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Mono resident questions need for firearm bylaw at council

February 5, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

How many is too many bylaws, too much restriction of life’s unfettered enjoyment?

Especially when there are already provincial and federal legislation and regulations that govern something with which a municipality may have proposed a bylaw.

One of the items Mono council has listed among its unfinished business is a firearms bylaw report. It’s been on council’s radar since October 2023.

Mono resident Jason Kipps said when council met on Jan. 28 that there are already laws on the books that dictate how firearms are to be used in Mono, in Ontario, and indeed in Canada.

While he can appreciate efforts to raise awareness about the safe use of firearms, enacting a bylaw about firearms may not be necessary to simply raise awareness of their safe and responsible use.

“We don’t pass bylaws, for example, if we wanted to bring more awareness to speeding,” he said. “We don’t pass a bylaw around speeding. We already have legislation on the books that governs speeding.”

The perceived need for more rules to restrict how properties are used is concerning, he said.

Kipps said he’s been a Mono resident for about 15 years and many of today’s bylaws were not needed back then.

“This isn’t actually a question that I’m hearing,” Deputy Mayor Fred Nix said. “It’s a political statement you’re making. It’s very nice, but the period right now is for questions.”

“Well, my question is what other bylaws then are in the works for being considered in the future?” Kipps said.

Regarding the proposed bylaw to regulate short-term rentals in the municipality, Kipps asked if there has been consideration given to longer tenant rights that would kick in after a property is rented for more than 10 days.

“There are certain situations in place provincially that should be considered,” he said.

Kipps said his mother rented a property and tenancy rights kicked in after 10 days.

“And that person never paid any rent and she (his mother) almost lost her home,” he said. “It took a year and half to get that tenant out.”

“Jason,” Nix said.

“I said to you, I said I wasn’t sure if this was a question or a comment,” Kipps said. “You told me to come up and speak, so here I am.”

“To find out if you had a question,” Nix said.

“Yup,” Kipps said.

“Now I’ve heard one question,” Nix said. “Can we answer that? And then we’ll deal with all your other comments some other time.”

Fred Simpson, the town’s clerk, outlined a litany of possible and proposed bylaws in the works for council.

“I think the answer, Jason, is you’re quite right,” Nix said. “We have so many bylaws in the works that our clerk is working overtime. I can’t answer your broader philosophical question about why we need all these bylaws.”

Nix said there are pressures from residents who all want certain things. The only way council can get those things accomplished is to pass bylaws, he said.

Councillor Ralph Manktelow said council doesn’t enjoy bringing bylaws. It creates a lot of work for town staff and council.

“I think the answer is the reason for doing them (bylaws) is because we see a need,” Manktelow said. “And the need may be because it’s something new like people have an interest in having chickens in their backyard.”

The town needs to manage that to best accommodate residents who want a backyard chicken coop and those who are against them.

“All the bylaws that we’re doing, I think, we feel there’s a genuine need for them,” Manktelow said.

“Yes, we do have a lot of bylaws, but it’s the way govern,” Nix said.

Headline News

Mono council discusses automatic speed enforcement cameras

February 5, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

Mono staff have been tasked with amending town council’s laundry list of unfinished business to include ways to increase revenue, create a process toward administrative penalties, and introduce traffic safety cameras.

Mayor John Creelman introduced a notice of motion during council’s Jan. 28 meeting to ask staff to review all fees and other revenue opportunities and to present that review to council later.

Staff and council will work towards creating an administrative penalties process for such things as Part Two Provincial Offences Act charges, which are parking offences. The process will include penalties for bylaw infractions and future automated speed enforcement safety camera fines.

Regarding the safety cameras, Creelman would like them to be introduced to roads in Mono, including Dufferin County roads, to discourage speeding. All revenue from the cameras will be applied to policing Mono and its bylaw enforcement budgets.

“Hand in hand with that would be a migration to administrative penalties which would allow up to set fines as opposed to be at the mercy of the regional senior judge for (Provincial Offences Act) matters,” Creelman said.

Automated speed enforcement is being introduced in some Dufferin County neighbours such as Shelburne, Grand Valley, and possibly Amaranth. Creelman said he understands that Orangeville is close to embarking on installing safety cameras.

“I would hope that we work with one of those communities to tag along,” he said.

“Do we still need the Community Safety Zones to do the speed cameras?” Deputy Mayor Fred Nix asked.

Creelman said that is indeed a requirement.

“But council can unilaterally declare a Community Safety Zone anywhere it feels it’s important,” Creelman said. “There is no criteria, which is crazy.”

Councillor Melinda Davie asked if the whole town could be designated as such a safety zone.

“Theoretically we could declare the entire town,” Creelman said. “If you look at Community Safety Zones in Shelburne, it’s hard to find an area of a road that isn’t a Community Safety Zone.”

Creelman said the problem with those zones is that the fines for traffic infractions are doubled.

“I think it’s almost a poisoned pill to tie that to safety cameras because, all of a sudden, safety cameras are causing you to get a doubling of fines when the point is safety not making tonnes of money,” he said.

Davie said the cameras would only have to be there for a short time until motorists become cognizant of speed limits in a particular area. She suggested a large enough sign merely advertising the camera would accomplish getting motorists to slow down.

“They have an impact,” she said. “They say, ‘wait a second, $300 to get there quicker? Maybe I’m not going to do it.’”

Given that, Creelman said there may be an advantage gained with a sign.

“I’ve never seen a Community Safety Zone with such signage, but it may not be a bad idea,” he said.

General News

Mono collects the lion’s share of last year’s parking tickets

February 5, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

Mono Bylaw Enforcement wrote 325 parking tickets last year.

Those parking citations injected $23,804 into municipal coffers by the end of 2024. Of the 325 parking tickets last year, as much as 90 per cent of them have been paid.

According to a report to Mono council, despite a decrease in parking patrols, infractions increased compared to 2023 when 236 tickets were issued and resulted in $17,698 to the town’s purse. The busiest month last year was October when enforcement staff wrote 175 tickets for $13,416. September 2024 was second with 35 tickets for $2,470.

Bylaw enforcement responded to 219 requests for service last year. That is in addition to the 21 open files from 2023. Those 240 files in 2024 don’t include parking enforcement.

Requests for service increased compared to 2023 when bylaw enforcement responded to 126 service requests.

Of the 240 service requests, 212 files were closed for a closure rate of 88 per cent.

At the beginning of this year, there were 28 active investigations with 23 open from 2024 and five open files ongoing from 2023.

Of that tally, there were 54 “Clean Yards” investigations. Of those, 10 are ongoing and 44 have been resolved.

Councillor Ralph Manktelow said there’s been a persistent problem with the trailers of heavy transport tractor-trailer trucks being parked on residential lots. He wanted to know if such incidents are classified in the Clean Yards category of investigations listed.

“Trailers are a difficult one for Bylaw Enforcement to pursue,” said Fred Simpson, the town’s clerk. “The couple that we were successful on, we were able to argue that they were transport operations which was contrary to the zoning bylaw. So the charges were laid under the Planning Act.”

The zoning bylaw also prohibits the use of a trailer for storage on a property, he said. Such incidents were also pursued as Planning Act infractions.

“Where you get rural property owners who may keep one or two trailers but is clearly not trying to run a transport operation is a little more challenging,” Simpson said. “We are proceeding with those. We do have both the zoning bylaw and our trailer bylaw to try to use.”

The complication with enforcing the zoning bylaw is having to go to provincial court, he said.

“There is no such things as fines within the Planning Act,” he said.

And also: “It’s not under the Municipal Act so we have different rules that we have to follow,” Simpson said.

“I think the public should know that, of the 212 bylaw enforcement cases that were resolved last year, they were all resolved with no charges being laid,” Deputy Mayor Fred Nix said. “They were just resolved by discussing with the landowner what had to change and the landowner made the change.”

“Mostly they were resolved that way,” Simpson said. “We did go to court on a couple of issues.”

But the issues had been primarily resolved through voluntary compliance, Simpson said.

“I think the other thing the public should be aware of is we do have a lot of bylaws,” Nix said. “So we do a lot of regulating. But our bylaws are all complaint-driven.”

Other than parking, it’s only when a town’s Bylaw Enforcement staff gets a complaint is an issue investigated.

“Bylaw Enforcement is proactive on some things,” Simpson said. “For example, signs.”

Regarding signs, staff had 21 issues. Of those, 17 have been resolved and four investigations continue. Animal Control complaints were the highest with 57 complaints. Just two of those are ongoing.

“Largely, our bylaws are complaint driven,” Nix said.

Bylaw Enforcement officers logged 996 hours in 2024. And Coun. Elaine Capes wanted to know how much the town paid for those hours.

“For last year, parking enforcement came under budget,” Simpson said. “And we were on budget for bylaw enforcement. That would cover the two enforcement officer that we have.”

Simpson said enforcing municipal bylaws cost $80,000 in 2024, and that included a clerk’s hours managing the department.

“There’s 10 per cent of those tickets that are unpaid,” Capes said. “Who is collecting that?”

Simpson said that would be collected in Provincial Offences Act court.

“Some of it just takes longer to collect so we do issue notices that tickets are unpaid,” he said. “We have a process that we follow to seek payment. If we don’t get it, then we take those to court and seek a conviction in court in absentia, basically.”

Arts and Entertainment

Learn about the No. 2 Construction Battalion at the Orangeville Library’s upcoming event

February 5, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

Three members of Headwaters Arts displaying their work in the organization’s latest art show, “Colours,” recently spoke with the Citizen about their work and artistic process.

The show runs from Feb. 12 to March 16 within the Headwaters Arts Gallery at the Alton Mill Arts Centre (1402 Queen St. W., Suite 109, Alton).

Janis Dixon

Janis Dixon admitted, “I am just a beginner!” 

That led to the question – can age be a barrier to becoming an artist? Resoundingly, the answer was no.

Janis’ painting, “Row Houses” is charm itself, lots of bright colours and inviting a visit. It is the first painting she has submitted to a Headwaters Arts show, which this month is titled Colours.

She worked for the President of Toronto Dominion Bank when “Ed Clark was in, for about 15 years,” she told the Citizen. “Since then, we moved to Mono 15 years ago, on two acres and we love it here.”

She and her husband enjoy gardening and over their time living here, they have created almost a two-acre park, with a waterfall and beautiful patio garden. Over that time, they ran a rescue for Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, keeping most of them because the adorable little dogs had issues.

Janis also has a horse, but a back injury has stopped her from riding. She keeps him anyway, in a neighbour’s barn and visits him every day. The barn owner’s sister is Angela Burden, an artist and member of Headwaters Arts.

One day, Janis commented how much she enjoyed watching Angela paint and was invited to try it herself.

“Take one lesson,” was the encouragement, which she did. “And I loved it.”

She began with small paintings and Angela suggested she go home and see what she would like to paint. One thing Janis could confirm – she loves big bright colours. When it came to what she wanted to paint, she remembered a beautiful painting of a house in the boardroom at the bank.

“I’d like to paint colourful houses like those in Newfoundland.” 

Because she had to stop riding, missing the rides through the Dufferin Forest, Janis really put herself into painting. Angela said she should do it the way she sees it. With many hours and in the course of the learning, she learned how to mix all her colours, trying to make clouds too, with instruction from Angela. 

For Janis, now in her seventies, the gift of being able to create art is wonderful. Her ambition is to keep improving with Angela. She has joined Headwaters and Dufferin Arts. She loves to cook – the presentation of meals is a joy.

“I never thought I could paint,” she said. “I’d love to improve.”

Patty Lynes

Patty Lynes has sketched and painted since she was a child. Her contribution to the Headwaters Arts’ next show is a fabulous vision of trees in the winter, called “Morning Light.” In particular, Patty loves all the mediums and she is on a quest, one might say, to expand her knowledge and use of many different styles and mediums.

“What started me – I always liked to draw and sketch even out of doors,” she began the story of her life as an artist.

Patty works in oils and they keep fluid outdoors even in the winter. Yet, she can work with whatever she has on hand, saying, “It’s a lovely and peaceful way to paint, out of doors. I dress up warm, of course.”

This is her first show at Headwaters Arts, which she just joined: she saw a “colour show” coming up and is very excited about being part of it.

She attended the Emily Carr University of Art and Design out west in the ’90s, staying in Vancouver and Whistler -working there for six years and travelling as well to Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong, where she learned Chinese brush painting.

Her career is as a landscape architect, for which she earned a degree in Fine Arts at Guelph. She always managed to keep art in her life.

Patty told us she has expanded her work to be more fluid: “When I’m painting outdoors, feeling the environment, there’s a movement, a constant evolution and I’m striving to get more light, not just colour – a feeling, mood.”

“I love the medium, painting off and on, lately applying myself and trying to be dedicated to my art; doing competitions,” said Patty.

As for painting outside in the cold, Patty reckons it’s fun to get out and force yourself. Then, she finds it very meditative, especially in forests and landscapes. Her passion is always wanting to try to use different mediums. Currently, she is pursuing multi-media, India ink, combining things. Her paintings are doing well, with hangings in galleries and successes at art competitions.

“It’s hard work getting out there,” she remarked, “and finding ways, promoting and delivering.”

Patty has a shared studio in Hamilton that is convenient and pleasant to be with other artists when she is there.

Her ambition is to grow and develop her skills. There are so many subjects she loves to paint; so many places to paint in Canada.

She said, “I’ve always done my art by my work. Now I can focus on my work – makes it so exciting.”

Kevin Ellis

Kevin Ellis has been painting in the Dufferin area for some years now and loves how the light works in the forests and on the cliffs in Mono. Unfortunately, we were not able to speak directly to Kevin but he offered these notes:

“On First Snow, I was at a New Year’s Eve party in the Collingwood area which was followed by an early morning walk around the Clendendan Dam. I came out of the dense woods and was awestruck by this beautiful New Year’s Day scene. From the darkness of the blue waters to the misty yellow morning skies it was really breathtaking. There is always so much nuance that surrounds us if we just take a moment to observe!”

Kevin added, “My greatest influence is, I think, my father who was an educator for 37 years in Toronto. I have always drawn and painted and have been observed sketching during meetings throughout my long career in communications. l love the Bloomsbury group, The Group of Seven, David Milne, John Fox and many contemporaries like Cecily Brown, Jaclyn Conley, Shirley Cheechoo and Kent Monkman.

“I’m so excited to be part of the Headwaters exhibition and meet all the other artists!”

Commentary

Buy Canadian

February 5, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

Marco Polo is considered one of the first, maybe the original, true explorer.

The Venetian-born merchant travelled the Silk Road into the heart of China between the years 1271 and 1295.

At the time, most of the Eastern world was unknown to Europeans.

Polo travelled to what was then known as ‘Cathay’, in northern China.

He made a good impression and was welcomed to the royal court of Kublai Khan.

Polo made a lot of good, to him, discoveries during his travels.

Later in his life, a book titled, “The Travels of Marco Polo,” detailed his experiences in the Far East giving Europeans their first comprehensive look into China, Persia, India, Japan and other Asian societies.

During his travels, Polo returned to Europe with a lot of new ideas as well as new products he had found. It gave Europeans new ideas and opened the concept of trade with a faraway place.

Trade between neighbours, businesses, towns, regions and nations has always been part of society.

You have something your neighbour needs, and he has something you require. You trade back and forth to produce a supply for a demand.

It’s a very simple economic way of doing things.

“I’ll take some of those coconuts you have because we can’t grow them here, and I’ll send you some wheat you need to make bread and keep your people fed.”

Tariffs are not new. Many nations impose tariffs from time to time.

The usual reason is to reduce the importation of goods and services by increasing their prices and for the protection of domestic producers.

There can be a lot of good in that – if you’re the producer and foreign products are flooding the market and out-selling your market.

Tariffs are also used to raise revenue and exert political leverage over another country.

U.S. President Donald Trump has now imposed tariffs against Canada, China, and Mexico – its biggest trading partners.

What will it do for the U.S.? Probably nothing except raise the cost of goods they need.

Trump seems to have some kind of bone to pick with Canada. I’m not sure why.

We have always been good neighbours and for the most part, have supported them in international efforts.

Of course, Canada will respond with tariffs of its own. That will of course hurt U.S. manufacturers who sell plenty of products here.

“You see these empty, old, beautiful steel mills and factories that are empty and falling down,” Trump said in October 2024, when on the campaign trail. “We’re going to bring the companies back. We’re going to lower taxes for companies that are going to make their products in the USA. And we’re going to protect those companies with strong tariffs.”

Trump is dreaming on this one. The manufacturing base in the U.S. dried up years ago, and new companies emerged in different industries.

Investors aren’t going to start pouring billions and billions of dollars to once again start building widget factories.

Whether they like it, most manufactured products and electronics in the U.S. now come from China.

Consumers are going to get angry very quickly when they need to purchase a new refrigerator only to find the cost of an already expensive item just went up 25 per cent because of imposed tariffs.

There used to be a gas station in western New York that advertised on radio all the time.

“We don’t sell gas from the Middle East,” the ad always said. “We get our gas from Canada, our friends to the north.”

That meant something to the average American.

I was in a local liquor store this afternoon when a discussion broke out at the cash register. One man buying a product was reading the label to make sure it was Canadian-manufactured.

Another customer was carefully reading the label because she said she would not purchase a product if it had any ingredients that weren’t grown in Canada.

If Trump wants to play his ridiculous game, it’s going to backfire and he’s going to shoot himself in the foot. A protectionist attitude never works when it comes to the economy.

That attitude only closes foreign markets and stops a company from expanding into a larger market.

I’m not sure what the average American thinks of all this, but from the man-on-the-street interviews I’ve seen, they seem to have no idea what tariffs on their three largest trading partners will accomplish.

In the meantime, buy Canadian and support our businesses.

Sooner or later, someone in the States will fiercely lobby the federal government demanding reasonable access to Canadian lumber exports. 

Commentary

Strategic shmategic

February 5, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Gwynne Dyer

The Strait of Malacca is strategically important. It’s the shortest shipping route between the Far East and the Indian Ocean, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. It handles a quarter of all internationally traded goods, and if anybody tried to block it there would be a war.

The Fulda Gap used to be strategically important during the Cold War, because it was a flat lowland route from Soviet-occupied East Germany into the heart of West Germany. If the thousands of Russian tanks had ever rolled west, that’s where they would have had to break through. 

Greenland is NOT strategically important. Not even a little bit. It is on the shortest route between Europe and North America, as you have doubtless heard, but this doesn’t make it important because that route is only used by airliners, and they are flying across Greenland at 35,000 ft. 

No road goes across Greenland, the trans-Atlantic flights don’t land there, and no commercial vessels or warships sail past it (although a few tourist boats call in from time to time). There is no military presence except a United States Space Force base in the far north of the island that operates a space tracking station and a large phased-array warning radar.

So why does Donald Trump want to take over Greenland? If the United States wants scarce minerals from Greenland, the cheap way is just to pay for them, like it does with Chile or Canada. There are no military threats to Greenland, and if there were they would be dealt with by NATO. (Denmark, which manages Greenland’s foreign affairs, is a NATO member.)

Yet Trump persists in his bizarre quest: “I do believe we’ll get Greenland because it really has to do with the freedom of the world. It has nothing to do with the United States, other than we’re the one that can provide the freedom. They can’t.” But this is an ignorant man speaking in hackneyed clichés. Why should we pay attention?

When Trump began rambling on about seizing Greenland on January 7, most non-Americans saw it as a typical Trump stratagem to unsettle potential adversaries. He threatened to re-invade Panama and annex Canada at the same chaotic press conference, and the grown-ups elsewhere assumed that none of it needed to be taken seriously. 

A little while later he said that he would use military force to take Greenland if necessary (but not Canada, which would only suffer economic pressure). Even then most people treated it as a passing fantasy – until Trump had a 45-minute telephone conversation with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark on Saturday, January 25.

She was shaken by his manner. One senior European official said the call had been “horrendous” and another said: “Before, it was hard to take seriously, but I do think it is serious and potentially very dangerous.”

So there we are. There is a genuine possibility that the US armed forces (assuming they obey a clearly illegal order) will invade and seize the territory of another NATO member on Trump’s command (unless his people can talk him out of it).

I still find this highly implausible, but the man keeps going on about it so we should consider the likely consequences. If he is determined to invade, there are three possible outcomes.

One is that there is a palace coup in the White House which stops the invasion of Greenland – but possibly at the cost of an American civil war.

Another is that NATO, realizing that its biggest member is a shameless aggressor, expels the United States and reconfigures itself as a defensive alliance that opposes both Russian and American aggression. Canada would remain in that new alliance if it dared, and Mexico would join if it were allowed. Slovakia and Hungary would probably be excluded.

The third and likeliest possibility is that all the other NATO countries privately deplore America’s actions but publicly pretend that it has all been an unfortunate misunderstanding. In that case, the alliance’s demise would be gradual, but still inevitable.

I will not consider a scenario in which Russia, the main beneficiary of NATO’s decline or demise, somehow had a hand in the proceedings. I especially avoid any suggestion that Mr. Putin has (God forbid!) some hold over Mr. Trump that compels his obedience. That sort of stuff is pure conspiracy theory.

Let us reject these grim scenarios. I prefer to believe that Trump is a 78-year-old man who has always used lies and empty threats to get his way and now shows some signs of cognitive decline, but who still retains a healthy sense of self-preservation that pulls him back from the brink of terminal folly. I hope.

__________________________________

To shorten to 700 words, omit paragraphs 2 and 15.  (“The Fulda…through”; and “I will not…theory”)

Gwynne Dyer’s new book is ‘Intervention Earth: Life-Saving Ideas from the World’s Climate Engineers’.  The latest previous book, ‘The Shortest History of War’, is also still available.

Commentary

I’m a Lumberjack

February 5, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Jasen Obermeyer

The temperature outside is freezing. Wind blowing. Snow falling. But inside, as I relax in the lazy boy chair, a good book in hand, I’m comforted by the bright red and orange lights in the fireplace. The sound of crackling wood, sparks going off.

Being in the country on a property loaded with trees, and forests interspersed through the crop fields, my family and I have an ample supply of firewood for the winter. It’s a great way to heat our house and save on the heating bill. We’ve always been surrounded by trees, and because of that, I’ve always had a fascination with them, the shapes they form, and just wood in general.

Even when it’s not for firewood; when I was seven, I watched my dad cut a 30-foot tree right outside our house, with my mom and Nonna using ropes to help pull it down, excited the next day to remove the debris.

It’s become a way of life. Every spring and early summer was about going out back to see what new damage the winter brought to the forest, like going on an adventure.

At first, being too young to handle any equipment, I mainly just watched my dad do it. It was always exciting seeing him cut a tree down; the anticipation of the beastly looking plant falling, crashing, the explosion of twigs and branches in the vicinity, it always made me happy.

Then came the heavy work; cutting it into pieces. Again, my dad did that, I just cleaned up the small stuff. But I always looked forward to when he did tree work.

As I entered my teenage years, I got more responsibilities; transporting the big logs in our tractor, driving around the property to our wood storage shelter, and preparing to split the wood (I always enjoyed looking at the pile, eventually shaping it like a fort). I personally enjoyed doing tree work at the other end of our property, because of the seclusion; just my dad and I (sometimes my older brother and Nonna). It was a nice bonding moment between us. We were in our own little world, despite the sound machinery. Once a tree falls perfectly, and leaves just gently fall down; it’s surreal.

Yup, I definitely felt like a lumberjack.

The harder work I took on as I got older. My dad would cut the tree down, I’d then cut it up, and haul it away with our tractor and trailer. And now, as I’ve gotten used to the chainsaw, I cut the trees down myself, and do most of the work. And I enjoy it every time.

But that’s just one part. Next is splitting wood. Renting and borrowing a splitter is always fun, just seeing the machine hard at work, sometimes really hard if it was a stubborn log, and especially when the log’s diameter is over two feet!

We’d get the splitter for Friday, do some work, then rest, because the weekend would be a long one, to get all the wood split. Up early, gloves, hat, ear muffs, and away we went. Stop for lunch and dinner. Once finished, and sunset settled in, I’d marvel at the pile of split wood, the smell lingering in the immediate air for weeks.

And by the fall, we’re piling the wood outside our basement, ready for another winter. We’d just stand back, and look at our neatly piled wood, knowing it was a good season. Each year is different – unique – despite doing the same work and process.

As my dad’s retired from cutting/gathering the wood, my friends and I come together and help each other out with this, and it’s always fun; talk, make the work easier, a bit more fun, then relax with a barbecue and beers.

Now as an adult, I’ve come to learn more and understand the process, and the planning involved to make the work go a bit faster and smoother, but also safer. Understanding how a chainsaw works, every piece of equipment needed.

I’ve also come to learn about the different trees on the property. The bark, the leaves, colour and smell of the wood; we have a great variety of maples, ash, cherry, some ironwood, elm, poplar, and birch. Understand the quality of the trees, whether it’s good or not to burn.

And most interestingly, I’ve worked as an arborist during the summer as a side gig. So I’ve learned more about tree work. It’s definitely made me appreciate the skill involved; recalling when I was 16 and my dad cut down a birch right beside our house, the rope burning into my hands as I’m trying to keep the sections of the trunk from falling onto the roof or hitting my dad. For safety and expertise, get an arborist.

As I enjoy the warmth of the fire, I’m reminded how much tree work is part of my life, my identity. How proud and happy I am of the memories created. While it’s hard work, the emotional reward is truly special.

Letters to the Editor

A mandate to fight Trump’s tariffs

February 5, 2025   ·   0 Comments

Dear Editor,

If Doug Ford is calling this election to gain a mandate to fight President Trump’s tariffs, it should come with three irrevocable promises. The first is to promise to stop spending tens of billions of dollars on Highway 413. The second promise must be to resign if the RCMP report on the Greenbelt scandal implicates Doug Ford. The third, to quickly transition Ontario from being dependent on oil and gas that comes from the US to electricity generated in Ontario.

The last thing Ontario needs is to be spending tens of billions of dollars destroying productive farmland to start construction of Highway 413, which we may never need. If there is money to build a whole new highway, it would be better spent buying back Highway 407. Then reduce the tolls to relieve congestion on Highway 401, for the benefit of people and businesses now.

Doug Ford simply must resign if the RCMP investigation report, which is due this spring, finds him connected to ethical or criminal behaviour while enriching specific developers in the rezoning of Ontario Greenbelt land. A Premier of Ontario suspected of misusing power cannot be effective at fighting Donald Trump, nor can they be trusted to spend billions of dollars on “special initiatives” to protect our economy.

Doug Ford recklessly threatened a cross-border energy war apparently not realizing that the crude oil feeding Ontario’s refineries come from or through the US. In addition, the natural gas heating our homes and powering the generating stations that the Conservatives have built comes from fracking in the US. Thanks to Conservative policies that cancelled renewable energy projects, electric car subsidies, home energy efficiency programs and heat pump subsidies for our homes, Ontario has been left ever more dependent on the US for energy. We need a government that realizes Ontario produces electricity, not crude oil.

Without these three promises, Doug Ford cannot have a mandate to fight Donald Trump’s tariffs, and this election has no purpose beyond wasting taxpayers dollars.

Rob Strang

Orangeville

General News

Dufferin County facing numerous road hazards due to abandoned vehicles

January 30, 2025   ·   0 Comments

Dufferin Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers are concerned about an increasing number of vehicles abandoned on local roads during adverse winter conditions.

“As we navigate the challenges of this winter season, we wish to highlight an ongoing safety concern. A significant number of vehicles that have become stuck in snowdrifts are preventing local road crews from effectively clearing these areas,” said Dufferin OPP in a press release on Jan. 29. “This obstruction not only disrupts traffic flow but also creates serious safety hazards for both motorists and emergency vehicles.”

“We have also seen vehicles following GPS directions onto OFSC trails or other roads that are not safe in winter, leading to vehicles getting stuck. GPS can sometimes send you down the wrong path, so be careful and check your route,” the press release added.

Abandoned vehicles in snowdrifts hinder the ability of road crews to maintain safe and passable roads for all.

“In emergency situations, these blockages can delay response times, putting lives at risk,” said Duffeirn OPP’s press release.

“We urge residents to plan ahead during inclement weather. Ensure that your vehicle is properly equipped for winter conditions and, when possible, avoid unnecessary travel during severe weather. Together, we can help ensure our roads remain safe for everyone. Thank you for your cooperation and stay safe this winter season.”

Headline News

Orangeville SPCA looking to find ‘furever’ home for 10-month-old black domestic cat

January 30, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Paula Brown, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Ontario SPCA Orangeville & District Animal Centre is hoping to find a forever home for a long-term resident. 

Pepper is a 10-month-old black domestic short-haired cat who has been with the local animal centre for almost 180 days. She arrived at the Orangeville SPCA from another rescue centre when she was roughly four months old. Pepper is described as being shy and has been diagnosed with a manageable, but chronic upper respiratory condition. 

“Finding her perfect match has been a bit more challenging because of her needs, but we’re determined to help her find the loving home she deserves,” said Shannon Bury, the local SPCA’s community outreach coordinator. “This sweet and affectionate girl has faced some challenges early in life, leaving her a little shy. However, with each passing day, Pepper continues to blossom in our care.”

Pepper’s chronic upper respiratory condition has been a contributing factor in her long wait for adoption from the local SPCA, as they work to find a home best suits her needs. The chronic condition makes it essential for her to live in a calm, patient, stress-free home as the only cat. 

“We would prefer that she doesn’t go to a home with another cat, and I think that’s really been our stumbling block,” said Dawn Lyons, manager of Orangeville SPCA. “Finding the right home can present a challenge, especially when they do have medical conditions. We do our best to make sure we treat those conditions to the best of our ability, however sometimes our friends are going to have these for a lifetime, and we’re looking for the special person that is willing to give that care and time to our furry friends.” 

To give Pepper a better chance at finding her forever home sooner, the Orangeville SPCA has chosen to waive the $260 fee they have for cat adoptions. 

“Waiving that fee will hopefully help find a family who is able to take on the challenges that Pepper might have when she gets into her home,” said Lyons. “It’s our way of hoping to get Pepper into a home a little bit sooner so that she can continue with her recovery.” 

Those interested in potentially adopting Pepper are encouraged to contact the Ontario SPCA Orangeville & District Animal Centre. 

“We truly believe there’s someone out there who can provide the quiet, nurturing environment Pepper needs to come out of her shell and thrive,” said Bury.