HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2017-02-01, Page 5Wednesday, February 1, 2017 • Huron Expositor 5
letters to the editor
"That authority ends where private property begins. That's the law"
Letter to the editor:
When Bev Hill recently ques-
tioned county council about the
lawfulness of the Huron Natural
Heritage Plan, Warden Ginn
claimed that they "absolutely have
the right" to make any regulations
the county wants to for private
property. (Note: We recognize that a
municipality has complete auton-
omy to regulate public property.
That authority ends where private
property begins. That's the law.)
The warden drew support for his
view from a legal brief that was
clearly labeled as "Legal Opin-
ion..." It began with these words,
"Summary: Our firm has been
asked to provide an opinion.."
And that is exactly what the county
got - the opinion that past Warden
Gowing solicited from law firm
Garrod and Pickfield whose prac-
tice is in "Environmental, Munici-
pal and Planning Law': The pre-
senter, Peter Pickfield, did a good
job of delivering what the county
asked for. 1However, for those who
examined the content of his pres-
entation, it was clear that what he
delivered was "an opinion" - just as
advertised on its cover.
So that is why some were
amused when the warden then
dismissed a solid rebuttal (for Pick -
field's brief) by Elizabeth Marshall
of All Rights Research as "...well,
just an opinion': Ms. Marshall may
well be one of Ontario's most
knowledgeable experts on prop-
erty law, and anyone familiar with
her work knows better than to dis-
miss it as "...well, just an opinion':
Where Pickfield compiled a suita-
ble collection of loosely -related
case law, Marshall outlined and
explained the actual laws which
delineate the limitations on the
powers.of municipal government.
Think of it this way: suppose we
were to ask two people to explain
how a car works. The first, a pro-
fessional racer, jumps into his
machine and squeals off in a
Is the U.S. bad as Trump says it is?
Dear Editor:
In his inaugural address, Presi-
dent Trump continued his divisive,
fear -mongering style of political
messaging by presenting the world
with much inaccurate information.
Basically, he gave America an "F"
and insinuated that he, and only he,
could make America great again.
His style and substance of presenta-
tion belongs to the genre of "Post -
truth politics," also known as post -
factual politics.
This style of misleading,
untruthful messaging is now most
common within the political
realm. With few exceptions, many
politicians depend on this format
for selling their platforms to citi-
zens. Trump has set the bar very
high for any other politician to
beat him on this issue. Trump has
to be one of the most shrewd and
successful adherents to Post -truth
political messaging. He would
definitely be given the Oscar in
the minds of many for his most
successful contribution to this
unethical, Orwellian Newspeak.
The contemporary use of Post -
truth politics was first announced
in an article written in'2010 by
David Roberts for Gist. Prior to
this, George Orwell, in his futuris-
tic novel Nineteen Eighty -Four,
spoke of a world in which political
leaders created Newspeak, a fabri-
cated form of daily messaging, tai-
lor-made to fit their political prop-
aganda of the day. Orwell
obviously anticipated the future
would produce a political ruler of
President Trump's ilk. The preva-
lence of post truth politics was so
great that in 2016, post -truth was
chosen as the Oxford Dictionary's
word of the year, due to the its use
in Brexit and the American presi-
dential election campaign.
Over one hundred organisa-
tions check public speeches and
announcements for misinforma-
tion and outright lies. Not surpris-
ingly, Trump's inaugural address
kept them very busy. Factcheck.
org is just one of many fact -check-
ing services available on the Inter-
net. Factcheck.org, an affiliate
organisation of the University of
Pennsylvania, provided the fol-
lowing critique of President
Trump's inaugural address:
Local says winter sports are not dwindling
I would like to respond to the do not support this claim. In fact,
article, "Hessel Says Winter Sports Soccer registration in Bayfield is
are Shrinking". down 37% since 2014, where
Mayor Hessel commented that hockey registration is up by 37%.
financial losses related to recrea- In addition, the Bayfield Skating
tional facilities are due to the pop- Club reports an increase of 85%
ularity of summer sports over since 2014. The statistics cited by
winter sports, and uses the Bay- Mayor Hessel are more accurate
field arena as an example. Current for the 2013-14 year.
statistics from Bayfield Arena use Not only is registration in these
cloud of blue smoke, shouting
"'lhat's how it works!" The other is
an automotive engineer who
explains the function of the
engine and its connection to the
wheels through the drive train.
Volume vs. clarity. Which one
taught you the most?
TI IE STRONGEST CRITIQUE of
the warden's words, "...well, just an
opinion" might come from within
county council. By his leave, I refer
to the published words of one of
county council's respected mem-
bers, Councillor Jim Donnelly.
Although now retired, many will
recognize and remember him as
the Honorable Jaynes M. Donnelly,
a highly acclaimed lawyer and
retired Ontario Supreme Court
judge. We are all enriched to have
available to us an autobiographic
record of his past work.
In his book "Donnelly on Law,
Vol III'; he states "It is incontro-
vertible that opinions are for hire';
followed by the observation that
Trump portrayed the united States
as a nation in decline, using rhetoric
that did not always match reality:
- Trump portrayed the U.S. as
crime -ridden and promised to
stop the "American carnage."
But the U.S. violent crime rate
in 2015 was less than half what it
was at its peak in 1991. (The fig-
ures for 2016 are not yet
available;)
- Trump promised to "bring
back our jobs." Manufacturing jobs
have been on the decline for dec-
ades, but Trump inherits an overall
economy that has gained jobs for a
record 75 straight months and an
unemployment rate well below the
historical norm;
- 1 le said he would "get our peo-
ple off of welfare and back to
work." But the welfare rolls have
declined under President Obama,
and they have dropped precipi-
tously since President Clinton
signed legislation in1996 institut-
ing work requirements and time
limits;
- Trump promised to "bring
back our borders;' blaming past
politicians for "refusing to defend
programs up, there is increased
use of the Bayfield arena. Wom-
en's hockey, children's shinny,
girl's hockey, moms and tots skat-
ing, public skating and adult
hockey teams use the ice regu-
larly. Last weekend there was a
Tyke tournament and this year
two adult hockey tournaments
have been organized.
such occasionally "can be exposed
for the chicanery that it is."
(p.263). Donnelly then refers to
the amusing character in legal
lore - "Nickolodian Charlie';
where you "Plug in a nickel and
get any song you want': Viola,
Donnelly's wisdom borne of expe-
rience shows the folly of hiring an
"advocate" opinion, an opinion
based on a predetermined bias
rather than on the foundation of
underlying fact or law. The county
plugged in our nickel, bought the
song they wanted, and are telling
us to dance to their tune.
In summary, we know that
there is no stronger judgment to
which one can be subjected than
that which is passed upon us by a
respected peer, unless maybe that
of an actual judge.
The County needs to base its deci-
sions on law, not':..just an opinion':
-John Schwartzentruber,
Brussels, ON
our border." But the U.S. Border
Patrol budget has tripled since
2001,and the number of border
patrol agents has doubled. South-
west border apprehensions have
dropped from the peak in fiscal
2000.
With populist energy on the rise
in North America and Europe, it is
the democratic duty of each one of
us to be aware of and to reject any
form of political, populist New-
speak. Many, but by no means all
Canadians, have been fortunate to
always live in a democratic society.
Democracies throughout the
world are now under siege by pop-
ulist movements. The very survival
of our democracy depends on our
collective determination to recog-
nise and reject fake news and post -
truth politics wherever they can be
found. Both inaccuracies and out-
right lies can always be found on
Trump's twitter account and also
in abundance on the Internet. As
our national anthem states, "0
Canada, we stand on guard for
thee."
-Sincerely,
Jim Hollingworth
Children in the Bayfield area
have the opportunity to play
shinny hockey free! Local busi-
nesses sponsor ice times so that
children have the opportunity to
play recreational hockey or skate
in a fun environment. The public
can view detailed statistics on use
of the Bayfield Arena at bacp.ca
- Karen Morrison
Heritage plan is a solution
to a problem that does
not exist in Huron County
Letter to the editor:
All landowners should be aware that
Huron County Council, under a direc-
tive of the Provincial Policy Statement
from the Provincial Government, has
prepared a draft Huron County Herit-
age Plan. This county directive has
resulted in a 113 page technical docu-
ment followed by a 25 page implemen-
tation strategy. This proposed plan will,
among other things, by way of addi-
tional zoning, impose use restrictions
on all land within 120 meters of any
woodland, wetland or waterway on all
property in Huron County (a 120 meter
strip across a 100 acre farm equates to
12 acres).
County data indicates that this Her-
itage plan is a solution to a problem
that does not exist in Huron County.
This is a seizure of personal prop-
erty rights being imposed by the same
government that brought the Green
Energy Act to our door steps.
I urge all landowners to find out
about this plan. Hopefully public
meetings will be held to explain this
proposal.With public pressure this
plan can be stopped.
-Bev Hill
Varna, Ontario
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Seaforth, ON
NOK 1 WO
Shaun.Gregory@sunmedia.ca
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