The Lucknow Sentinel, 2014-09-03, Page 3Report of
From the office of Mayor
Mitch TwoIan
Township of Huron -Kinloss
On August 25, 2014 the
municipal councils of Kin-
cardine, Arran-Elderslie and
Huron -Kinloss received a
report prepared by their
legal counsel and consultant
team concerning the feasi-
bility of extending natural
gas distribution services to
their communities.
The detailed report con-
siders a wide range of
issues related to this initia-
tive, including the results of
customer surveys which
were conducted in all three
communities earlier this
summer. Two specific
options to provide gas ser-
vices are assessed in the
report: a proposal by Union
Gas to connect the commu-
nities to its existing system
located to the north and
south of the municipalities
and a second proposal,
called the "Northern Cross
Option", which would con-
vert and expand upon an
existing natural gas gather-
ing system in the area into a
gas distribution network
jointly owned by the three
municipalities.
A central finding of the
report is that Provincial
and/or Federal Govern-
ment financial assistance
and changes to existing
Ontario regulatory require-
ments are likely necessary
to make the options eco-
nomically viable or to miti-
gate various risks associ-
ated with the creation of
new natural gas utility.
In 2013 Ontario released it
latest Long Term Energy
Plan for the province which
included a commitment to
work with municipalities to
pursue options to expand
natural gas infrastructure to
service more communities
in rural and northern
Ontario. As part of its plat-
form during the recent pro-
vincial election, the Ontario
Liberal Party pledged to
expand access to natural gas
services with $200 million
over two years for a Natural
Gas Access Loan and $15
million in each of 2015-16
and 2016-17 for a Natural
Gas Economic Development
lucknowsentinel.com
Wednesday, September 3, 2014 • Lucknow Sentinel 3
atural Gas Services
Grant.
The report recommends
that the municipalities
commence discussions
with provincial and fed-
eral government officials
with a view to establishing
an approach and means to
secure expanded gas ser-
vices in the area. It is
expected these discus-
sions will commence later
this fall.
Municipality of Kincar-
dine Mayor Larry Kraemer
said "the issue is simple: our
communities need natural
gas. We will continue to face
economic disadvantages
without it. The report
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presented today is a clear
signal to the provincial and
federal governments that our
councils have taken this
issue very seriously. We have
done our homework and we
now have a much clearer
picture of what it will take to
bring gas to our residents
and businesses. We need
Ontario and the Govern-
ment of Canada to step up to
make this happen."
Township of Huron -Kin-
loss Mayor Mitch Twolan
said "it is very important
to us that members of the
public have access to the
report. Once our advisors
incorporate Council's
Important message from
Dr. Marie Gear, Dr. Mike Shubat,
Dr. Greg Antoniadis, Dr. Bonnie
Marshall, Dr. Shaun Marshall,
Dr. Mark Moores, Dr. Shuffield, and
Dr. Stephen Vander Klippe
feedback into the report, it
will be finalized and
released to the public. We
expect this will happen
before the end of
September."
Municipality of Arran-
Elderslie Mayor Paul
Eagleson said "we have
already held some discus-
sions with our residents
about extending gas ser-
vices. The report allows us
to take this public consul-
tation to the next level.
There will be more oppor-
tunities to meet with and
receive the input of the
public in the weeks and
months ahead. We intend
to post the full report and
supporting documents on
the internet so that every-
one will have easy access
to these materials. Infor-
mation about new devel-
opments will also be
posted online to keep eve-
ryone up to date."
Further to the release
issued June 14, 2014, we
will provide answers to
questions listed in that
release in the near future.
However, in the interim,
we would like to confirm
that municipalities do not
have the authority to com-
pel anyone to connect to
the natural gas system.
"Beginning September 22', the Wingham Medical
Clinic, the Teeswater and Lucknow Medical
Clinics and the North Huron Family Health
Team will be implementing a new computer
system. This may involve the offices being
closed some days for training, longer wait
times for appointments and delays in getting
prescriptions filled. Please ensure that you
renew your medication in advance. This will
be a major transition for the offices and we
thank you in advance for your patience and
understanding."
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