Letters_12-15

Back to Home Letters - April 19, 2012

Letters: Apr 19

Re: Kudos to Mike Richardson, Public Works Manager,  Tim Trickey

Reverse Democracy, Robert Taylor

Re: Diminished Role For MNR, Gray Merriam

Scott Reid's spending, Ralph Sutherland

Seniors' Exercise Classes, Pamela Giroux

Re: Kudos to Mike Richardson, Public Works Manager

I just want to pass along my own hurrah, job well done, & “Good for you”, since all our graded roads are so well done! Apparently your personal township truck does not leave the paved portion of the road of Central Frontenac Township.

Your idea of filling the rough spots on the Bordenwood Road with field stones was so well done that my wife Darlene, who by the way is turning 52, son Jordan, Lance Kelford & I spent an entire afternoon picking the boulders out of the road that was left behind, so the road could be drivable for our friends & neighbors, who, by the way, also pay taxes.

I also hear through the grapevine that Canada Post is so impressed with the work that you do, they are talking of moving mail service to the edge of the paved portion of Henderson Road! Again, another adventurous trip up this wonderfully-done graded road.

So again go ahead & give yourself a BIG PAT ON THE BACK! You sure won’t get one from us, who have to travel that well-graded road on a daily basis to get to work. Personally I would like to see you, & her Majesty Mayor Madam Gutowski get in her carriage, or on the township ATV (probably be a more comfortable ride) & take a drive in here.

Tim TrickeyResident & taxpayer, president, CEO & free labourer of Bordenwood Road Boulder Removal Committee, Central Frontenac Township.

Reverse Democracy

In response to Mr. Isaccs’ letter to the editor (Democracy and letters to the editor, April 5) Mr Isaccs is spot on. Our constituency democracy has gradually been eroded over a number of years to the point that our elected representative is little more than a messenger from the government to the constituency. Even of greater concern is that partisan policy is driven by the party elite and backroom deals with big multi-national business, big oil and big banks and not from our elected representatives who either toe the party line or face party discipline to the detriment of their individual constituencies. Other trends are becoming relevant that should give us even more cause for concern.

Regionalization of the political spectrum gives rise to east-west diversification and in Ontario, urban vs. rural divides.

Even within ridings such as ours, Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox & Addington, the constituency ranges from Carleton Place, a bedroom community for Ottawa, to the wilderness of North Frontenac and North Addington and then the agricultural base of south Lennox. Whoever drew up this riding must have been suffering from a severe hangover. Even Martha Stewart would have difficulty making a meal from these left-overs.

My point is that our elected representative must represent us, his or her constituents, with fairness to all factions within that constituency to government and ensure that his/her political party listen to those concerns and not the reverse.

To continue with the status quo is democracy denied.

Robert Taylor

Re: Diminished Role For MNR

Your editorial comments and excerpts from the Deputy Minister of Natural Resources, David O’Toole’s message (Deputy minister sees diminished role for MNR, Apr 12/12), make clear that MNR intends to withdraw many of their responsibilities for our natural resources. Under pressure from our provincial government, MNR intends to neglect activities vital to safeguarding our natural riches unless the activities are required by a provincial law or regulation. MNR will become regulatory only.

The primitive nature of this regulatory approach is illustrated by what is being done by other jurisdictions. Norwegian natural resources managers are characterizing over 200 invasive species in terms of reproductive ability, growth rate, population density potential, and prevalence. By analyzing these characteristics, they can plot each invasive species on a chart with invasive potential on one axis and ecological effect on the other axis. This allows putting the invasives into classes from "no known impact' to "very high impact" evaluating the potential danger to native natural resources. Information vital to good management decisions.

Our politicians, with support of voters, are not keeping up.

Gray Merriam

Scott Reid's spending

In March 2012 Scott Reid, MP for Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington, distributed his 'Annual Report to Constituents'. This annual report described, among other things, how Members of Parliament used their expense allowances in 2010/11.

One conclusion put forward by Mr. Reid in his annual report is that he was more careful with taxpayer dollars than were other MPs, but that conclusion is not supported by the figures provided in that report. The report includes a table showing how much the average MP spent on staff, travel, hospitality, advertising, printing, office rent, office furniture and equipment, telecommunication, office repairs, office services and office training, and how much was spent by Mr. Reid.

Mr. Reid is shown as having spent a bit over $367,000 whereas the average for all MPs was about $433,000.

For travel the average MP spent just over $106,000 whereas Mr. Reid spent less than

$2500. The report, quite correctly, notes that how much each MP spends on travel is mostly determined by where they are from. An MP who lives in Newfoundland or the Yukon can't help spending a lot more on travel than someone who lives close to Ottawa.

This being the case then it seems to me that, when comparing MP spending, travel costs should be ignored. With travel costs removed one can then compare only the spending that is to a large extent under the control of the MP.

If travel spending is taken out of the total then the average MP spent about $326,000 and our MP spent about $365,000. It doesn't really matter to me that the spending by Mr. Reid (excluding travel) is almost $40,000 above the average spending of all MPs, but it is wrong for him to claim to be more frugal with taxpayer money than are other MPs when that is not true.

Besides the above there is also one place in Mr. Reid's Annual Report where the figures are confusing. Budgets for the 308 MP offices are said to add up to $67 million per year, but the average spending per MP is, in the financial table titled 'Operating Budget', said to be about $433,000. If the average spending per office is $433,000 the annual budget for the 308 offices would be about $133 million rather than $67 million. Mr. Reid has been asked to explain this discrepancy.

Ralph Sutherland

Seniors' Exercise Classes

A few weeks ago Edie Cairns wrote an article for the news giving rave reviews of the Seniors Exercise classes offered at the gym run by Michelle Greenstreet in Sharbot Lake. I also wrote an article in the fall praising this excellent program, which was being funded by the Medical Centre. The word got around and enrollment more than tripled for the second session.

Today I am missing the exercise classes and my new-found friends at the gym. Our last day together at the end of March felt a bit like the last day at summer camp. Can you recall that feeling of sadness when you wondered if you would ever meet up again with these people that you bonded with instantly?

There are so many benefits to this program that it’s hard to list them all but definitely at the top of the list is preventive medicine. According to an article in the Ottawa Citizen “an hour or so of moderate exercise a few times a week can help keep your brain sharp.” Well, that is certainly incentive to put those running shoes on for a workout.

But another reason at the top of the list was the camaraderie that developed amongst the participants. We joked, we laughed, we moaned, we groaned but we made an effort to move our booty and we felt good afterward.

Well, what’s next? A lot of us lived through the sit-ins and protest marches of the 1960s and ’70s . So do we chain ourselves to the steps of the Medical Centre or maybe carry protest placards and march in front of the Township Office, or do we quietly go our separate ways and wait until the insurance problem is miraculously solved?

We miss you, Michelle!

Pamela Giroux