Haldimand "Kudo's to the Regional News and Gary McHale"

Kudos to Chris Pickup, editor/owner and publisher of the Regional News this Week. More on this in a moment.

For those of you that receive regular updates from Caledonia Wake up Call and Gary McHale from Canace, you would have received via email last week Gary’s profound apology to the Regional Newspaper.

This apology came about when Gary McHale spewed his mouth off about the Regional Newspaper "refusing" to print Toby Barrett’s news releases. I looked for this apology in the Regional Newspaper today and it is not there? It is obvious that Chris Pickup owner of that newspaper was not concerned at all about his "accusations" that may have damaged the reputation of her newspaper.

Here is the apology;

February 19, 2009
Apology to Regional News:

Recently I sent out an email that stated the Regional News had refused to print a Press Release from Toby Barrett.

It was an unfortunate choice of words that gave the impression that the Regional News had taken a side against Mr. Barrett and/or his proposed inquiry. This did not reflect the truth in regards to the Regional News. I am well aware that many media receive hundreds of news items per day and they are unable to print all of them.

I do not know the political views of the Regional News, if any, and I understand that items printed by the paper that are written by me are my stated views, and not theirs.

I would like to offer my most sincere apology to the Regional News and to its owner/publisher Chris Pickup, for any harm, embarrassment and/or inconvenience caused by my inappropriate choice of words.
Gary McHale

Chris Pickup’s editorial in the newspaper today explains how she feels about Gary McHale and his cause. Although Chris states that Gary’s opinion is his own; she is supporting his efforts by giving him "free space" in her newspaper. Is this wrong? Not in my opinion, it is her newspaper.
Once again Kudo's to Chris!

She goes on to say that the Regional News this Week "does not pay" McHale for his "columns", and his "viewpoints" are his own. She ends off by saying; "I believe he, and we, deserve to have his voice heard". Once again Kudo’s Chris!

Now as you may know my blog is called "Haldimand’s Unheard Voice". Why, well I felt and still feel sometimes that my voice is not heard. When I write a blog I give others the opportunity to voice their opinions, and that is what most blogs are about, "opinions".

Newspapers have the same thing, called the "editorial page", where you can write a letter to the editor and hope that it is printed. I am sure that newspapers get so many letters each week it would be impossible to publish them all, so the decision of what to print is up to the editor of that paper.

So once again Kudo's to Chris for taking a strong stand on behalf of Gary McHale's views.

In doing this Chris is helping to build Gary McHale's business, Canace. It is no secret that Gary McHale speaks on behalf of Canace. Canace is an "incorporated" business that sells a service and is supported by donations. Canace in turn supports McHale financially. This is a "business".

The Regional Newspaper in the past has published more than one letter to the editor in regards to donations for Gary McHale. With your monthly donation of say $5.00, you become a member of Canace. Gary McHale is not speaking on behalf of himself; he is speaking on behalf of the people that support him financially.

Oh I almost forgot; Kudo's to Gary McHale for your weekly column!

So my question to Chris Pickup is what about all of the advertisers that keep your paper in circulation? They all "sell a service" of one kind or the other. Will you now afford them all free space in your newspaper?

Haldimand "Keep Alberta Nuclear Free"

This is a good read.

Response to response on nuclear plants

Tuesday February 24, 2009
Letter to the Editor,
An earlier letter from Elaine Nowak-Wheeler seems to have really irked Bruce Power, to warrant a rebuttal from their Manager of Media Relations.

I’d like to elaborate on what Elaine said about plans for several nuclear plants in Alberta – though they were not specifically proposed by Bruce Power. It is common knowledge from the Internet that a “White Paper” was put forward to a group of “influential conservatives” in October 2006.

This recommendation was authored by one Cosmos Voutsinos, a mechanical engineer who has worked in the nuclear industry in Canada, the USA and Taiwan. It suggested that the tar sands could best be exploited by construction of a nuclear reactor by the year 2013, with an option for 10 more nuclear reactors between 2019 and 2023, and spaced about 40 kilometres apart across northern Alberta. The report said these could be financed privately or by the government, with the option later for the oil industry to purchase such.

It should be noted that when Bruce Power states it only has plans for one nuclear plant in the Peace Country, such a plant would include four nuclear reactors. Hence the idea that northern Alberta could become home to about 14 nuclear reactors.

The Alberta Government is awaiting the overdue final report of its Expert Nuclear Panel to decide if nuclear power will become part of the provincial energy mix. Given that this panel had no representation from the human health or environmental sectors, we can expect the recommendations will be based on economic criteria, and the need to distract the world from looking at our “dirty tar sands”.

We are all aware that the nuclear industry is conducting an elaborate and expensive propaganda campaign to make us believe that nuclear power will be a “good mix” in our electricity supply in a “bid to combat climate change”, just like the Media Manager says.

If one considers the full nuclear cycle from mining, refining and processing, to construction of nuclear facilities – a plant must operate for 10 years just to break even on its production of greenhouse gas emissions.

The Canadian Nuclear Association is like the Chamber of Commerce of the nuclear world – promoting business for its members. For a nuclear company such as Bruce Power, with over 1,000 employees, the annual fee in CNA is $350,000 which would help pay for big promotional projects.

The Alberta Electric Systems Operator (AESO) has told the public of the 20 year plan in place for this province, to provide electricity from a variety of better alternate forms of energy – there is no need whatsoever to introduce nuclear power to our “mix” of energy.

Nuclear power has had no improvements in its 50 years in Canada so common sense says to let it die a natural death.

Let’s look to modern technology like solar, wind, or small hydro projects, and let’s make an effort to conserve energy so we don’t require immense increases in power generation.

To clarify a second point made by Elaine about there being seven attempts to develop nuclear power in Saskatchewan – it is accurate that these attempts were not by the fledgling Bruce Power – but by various other segments of the nuclear industry.

Saskatchewan people rejected the following: 1965 – a heavy water plant at Estevan; 1971 – a uranium enrichment plant for Estevan; 1973 – another attempt at a heavy water plant in Estevan; 1980 – proposal for a uranium refinery at Warman; 1985 – a Slowpoke reactor at the University of Saskatchewan; 1989 – proposal for a Candu-3 reactor; and 1991 – proposal by Cameco to build a nuclear waste site. (Cameco is now a major shareholder in Bruce Power – who incidentally, is only the operator of the nuclear plants at Kincardine in Ontario. Bruce Power has not built and does not own any nuclear facility anywhere.)

This factual information is from “Canada’s Deadly Secret – Saskatchewan Uranium and the Global Nuclear system” by Dr. Jim Harding of Saskatchewan.

None of the above proposed phases of the nuclear cycle have succeeded in Saskatchewan so it makes one wonder how Bruce Power managed to win favor there – as their study suggests. If it was like their survey last year of residents of the Peace Country, I would question whether it truly represents the people’s opinion.

During the Ipsos Reid survey in the Peace, conducted for Bruce Power, I was contacted seven times for my input – so much for random sampling of the population. And … the results of this survey have not been publicized. To enlarge on the claim by Bruce Power’s Media Manager that there has never been a fatality or an injury to the public due to reactor operations, let us not forget these incidents involving workers at nuclear sites:

1961 – Idaho Falls, USA – 3 killed; 1974- Leningrad, Russia – 3 killed; 1976 – Bohunice plant, Slovakia – 2 killed; 1985 – Balakova, Russia – 14 killed; 1986 – Surrey, USA – 4 killed; 1986 – Chernobyl, Ukraine – 47 workers died, plus thousands of “the public” were afflicted with thyroid cancer; and there are numerous statistics on workers who have been exposed to radiation on site at nuclear plants. (This Info is from Greenpeace International’s website – Switzerland).

I believe most of us who are against nuclear development have a greater fear of the long term health effects like cancer and leukemia, for our children and grandchildren and what will happen to the radioactive waste in the future.

Such concern is not based on rhetoric but on historical data. Good for Elaine Nowak-Wheeler for having the fortitude to speak up to Keep Alberta Nuclear Free! Adele Boucher Rymhs Secretary, Citizens Against Nuclear Development (CAND)President, Coalition for Nuclear Free Alberta (CNFA)

http://www.centralpeacesignal.com/story.php?id=203588

Haldimand "Nuclear Lies, Green Truths"

March 4th, 7:30pm Sky Dragon Co-op (27 King William St., Hamilton)

*Nuclear lies, green truths - An evening on climate solutions*

What is the quickest way to stop a wind turbine? Build a nuclear reactor.

The Hamilton Peace Cafe and Sky Dragon Community Development Cooperative present Greenpeace Executive Director Bruce Cox on climate change solutions and how nuclear power threatens to put the brakes on green energy in Ontario.

The presentation and discussion will take place on Wednesday, March 4th at 7:30pm at the Sky Dragon Community Development Cooperative (Bread & Roses Cafe, 27 King William St, Hamilton, 1 block north of King & James).

Right now, Ontario is at a crossroads in terms of how electricity is going to be supplied to customers like you and me. In the next few weeks the Ontario government will release their Green Energy Act, and decide whether or not to rebuild the Pickering "B" nuclear reactor and potentially launch massive spending on new nuclear stations.

Pouring millions into new nukes is not only a bad decision for our economy and environment, it will effectively stop Ontario's renewable energy potential and fundamentally undermine Canada's ability to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Come out for an interesting evening of presentations and discussion on climate solutions and how nuclear power stands in their way.

We need your help to tell the McGuinty government to say 'No' to $40 billion in new nuclear projects and 'Yes' to green power.

Admission is free. For more information or how you can help, call Kathryn Wrong, Greenpeace Manager(Hamilton) at 905-481-1239 or visit www.skydragon.org and check out the events section.

For more about alternative energy: http://www.renewableisdoable.ca.

Haldimand "Ontario's Green Energy Act"

Ontario’s Energy and Infrastructure Minister, George Smitherman, publicly released his proposed Green Energy Act today.

The proposed Green Energy Act is a very positive step forward on Ontario’s road to a renewable electricity future. But the Government needs to do much more to promote energy conservation and efficiency.

In addition, the proposed Green Energy Act needs to be amended to make it illegal for nuclear power companies to pass their capital cost overruns on to Ontario’s long-suffering electricity consumers and taxpayers.

In this bulletin we will highlight some of the key features of the Green Energy Act and outline the additional actions that are needed to green Ontario’s economy and protect Ontario’s electricity consumers and taxpayers.

Key Features of the Green Energy Act

The Act will create a feed-in-tariff or fixed price for all renewable power projects in Ontario.
The Act will streamline the approvals process for renewable energy projects.
The Act will create mandatory electricity conservation targets for Ontario’s municipal electric utilities (e.g., Newmarket Hydro, Toronto Hydro).

Additional actions that are needed to green Ontario’s economy and protect Ontario’s electricity consumers and taxpayers.

Minister Smitherman must direct the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) to dramatically increase its funding for our municipal electric utilities’ energy conservation and efficiency programmes. To date for every dollar that the OPA has spent on energy conservation, it has contracted for $60 of new electricity generation capacity.

Ontario must stop wasting natural gas. Virtually every residential, commercial, institutional and industrial natural gas consumer in Ontario uses natural gas to provide only one service, namely heating. It is much more efficient to use these same molecules of natural gas to simultaneously produce heat and power. Combined heat and power (CHP) plants can have energy efficiencies of 80 to 90% versus the 33% energy efficiency of a nuclear reactor.

By reducing the demand for grid-supplied electricity, CHP plants can make it easier for Ontario to move to a future where all of our grid-supplied electricity comes from renewable sources. Minister Smitherman should direct the OPA to immediately establish a feed-in-tariff for all CHP projects in Ontario. That is, a feed-in-tariff which will pay homeowners, institutions and businesses to self-generate some or all of their electricity requirements.

To date the OPA has signed over 450 contracts for renewable energy with individuals, co-ops, First Nations communities and private sector developers. None of these contracts allow the renewable energy suppliers to pass their capital cost overruns on to Ontario’s electricity consumers or taxpayers.

On the other hand, Minister Smitherman is planning to give the nuclear industry a blank cheque to build two new nuclear reactors at the Darlington Nuclear Station despite the fact that every nuclear project in Ontario’s history has gone over budget. The Green Energy Act should make it illegal for nuclear power companies to pass their cost overruns on to Ontario’s long-suffering electricity consumers and taxpayers.

Please pass this message on to your friends.
Thank you.
Jack Gibbons,
Chair Ontario Clean Air Alliance
402-625 Church St,
Toronto
M4Y 2G1

Phone: 416-926-1907 ext. 240
Fax: 416-926-1601
Email: jack@cleanairalliance.org
Website: www.cleanairalliance.org
Website: www.OntariosGreenFuture.ca

Haldimand "What Happens when You Lie?"

What Happens when you Lie?

Well I think that if you ask "10" people you will get "10" different answers.

I found this exercise very educational and enjoyable. I went to Wikipedia for a few answers. This is what I found;

"Propaganda"

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Propaganda is the dissemination of information aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense presents information in order to influence its audience.

Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or gives loaded messages in order to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the subject in the target audience to further a political agenda.

"Bullshit"

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bullshit (also bullcrap, bullplop, horseshit, bullbutter) is a common English expletive. It may be shortened to "bull" or the euphemism B.S. The term is common in American English. In British English, bollocks is a comparable expletive, although bullshit is now a commonly used expletive in British English as well.

As with many expletives, it can be used as an interjection (or in many other parts of speech) and can carry a wide variety of meanings. Most commonly, it is used in connection with incorrect, misleading, or false language and statements. While the word is generally used in a deprecating sense, it may imply a measure of respect for language skills, or frivolity, among various other benign usages.

In popular philosophy, Harry Frankfurt among others described the word bullshit as related to but distinct from lying

"Lies "

The various types of lies include the following:

"Fabrication"

A fabrication is a lie told when someone submits a statement as truth, without knowing for certain whether or not it actually is true. Although the statement may be possible or plausible, it is not based on fact. Rather, it is something made up, or it is a misrepresentation of the truth. Examples of fabrication: "The dog ate my homework", or "I did unplug the iron".

"Bold-faced lie"

A bold-faced (often also referred to as bare-faced or bald-faced but have slightly different meanings) lie is one which is told when it is obvious to all concerned that it is a lie. For example, a child who has chocolate all around his mouth and denies that he has eaten any chocolate is a bold-faced liar.

"Lying by omission"

One lies by omission by omitting an important fact, deliberately leaving another person with a misconception. Lying by omission includes failures to correct pre-existing misconceptions. A husband may tell his wife he was out at a store, which is true, but lie by omitting the fact that he also visited his mistress, although it is disputable whether or not this is actually a lie. In most cases, the person has not directly denied a truth, but merely omitted some part of what transpired.

"Lie-to-children"

A lie-to-children is a lie, often a platitude which may use euphemism(s), which is told to make an adult subject acceptable to children. A common example is "The stork brought you" (in reference to childbirth).

"White lie"

A white lie would cause no discord if it were uncovered, and offers some benefit to the liar, the hearer, or both. White lies are often used to avoid offense, such as complimenting something one finds unattractive. In this case, the lie is told to avoid the harmful realistic implications of the truth. As a concept, it is largely defined by local custom and cannot be clearly separated from other lies with any authority.

"Noble lie"

A noble lie is one which would normally cause discord if it were uncovered, but which offers some benefit to the liar and assists in an orderly society, therefore potentially beneficial to others. It is often told to maintain law, order and safety. A noble lie usually has the effect of helping an elite maintain power.

"Bluffing"

Pretending to have a capability or intention which one does not actually possess. Bluffing is an act of deception which is rarely seen as immoral, because it takes place in the context of a game where this kind of deception is consented to in advance by the players. For instance, a gambler who deceives other players into thinking he has different cards to those which he really holds, or an athlete who indicates he will move left and then actually dodges right, is not considered to be lying. In these situations, deception is accepted and indeed expected as a tactic.

"Misleading/Dissembling"

A misleading statement is one where there is no outright lie, but there still remains the purpose of making someone believe in an untruth. "Dissembling" likewise implies presenting facts in a way that is literally true, but intentionally misleading.

You can read more at; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lie

We’ve all heard these famous quotes; (I am sure there are more, so if you know one please post away!)

“If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything”

“If you tell the truth it will set you free”

“Once you tell a lie, you have to lie to cover up that lie, and eventually you believe your lie to be the truth” (I like that one the best because my mother used to tell me this one)

“Liar, liar, pants on fire”

And if you are religious, “Lie and you will go straight to Hell”

So what happens when one tells a lie? Well I believe that it all depends on the type of Lie! (Wow I can't believe that I said that!)

I recently had a conversation with our 5 year old grand daughter about her first loose tooth, and I told her to not forget to put her tooth under her pillow for the Tooth Fairy. Was this a Lie? Well according to Wikipedia it is a "Lie-to-children" lie, which is much different then say a "bold face" lie.

It is when a lie is told intentionally to the masses is where I have a very serious problem, especially when it is directed at someone I care about.

Unfortunately these types of lies do have their purpose: “to discredit an individual”, "to take someone down", "to make me feel good". I can tell you from my personal experience, it doesn’t feel very good when this happens to you!

So is it okay to Lie? Does an apology after a Lie make it all better? Why do we get so upset when someone tells a Lie about someone we care about?

I read about a blog that stated before anyone read it that their blog was all full of lies, when in fact that was a lie, because the blog was full of truth about the lies!

Haldimand "CANACE, I Speak for Myself"

Well I had quite an interesting day today. It all started out when I checked my emails and found the following posts on my blog;

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post;
"Haldimand "Toby Barrett's Private Members Bill, Tr...": Doug Fleming has called for a rally at Toby's office for Tuesday morning at 10 am. Anyone interested can meet Doug at the Canadian Tire for 8:45 am to car pool over to Toby's office. Doug will leave at 9 am.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post;
"Haldimand "Toby Barrett's Private Members Bill, Tr...": Our suggested wording for Mr. Barrett's Inquiry - http://www.caledoniawakeupcall.com/documents/Truth-CaledoniaAct.pdf

This Wed. Toby Barrett is going to introduce a Private Members Bill regarding an inquiry into the events in Caledonia.The current wording of Mr. Barrett’s Bill does NOT have support of the People of Caledonia, Haldimand or Ontario.

The greatest proof of this fact is seen by the way the Regional News (the largest media outlet in Haldimand County) refused to print Mr. Barrett’s call for an Inquiry but they did print a story entitled Please no more POLITICAL inquiries and you can read this story here - http://www.caledoniawakeupcall.com/updates/090211regional.html
Written by Gary McHale!

The People want a clear inquiry into the illegal actions of the OPP. Our suggestion for a Bill that would have support of the community can be found here -

http://www.caledoniawakeupcall.com/documents/Truth-CaledoniaAct.pdf

It is our hope that Mr. Barrett and the PC Party will rewrite their Bill to better reflect the will of the People. If not, then on Wed. a group of residents will arrive at Queen’s Park to denounce Mr. Barrett’s Bill..

Gary McHale Posted by Anonymous to Haldimand's Unheard Voice at February 17, 2009.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post;
"Haldimand "Toby Barrett's Private Members Bill, Tr...": Donna; This is posted on Mchale's message board. Say it isn't so Donna! I never thought I'd see the day you fell under the spell of McHale. so, is it true or a lie?"Rumor has it that CANACE, Donna Pitcher, and several prominent Caledonia residents showed up at Toby Barrett's office this morning. Can anyone confirm this?"

I did confirm that the following was posted on McHales board;

Rumor has it that CANACE, Donna Pitcher, and several prominent Caledonia residents showed up at Toby Barrett's office this morning. Can anyone confirm this?

This was posted by anonymous on McHales board and there has been nothing said about their protest today. I find that highly unusual, but what better way to get people to wonder what the hell is going on!

Well I will tell you that I did drive to Simcoe this morning and arrived at around 9:45am. At that time I didn't see anyone and thought that maybe this was just a joke. As I stated in my reply to all the posts on my last blog I couldn't find out what Doug Fleming was doing. I didn't know if he was in support of Toby or Gary McHale. So I had to go and find out for myself!

The OPP had obviously got wind of what was going on as well. I still haven't figured out how they new about it but they were there waiting. I was parked about a block and a half away from Toby's office.

At about 10:15am I got out of my truck and walked down the street to see if I could see anyone. Gary McHale. Christine McHale, Jeff Parkinson, Merlyn Kinrade and a few others, were standing on the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street from Toby's office.

After about half an hour they walked across the street and stood in front of Toby's office with signs, I don't know what the signs said because I really wasn't interested. What I was interested in was how many people were there and why they were there. I counted "8" people and they were all in support of Gary McHale and his opinion that Toby Barrett needs to rewrite his Private Members Bill.

So why did I go? Well that one is simple. I am curious, and I like to see things first hand before I blog about an issue.

Now I know that there are quite a few people out there that are really upset at what Gary McHale and the members of Canace are doing. But be clear here that today this rally was "8" people. So the way I look at it was just that "8" people that are of the personal opinion that what Toby Barrett is trying to do is wrong. Do I care? No! We all have the right to our personal opinions and we all have the right to peaceful protest!

What Gary McHale and the members of Canace do not have the right to do is state that they are speaking on my behalf, or for that matter on behalf of the majority of residents of Caledonia and Haldimand!

The way I see it is that Gary McHale personally feels he has this right as he keeps saying that he got the majority of votes in Caledonia in the last Federal Election. He keeps stating that he received around (10,000 votes should be 10% not 10,000 ) 10% of the vote and this seems to give him the right to speak on our behalf! Not on my behalf he doesn't, I voted for Toby Barrett, and that was never a secret!

What I also found very disturbing was the fact that he has stated the following about the Regional Newspaper;

" The current wording of Mr. Barrett’s Bill does NOT have support of the People of Caledonia, Haldimand or Ontario. The greatest proof of this fact is seen by the way the Regional News (the largest media outlet in Haldimand County) refused to print Mr. Barrett’s call for an Inquiry but they did print a story entitled Please no more POLITICAL inquiries" (written by Gary Mchale).

So is Gary McHale speaking on behalf of the Regional Newspaper now?

Has the Regional Newspaper become "politically" involved?

Has the Regional Newspaper taken sides?

Will the Regional Newspaper be trusted by the residents of Haldimand County when people find out that they fully support Gary McHale and his personal opinions, which Gary McHale seems to think that they are ours as well?

The Regional Newspaper is supported by their advertising dollars, and is delivered "free" to every home in Haldimand County. How will their "advertisers" feel about the papers personal involvement with Gary McHale?

Well I could go on and on but I won't. You will have a chance to have your own opinions on the matter.

I did forget to mention that I am not interested in Gary McHales new "wording" for Toby Barretts Private Members Bill so I never went into the file to read it. But I did post it above if you are interested.

One thing I can say for sure is this. When I did my protest on the Dunnville bridge for "3" days, it was my "personal" protest, it was my "personal" opinion and I never stated that I was doing this on behalf of the residents of Haldimand County, I would have been a fool if I had.

So just remember that Gary McHale and Canace today protested on behalf of "8" people! Gary McHale does not have a "petition" signed by anyone in support of what they did today! So what about tomorrow? Will Gary McHale go to Toronto? Will they travel all that way with "8" people?

I say go for it Gary McHale, you have the right!

Haldimand "Toby Barrett's Private Members Bill, Truth about Caledonia Act, 2009"

Toby here - Please find attached a news release titled: “Time to determine the truth about Caledonia”, in which I outline my plans to introduce legislation later this month calling for an inquiry into Haldimand, Brant, Brantford, Six Nations area land disputes.

This call for an inquiry is triggered by and builds on Ken Hewitt’s petition. As I prepare to introduce and debate this call for an inquiry, I ask you the reader for several examples that come to mind suggesting inappropriate interventions or undue influence on our area’s court system, land ownership system, or system of law enforcement.

For example, On March 2nd, 2006, I walked behind the barricades of Hydro One spools at DCE to talk with the handful of occupiers – I watched carpenters leaving, with their tools, but nobody was asking the occupiers to leave. My question – why were police not doing anything? I recall eyewitness reports of a van being thrown from the Haldimand County 6th Line bridge onto provincial Highway 6 – media photos were published of the perpetrators but as yet, to my knowledge, there have been no arrests. Again, why is that?

Toby will be introducing a private Members Bill on Wednesday February 18th, 2009 and needs our support. I would suggest that if you support this to email Toby a short note before Wednesday at; toby.barrett@pc.ola.org

At the same time Gary Mchale from CANACE has announced the following;

Rally at Queens Park: Say NO to Barrett's Political Inquiry. Please read file below for reasons why we are standing against Tobys Inquiry - Rally this Wed at 11 am - if you cannot come then please email us a letter denouncing this Inquiry at;
http://www.caledoniawakeupcall.com/documents/TobyInquiry.pdf

Hello, Toby here,

Please find attached, and below, the final draft of proposed legislation, Truth About Caledonia Act, 2009.

This Private Members Bill calls for an inquiry to

To inquire into and report on allegations of political influence in the court’s administration of justice and the police enforcement of the law with respect to activities in Six Nations, Haldimand County, Brant County and the City of Brantford, and nearby areas;

To determine the truth with respect to the ownership of land within the boundaries of the former Haldimand Tract, and nearby areas;

To make recommendations directed to the prevention of attempts of intimidation and related behaviour in similar circumstances - including recommendations with respect to: i) the improvement of mechanisms to resolve land disputes, (ii) the enhancement of respect for the courts and the rule of law, and (iii) the upholding of land ownership rights in the Province of Ontario; and to grant the commission powers under the Public Inquiries Act.

I plan to introduce the legislation on Wednesday February 18, 2009 – with debate scheduled for March 12th.

Truth About Caledonia Act, 2009
EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill requires the Premier to recommend to the Lieutenant Governor in Council that a commission be appointed to inquire into land disputes and other related activities in the former Haldimand Tract and nearby areas.

It is the role of the Commission to inquire into and report on the administration of justice, law enforcement and the ownership of land. It is also the role of the commission to make recommendations directed to the prevention of attempts of intimidation and related behaviour in similar circumstances. The commission is given powers under the Public Inquiries Act. Once the inquiry begins, the commission must make an interim report in six months, and a final report in 12 months.

An Act to provide for a public inquiry to determine the truth about the administration of justice, law enforcement and the ownership of land within the former Haldimand Tract and nearby areas.

Preamble

The occupation of Douglas Creek Estates in Caledonia, which began in February 2006, has resulted in a series of standoffs, and has led to additional land disputes in the rest of the former Haldimand Tract and nearby areas. These events have resulted in violence, injury, fear and intimidation, shutting down development and draining the area economy.

Questions have been raised about why the disorder and associated impacts have been allowed to continue. Allegations have been raised with respect to political influence in the courts’ administration of justice and in the enforcement of the law by the police.

Area residents want to determine the truth about ownership of the various lands in dispute.
Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Appointment of commission
1. Within 60 days after this Act comes into force, the Premier of Ontario shall recommend to the Lieutenant Governor in Council that a commission be appointed under section 2 of the Public Inquiries Act,

(a) to inquire into and report on allegations of political influence in the administration of justice by the courts and in the enforcement of the law by the police with respect to,

(i) land disputes and other related activities in Haldimand County, Brant County and the City of Brantford, and nearby areas, and

(ii) activities on the Six Nations reserve in the former Haldimand Tract;

(b) to determine the facts with respect to the ownership of land in the areas mentioned in subclause (a) (i); and

(c) to make recommendations directed to the prevention of attempts of intimidation and related behaviour in circumstances similar to those mentioned in subclause (a) (i), including recommendations with respect to,

(i) the improvement of mechanisms to resolve land disputes,

(ii) the enhancement of respect for the courts and the rule of law, and

(iii) the upholding of land ownership rights in the Province of Ontario.

Commission’s term of office
(2) The commission shall hold office until three months after the commission’s final report is submitted to the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Removal for cause
(3) The commission is removable at any time for cause by the Lieutenant Governor on Council on the address of the Assembly.

Powers of commission
2. Part III of the Public Inquiries Act applies to the commission and to the inquiry.

Timing of inquiry
3. The commission shall begin the inquiry within 60 days after being appointed.

Reports
4. (1) The commission shall submit an interim report to the Lieutenant Governor in Council within six months after the inquiry begins.

Final report
(2) The commission shall submit a final report to the Lieutenant Governor in Council within 12 months after the inquiry begins.

Report to be made public
(3) The commission shall make the final report public within 10 days after submitting it to the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Time limits may be extended
5. The Lieutenant Governor in Council may extend the time limits for submitting the interim and final reports, and may extend the term of office of the commission.

Commencement
6. This Act comes into force on Royal Assent.

Short title
7. The short title of this Act is the Truth About Caledonia Act, 2009

Haldimand "The Mighty Grand"

This is to all of the Volunteer Firefighters in Haldimand County that were on duty the last couple days in Cayuga and Dunnville helping residents deal with the flooding and for many evacuation.

A huge "Kudos" to you!

A command post was set up at Station 9 in Dunnville on Friday. Haldimand County Roads Crew, OPP, Haldimand County Hydro, Union Gas, the Red Cross and many others worked together through the direction of the Volunteer Fire Department. They all worked through the night Friday and continued their operations from command post until late last night. I am sure there was much relief when Firefighters were notified of the arrival of the "Griffon" on Saturday morning. I can't say enough about our Firefighters here in Haldimand County, they are in my opinion the best anywhere!

A week ago to the day the "Griffon" was at the mouth of the Grand River in Port Maitland breaking up the ice. Who would have known that a week later the "Griffon" would be back with all her might!

We sighted the "Griffon" on Lake Erie at around 9:45am Saturday morning heading towards Port Maitland. She arrived in Port Mailtand a short time later and spent hours breaking up the ice in Lake Erie before heading into the river at Port Maitland. We were on a hill just west of Port Maitland watching this unfold, what a sight it was. The Griffon weaved her way back and forth in the lake making room for the all the ice to go that had jammed up in the river.

Finally around 2:30pm the "Griffon" started her slow but steady way into the ice jammed river. She would go in a bit and then back out letting the ice flow into the lake. As the ice started to flow, the river slowly receded. The "Griffon" worked well into the evening hours. The last I heard was that the "Griffon" could not proceed any farther into the river and there was still some ice jammed around Port Maitland Marina. The "Griffon" was staying close by in case they were needed. A huge "Kudo's" to the "Griffon" and her "Crew", I can't imagine what would have happened without their assistance!

I too have many pictures of boats, trees, docks, decks etc. going over the dam in Dunnville. Please make sure you check out Bob's photos!

Flooding and ice cause massive damage along Grand River Posted
By By Bob Liddycoat -Sun Media

"It’s like watching a hurricane coming. You know it’s gonna hit and you know it’s going to cause lots of damage, but there’s nothing you can do about it," said Laurie Garbutt as he and his neighbours watched giant sheets ice leading a glut of water flow toward their homes along the Grand River in Dunnville.

Cayuga and Dunnville were particularly hard hit as melting snow and ice jams caused flooding along the 300 km. long waterway. As the ice flows, freed during the recent thaw, moved along the river they piled up at various narrow points and, each time a blockage occurred, the water piled up behind the jams causing widespread flooding and severe damage to backyards and homes. Trees, sheds, greenhouses, docks and stored boats were smashed as giant sheets of ice tore through the backyards of homes situated along the river.

The scenario repeated at various points along the River throughout the day. At one point, trees were being mowed down as ice moved along the shoreline like a bulldozer. A stream running alongside of Niagara Street in Dunnville, flowing into the Grand River, also swelled flooding homes and causing some street closures including a section of Highway 3.

At about 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Manager of Emergency Services/Fire Chief Rob Grimwood described the events of the day to the Tribune. "At about 5 a.m. this morning we responded into Cayuga on Ouse Street along the Grand River. There we assisted 22 residents in evacuating their homes, which were flooded with water – some of those by boat.

As soon as we got people out of their homes the fire department accompanied hydro and gas representatives into the homes and shut down those utilities to reduce the risk of fire in those homes. After the water receded we accompanied gas and hydro representatives back into the homes and they were inspected and the utilities were turned back on and residents were allowed to return into their homes."

Grimwood then explained how the problem progressed throughout the day. He said, "The situation in Cayuga has been stabilized but most of the water has now travelled to Dunnville and there is widespread flooding. Excessive flooding is occurring and our main concern at this point is the Dunnville arena.

We are pumping out the compressor room right now. The water is close to causing some pretty severe electrical issues to expensive equipment. We’re also setting up a perimeter and creating a plan and assessing whether any residents along the Grand River are in need of assistance and whether there are any hydro or gas issues," he explained.

There is a boat ramp at the rear of the arena parking lot and the compressor room is below grade creating a heightened flooding danger. The arena remained in use as of 5 p.m. on Friday.

Immediately after the interview firefighters were called to the Bicks Pickle plant and Grandview Lodge Seniors home where some flooding was occurring but nothing serious ensued. Both buildings are a fair distance from the river and situated on the north side of Hwy. 3.

Around 10 a.m. Friday morning one of the large ice jams occurred adjacent to the Dunnville Golf Club.` Firefighter Jason Clarke who had been knocking on doors warning of flooding all morning told the Tribune, "When the jam broke it sounded like guns exploding and the river rose about 40 feet in a few minutes. I’ve never seen anything like it."

Main Street backs onto the river and was hardest hit west of town centre. Resident Clarence McKay said he had seen the water that high in the past but never the ice. "It’s two feet above my breakwall, which is eight feet above the normal water level," he said. Neighbour North Garbutt said he and his wife thought a train was rolling through as the ice blocks tumbled over each other and piled up along the shoreline.

Here is some pics from earlier today;

http://photos.dunnvillechronicle.com/mycapture/enlarge.asp?image=22281054&event=691548&CategoryID=0&picnum=2&move=F&Slideshow=Stop#Image

Coast Guard icebreaker sent to open river

PORT MAITLAND, Ont. -- A Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker has arrived to help chop up ice in the Grand River, southeast of Hamilton, and release a jam that's caused massive flooding.
The ship pulled into Port Maitland mid-afternoon, after spending several hours clearing space in Lake Erie so there would be room for incoming ice.

Port Maitland, a tiny community located on the north shore of the lake, was evacuated and all its power cut as a precaution.

Just up the river in Dunnville, flooding has submerged streets and forced people to flee their homes in search of higher ground.

Dave Schultz of the Grand River Conservation Authority says he's not sure how long it will take for the ship to release the jam.

An ice breaker worked for six hours Thursday to unblock a similar situation in Wallaceburg, a town between Sarnia and Chatham, allowing a state of emergency there to be lifted Friday following massive flooding.
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Canada/2009/02/15/8398486-sun.html

Haldimand "Time to Review the Standards of Small Radioactive Leaks"

The following is an update into the "small" leaks into the Chalk River in December 2008.

My personal opinion is these "small" leaks are not acceptable at all. In the "real world" these industrial leaks are dealt with in a very heavy manner by many levels of government!

Just imagine if where you take your car for an oil change every three months they leak just a "small" amount of oil into the sewer system every time an oil change is done. Or just imagine if for those of us that live here on the Lakeshore have a "small" leak every time we flush our toilets and it runs into the Lake. Well I can tell you that these "small leaks" are unacceptable by "Law"! The Nuclear Industry should be held accountable the same as all other industries. If there is a "leak" or what I would call an "accident", you are shut down, fined heavily if convicted and an investigation will take place!

Halt flow of heavy water: MPs

The Ottawa Sun
Friday, February 6, 2009
Page: 7
Section: News

Byline: BY ELIZABETH THOMPSON, SUN MEDIA

The government should rethink how much radioactive material it allows the Chalk River nuclear plant to release into the Ottawa River, opposition critics said yesterday, after a report said water containing small amounts of radioactive material is being dumped in the waterway.

"My concern is what is the proper threshold," said Paul Dewar, NDP MP for Ottawa Centre. "Quite frankly, most people think zero would be a good level."

The comments came after Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt tabled internal reports yesterday about a heavy water leak at the Chalk River plant in December.

In the 17 pages tabled yesterday, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. says it all started Dec. 4 when the research reactor was shut down "as a result of unanticipated technical problems unrelated to isotope production." A day later, AECL discovered a small heavy water leak.

Serge Dupont, associate deputy minister of Natural Resources Canada, in a memo to Raitt says AECL promptly informed Canada's nuclear watchdog of the leak.

Officials said the water that leaked from the reactor was contained and "will be treated at Chalk River's Waste Treatment Centre to reduce contamination. Prior to any release of water to the river, water is treated to remove the majority of radio nuclides."

"In the case of water containing tritium, which is not removed in the treatment process, concentration levels dictate whether the water will be stored or released," the report said, adding that the releases are carefully monitored and released at a controlled rate, subject to provincial and federal regulatory limits.

However, Dewar and Liberal MP David McGuinty question whether water containing radioactive material should be released into the Ottawa River at all.

"That's a concern of mine around standards and thresholds," said Dewar. "I think it's time we review that."

ELIZABETH.THOMPSON

Haldimand "Truth about Caledonia Inquiry Act"

An inquiry into the Caledonia Land Dispute (which is what sparked all of the land disputes since then) is in my opinion an absolute must! This is where it all started!

Here is an example of some of the questions that I would like answers to;

Landowners rights, do we have any?
Is the Province going to add the South Cayuga crown lands to the Reserve?
Why did the Province buy out DCE so quickly, when the Federal government seems to have stated at that time there was no valid claim?
Why did Haldimand County refund the developers fees of around $250,000.00?
Haldimand County gave the go ahead for the builders to develop DCE (in I believe 2002) was there in fact a "Land Claim" on DCE at that time?
How have the OPP been directed in regards to Court Orders?
How much money has been spent in "Total" to all parties involved?
Who is really telling the truth?


Toby here -

Please find attached my column appearing in this week's papers titled, Time for an inquiry into area land disputes, in which I provide further detail with regard to my plans and reasoning for the introduction of legislation later this month calling for an inquiry into Haldimand, Brant, Brantford, Six Nations area land disputes.

Just as I asked last week, I continue to request of you the reader for several examples that come to mind suggesting inappropriate interventions or undue influence on our area’s court system, land ownership system, or system of law enforcement.

Time for an inquiry into area land disputes

By now, many will have heard about the petition that calls for an inquiry into justice issues surrounding the Caledonia land dispute.

Caledonia resident Ken Hewitt began distributing the petition before Christmas - both online and in hard-copy.

At time of writing, the petition has garnered over 5,000 signatures – one of them being my own.
This is not the first time I have joined a call for an inquiry into the unanswered questions plaguing our area over the past few years.

It was June of 2006 that John Tory presented an Opposition Day motion that was passed by the Legislature calling for a commission to be set up to, “inquire into and report on how absence of communication and lack of leadership by Premier McGuinty and his Liberal government allowed the Caledonia situation to escalate to a full-blown standoff and subsequently a public security crisis.” More than two years later we are still waiting.

It was November 2003, when Dalton McGuinty set out the mandate of the Ipperwash Inquiry – “1. to inquiry [sic] into and report on events surrounding the death of Dudley George; and, 2. to make recommendations directed to the avoidance of violence in similar circumstances.”

And for those of you reading this newspaper column you will now know that I intend to introduce legislation to the Parliament of Ontario also calling for a commission to conduct an inquiry.

The purpose of this inquiry, subject to further advice, will be: to determine the truth with respect to allegations of political influence in the court’s administration of justice and the police enforcement of the law with respect to activities in Six Nations, Haldimand County, Brant County and the City of Brantford; to determine the truth with respect to the ownership of land within the boundaries of the former Haldimand Tract; and to make recommendations directed to preventing similar chaotic confrontations when dealing with future land dispute issues in the province, including recommendations with respect to ways in which we can improve dispute resolution in this area and enhance respect for the courts and the rule of law; and to grant the commission powers under the Public Inquiries Act.

I propose the title of the bill to be the Truth about Caledonia Inquiry Act.

As the impacts of the ongoing land disputes continue unabated, the need for an inquiry grows more urgent by the day. Just as the Ontario Liberals previously sought answers through three private members bills - and finally government legislation - creating the Ipperwash Inquiry, so too we need answers through a Caledonia inquiry.

As with Ipperwash, an inquiry would be a way to ‘find out what happened – to look back’, as well as to ‘look forward’, and ‘propose policy reform’…all the while conducted in public view and with the participation of the public.

Further, the Ipperwash report contends that the inquiry, “was established to meet both of those objectives – to conduct an investigation and to examine policy.” – I hope to meet those same objectives through an inquiry into area land disputes.

The report goes on to say that an inquiry, “…provides a forum for citizens and groups to participate in the resolution of issues and the development of future policies.”

We need to get to the bottom of this, to consider all evidence, and to establish the truth.

Haldimand "I know People are Getting Stuck and We Hope they will Get Home"

Standards, snow and cash factor into snow plow response
Posted By KAREN BEST, CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
Feb 6, 2009

Snow blows across the road as Ted Pitcher heads out to work but his trip is cut short when he finds his route off Lakeshore Road is clogged with snow.

When he is asked when that happened, he stops to think. There's been so many mornings like that, he says.

One day, he tried to drive up the Hald-Dunn Townline but it was so badly blown in that a car and a school bus was stuck half way up the road. The two drivers were waiting for a plow and a tow truck. Pitcher turned around and fought his way back to his Lakeshore Road home and then waited a plow to go by. It was just another day where snow made him late getting to work in Stoney Creek.

Once he got stuck and couldn't move and even a tow truck would not venture out to help.

Eventually someone on an ATV arrived and taxied him home. Pitcher says he went back to his pick up truck the next morning and found a police officer, who could not drive his cruiser down the road, walking to investigate his abandoned vehicle.

In the wee hours of Jan. 30, a Chronicle rural delivery agent finds himself captive in a drift. For almost seven hours he is stranded. People stop to check on him and to see if they can help but this is obviously a job for a plow or a tow truck.

"I know they are fighting against the wind blowing snow off fields," says Pitcher. "One time it was 24 hours before a plow drove down Lakeshore Road.

Now, like a Boy Scout, he is prepared. He has extra gloves, pants and a shirt in his truck just in case.

Pitcher's experiences are the result of a blustery winter season, minimum standards for snow and ice removal, legislated limits to workers' hours in trucks and limited county finances.

Wray Oakes has received numerous complaints over the past three months due to drifting and blowing snow. As the county's road operations manager, he is the person overseeing snow and ice removal.

"It's been a long winter," he says.

In 2003, before he was working in the municipality, county council adopted minimum standards for addressing winter road conditions.

"Minimum standards help municipalities set standards in defence of liability. They are tested in court," explains Oakes.

The legislated standards were set by the Ontario government at the request of municipalities facing snow-related lawsuits.

The standards are based on depth of snow, response time and road class.

Operations staff assess the road network, establish classes and design a snow removal system that adheres to standards, he says. Under the county's policy which exceeds provincial standards, not every road will be taken to bare or centre bare conditions.

A 90 per cent sand and 10 per cent salt mixture is applied to improve traction on Class 4 and 5 roads, which include almost every Dunnville street. The goal is to take roads to centre bare or track bare conditions.

Class 5 roads and streets have a 50km speed limit and between 200 and 999 cars travelling on it every day. Within 16 hours of icy conditions, Class 5 streets must be treated. Response time is measured from the end of the storm.

Class 2 roads are Haldimand Road 54 and Highway 56 and connecting links including Highway 3 through Dunnville and Highway 6 through Jarvis and Caledonia.

Four years after standards were set, the Ontario government amended the Highway Traffic Act to set limits on how long a person can drive a truck.

County plow drivers are scheduled accordingly. They are on the road at 4:30 a. m. and drive back into public works yards by 5 or 6 p. m. Workers who start later drive until 7 p. m.

In the evening or past midnight, the county is not servicing roads due to minimum service levels and the inability of staff to respond due to limits on working hours, notes Oakes.

People are surprised to hear this because they expect plowing when roads are snowy, he adds.

Over the years, a number of changes were made by the county in an attempt to bring plowing into compliance with Ontario law.

In Nov. 2007, council approved spending $170,000 to hire part time drivers for six months. At that time, Oakes warned council that without adding personnel, the county faced fines for failing to meet working hour limits for drivers.

Last October, council agreed to spending $103,000 for wages for temporary fulltime plow drivers for the remainder of 2008. A sum of $180,000 was to be added to the 2009 budget to cover remaining winter control costs for this season.

In his 2008 report, Oakes stated that three workers were deployed in the four county districts but even with this extra help, the county could not provide 100 per cent of its services for about six per cent of the season.

Main arterial roads such as Haldimand Roads 17 and 54 are maintained by contractors as necessary but roads categorized in levels 4, 5 and 6 are not. Traffic volume is a key factor in service levels.

"Our guys have been fantastic working day after day for extended hours," says Oakes.

They are assigned to specific routes. With a run from Selkirk to the Hald-Dunn Townline taking five hours, the plow might not arrive in South Cayuga until mid-morning, he adds.

In extreme conditions, visibility becomes a problem so plough drivers travel very slowly which adds to delays in operations, says Oakes.

Like Oakes, Don Ricker's phone has been ringing a lot this winter because he is the Haldimand County councillor representing people living along the lake from Mohawk Point to the Hald-Dunn Townline.

Ninety per cent of the lake is frozen so that makes a huge difference with blowing snow, he says. So much snow lands the roadways that there isn't room to pile it. After storms, county crews move piles from one side of the road to the other in an attempt to reduce drifting, he adds.

This winter, the county has deployed as much manpower and equipment as possible. Ricker says graders, back hoes and all available plows have been on the roads making them safe for people on their way to work or on their way home.

Ricker knows people want to see plows out moving snow and salting roads at all hours but it's not possible. Limits are set for municipal employees and hiring numerous contractors is expensive.

"We can't afford to put trucks on the road 24/7," says Ricker. "I know people are getting stuck and we hope they will get home."

Even so, some public works employees are available on an on-call basis. In the case of an emergency and access blocked to paramedics, firefighters or police officers, a plow driver is called out to clear the way to the emergency, says Ricker. This protocol has been used this winter, he adds.

Some of the responsibility falls on residents who decide when and where they want to go, points out Ricker.

"It's been a long time since we had a winter like this," he says. "It's been non-stop since November."

And it will be an expensive winter. Ricker believes expenses will exceed levels set in the county's winter control budget.

People realize this is a winter like one the county has not experienced in many years, says Coun. Buck Sloat.

Drawing on his knowledge as a member of the Haldimand County Hydro board, Sloat points out that the local hydro utility has the second highest kilometres of wires in Ontario. That relates to the quantity of roads so it's difficult to clear snow in a large geographic area, he added.

Article ID# 1422689
http://www.dunnvillechronicle.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1422689

Haldimand "Have Your Say about a New Arena"

You can go to http://www.dunnvillechronicle.ca/ and have your say in regards to an Arena in Dunnville, there is also a poll.

County talks arena fundraising
Posted By KAREN BEST, CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
Feb 6, 2009

Twenty-four. That's how many days will pass before we know if a new Dunnville or a new Cayuga arena is recommended by Haldimand County staff.

At council's committee meeting on March 2, community services general manager Hugh Hanly will table the long-awaited arena report. Money will be a central theme but may take on a different look if the county can access federal government recreation funding.

In its 2009 budget, the Conservative government announced a $500 million Recreational Infrastructure Canada fund. The two-year program will provide financing toward new recreational facilities and repairs for existing community buildings.

"This is an opportunity for us especially if two new arenas are needed," points out Coun. Lorne Boyko. While $500 million is not a lot for the entire country, he notes that two weeks earlier there was no federal funding available.

Coun. Buck Sloat, who represents Cayuga, says it would be great to receive 50 per cent funding for two new arenas.

"We certainly will be applying for this, from this councillor's perspective," he said. "The Cayuga arena is shovel-ready to go. All we need is an engineer's plan and templates exist (for that)."

Last spring, a consultant recommended the county replace the two aging facilities and estimated new single pad arenas will cost at least $8 million each.

Before and since that announcement, the Dunnville Arena and Sport Project group and the Cayuga Think Rink committee have been fundraising and gathering support.

At the end of January, Hanly and leisure services manager Rick Lane met with the groups to talk about fundraising targets.

Details were not disclosed but the Dunnville group tabled its goal at a Jan. 21 meeting and told Hanly it was achievable.

The information gathered from both groups will be used to create financial models and will give a better idea when a project can commence, notes Hanly.

For the final research piece, community services personnel talked to construction firms about costs and have investigated real estate values for land, he adds.

Council has directed staff to do something with the two facilities and after they make a decision, then location will be discussed, says Hanly.

For the Dunnville group, Ramsay Drive remains their site of choice. So far 3,231 people have submitted forms indicating they support this location. An arena committee member said most of the petition forms were clipped from an advertisement in The Chronicle. Some were taken from another local newspaper.

According to the county's chief administrative officer, the report will be based on the premise that any new construction will be financed by the municipality. Don Boyle also said that report can easily be amended if federal financing is secured.

"I fully support investing in recreation facilities," he stated. "There are a lot of county priorities, Ultimately it will be council's decision."

Article ID# 1422663
http://www.dunnvillechronicle.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1422663&auth=KAREN%20BEST,%20CHRONICLE%20STAFF%20WRITER

Haldimand "Nanticoke Nuclear Update"

I am on the mailing list for any updates from Bruce Power but have not received this update yet. I am also on slo mo dialup so I cannot download the video, so for those that can, please share your thoughts.

So in the meantime here is an update from Karen Best of the Dunnville Chronicle;

Nanticoke Nuclear plant updates mailed out
Posted By KAREN BEST, CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
Feb. 6, 2009

Recipients of a Nanticoke nuclear plant update learned a 170 metre bore hole will be drilled into rock under a key building site.

If constructed, the power block will contain two nuclear reactors, turbines and generators capable of producing up to 3,200 megawatts of power.

Another part of the environmental assessment (EA), background radioactivity measurement will continue this month.

An EA is a federally mandated investigation into the state of physical, biological and human components of the environment and surrounding area.

This month, Bruce Power anticipates the EA will be referred by the Federal Minister of Environment to the Joint Review Panel. Over several months beginning in October, a draft environment impact statement will be reviewed by experts and will be presented to the public, aboriginal groups and stakeholders.

Joint Review Panel hearings for the public will be held next summer.

So far engineering consulting firm Golder Associates has completed a phase II EA that includes an archeological assessment and bird migration study. Air, lake water and surface water quality and surface water flow was also documented.

Of 50,000 comment cards mailed to area residents, 1,000 were returned indicating a strong interest in the EA according to Bruce Power.

About 600 people attended December information sessions and a second round will be held in March in five locations including Dunnville.

Last month, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission posted an environmental assessment schedule at http://www.nuclearsafety.gc.ca/.

Further information is available on the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency website http://www.ceaa.gc.ca/ where the project's registry number is 08-03-43757.

To view a video presentation on the Nanticoke project go to http://www.brucepower.com//flash/GMS/ nanticoke/nanticoke. html

http://www.dunnvillechronicle.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1422649&auth=KAREN%20BEST,%20CHRONICLE%20STAFF%20WRITER

Haldimand "What's wrong with a Little Leak Here and There?"

Should we be concerned about a few leaks here and there? Radioactive Leaks that is!

There seems to be some concern over Nuclear in Alberta. The following is a letter to the editor in regards to Bruce Powers bid to build a Nuclear Plant in Alberta. This letter talked about a radioactive leak at the Chalk River Nuclear Plant in December. Following the letter to the editor are some news articles about the radioactive leaks.

I could not attend any of the open houses that Bruce Power held in Haldimand County. Were these concerns addressed? Was the public told that a leak here and there is normal?

One of my concerns in regards to Nuclear has been the storing of the waste, and the decommissioning of a Nuclear Plant.

Should we worry about environmental problems 60 or 70 years from now?


No nuclear
Posted 10 hours ago

Dear Editor,

I have read with dismay the continuing attempts by Bruce Power to sway public opinion in favor of its attempt to build a nuclear-generating power plant downstream from Peace River.

A presentation in Fairview last year was attended by over 200 concerned citizens. Many concerns were expressed, but few assurances were convincingly offered. The location of a nuclear plant on the north side of Lac Cardinal was unacceptable to the majority because of the risk of contamination of Grimshaw Gravels. The meeting ended in complete disarray, and most of those in attendance simply turned their backs on Bruce Power’s presenter and walked out. Now Bruce Power has quietly changed their strongly-held position that Lac Cardinal was safe, and have switched to the present site proposal. They haven’t had another public meeting in Fairview.

At the Fairview meeting, Bruce Power held that wind, solar or other "green" power-generating methods were inferior to nuclear. However in a recent half page ad in the Edmonton Journal, Bruce Power included wind, solar and other green electrical-generating methods to be part of their future agenda.

An extensive article also appeared in the Journal reporting the concerns of farmers whose land will be near the proposed site on the river, and the expressions of a few in the "pro" nuclear camp. The latter group, led by messers Pimm and Johnson, has no qualifications to assess the broader concerns about nuclear power, and I suspect that their supporters don’t either. Their only support for this project stems from their stated desire to obtain economic gain and employment for young people. Naturally, Bruce Power will "massage" the egos of these people and hold them up as the desire by the populace to support nuclear power, yet nothing could be farther from the truth.

Bruce Power is a private company, seeking the massive profits to be obtained from the sale of electricity. Their representatives in the Peace, trying to gain our favor, are not altruistic. They could care less about the long-term effects of nuclear power on this or other communities in the north. And you can bet that they are not giving up their homes and lifestyles in Ontario.

Today, the national news sources have disclosed that there was leakage of radioactive water into the Ottawa River in early December from the Chalk River nuclear plant, but was not reported for nine days. Downriver towns and cities, including Ottawa, are now trying to assess the danger to their water supplies. I wonder how Bruce Power will defend the industry next week?

Uranium sources are considered to be available on our planet for only the next 40 or 50 years. Yet nuclear plants turn out deadly radioactive waste with life spans of thousands and hundred of thousands of years. Short term gain for long term pain is the ultimate irresponsible and stupid act in my opinion.

Maybe the worldwide economic crisis will be the most beneficial thing to happen to us. Dangerous business ventures like Bruce Power’s may be stopped in their tracks.

Yours truly,
Trevor Jones, Fairview
http://www.fairviewpost.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1419998

Feb 3, 2009 3:26:00 PM MST
Small leaks at Chalk River nuclear facility part of normal operations: AECL head (AECL-Chalk-River)

CALGARY _ The head of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. says a small radioactive leak at the Chalk River nuclear facility in Ontario was part of normal operations, and was dealt with appropriately.

CEO Hugh MacDiarmid says there´s no way to completely prevent leaks.

He says the company instead has plans to make sure they can deal with them quickly, and that´s what happened.

AECL has confirmed the leak at Chalk River occurred in early December.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission says the leak did not put the public or environment at risk. MacDiarmid says the Chalk River facility shuts down for five days every three weeks, and that repairs to the leak will be done during one of those periods.
http://www.oilweek.com/news.asp?ID=20999

Chalk River reactor can't be scrapped overnight
Posted By GREG WESTON
Posted 1 day ago

Amid growing political fallout from a recent radioactive spill at the antiquated Chalk River nuclear facility west of Ottawa, the Conservative government is desperately trying to wash its hands of the whole leaky reactor.

Senior government sources say Stephen Harper's administration is actively considering options to get rid of the nightmare nuke built in 1957, and operated by the country's perpetually money-burning nuclear agency, Atomic Energy of Canada.

However worthy the idea, it is a lot easier said than done.

First, the government can't just pull the plug on the Chalk River reactor tomorrow and sell it for scrap.

Despite its leaks, the reactor is currently running at double its normal capacity in order to produce up to 70 per cent of the world's supply of radioactive isotopes used in critical medical scans and treatments for millions of heart and cancer patients.

A shutdown of only a few weeks a year ago forced the cancellation of thousands of critical cancer treatments across Canada, the U. S. and parts of Europe.

Hitting the off-switch for good would cause an international health crisis.

Second, there aren't a lot of buyers for a leaky 52-year-old reactor on a site so contaminated that the auditor general has warned a clean-up could cost billions.

Insiders say an international consortium wanting a piece of the isotope biz put an offer on the table last year to run the existing facility while they were building a whole new reactor.

Taxpayers, of course, get to keep the contaminated site.

A senior government official hinted last week that the offer may still be alive.

It may be too late. Last month, one of the largest multinational distributors of medical isotopes, Covidien, announced a U. S. joint-venture to build the first American production reactor.
The move would likely wipe out the vast majority of the current isotope market for the Chalk River reactor that already loses millions of dollars a year, and make a Canadian replacement facility equally uneconomical.

No matter. Canadian taxpayers are already funding preliminary work on a project that might be able to produce medical isotopes with light beams and no nuclear reactors at all.

The problem is the proposed technology is still on the drafting board, and could take more years to design and build than the Chalk River facility will reasonably last.

However great the challenges of nuking Chalk River, no one could blame the Harper government for trying.

The reactor is now decades past its best-before date, and has long been an accident waiting to happen. The nuclear leak on Dec. 5 released radioactive tritium into the air, and spewed out an estimated 800 litres of contaminated water, most of which was contained.

Another unrelated crack in the reactor has been leaking 7,000 litres of very low-level radioactive water a day for over six weeks.

Most of that water, according a spokesman for Atomic Energy, ultimately ends up in the Ottawa River.

Officials at Atomic Energy and the Nuclear Safety Commission claim there was never any danger to humans or the surrounding environment from the leaks. But that doesn't explain why both agencies went to great lengths to keep the incident under wraps until we reported it last week, or why their subsequent explanations have been full of contradictions.

Even the Prime Minister's Office was furious at being kept in the dark about the spill, having been told (like everyone else) only that the reactor had some "unanticipated technical challenges."

That said, the Harper government isn't being entirely forthcoming, either.

The recent federal budget gives Atomic Energy a whopping $351 million this year, but no one is saying exactly how the money will be spent.

Far from fixing radioactive leaks, a tonne of that money may well be going towards the dismantling of the infamous Maple reactors.

Last year, the Harper government wisely pulled the plug on the two so-called Maples built to replace the Chalk River clunker.

The project was years late, more than $400 million over budget, and worst of all, the reactors don't work.

Last week, the office of Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt issued a written statement saying: "Clearly, there is no quick or easy solution to guaranteeing the long-term global supply of medical isotopes."

Until one is found, the government -- and the public -- will continue to be caught between a leaky reactor and a medical crisis.

Article ID# 1416903
http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1416903

No link between radioactive sludge and reactor leak: minister
8 hours ago

OTTAWA — The federal minister of Natural Resources says there is almost certainly no connection between radioactive sludge in Ottawa and a reactor leak at Chalk River some 200 kilometres upriver.

Lisa Raitt accused Liberal MPs of "fear-mongering" in the Commons after they asked her to clarify whether any link existed.

Raitt says the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has assured her the low-level radiation found in sludge from a sewage plant is likely residue from a medical device.

Two truckloads of sludge were turned back at the United States border last week after radioactivity was detected.

City officials in Ottawa have found no contamination at the waste-water facility and say repeated tests of both the Ottawa River and city drinking water have turned up no unusual radiation levels.

A leak in December at the aging research reactor at Chalk River, Ont., has sparked renewed calls for government action to safeguard the public and to ensure a continued supply of medical isotopes produced at the facility.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gzJHMz3u4HrkXfmzbOTMbzZWh9YA

Haldimand "Bruce Power Holds Open House in Dunnville"

OOPs forgot to post this article;

Bruce Power dished up relevant information at open house
Posted By KAREN BEST, CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER

Frank Collins and Mike Ramsey called Bruce Power asking for a presentation in Dunnville after the town was left off a list of information sessions on a proposed nuclear power facility.

On Jan. 20, Ramsey completed a circuit of displays set up by consulting firm Golder Associates in St. Michael's Parish Hall. He was one of about 100 who attended that evening.

He said he asked Bruce Power to bring information to town because it was the biggest community in Haldimand County. When Collins called, Bruce Power acknowledged that leaving Dunnville out of the meeting schedule was an error.

For the rest of the environmental assessment process, Dunnville will be included. The next round of meetings is scheduled for March.

For Ramsey, the economy and safety were concerns as it was for some when the Nanticoke coal fired power generation plant was proposed in the 1970s.

After learning more about nuclear power generation, he said everything was well explained and his concerns were spent fuel rod storage and the downwind impact on Dunnville.

Economics was on his mind too. "We need a shot in the arm of the economy and this might be what we need," said Ramsey.

"If we lose Nanticoke, Haldimand County will be a ghost town," pointed out Collins. "We need to replace that. In many countries, power is generated at nuclear facilities."

He would like to see a nuclear power plant and a clean coal conversion at the Nanticoke OPG plant.

Like most people that evening, Anne Marie Flatt attended to become informed. She learned that many of her questions will be addressed through the environmental assessment on the property beside the U. S. Steel plant in the industrial park by Lake Erie.

Flatt wanted to know where spent fuel will be housed and if an earthquake fault existed in the vicinity of the site. For Flatt and her mother, Sylvia Weaver, an increase in the property tax base and 1,000 new jobs were benefits that will will come from the project.

"I'm also concerned about the yellow plume that drifts across the lake (from the coal plant)," said Weaver.

Councillors Lorne Boyko, Don Ricker and Leroy Bartlett attended as well that evening. Boyko said the event was non-confrontational but a few people expected protesters picketing outside with signs.

Standing near information exhibits, Bartlett said he attended all but the Simcoe information session to find out what people are thinking.

At the end of the day, Haldimand County council will make a decision on this one way or the other, he pointed out. Under the City of Nanticoke official plan, the plant would not be permitted and a planning application will be required, he explained.

Under the Haldimand County official plan, that has not been approved by the provincial government, the plant would be allowed, he added.

Bartlett also pointed out that the federal and provincial governments will also have to determine if this is the site for a nuclear power plant.

At the radiation exhibit, Dr. Doug Boreman, a Bruce Power scientist, answered questions as Doctors Reza and Barb Kazemi raised concerns. He told them Three Mile Island was a success story because the reactor meltdown was contained and no radiation was released.

In the design proposal for Bruce Power's Nanticoke plant, reactors will be housed in a concrete building lined with steel and encased in steel. "You can never break through the inside," said Boreman.

Within 200 years, radiation levels in spent fuel rods will fall to the same level as a CT scan, he noted.

After listening to Boreman, Dr. Scott Reid said he attended because he was interested in hearing about nuclear power.

"I think it would be a good thing for Haldimand County and the province," he said as he prepared to go home. "I have a lot of confidence in safety measures," he added.

In 1981, he attended the grand opening of the first Ontario nuclear plant in Bruce County. Scott said a relative, who is a tool and dye operator, works in the facility and has told him how safe operations were. Employees are given top-notch high quality tools to maintain the facility at the utmost quality, he added.

Reid said it was vital that people get questions answered because there is always a lot of fear about nuclear power plants.

Both Reza and Barb Kazemi went away with concerns for people and the environment so they wanted alternate power sources reviewed.

Reza pointed out that power consumption dropped 2.5 per cent a year over the past two years. If that wonderful trend of conservation here might be not be a need for more nuclear power plants, he added.

During his presentations, Boreman told people that new nuclear plants will have to be built over the next few decades to replace old structures that will be decommissioned.

After the session ended, Duncan Moffett, a principle with Golder Associates, commented on the terrific community interest displayed in Dunnville. People raised similar concerns and questions as at other sessions. The vast majority wanted to find out more information before making up their minds, he noted.

"We love that. That's part of the environmental assessment," said Moffett.

Article ID# 1400881
http://www.dunnvillechronicle.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1400881

Haldimand "Should We Roll out the Red Carpet for Business?"

For those of you that are familar with the Autodrome at the Dunnville Airport, it looks like the battle could be finally coming to an end!

I am in support of the Autodrome and have kept in touch with what has been going on the last five years. This "is not" a "race" track and should not have to follow the same rules as a "racetrack", of course this is my personal opinion.

For those that live in the vicinity that have complained about the noise of the Autodrome have never complained about the noise on the river (boats, jet skis etc) or the noise of the planes flying over head.

When the Autodrome first came to Dunnville, it was only the planes from the sky diving school, now there are many more planes flying low over head "all year" round with the Flight School. I did find it quite interesting that the lawyer for Dunnville Cares brought up the fact of safety in having a track so close to the Flight School?

This battle has cost the taxpayers a huge amount of money, as the county is fighting with everything it has to stop the Autodrome!

You would think that the County would try and help this "Business" not stop it!

It will be interesting to see the outcome, and I do hope that the county is not treating other businesses the same way.

Autodrome appeal will take 10 days
Ontario Municipal Board will hear details of five-year battle
Posted By KAREN BEST, CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
Posted 3 days ago

An attempt to overturn a rejected zoning application for the Dunnville Autodrome will take up to 10 days.

Starting June 9, lawyer Brian Duxbury will launch his quest to ask the Ontario Municipal Board to accept the zoning change requested by Autodrome operator Lee Abrahamson.

On the other side of the room at the Jan. 27 preliminary hearing, lawyer Greg Hedley will offer arguments on behalf of Dunnville Community Association Respecting our Environment (CARES). He and lawyer Randolph Smith are co-counsels for the group.

Founded in 2005, the community group opposes use of the road course built at the Dunnville Airport in 2004. At least 20 witnesses will be called to offer evidence on behalf of Dunnville CARES, said chair Bill Strong, who sat beside Hedley at the preliminary hearing.
A comparable number of witnesses are anticipated from the autodrome. Both parties will call their own noise experts to the stand.

Lawyer Sara Premi, who is representing Haldimand County, attended the Jan. 27 OMB hearing with county senior planner Mike Evers.

The OMB is an arm's length quasi-judicial body that hears business and resident appeals of municipal council planning decisions.

Approved by OMB member R. S. J. Stefanko, hearings are set for June 9 to 12; June 16, 18 and 19; and June 22 and 23. All will be held in the Haldimand County Cayuga administration building. Most of the proceedings will take place in the lower level committee room.

For almost five years, the Dunnville Autodrome, which promoted itself as a job-making and tourist attraction facility, has been at the centre of controversy.

In 2004, concerns were raised when the 2.2 kilometre course opened. Previous to construction and after use began, county officials notified Abrahamson that the use of the course was not permitted under an existing Town of Dunnville bylaw.

On the other hand, Abrahamson, who has invested close to $1 million in the venture, secured several legal opinions saying the use did comply with the bylaw. In the fall of 2004, the county set aside its pursuit of an injunction after Abrahamson initiated a zoning application. Over the years, the application was amended.

He was seeking approvals for a media production facility, technology centre, trade school and outdoor proving ground for research and development.

Last June, county council determined noise study requirements were not met and the use did not comply with the bylaw. By August, their decision was appealed to the board.

At the Jan. 27 preliminary hearing, participants, who will address the board in June, were registered. Donald Blunt will speak on behalf of the Beckley Beach Cottagers Association which represents owners of 65 cottages on the east side of Port Maitland.

Representing Toronto Motorsports Park, Cindy Campbell told the board that a TMP spokesperson will also speak to the board. Later she said road course operation without a racing licence was the issue of concern. Presently she was working on licence renewal for the TMP tracks.

Autodrome manager Jon Kuiper said he will speak as a supporter on behalf of the autodrome as will Steve Strong and Marion Kuiper.

Duxbury questioned some issues raised by Dunnville CARES including incompatibility of autodrome use with existing uses and air plane safety. Hedley referenced an Ontario Planning Act section that addressed health and safety and a provincial planning policy on location of development to avoid land use conflicts.

Continuing, Hedley insisted the board examine the safety of having a track right beside a runway used by 100 Maylan Aviation pilots-in-training.

Stefanko accepted these issues for the hearing but questioned the property value impact issue.
In response, Hedley said Maitland Shores Marina and RV Resort is closest to the road course and has 250 park model trailer sites and 360 boat slips. Owner Roger O'Hara has invested over $2 million in underground services and has lost sales when potential buyers heard the track noise, he added. The issue was accepted.

After the preliminary hearing, Jon Kuiper said, "I'm glad to see we're making progress and have a date picked."

"Hopefully this matter will be straightened out in June," he added.

Article ID# 1411760