Category Archives: Municipal Affairs

10.03.10
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Cooperation among St. Thomas and neighbouring councils top election issue – Chamber of Commerce survey

The St. Thomas & District Chamber of Commerce has completed a pre-election survey of area businesses to list and rank priorities as seen by local employers and employees.

Of 26 topics and issues measured, harmony and co-operation among all local governments is the top issue. On an importance scale of 1 to 10, survey participants ranked harmony and co-operation with an average score of 8.93.

Rounding out The Top 10 issues:

2. Value for taxes 8.86
3. Having a visible “Vision” statement prioritizing short-term & long-term projects 8.36
4. Increasing local focus or resources on economic development 8.33
5. Downtown or commercial area(s) quality and development 8.06
6. Local buying/sourcing of products & services 8.00
7. Roads, water services, sewers and sidewalks 7.96
8. Waste management, collection & recycling 7.77
9. “Customer Service” by municipal staff 7.77
10. Municipal debt load 7.71

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09.25.10
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Naming names, pointing fingers, seven years later

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Almost seven years to the day, (Sept. 22, 2003 to be exact) municipal council unanimously approved a motion calling for an independent review of council and its working relationships at city hall.

The damning overview, known as the McCarthy Tetrault report, was delivered just prior to the municipal election. It held back little, naming names and pointing fingers.

The report concluded all those interviewed agreed “this past term of council has been extremely troubled.”

Flipping through the pages, you can’t help but dwell on those players still in the running, or hoping to make a comeback, and the brush they were painted with.
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09.13.10
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Few Ontario mayors and city councillors support banning municipal election campaign contributions from corporations and unions

Fair Vote Canada to launch campaign for a province-wide ban and expects strong public support

A recent survey of 474 city councillors and mayors in Ontario’s 42 largest cities (other than Toronto) found only 35 city councillors and two mayors willing to support a ban on corporate and union campaign contributions in municipal elections see list here a ban already instituted in many jurisdictions in Canada.

“Frankly, we were surprised and very disappointed at the low level of support for such a reform to campaign financing,” said Bronwen Bruch, President of Fair Vote Canada. “It looks like this issue could provide voters with a real point of differentiation between incumbents who support the status quo and those challengers, along with some incumbents, who want to see a fresh approach to municipal campaign financing.”
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08.10.10
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Ontario Health Coalition Applauds Ombudsman’s Report on LHIN Spin

Health Coalition Applauds Ombudsman’s Report on LHIN Spin: Demands McGuinty Stop Delaying the LHINs Review, Investigate Poor LHIN Decisions to Cut Hospital Care for Thousands of Residents

TORONTO, Aug. 10 /CNW/ – The Ontario Health Coalition applauds Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin’s report, “The LHIN Spin”. But the Coalition is deeply concerned that the McGuinty government has evaded its legislative requirement to conduct a full review of its Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) and the legislation that governs them and is continuing a major round of health system cuts and restructuring while shutting out virtually all public advocates that have expressed concerns or criticized their reforms. Ironically, though the Ombudsman gave credit to the Ministry of Health for belatedly setting proposed standards for LHINs’ public consultation, the Ministry has not consulted with public advocates who have experience trying to work with the LHINs regarding these standards.

Ombudsman Andre Marin reported that the McGuinty government-appointed LHINs have rendered community engagement “meaningless”. He stated that LHIN board members counted conversations on golf courses and in grocery stores as public consultations. He noted that they relied on presentations of the provider organizations to make decisions affecting access to health care for tens of thousands of residents. He was particularly critical of the LHINs for adopting illegal by-laws to meet behind closed doors.
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07.10.10
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Where’s the furniture, not to mention the agendas and minutes?

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As we noted in this space last week, Ald. Dave Warden intends to throw the spotlight on Ald. Bill Aarts when council next meets on July 19 so that the chairman of the Elgin St. Thomas Public Health board of directors can bring all of us up to speed on the comings and goings at 99 Edward St.

Ald. Warden informed City Scope he wanted to thoroughly research details of ESTPH’s lease arrangement with Elgin county, along with other areas of concern, before engaging Aarts in any dialogue.

Ever diligent, this corner has already undertaken that research, which we presented on June 12, and in the meantime had a face-to-face with CEO Cynthia St. John and presented her take on office space, her increase in salary, staff cutbacks and office morale of late.
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06.12.10
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Search for greener pastures is costing service to community

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You would think with seven staffers jettisoned in recent months, there would be plenty of work space available at 99 Edward St., home of Elgin St. Thomas Public Health.
And with a generous offer on the table from their landlord, the County of Elgin, which would see a 50% reduction in rent with an additional 4,000 square feet thrown in as a bonus, surely office space would be low on the priority scale for the publicly-funded health unit.
Boy, is this corner so not with the game plan.
Elgin St. Thomas Public Health (ESTPH) is now inviting proposals for “a physical needs assessment regarding the needs of general space for all ESTPH programs and services.”
Or, as executive director Cynthia St. John puts it, “The Board is seeking the assistance of a firm to guide us in determining all of our needs with respect to new office space – either in a new building or a renovated one.”
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06.09.10
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Bayham mayor Lynn Acre will not seek re-election this fall

Bayham Mayor Lynn Acre has made it official, she won’t be running in this fall’s municipal election.

“I considered it carefully, discussed it with my family and friends and decided it was time take a breather from politics,” she said Monday.

Acre is on 14 different committees in Bayham, four committees at the Elgin County council level and on the International Plowing Match committee. While members of council are expected to be on committees, Acre is on more than most.

After retiring from politics, she expects to stay involved with some of her favourite committees. These included Museums Bayham and the Wind Interpretative Centre.

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06.03.10
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Long Term Care Waitlists Growing – Homes Challenged to Respond

The Ontario Health Quality Council’s annual report, released today, sheds light on the stark reality in the province’s long term care system – demand far outstrips supply.

“There are about 76,000 long term care beds in homes across the province, which are 98 per cent full, and there is a waitlist of over 25,000 people. It’s not hard to see that this is creating backlogs in patient flow across the health care system,” said Donna Rubin, CEO of the Ontario Association of Non-Profit Homes and Services for Seniors (OANHSS).

In an analysis of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s waitlist data, OANHSS calculates that the greatest demand exists in the not-for-profit sector. Not-for-profits account for just over 40 per cent of all homes in the province and less than one half of all beds, but they are the number one preference of two thirds of individuals on the total provincial waitlist.

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06.03.10
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Failure to reduce long-term care and emergency waiting lists a black mark against McGuinty and LHINs

Too many people in Ontario are still waiting too long for the medical care they need, the Ontario Health Quality Council said Thursday in its 2010 annual report.

The council, an independent, arm’s-length agency, said progress had been made in reducing wait times for some surgeries and procedures, but others were still unacceptably long.

“When only 53 per cent of those urgent cancer cases are completed within the two-week target, when about one-quarter of people spend more time in the emergency department than is recommended and desirable, and when the wait time for a long-term care bed is three times what it was in 2005, then it is obvious that the system has some significant issues to address,” said council chair Lynn McLeod.

“In many areas of care too many people still wait too long.”

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