Hawkesbury: Mayor is fed up with arguing, disrespect at council
table
Fines for littering should be increased: Birds cleaning
up after pigs
Forest Hill's Facebook page needs more community participation
Another raucous meeting of the Clarence-Rockland Council
Things are heating up at Clarence-Rockland Council meeting
Lee Valley founder grinds axe with Canada Post (From
an earlier posting) |
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Hawkesbury:
Mayor is fed up with arguing, disrespect at council table
Reading a recent story in the Vankleek
Hill Review brought to mind some of the action that I have witnessed at council meetings
in Clarence-Rockland.
The headline read:
Mayor is fed up with arguing, disrespect at council table
Following a number of contentious debates at recent meetings, Mayor Berthiaume made it clear he won't tolerate
any further disrespect around the council table. Read more...
Could Clarence-Rockland council take a page out of the Hawkesbury book? |
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Editorial: Fines for littering should be increased
These birds are cleaning up after pigs
By Patrick Meikle
These seagulls are feasting on the garbage that some local pigs have thrown out. Ironically the
remains are from a McDonald's meal, and they are spread out on the local A & W parking lot. But I guess we
shouldn't complain, according to a recent story, the City of Ottawa is spending millions cleaning up its garbage.
Read: Trash Clean up Costs
City $5-million Annually
Editor's comments: We are getting disgusted with
the lack of respect that some cretins have for others, when they litter our highways a nd byways with junk. From household waste to larger
construction materials and even vehicles, people are leaving their litter in the last place it belongs:
in the ditches, on the roads, on parking lots, anywhere they please, and being the cowards and ingrates that they
are, more likely pushing stuff out of their vehicles at night, when no one is around. The photo shows garbage dumped
at the Cemetery on old Highway 17.
It's time our City and County fathers did something. Take for example, an eastern Ontario township
near Renfrew: The Township of Horton has introduced a new bylaw where perpetrators
wil l have
to pay a fine of $1,000.
Bonnechere Provincial Park in Renfrew County: an Ottawa man who left garbage in a provincial
park has been fined and ordered to perform community service.
Bobby Mantil was fined $1,000 and placed on probation until he completes 50 hours of community
service, including picking up litter at campsites on Crown land. Read more...
We'll have to get the City of Ottawa involved as well. Canaan Road, the border between the Cities
of Ottawa and Clarence-Rockland is as bad as anywhere. Even our annual clean-up crews couldn't keep up with the
litter, everything from tires to cans, bottles, lunch wraps, even several bags of clipped marijuana plants.
How about it, Prescott-Russell, Clarence-Rockland and Ottawa, over to you! Let's start with "No
Littering" signs along Canaan Road.
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Forest Hill Facebook page needs community
participation
(Forest
Hill, Friday, January 20, 2012) The residential community of Forest Hill is located between Canaan and Joanisse
Roads and is about five clicks south of Highway 174, on Canaan Road. It was build in the early 1990s by the now
defunct Tempra Homes.
About two years ago two of its residents started a Facebook page to keep the locals advised of happenings
and events in their neighbourhood of about 260 homes.
Out of the hundreds of people who live in Forest Hill, only 60 have signed up so far.
Facebook, in spite of the frivolous nature that many individual participants use it for, can
be a great resource, especially to a community group. A good example is the Citoyens de Clarence-Rockland Citizens Facebook site.
Granted to some, the Citizens site is considered to be biased and left-of-center, particularly where the City Council is concerned,
however given the keen interest and active participation by its members, the Citizens site is very informative and carries thought-provoking news and comments from some of the best minds
in the area.
Similarly, the friends and neighbours in Forest Hill who use their Facebook page, offer useful
and informative information which keeps the community aware of events and happenings. It is also used by the local
City councillor to advise constituents of important news related to their Ward 5.
More can be said, but for now, local residents should take advantage of the resources that a
Facebook page offers, and more quarters within Clarence-Rockland should do the same.
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Another raucous meeting of the C-R council
(From the editor's view...) (Rockland, March 14, 2011)How will the mainstream press report
the Monday, March 14 Clarence-Rockland council meeting? LeDroit, Vision and La Nouvelle reporters were all there
and I am sure had the English and French CBC crews, who attended the "cirque" last Monday, known how
the "Question Period" was going to turn into another verbal donnybrook, they too would have covered the
meeting.
Again, I can only give an opinion because as they say in French, "la plupart de la réunion" was
held in French, and it would be inapproprite for me to report without fully comprehending what was actually said.
I did understand though that among the catcalls and clapping, there were people telling the mayor and councillor
Choinière to resign.
(Given that the meeting lasted so long and that after speaking to a few of the participants afterwards I did not
get home until after midnight, I will continue this missive later.)
(You can also read more about the current council saga here.)
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| Things are heating up at Clarence-Rockland Council
meetings |
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 Reality TV has nothing on the action that is taking place between the new City of Clarence-Rockland council,
and the City's chief administrative officer, if you read what is being reported by Le Droit newspaper. And it is
similar to what has been happening in several middle-east countries, some local citizens are rebelling against
the leadership.
Let me begin by stating that I am not trying to stir up a French-English language issue... however
unfortunately for many of us whose first language is not French, we are missing out on the state of affairs, or
is it the affairs of state, because 90-plus per cent of the council meetings and related stories news stories are
conducted or written in the French language, a great injustice to the English minority in this city who are unable
to follow the affairs of their local government.
I have dubbed this story as an "editorial" because although I have attended all but
one of the meetings since the new council was sworn in, my comprehension of what I am able to hear, is not sufficient
enough to give an accurate report.
So, you, like I, must rely on the reports that we get in the local Vision Newspaper and LeDroit.
If you do not receive the Vision, you can
read the current edition online, here.
You can also get a listing of the stories that a very capable LeDroit reporter, Jean-François Dugas, has written. Click here.
For example, in the Friday, February 18 edition of LeDroit:
"The choice of legal counsel might create controversy"
Le droit has learned that Clarence-Rockland may hire as legal counsel a lawyer who is in litigation against the
municipality.
This is the recommendation made by the chair of the Finance Committee, Diane Choiniere, according to an internal
report obtained by LeDroit.
The councillor suggested hiring of Stephen J. Lalonde as legal officer for the next four years. His first job would
be to formulate recommendations for statutory orders for different files during weekly meetings. Last year, the
municipality paid almost $ 140 000 for such legal services.
(Bear in mind that this is a rough translation of LeDroit story.) |
And in the Wednesday, February 16 edition of LeDroit:
"Le nouveau maire aurait agi sans avis légal"
The new mayor would have acted without legal notice...
You can read the story here and try for a Google translation, as I do. |
The Canaan Connexion
has also learned that a Facebook page entitled Citoyens de Clarence-Rockland
Citizens has been started. As of last count there were over 350 people on the page,
and growing. If you want to join the dialogue you must request that your name be added.
tay tuned.
(I believe that it will only be a matter of time before the English media will run with these
events.)
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| Lee Valley founder grinds axe with Canada
Post |
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Leonard Lee, owner of Lee Valley Tools Ltd. (one of Canada's biggest mail-order companies), claims
that Canada Post's business practices are illogical and sometimes unethical. His problems began under André
Ouellet but continue to this day. The problems are all with Canada Post senior management, not with the rank and
file or middle management.
In January of 2006, he took out three full-page ads in the Ottawa Citizen to air his grievances. Lee has also launched
a website (www.postalproblem.ca)
chronicling his correspondence with the Crown corporation.
The Website states: "The Lee Valley/Canada Post Problem - as a symptom of dysfunction in government.
Over recent years Lee Valley has had increasing problems with Canada Post. These His problems began under André
Ouellet but continue to this day. The problems are all with Canada Post senior management, not with the rank and
file or middle management."
(The story prompted some letters to the editor:
Keep investigating Canada Post
Corporate arrogance
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Keep investigating Canada Post
The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Monday, January 16, 2006
Re: The Problem with Canada Post, Part 1 (advertisement), Jan. 11.
I thank Lee Valley Tools for bringing to public view its problems and concerns with Canada Post. It is disheartening
to learn that such dishonesty, ignorance and denial thrives at the top levels of government ministries, Crown corporations
and agencies.
The Canadian postal system holds a monopoly on the mail and parcel-delivery system, and appears to care less than
ever before about the people it was designed to serve. This is obvious in part due to the constant price increases
for Canada Post services. From the Lee Valley Tools advertisement in the Citizen, and from documentation made available
by Lee Valley Tools on the Internet, it is also obvious that the problem goes well beyond Canada Post: it appears
the public service and the government have no regard for fair trade, Canadian law and the citizens they are meant
to protect.
All Canadians should be concerned about the business practices and direction of Canada Post, as few other Crown
corporations affect our lives as intimately as this one. I hope the Citizen and other media will pursue the Lee
Valley conflict with Canada Post, as public exposure of such conflict will serve to keep government in check.
Michael Heaslip - Ottawa
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Corporate arrogance
The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Monday, January 16, 2006
I found the Lee Valley Tools report on its difficulties with Canada Post quite shocking. Whatever happened to good
old-fashioned courtesy and customer service? I guess they aren't important for some Crown corporations. If this
is how they treat big customers, then what about the rest of us?
I am grateful that Lee Valley Tools has the means to publish such an ad to inform the general public about these
strange practices. I consider this a generous public service, since it would appear that Canada Post is not audited
by anyone else.
What Canada Post is doing doesn't seem ethical (even if they're getting through a legal loophole) and we should
have some way to make things change. What about some sort of inquiry? Why doesn't it have to answer to some organization
that watches over corporate practice?
Lee Valley Tools is a very well-run organization, one in which every worker seems to take pride in excellence and
customer service. As merely one of their thousands of customers, I can attest to this fact. It must be quite a
shock for these folks to run up against such corporate arrogance.
Maureen Dagg - Almonte |
From the first ad:
Did you know that Canada Post considers thjese two objects to have the same volume?
Leonard Lee, CEO of Lee Valley Tools
If you have any comments or
information or contributions
on the subject of government
regulations of
crown corporations
please send them to
postalproblem@leevalley.com
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Read the comments from
Canaan Connexion
Message Centre:
"Radio Canada seems to allege Mayor Guiboard has lied"
More...
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