Resolution for water testing costs gets support
Huron County council has ator for the water system and
supported a Howick Twp. res- a chlorination system in place.
olution calling on the All tolled the cost of operating
province to pick up the costs a small system for as few as
of additional water testing six customers can be $25,000
required by the province. a year.
At its Jan. 4 meeting, coun- ***
cil supported the resolution The North Perth
designed to bring relief to Forerunners, an all-terrain
municipalities and homeown- vehicle club, has put in a bid
ers faced with much higher to lease the abandoned CPR
costs in meeting provincial rail line from Milverton to
requirements for chlorination Blyth. County
and testing following the council, asked by the Ministry
Walkerton E. coli water of Transportation to comment
tragedy. on the application, deferred to
At a meeting late last year the three municipalities
Howick Reeve Norm Fairles directly involved: the former
(now warden of the county) Twps. of Grey and Morris and
said small water systems, the former Village of Blyth.
including communal wells The county also suggested to
with six or more users, must the MTO that a public input
now meet basically the same process should be undertaken
requirements as those for before a lease was offered.
towns and cities. Tests for
pesticide residues alone, he The loss of Hensall's local
told council would cost government will bring the for-
$2,400 a year. In addition mer village a larger library.
there must be a certified oper- The library, formerly
Shewfelt says county must
'work on its image'
Huron County should work across the province we don't
to clean up its image in the have a very good reputation,"
treatment of its employees, he said.
Goderich Mayor Deb But Lynn Murray, clerk-
Shewfelt told Huron County administrator said the county
council Jan. 4 in his first full
is in a difficult position when
meeting as a councillor. it comes to public perception
Shewfelt said public percep- in employee situations.
tion was that county council is Municipalities can't discuss
"not perceived as being personnel matters openly
bright" over its handling of while unions have no such
the ambulance situation. restraint, she said.
Referring to the controversy "We've done everything
created when several para- that employers usually do,"
medics were not hired after she assured Shewfelt.
the county took over the Despite the perception, the
ambulance service from the paramedics are generally sat-
province, Shewfelt said the isfied and have been very
situation could have been han- helpful in the transition,
dled better. Bruce and Perth Murray said.
Counties didn't seem to have "All I'm saying is as a
the same problems Huron had, group let's work on
he said. our image," Shewfelt reiterat-
"I have to tell you that ed.
***