The Lucknow Sentinel, 2016-12-14, Page 66 Lucknow Sentinel • Wednesday, December 14, 2016
ACW council supports
Internet, telephone
voting in 2018
Beth Lindhorst No winter maintenance
Special to Postmedia seasonal road closures for
this winter were approved.
At the regular meeting MacKenzie Camp Road saw
of ACW council on Dec 6, significant upgrades this
council unanimously sup- year and will now be plowed
ported a bylaw allowing during the winter months.
Internet and telephone A summary of rental
voting in the 2018 munici- rates for the Benmiller
pal election. Community Hall and Ball
The clerk has been Diamond, were presented
authorized to secure an for councils information.
agreement with an appro- Also under discussion
priate service provider. in this session is commu-
Huron-Kinloss provided nity grants. The Ontario
Internet and telephone vot- Municipal Act allows
ing services in the 2014 municipal council to pro -
election. Other townships vide grants to volunteer
in Huron are considering based community groups
implementing this alter- or individuals for any pur-
nate voting method. pose that council feels
Appointment of coun- would be beneficial to the
cillors and township staff community. Council does
to various committees recognize that these
within the township was groups provide important
reviewed and approved. benefits within the com-
Two new part-time equip- munities and is commit-
ment operators have been ted to treating requests for
hired to fill vacancies. grants from these groups
In finances, from the in a consistent manner.
Ontario Municipal Part- A draft policy was pre-
nership Fund, the 2017 sented at this meeting and
allocation to ACW has a bylaw will be brought
increased by $66,700 to a forward at the next coun-
total of $719,800. cil meeting.
•
May faith be your guide,
and joy your
constant companion during
this holy Season.
Thank you for
your friendship
and loyal support.
Merry Christmas.
Ic‘st Residential • Commercial • Firm -Generatem
RR1 LUCKNO 515-529-5714
WINGHAM 5i9-357-1583
'lritwliif. poy riwiring.ca
Farm labour shortage looks
bleak for Southwestern Ontario
John Miner
London Free Press
With a growing gap
between the number of
people willing to work on
the farm and the need for
workers, Canada's reliance
on foreign workers is set to
soar, a national think-tank
predicts.
In a new report, the Con-
ference Board of Canada
said there already is a gap of
59,200 workers, double what
it was a decade ago.
That shortage is expected
to double again during the
next 10 years with a gap of
113,800 positions by 2025.
Report co-author Michael
Burt, director of industrial
economic trends at the Con-
ference Board, said the two
main areas hit with
shortages are Southwestern
Ontario and the horticul-
tural areas of British
Columbia.
If it wasn't for temporary
foreign workers, it is likely a
significant portion of Cana-
dian farm land would go
unplanted, the report said.
"That would be a tragedy
in a world where about
800 million people are food -
insecure," the Conference
Board authors said.
The report released this
month found temporary for-
eign workers fill one in 10
jobs in the sector, up from
one in 20 a decade ago.
Burt said there are several
reasons for the agriculture
sector labour shortages,
even at a time when people
are unemployed.
Often available work is in
rural areas not easily
accessed by unemployed
people in urban centres.
In addition, much agricul-
tural work is seasonal with
demand for workers soaring
by about 100,000 and then
plunging.
Then, there is an image
problem, with many people
believing farm work is too
physical with long hours.
Two solutions often pro-
posed — increasing the use
of technology to replace
labour and paying workers
more — won't solve the
shortages, the report said.
The number of Canadians
willing to work in the sector
has shrunk, even as wages
have risen.
At the same time, a dra-
matic increase in the
machinery employed per
worker has contributed to
agriculture experiencing
the strongest labour pro-
ductivity gains of any major
sector during the past 20
years, but there are limits to
which jobs can be
mechanized.
Given the prospect for
continuing shortages, the
Conference Board suggests
Canada re-evaluate the
effectiveness of immigration
programs so they better
meet the needs of
agriculture.
The board also suggests
overhauling the temporary
foreign worker program,
including easing the rules for
entry visas and allowing per-
manent residency for
migrant workers who are fill-
ing a permanent labour mar-
ket need.
Grandparents access bill gets third reading
A Private Member's Bill
to ensure grandparents'
rights to access and
develop relationships with
their grandchildren passed
its third reading Monday,
Dec. 6 in the Ontario legis-
lature on its way to becom-
ing law in the province.
"I am very happy to see
this bill pass," said Algoma -
Manitoulin New Democrat
MPP Michael Mantha
about his bill, in a news
release. "This will most def -
i n i t e l y help
i The Lucknow Sentinel
Birthday Club
Mya Sproul
December 15, 2004
12 years old
Meryn Bakker
December 16, 2009
7 years old
Ashton Lynne Priestap
December 20, 2011
5 years old
Your child can be a member
of the Sentinel's birthday club
call 519-528-2822 to register
alum Sooting
619 Campbell Street
519-528-2822
many grandparents and
grandchildren across the
province."
Mantha said: "This is
about grandchildren's rights
and maintaining a nurturing
and loving relationship with
their grandparents. It's time
for Ontario to catch up to
other provinces and act in
the best interest of our
children."
Many members of the
Alienated Grandparents
Anonymous group, along
with families and grandpar-
ents across Ontario have
showed support and lob-
bied for the passing of Bill
34 - Children's Law Reform
Amendment Act: Relation-
ship with Grandparents. An
estimated 75,000 -plus
Ontario grandparents have
been denied the ability to
visit or see their grandchil-
dren, with well over 112,000
grandchildren losing con-
tact with their
grandparents.
Mantha said the legisla-
tion will ensure that courts
consider the merits of indi-
vidual cases and determine
granting access, not by mere
default, but rather based on
whether contact would be
appropriate in the circum-
stances. He said Ontario
currently lags far behind
many of its counterparts
across the country that have
already recognized this
issue within custody
arrangement proceedings.
Saskatchewan, Yukon, Man-
itoba, Quebec and Nova
Scotia have named this
issue within legislation.
The bill is expected to
receive Royal Assent and
become law in Ontario
before the legislature
adjourns for the holidays.
Keep your
funny -bone
in shape!
Laughing has proven stress -release and
health benefits. Funny how that works, eh?
athhi a
Healthier
Future,
VI;
paancinacnon