The Citizen, 2003-06-25, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 2003.
Family fulfills dream of new home in Canada
Soon-to-be Canadians
Annelies and Albrecht Ringgenberg of McKillop
along with children William, left, Elise, Caleb
and Nadine (not pictured) have been in Canada
since 2000 and eagerly await their opportunity
to become citizens. (Janice Becker photo)
By Janice Becker
Citizen staff
While July 1 may be seen
just as a day off work for many
Canadians born to this
Residents hear reasons for hike
Continued from page 1
He explained that the increase
was triggered by the provincial
market value assessment,
which had dramatically
increased the assessed value of
the land in the ward.
Knight pointed out that the
three rural wards in Huron East
(Grey, McKillop and
Tuckersmith) had all suffered
increases for this reason. He
noted however that these three
wards still had the lowest tax
rates in Huron County. “I
would suggest to you it could
country, for others, it is a time
to think about the nation they
have chosen as their home.
For Albrecht Ringgenberg, a
native of Switzerland, coming
to Canada was “an old dream
be worse, and it is for other
areas,” he said.
Councillor Bill Teall
suggested that the fault lay
with the provincial
government in that they had
failed to provide a
“stabilization mechanism” to
aid areas experiencing large
changes in assessed value.
Councillor Ferg Kelly asked,
“Why can’t you simply lower
our tax rate?”
Knight replied, “I would
have trouble justifying that.”
He went on to explain that if
come true”.
Ringgenberg grew up in the
German section of
Switzerland then moved to the
French region and met his
wife Annelies.
“He was already thinking
about coming to Canada by
the time he was 20,” she said.
The couple began their
family and after a few trips to
visit their prospective home,
they finally were able to make
the move in June, 2000.
They immigrated in
Montreal as their ability to
speak French made it much
easier. They knew they wanted
to farm, but seeing the sights
of Canada was first on the
agenda. They bought a van
and a trailer and with their four
children, Nadine, now 17,
Elise, 15, Caleb 13 and
William, eight, they travelled
this land for two months.
It was not only in search of
that farm, but was a chance to
see a lot of things. “The
children knew Canada from
school,” said Mrs.
Ringgenberg, so they helped.
The family headed east to
P.E.I then back through
Montreal to southern Ontario
then west to the Prairies and
B.C.
After stops in Quebec and
Ontario, they hit Manitoba and
were amazed by the
mosquitoes.
“I grew up in a place were
there were a lot of mosquitoes,
but nothing like that,” said
Mrs. Ringgenberg.
McKiHop’s rate was changed
the remaining residents of
Huron East would have to pay
the difference.
Deputy-mayor Bernie
MacLellan also objected
saying, “I think we are just
opening up Pandora’s box. As
soon as we get finished with
one group another will be in
the door.”
Despite the explanations the
ratepayers made it very clear to
council that they felt they
deserved either lower taxes or
higher services.
After reaching Vancouver,
they turned back east, dipping
south through the States to
visit dairy country in
Wisconsin about which Mr.
Ringgenberg had read.
Upon their return to Ontario,
they contacted a real estate
agent who had advertised in a
Swiss paper and had been their
first link to possible farms in
Canada.
While the search continued,
the family camped at a local
campground and tried to get
the children enrolled at
Seaforth schools. However,
one must have a permanent
address to enrol. Soon they
had rented a home across from
Brian and Shelley McGavin in
McKillop and were warmly
greeted.
“The people here are very
nice and friendly,” said Mrs.
Ringgenberg. “The McGavins
helped bring us into the
community. Shelley brought
us muffins.”
Soon, the Ringgenbergs had
located a farm nearby and they
began to settle in.
Asked what is different
about Canada than the country
he left when he was just five,
William quickly answers, “It’s
flatter and bigger.”
Though Elise and Caleb
admit they did not want to
make the move, they were
eventually convinced. Nadine,
the oldest, had studied English
for two years in school, but the
others had to learn on their
feet.
“They had good teachers,”
said their mother. Though they
said it took them a while to
learn English, Caleb said it
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had to have been at least a
month.
Elise said she was relieved
when she learned there was a
French teacher, but that
quickly changed when the
teacher couldn’t understand
her.
She smiles when she tells of
her first year at Seaforth
Public School where all senior
students were assigned a
junior kindergarten buddy. “I
had no idea what she was
saying so I just played along.”
For Mrs. Ringgenberg,
English has come somewhat
easier than for her husband as
she too, had learned some in
school. She also took lessons
once in Canada, but found it
difficult if not using the
language all the time.
Mr. Ringgenberg said he
learns English by listening to a
local radio station while he
works in the fields, though
they each said the English is
sometimes spoken too fast for
them to catch all the words.
They often watch the French
stations on satellite television
to make viewing easier.
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Reading the words also
helped the children learn the
language as they were able to
see what was being said.
While the older children are
fluent in French, German and
English, young William is
relying on English most of the
time and it is something his
parents are working to
overcome as they encourage
him to be tri-lingual as well.
“It was hard for him,” said
Mrs. Ringgenberg. “We spoke
German at home, then he had
eight months of French in
school before we moved
here.”
The Ringgenbergs are
eagerly awaiting the passage
of time as they must reside in
Canada for three years before
they can apply for citizenship.
Mrs. Ringgenberg already has
the papers which cannot be
mailed until September.
Anxious to become new
Canadians, the Ringgenbergs
will be preparing for the test
and seeking advice from their
Swiss friends in Morris who
will be going through the
process this summer.
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HE hears from day cares
By David Blaney
Special to The Citizen
Huron East’s provincially-
regulated daycare providers
got together at a public
meeting on June 18 to describe
services, needs and
accomplishments to council.
The public meeting was
arranged after several
councillors expressed doubts
about the wisdom of
continuing to fund the deficit
of the municipally-run
Vanastra Daycare Centre. The
centre has run at a deficit for
several years and the estimated
shortfall in the current budget
is over $60,000.
Representatives from the
Seaforth Co-operative
Children’s Centre, Walton’s
Little School and Vanastra
provided an overview of their
activities and budgets.
Prior to the presentations and
question period Mayor Lin
Steffler said, “The reason we
are here is that council has
found itself in a quandary
(concerning daycare
financing).” She asked the
groups to, “tell your story to us
to make sure we have all the
facts before we make a
decision.”
All the groups provide
essentially the same services
although Shannon McGavin,
of Walton, emphasized her
heavy emphasis on early
literacy. The fee structure of
each is comparable. The
Walton program does not
receive the county wage
subsidy enjoyed by the other
two although this is currently
under review.
The most obvious difference
between the organizations is
their structure. Seaforth is a co
operative run by the parents,
Walton is private and has a
parents’ advisory council and
Vanastra is operated as a
department of Huron East.
This year, in addition to
funding the Vanastra program,
council provided the Seaforth
program with a $10,000 grant
to help with the co-op’s move
from the old Seaforth Public
School to a new site at the
former high school.
This led several councillors
to suggest that assistance
should be extended to the
Walton Little School.
However, Steffler has
commented on several
occasions that she feels there
may be problems with the
council providing public
money to a private business.
She suggested at the meeting,
“Personally I am more
comfortable with directing
municipal money to parents
and children (rather than
organizations).”
Deputy-mayor Bernie
MacLellan commented after
the meeting that the question
was, “Are we treating the
ratepayers of Huron East fairly
by subsidizing the daycare in
Vanastra and not the other
two?”
Council will meet privately
with all three groups to get a
closer look at the financing of
each organization.
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This program enables businesses to avr * ‘ ‘
and paying reduced wages accordingl
Employment Insurance (El) to compensa
w W
Who can participate?
layoffs by shortening the work week
eligible workers draw benefits from
for the lower wages.
Permanent full- or part-time employees eligible to receive regular El benefits.
How can employers qualify?
Employers must have been in business in Canada for at least two years and
demonstrate that the need for reduced hours is temporary, unavoidable
and not seasonal.
Other measures for employees
If you have lost your job, you may be eligible to receive regular El benefits.
You may also take advantage of the other programs and services offered
by Human Resources Develooment Canada (HRDC).
For more information please visit or
contact your local Human Resources
Centre of Canada (HRCC).
0To locate the nearest HRCC caU
i 8oo O-Canada -
TTY/ATS; 1 8oo 465'7735
CS You can also visit the HRDC Web site
at www.hrdc.gc.ca
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