HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2004-10-07, Page 6, • Voicing an opinion
It was a full house on Sept. 28 as about 140 Grey residents arrived at the Ethel Hall to voice
their opinions and concerns regarding their place in the municipality and the possiblity of ward
de-amalgamation. John Saxon stood to address Huron East council about his concerns for
the ward. (Elyse DeBruyn photo)
PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2004.
Councillor suggests attending council meetings
Continued from page 1
about it." said Beaven.
He suggested citizens attend
regular council meetings to express
their-concerns or give him a call. He
also suggested a quarterly meeting
and he'll give an update of council
meetings and get some feedback from
the public as to "where we should be
heading."
"It's a dirty word, de-
amalgamation. Some residents asked
for information to make a decision to
do it or not," said Beaven.
"Personally I believe we are better off
being a part of Hurbn East.
He said Grey is better off among a
larger community because of some
costs that are covered by the
municipality for example water.
"We should remain proud to be a
part of Huron East. As a mass
THE EDITOR, •
The collection period for the Red
Cross Coats for Kids program has
been extended until Oct. 13.
Donations of coats, snowpants.
hats. mitts, boots, scarves. etc. can
he dropped off at any of the drop-off
sites (businesses with the Red Cross
Coats for Kids sign on their door or
in their window). The bulk of items
donated so far have been in the adult
sizes and while we are still accepting
all sizes of coats and other winter
wear we are especially focusing on
children's sizes. .
WalMart has generously donated
200 backpacks full of school
supplies to be distributed to
elementary children in Huron
County. The backpacks will be
available, along with the coats and
other winter wear, on Oct. 15-17.
The goal of this program is to
majority, 1 hear you when you say, I
don't care if taxes go up, I want to de-
amalgamate. but we're better off as
one," said Beaven. "It will be a lot of
work to fix (the way things are now)
and we need your support to do it."
Calvin Semple said although
council came prepared for the public
meeting, they only showed up
because of one word.
"You guys wouldn't be here if the
word de-amalgamation didn't show
up."
"We're not here because someone
used de-amalgamation." said
MacLellan. "We came to answer the
questions you have."
Semple asked what the cost would
be for Grey to "step back to where it
was before" amalgamation. "You
have a lot of figures on these boards,
but you don't have any ideas."
make sure that everyone has access
to warm winter clothing and allows
lower income families to focus their
finances on other areas while
knowing their family will be warm
this winter. Registration is not
required. just come to one of the
distribution centres and volunteers
will help people find the sizes they
need.
We are still looking for volunteers
to help with distribution at all sites,
especially Clinton and Brussels. If
anyone is available for a few hours
to help during one of the three
distribution days we would greatly
appreciate hearing from them.
To volunteer or • for more
information contact Summer Papple
at 522-0874 or visit
www.papple.on.ca (click on the Red
Cross link).
Summer Papple.
Seili said he wasn't going to put a
figure on the cost because "the
province said there was no money
first" to do it.
Semple said "hypothetically" if the
largest majority of people in Grey
"wanted out." what would council
and the Grey representative do about
it'?
Beaven said if residents hear all the
facts and still want to de-amalgamate,
then "I'm there with you whether I
agree or not."
McLellan said it is his "job to make
an informed decision and make sure
everyone gets the full picture before
we all make a full decision."
Stewart addressed the day care
issue. asking council how many
families in Huron East use the day
care in Vanastra.
After some discussion. Stewart
determined that about one-third of
"kids in the municipality" are using
the day care centre in Vanastra.
"So we in Grey pay tax dollars for
12 families to use the daycare in
Vanastra. I pay $120 a week and no
one subsidizes me," she said.
Beaven said that the municipality
needs to "get out of owning and
operating that day care."
He said if the municipality is going
to own one, then it should be to the
advantage of everyone.
Seili noted that getting out of
owning the Vanastra day care centre
would cost a lot in severance
.packages.
Dave Diehl wondered if Seaforth
isn't raising money for its arena, why
should Grey residents raise money for
the one they use in Brussels.
MacLellan said tax dollars in
Seaforth cover enough of what the
town chooses to do with it, but it's
"tougher to raise taxes here (in Grey)"
"The community up here has done
an excellent job in fundraising," said
MacLellan.
He said that council is looking at
the way Grey keeps funds coming in
for its arena and are trying to use
these examples to improve Seaforth's
arena, for example a liquor license.
Shannon Clark said if council
doesn't make Seaforth arena do more
fundraising, Seaforth will "keep
coming back."
"If you guys don't say, get off your
butts and do it (fundraising) then
they're going to keep falling back on
you for help," said Clark.
Seili said council had no choice this
year and that council had to budget
for them this year.
Letter to the editor
Working together, the Prime Minister, Premiers and Territorial leaders have signed a 10-year plan, supported by
health care for Canadians. $41 billion in new federal funding, that will lead to better
Better Health Care
• Reduce waiting times
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g More Doctors, Nurses and other Health Professionals
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accreditation for foreign-trained health professionals
t Expand home care
• Provide better support for people being cared for or recovering at home
• Improve access to family and community care
• Increase 24/7 access to doctors, nurses and other health professionals
• Better Access to Needed Medicines
• A commitment to manage drug costs and ensure that no family is forced to choose
between needed medicines and financial ruin
[ Improved Aboriginal Health
• New investments and better planning to close the gap between Aboriginals and
other Canadians in terms of health
Shorter Waiting Times
The federal, provincial and territorial governments have committed to report clearly
on the progress we are making in health care and, for the first time will report
on progress in redOcing waiting times.
if Comparable indicators ... so we can measure
• Federal, provincial and territorial governments will use comparable information
to report their progress in improving access to doctors, and to diagnostic and
treatment procedures
g Benchmarks ... so we know what we are striving for
• Federal, provincial and territorial governments will set medically acceptable
waiting times — based on advice from medical experts — starting with cancer,
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g Targets ... to drive change
.• Provincial and territorial governments will set their own targets and report
annually to citizens on progress in reducing waiting times
Canadians will see for themselves where their health care
money is going and how it is making a difference.
To obtain a copy of "The 2004 Health Care 10-Year Action Plan at a Glance",
call 1 800 0-Canada (1 800 622-6232) or, to see it on the web, click www.canada.gc.ca/healthplan.
1+1 Government Gouvernement
of Canada du Canada Canada