Huron Expositor, 2014-02-05, Page 3Wednesday, February 5,2014 • Huron Expositor 3
Pork producers' president believes province better equipped to battle virus
Huron County
second biggest
producer in the
province
optimistic that Ontario is well
prepared to deal with a virus that
has killed millions of baby pigs
in the U.S.
Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea
has spread to 22 states and killed
more than 3 million piglets.
Dave Flaherty There have been four con-
Goderich Signal Star firmed cases in Ontario, two in
Chatham -Kent, one in Middle -
The president of Huron sex County and one in Norfolk
County Pork Producers is County.
Ontario Pork has estimated
that the industry could lose up
to $45 million from the disease.
However, Phil Dykstra isn't
ready to give up all hope just
yet.
Dykstra said he feels Ontario
is in a better position to deal
with the virus because they have
been able to monitor the situa-
tion in the U.S., and in turn, pre-
pare appropriately.
Liberals to increase minimum wage
to $11 an hour on June 1
Huron -Bruce
MPP says
government is
ignoring other issues
that are driving
businesses out
Dave Flaherty
Goderich Signal Star
The minimum wage is going
up.
Premier Kathleen Wynne
announced the Liberal govern-
ment would also introduce legis-
lation that would permanently tie
the benchmark to the Consumer
price Index, ensuring that the
rate rises with inflation.
"My concern for a number of
years is that there has not been a
systematic way of pegging the
minimum wage," Wynne said.
"What has happened for decades
is that minimum wage is
increased or frozen depending
on political ideology, and that I
don't think is a sustainable path:'
Huron -Bruce MPP Lisa
Thompson said the Liberals con-
tinue to "turn a blind eye" to the
real issues that are hurting the
province's economy.
She said companies are leav-
ing because of higher energy
costs and proposed increases to
gas and corporate taxes, all of
which Thompson says comes
back on employees and consum-
ers, "making life unaffordable
Thompson said a great cause
of concern for her is the lack of
"sustainable, available, healthy
middle class jobs" within the
province.
As the PC critic for small busi-
ness, Thompson said business
owners have told her that they
may have to let employees go.
She explained that they need
to find "a balance" between
competitive wages and not
putting too much burden on
business and company owners,
noting that with this increase
Ontario will join Nunavut as hav-
ing the highest minimum wage
in the country.
This will be the first increase in
Ontario since 2010.
For nine years from 1995 to
2004, the Mike Harris and Ernie
Eves -led PC Party froze the mini-
mum hourly wage at $6.85.
The Liberals had yearly
increases, starting in 2004, until
2010.
Some anti -poverty groups had
been pushing for a $14/hr mini-
mum wage, but Ontario Labour
Minister Yasir Naqvi said such an
increase would be too large for
the economy to absorb.
Thompson said in her view it
comes down to the Liberals
"choosing to ignore what is driv-
ing business out of the province
- with files from QMI Agency
Usborne & Hibbert
Mutual Fire Insurance Company
NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING
The 138th Annual Meeting of the Usborne & Hibbert Mutual Fire Insurance Company
will be held at the Kirkton-Woodham Community Centre at 2 p.m. on Monday, March
17, 2014, for the presentation of the Annual Report, to elect Directors and to transact
any business that may rightly come before the meeting.
Nominations will be received for the election of two Directors for a three year term.
The Directors whose term of office expires are Tom Feeney and Michael O'Shea, both
of whom are eligible for re-election.
Article 21 Any person wishing to seek election or re-election as a Director must
file his/her intention to stand for election in writing with the General Manager of the
Corporation in person at least thirty days in advance of the Annual Meeting or Special
General Meeting called for the purpose of electing Directors.
The 2013 Financial Statements for Usborne & Hibbert Mutual Fire Insurance
Company will be posted to the company's web site. Copies will also be available at
the company office, 507 Main Street South, Exeter, Ontario.
Tom Feeney Shelagh Cleary BA, FCIP
Chair and President General Manager
"The collective work of our industry
stakeholders and the Ontario govern-
ment has been commendable," Dykstra
said. "It will have benefits for pork
producers:'
The Huron County Pork Producers
held their annual meeting in Seaforth
on Jan. 29.
Amy Cronin, a Huron County farmer
and chair of Ontario Pork was on hand
to address the issues.
Swine veterinarians also attended to
answer questions from farmers.
"I'm optimistic that the impact won't
be as serious as in the U.S.," Dykstra told
the Signal Star.
That is not to say that Dykstra and
other pork producers are not
concerned.
"The reality is we have a very hot virus
and there is going to be a spread," he
said.
The virus has been confirmed to be
highly contagious and easily spread by
the most minuscule amount of
manure.
Dykstra said a friend in the industry
told him, "pork producers should con-
sider that the virus might be
everywhere
"We simply cannot track anything
into our barns," he added.
Huron County is second only to Perth
County in pork production in the prov-
ince, Dykstra said, estimating 16 per
cent of Ontario's pork comes from the
county.
"That's a big part of any potential
loss."
With speculation that the virus will
have an effect on pork prices, Dykstra
said, "sound logic would say with less
production, prices will likely go up:'
Pork industry and government offi-
cials have stressed that the virus poses
no threat to humans.
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