During its August meeting three years ago, city council denied a permit application from the Zubick family of London to demolish the remaining buildings at Alma College.
What appeared at the time to be a bold move by our municipal representatives was, in fact, nothing of the sort. With a trip to the polls just three months distant, our elected officials were just protecting their political assets.
Following the November vote, it was business as usual and a collective ho-hum to the city’s rich heritage.
To be fair, however, the finger of blame also needs to be pointed in the direction of culture minister Aileen Carroll, who appears to be missing in action when dealing with the province’s built heritage.
Or as faithful reader Bob Foster in Brampton notes, should you wish to corner Carroll, you are best to attend regal gatherings where there is no shortage of wine and cheese.
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Monthly Archives: August 2009
“If we make sacrifices, we want assurances we’ll keep jobs,” – Ken Lewenza
When Ken Lewenza took over the presidency of the Canadian Auto Workers a year ago he knew he wasn’t in for an easy ride. But he didn’t know his union would shed 25,000 members in a year because of the economic crisis and the near collapse of the Canadian auto sector.
As he was re-elected Thursday for a three-year mandate at the head of the country’s largest private-sector union, Lewenza warned the worst is likely not over.
He noted the CAW is preoccupied with the reductions and job losses at the Ford Windsor, Ont. plant, the St. Thomas, Ont. plant — which is subject to close in 2011 — and the Oakville, Ont. plant that is not operating at full speed.
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Ethanol undermines Canada hog farm rescue
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Canada’s rescue plan of the hog industry will fail to save it because the government continues to support ethanol production, the industry’s rival for feed grain supplies, a report by an independent farm research centre said on Wednesday.
The Canadian government said on Saturday it will pay some farmers to stop raising hogs and offer loans to help others restructure. Canada’s hog industry is in crisis, with high feed prices, a buoyant Canadian dollar, fears about H1N1 flu and a U.S. food labelling law making pig farming unprofitable.
A mandate from the Canadian government, starting next year, that oil companies must market fuel with 5 percent renewable content, has spurred rapid expansion of ethanol production. That’s driving up prices of corn and feed wheat, from which ethanol is produced and which farmers feed to cattle and pigs.
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Ontario to launch wind forecasting service in 2010
Ontario plans to launch a centralized wind forecasting service next year, its bulk electricity manager said on Tuesday, as it tries to add more wind-generated energy to its grid.
Ontario, Canada’s most populous province and biggest energy consumer, already leads the other provinces in installed wind energy capacity, with 1,200 megawatts of power. But it wants to increase this and is seeking other sources of clean energy as it phases out dirty coal-fired power stations.
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“You dont change the course of history by turning the faces of portraits to the wall”
Posted by Bob Foster:
Ms.Aileen Carroll,
On a warm and breezy August day I drove the 2 hours from my hometown of Brampton,to the city of St.Thomas where beautiful & historic Alma College stood for 130 years,sadly the college no longer towers over St.Thomas,for all the political posturing and lack of leadership at every level,allowed this masterpiece to sit neglected,until a fire eventually brought her down in May of last year.The property is historical in its own right and one would think our culture minister would see the historical value,considering 2 buildings remained standing after the horrific fire and are now facing demolition,unless someone from the Ontario government steps to the plate and gives provincial heritage designation.Are we to simply walk away from 96 Moore Street,do we just forget the contribution the college made to our province,or would the culture minister prefer the 2 buildings that have withstood the hands of time,be brought down with the wrecking ball,like so many on her watch.I’m reminded of a quote I recently read by Jawaharlal Hehru:
“You dont change the course of history by turning the faces of portraits to the wall”
This saying couldnt be more true,for if we simply turn our back on 96 Moore Street,does this mean we can just go on like we’re not to blame.We are all responsible for allowing the poor treatment of this magnificent structure to continue for so long,but we now have a chance to keep the memory alive.Will Aileen Carroll give provincial heritage designation to 96 Moore Street or will she simply turn the portrait of Alma College to the wall?
Bob Foster
Brampton,Ontario
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Lengthy death watch for Ford’s St. Thomas Assembly Plant
The plant has been on the bubble for more than three years, with little new investment and little confidence on the part of some analysts that Ford will ever build any new cars there beyond its aging rear-wheel-drive police cruisers and chauffeured sedans. The automaker says there is no product identified for the facility beyond 2011.
If Ford closes the plant, it will be a rare down note for a company carefully crafting a comeback. But among the labour leaders with the Canadian Auto Workers union, hope has a funny way of clinging to life.
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Two years later and council is still shuffling pieces of the puzzle
In what has to be the longest-running saga at city hall, the folks in the parks and recreation department are enduring another restructuring — a process that would be comical, except it has claimed two veteran staffers over the course of the bureaucratic bumbling.
The shuffle can be traced back to March, 2007 when Ald. Tom Johnston was the lone voice of opposition to council’s decision to merge the existing parks department (then under the auspice of the environmental services group) with the recreation department.
To manage the new entity, the city plucked Kent McVittie away from his position as manager of recreation and attractions with the City of London.
That resulted in the first casualty — Frank Lattanzio, manager of facilities and property.
“I can tell you that the corporation decided to restructure and that my position is no longer there,” he remarked at the time.
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Ontario’s big windy gamble. The province is betting on wind power, and critics are lining up.
Ontario is already North America’s friendliest jurisdiction for wind and other renewable energy projects, thanks to its recently proclaimed Green Energy Act, meant to speed along approval, and the establishment of European-style 20-year fixed-price energy contracts. (Power companies are now required to integrate all new green energy projects into their grids and pay producers 13.5 cents per kilowatt hour for onshore wind farms, 19 cents/kWh for offshore wind, and up to 80.2 cents/kWh for solar power, versus about six cents/kWh for both hydro and nuclear energy.) The province, which is committed to shutting down its coal-fired plants by 2014, will have 1,200 megawatts of wind power in operation by the end of this year, and there are 103 more “shovel ready” wind developments, totalling 3,263 MW, in the pipeline. The proliferation of giant turbines—80-m-tall towers with 40- to 45-m blades—is already nearing the 5,000 MW supply ceiling the Ontario Power Authority has said it can easily integrate into its aging grid. But soon, there will be no more limits. Smitherman is promising a series of major power infrastructure announcements in coming weeks that will not only make wind a much bigger part of Ontario’s energy mix, but open up vast new areas of the province to commercial wind development.
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McGuinty government is flying blind when it comes to the development of wind power.
Erie Shores Wind Farm
The waterfowl study group has set aside $300,000 for a two-year probe of wind turbines and their potential impact on waterfowl in the lower Great Lakes. Long Point Waterfowl is undertaking the research to address gaps in its understanding.
Scott Petrie, executive director of Long Point Waterfowl, is disturbed that the province wants to steamroll dissent on green energy projects when the scientific record is silent on the question of migratory waterfowl and wind turbines.
“I find what the McGuinty government is doing is very scary,” Petrie said. “They don’t want anybody speaking out against turbine locations. I’m very concerned about the Green Energy Act. We’re just trying to provide direction and to help ensure that green energy is as green as green can be.”
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