HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 2016-12-28, Page 22 Lucknow Sentinel • Wednesday, December 28, 2016
the
Troy Patterson/Editor
Those putting together the
Point Clark Community Centre
Ice Rink inadvertently became
artists by leaving the fire hose
used to flood the rink running
in sub -zero temperatures on
Dec. 20, 2016. The flow from
the hose created an icy work
of art in the nearby trees,
which was truly a sight to see.
Over 6,400 people sign online petition in support of Bruce Power
More than 6,400 people
from across Ontario have
signed an online petition to
show their support for the
future of Bruce Power, dur-
ing the Ministry of Energy's
Long -Term Energy Plan
Review.
The online petition was
launched by the Bruce
Power Pensioners Associa-
tion, Canadian Nuclear
Workers' Council, the Grey
Bruce Labour Council,
North American Young
Generation Nuclear (NA-
YGN), the Power Workers'
Union, The Society of
Energy Professionals, and
the Bruce Chapter of
Women in Nuclear -Canada,
with the goal of showing the
provincial government
there is deep grassroots
support for the continued
operation of Bruce Power as
an eight -unit site.
"It can be difficult to have
your individual voice heard
during a large-scale
consultation such as the
Long -Term Energy Plan
Review, so we thank every-
one who took the time to
sign the petition," said Dave
Shier, President of the Cana-
dian Nuclear Workers'
Council. "By coming
together, we have shown the
Ministry of Energy
that thousands of people
continue to put their faith in
Bruce Power to provide low-
cost, reliable, carbon -free
and safe energy for a third of
the province.
'We have now submitted the
petition to the Ministry of
Energy and expect it will suffi-
ciently show the large amount
Tony McQuail asks Santa to help make votes count
Dear Santa, All I want for
Christmas is our Votes to
Count.
If our electoral system were
a bank machine we would
have replaced it years ago.
Imagine if you had a bank
machine that refused to give
over half the customer's
access to their money and
instead transferred their
deposits to the Bank Man-
ager. How many studies
would it take to change the
machine??
Our electoral system,
"First Past the Post; results
in over half the ballots cast in
each election earning NO
representation.
Worse yet - it regularly
results in parties which got a
minority of the votes (often
less than 40% of the votes)
getting a majority of the
seats in Parliament and
effectively 100% control of
the legislative agenda for
Canada. This is the minority
that ends up managing the
"bank" for the majority of
Canadians who did not vote
for them.
They control the Bank of
Canada and they decide how
our tax dollars will be spent.
The recent Parliamentary
Committee on Electoral
Reform is the 14th time a
study or citizen's assembly
has come in with a recom-
mendation that we change
our electoral process to
some form of Proportional
Representation. But guess
what - the bank manager has
control over whether the
bank machine will be
replaced and he doesn't
want to change it despite
having promised in the last
election that he and his party
would "make every vote
count." SHAME!!
Go to www.mycanadian
of support in the area, and
across Ontario, for the Life -
Extension Program at Bruce
Power and the operation of the
site's eight units through 2064:'
The Ministry of Energy
wrapped up its Long -Term
Energy Plan Review public
consultation period on Dec.
16.
democracy.ca to learn how
to tell the Government you
want your vote, and every-
one's vote, to count every
time in every election! When
I was a kid I thought that was
how democracy was sup-
posed to work - I still think it
should work that way.
Yours Hopefully Santa,
Tony McQuail
Regional area seeking businesses to complete EmployerONE Survey
The third annual Employ-
erOne Survey opens to
employers in Bruce, Grey,
Huron and Perth counties on
Jan. 1, 2017.
Employers have until
Jan. 31 to complete the
anonymous survey which
gives the Four County
Labour Market Planning
Board (Planning Board) a
better understanding of
local labour market
challenges.
The 2105 and 2016
EmployerOne surveys pro-
vided the Planning Board
key insights into current
workforce issues experi-
enced by employers.
Information obtained in
the survey showed busi-
nesses found the availabil-
ity of qualified workers was
fair or poor and that soft
skills (including motiva-
tion, attitude and interper-
sonal abilities) remain
major concerns across all
occupations.
The well-being of a
community and its resi-
dents depends on access
to quality jobs. Prior
EmployerOne surveys
indicated businesses are
facing hiring challenges,
with a majority of employ-
ers admitting they have
hard to fill positions
in a wide range of
occupations.
"The good thing about
this information is that we
have been able to respond,
in a timely way, to work-
force priorities in the
region," said Gemma Men-
dez -Smith, executive direc-
tor in a media release.
"Local partners are using
this information to develop
programming like the Soft
Skills 6 -week program
offered by Saugeen Eco-
nomic Development Corpo-
ration and the Mobile
Learning Lab sessions
offered in partnership with
the Hanover Chamber of
Commerce and the Plan-
ning Board."
By participating in the sur-
vey, employers can help the
Planning Board determine,
develop and implement pro-
cesses and strategies to
address their labour market
needs. Survey results are
incorporated into the Plan-
ning Board to plan local
activities and initiatives to
meet the challenges of a
changing local economy and
help minimize labour issues.
The survey findings will be
presented to local stakehold-
ers and through publications
that are being used as career
development tools.
Employers can complete
the survey during the period
January 1-31, 2017 by visiting
www.surveymonkey.com/r/
FCLMPB2017.
For further information on
the survey please call the
Planning Board at 519-881-
2725 or email sarah@plan-
ningboard.ca