HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1992-01-22, Page 5S
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By Ray Lewis
LUCAN - Helping to builda'bet-
ter tomorrow; that's Jane Sad •
-
ler Richards' goal everyday oldie
week.
- "1 gt1Eirihe environment is joist
something I've always' -been inter-
ested in," said Richards.
As senior consultant of aercdo:'\
at ('MS Research Services, she
.deals daily with the issues that
most of us only read about.
CMS is located just west of
Clandeboye tucked ,neatly hc'hmcl
the Lucan Conservation Arca on
Richards' 100 acre farm. After a
brief stint in London, the oUkc
was moved tothis'4o ion in -lune
of 1989 when Richards and her The majority of work from their of -
husband purchased the property. lice has a agm-environmental atti-
A division of EcologIetics Limit- -lade.
ed, the head office is in Waterloo 'We're very strong in agricul-
_'"N.1h: another loam:h_in -_Masao_ ._ =Parc " confirmed Richards. Out it is from the Lucan arca- that Asa consulting fimh, CMS works
Richards and her crew of five oper- on projects with several different
ate -as planners, landscape arthi- ekinds of clients both in government
tests and environmental seientisis. and in the private sector. Current -
Jane.Saileritichards of CMS Research Services outside of Lucan
attitudes now associated with conservation management.
w
is pleased with the positive
ly, they are involved • with mostly,
erosion control and quality of wa-
ter, both specifically related to'the
farmers of Southwestern Ontario
- who are iritdcitirari a fortbaseri on
-the adoption of °soil conservation
techniques such as no -U11, reduced
fertilizer use and, in some cases, re-
• duced pesticide use.
"We work with a -tot of cover
--crops-rspeciatiy-itr'The x termea
-as -well .fit;sPetth•anci= 4iii-
diesex counties," said Richards.
"We've also worked with a number
of individuals on a research - basis
and management, again to control
• soil erosion."
At the present time, CMS has a
large pilot watershed project under-
way whereby they are looking at
'adopting new conservation practic-
es to control the erosion problem._
"The thing is -that if you control
soil erosion, then you also control
the amount of phosphorus that is
getting into your -water."
Currently, there are 76 producers
within the immediate area who an
involved with the program:
To some extent, CMS is also ca-
pable of bio -monitoring. In this ca
pacify, they deal with the effects of
contaminants- within the environ•
• ment. If there is a •facility which
has a spill, they can take samples of
agricultural crops or natural vegeta-
tion and. after sending them to:their
laboratory for analysis, can deter-
mine the effects the chanicals will'
have on the environment or facility
itself.
Asked it they would deal with
small spills such as from a chemi-
cal truck, Richards -replied that they
could, but in that particular case it
would be difficult because of its
relatively small size. Instead they
would • deal with things more along
.the lines of PCBs.
"Now if you .had ,an •incident or
facility that overthe long tam was
bounty employers in precarious situation
VANASTRA - It isn't easy to be
in business these days. More than
90 Huron County busutess people
were reminded of their precarious
situauons as employers at a Janu-
ary b seminar in Nairtastra
Reacuons ranged from interest.
trustra l:on and confusion "annum:
the seminar participants as they
heard the complicated rules of hir-
ing and firing from Yvonne Fncd.
human resumes manager for
-Knechtel Wholesale Grocers. The
seminar was sponsored by .the Fed-
eral Business Development rank
(FBDB) and the Huron-lndustrral
Training Advisory Committee (H I -
TAC).
Fried, of Kitchener, oversees the
hunter resources deparunent for
�tseehted s-s�wltc�title�trud
retail employees. She admits that
employee relauons can be a oner-
ous task.
"Protect frourselves and be
luiowledgeable" she warned her au-
dience. "Ignorance does not stand
-aster excuse in a court oi.law.'.
Employees may charge discrimi-
nation by their employer on inany
levels Fried noted, adding. "Thc
tHuman Rights Commission will in-
vesugatc any complaint that comes
m the door at no cost to the per-
son."
er-
son.'
In writing
Fried urged her audience to have
written .du umentauon of all em
ployee relations. It is cssetttiat that
einployers.and-employees establish
written .job descriptions. ..work
schedules, company • politics, per -
formancc evaluations and warning
notices.
. "Documentation is critical for
good= emfdiueetreltations. Thc,em•
• ployee .lutist .heenght . to . now in
- writing what is -expected: of diem..
In a court of law an employer Must
have written proof that a discui. sed
employee did not,livc .up to their
job expectations, Fried noted.
Jotrinterviews
Diligent einployee relations begin
the moment an employer advertises
•for. help. An einployer cannot ask
job applicants about birthplace, an-.
ceslry or ethnic origin. -A11..A atpli-. 's
cant cannot be Nkcd;,jpt i,,,pgc,
•
marital status. -dependents, health or
religious affiliation.
The interviewer treads a think
line when it comes to Human
Rights. They may ask about educa-
uonal qualifications, but not ask
when an. applicant graduated from
school. This could be construed as
trying' to determine an apphcant s
site.
An employer may ask quesuons
directly related to .an applicant's
abihty to perform the essential du-
ces of a Job, however it is discruni-
natory to ask- unnecessary :questions
not directly .related to the apple
cant s ability to perform die job.
Questions cannot be asked -about
illness, medical history or injuries.
Job descriptions
--Wo n.au
millet and should be shown to ap-
pka. its. They should indicate rea-
sonable job criteria and Confirm
that the applicant can do die re-
quired Joh.
- An employer is obliged to tram.
provide.adegtgate.tools and give ad-
equate tune to .allow a worker to
gam job skills.
it is.customary, but not mandated
by law, to provide new employees
with a three month probationary pe-
riod. Fired encouraged her audi-
ence to monitor and discuss perfor-
mance evaluation closely, to extend
a- probauonary period . if necessary
and to • dismiss an employee who
does not meetihe job expectations.
"Too many business people let
problems go on too long. Deal with
your employee problems in the first
three months, or a will cost you a
great -deal - the road." Fried
said.
She suggested that emp per-
lormance evaluations be aur
twice a year. The evaluations arc
'like report .cards, showing areas of
excellence and needed improve-
ment. -Froin these, employers and
.and job efficiency.
How to fire
Sernuiar participants raised ninny
questions about firing procedures.
Fried noted that job termination for
"just cause" is vinuallsy impossible
to prove, unless the employer has a
,• clear cut case of theft, fraud, in-
c:ompetence, druniteness or ipso
Nene
Wrongful dismissal sults against
employers can be filed if employ-
ees feel that they have been fired
without reasonable notice or if they
have been demoted or transferred
without just cause.
Keeping on top
Employees best protect them-
selves against the inability to lire
an undesirable employee. or wrong-
ful dismissal suits, by doing their
homework ahead of time.
* Employees who do not live up
to -the job is should re;
ct3iv warnings.
* Job criteria -should be detailed
an paper, understood and signed by
each employee.
• Adequate training must be pro-
vided fir employees.
--Employers should • use ptvba-
uortary periods wisely and they
should' - hire with greater ewe and
diligence.
"A bad -employee cart cost you
money. A bad employee creates
bad public relations and cause mo-
rale problems amongst 1lgiff. A bad
employee ruins ..work :productivity
You must hire caro(ully_ to avoid
Human right~ conflicts," Fried -salol.
,� , :2 J I� n
cJcricf !cPcPC1l file&
PU` )4EETIWG
lu discus Health Planning in Huron County
and the feasibility of establishing.a
TIMM COUNCIL
Pate: Tuesday. dt ta#iktusy $8, 11Q2
Place: North Street United Church
Goderich, Qntario
(turn off the gt,tars onto North Street)
-Tim; 7:30 pal.
Pte_• to learn about and'discuss
- what District'Health Councils do
- how Diet ' tHealth Coµhcils function in other areas
--3 a tial &tad f Such 1_, r Hurwn,ciopty
Fur )urther -information contact:
Mr. Ken L:iigelstad (524-8323)
putting stuff into the environment,
then you can set up a Monitoring:
program that will help determine
what the long term effects will be
to-tilt+eriviremeen0-said-Richards.
To some extent, CMS is involved
in communications type work with-
in the community. Ror instance,
children in the Exeter area involved
in 41-1 will probably already have
used manuals that were prepared
for OMAF by Richards and her as
`troeiates -
-7'his year-Bcologistics will cele- r
' trateats 20th anniversary. placing it
at the forefront of the environmen-
tal movement -which will share its
birthday.
A graduate of the University of
Guelph, Richards grew -up on .a
- 4arm•in-theettawa-vailey.—Rutalte
admits with fervor that attitudes to-
wards environmental issues have
changed greatly since that time.
According to Richards, there has
been a problem for -a long time, but
she attributes recent success to a
combination of things.
"First, the problem exists and can
be identilied. Second, the govern-
ment has put a- lot of money into
•
1
1
programs to provide incentive to do
something about it. And finally,"
said Richards, "if you look atsecic-
ty's standpoint you'll see that the at-
•-tttrdes 'towards envlrtlnn ,watts n
have shifted from the negative to
the positive."
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