Builders
Something seems off. Construction projects, perhaps by definition, tend to defy even the most earnestly prepared plans and schedules. Pencil drawings meet hard earth. Unexpected issues arise. So contingency allowances are created—to cover both time and money. Yet they never seem to be enough. There is, however, no excuse or extenuating circumstances—at least none that […]
Change is in the air
Mosquitoes have mostly moved on. The sun is creeping over the horizon later each morning. Ice is forming over at the Wellington and District Community Centre. The clues are in plain sight. Not long from now we will be electing a new council. In fact, fewer than 10 weeks separates us from voting day, October […]
Wrong hill
Why is it that provincial Conservative governments so dislike poor people? It is disappointing, and bewildering, that among their first acts upon grasping the levers of power, is to seize upon the most fragile among us. Freshly elected in 1995, Mike Harris slashed social assistance by 21 per cent among his first acts as government. […]
Case study
For the two dozen new candidates seeking a council seat, and for those playing along at home, the case of the burnt-out bathrooms in Ameliasburgh Park presents a timely and informative window into the workings of council and Shire Hall. Consider it an early primer. The facts are these: On May 16, 2017, public washrooms […]
Participate
We’re worried. Anxious, even. Understandably so. A deranged moron is in the White House, smashing a world order that has given most of us peace and stability for the past 70 years. Our lifetime. And rather than constrain their creature a majority of Republicans—when surveyed—continue to cheer him on. Where are we headed? What kind […]
$100 million
Cancelling Ontario’s White Pines could cost $100 million says company.” Nearly every major media outlet shouted the same headline, or a variation of it, last week upon the news that the new provincial government was moving to cancel the White Pines industrial wind project south of Milford. The threat from the developer was the story. […]
A place to live
The challenges of housing in Prince Edward County are plain. They are widely understood by anyone who has tried to rent an apartment or buy a house recently. Our community is rapidly becoming unaffordable to all but a very small segment of the population. This emerging crisis poses a threat to the viability of our […]
Nothing to add
It is sad and disappointing. The Globe and Mail story revealing Norm Hardie’s interactions with some staff, co-workers and others was well researched, thorough and utterly disheartening. That Hardie himself has since corroborated some of the claims is further dispiriting. The Times reporters and publisher, as well as this columnist, have been challenged in recent […]
Rules
Kathleen Wynne and her Liberal government have left the voters of Prince Edward County with a terrible parting gift—and the rest of Ontarians with an ugly precedent. On May 11, the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) granted developer wpd Canada a Notice to Proceed, a document that clears the way for the developer to build […]
One thing
There is only one issue. It literally defines everything else. If we fail to fix it, in this next term of council, every other issue we consider vital to our community’s health will be diminished. All the things we aspire for our County may be put out of reach. Time is running out. First, some […]