OUR UPDATED EVENTS ,AFTER JUNE 5 , 2005
TRIBUNE STAFF
PART OF ARTICLE by MARK TAYTI
JUNE 28, 2005
IN TRIBUNE STAFF
PART OF ARTICLE by STAFF
JUNE 29, 2005
IN NIAGARA THIS WEEK
PART OF ARTICLE by DOUG DRAPER
JUNE 10 , 2005
IN THE WELLAND TRIBUNE
ARTICLE by SHEILA BROOKS
JUNE 23 , 2005
IN NIAGARA THIS WEEK
PART OF ARTICLE by DARREN YOURK 06/24/05
JUNE 10 , 2005
WELLAND -- NIAGARA GOT AN UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL LOOK AT PRIME MINISTER PAUL MARTIN AND HIS "NEW DEAL" FOR ONTARIO'S CITIES AND COMMUNITIES FRIDAY, AS THE NATION'S TOP POLITICIAN ROLLED THROUGH THE REGION TO ANNOUNCE $1.9-BILLION IN PROVINCE-WIDE FUNDING.
THE FIVE-YEAR DEAL, ANNOUNCED AS MARTIN MADE STOPS IN RICHMOND HILL AND WELLAND, WOULD SEE THE NIAGARA REGION RECEIVE $66-MILLION FROM OTTAWA IN GAS TAX REVENUE. HALF WOULD GO TO THE REGION WITH THE REST DIVVIED UP BETWEEN THE 12 MUNICIPALITIES.
AN ADDITIONAL $2.3-MILLION WOULD GO DIRECTLY INTO THE REGION'S FIVE TRANSIT SYSTEMS OVER TWO YEARS. THE ST, CATHARINES TRANSIT COMMISSION WILL RECEIVE $1.7-MILLION OF THAT MONEY.
MARTIN JOINED WELLAND MP JOHN MALONEY AND ST. CATHARINES MP WALT LASTEWKA FOR AN INTERVIEW WITH THIS WEEK IN THE FOUR POINTS SHERATON IN THOROLD FRIDAY, SAYING THE DEAL IS ABOUT MORE THAN JUST MONEY.
"THIS IS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SAYING THAT WE WANT TO BE PARTNERS WITH MUNICIPALITIES," HE SAID. "WE THINK THAT MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS ARE ON THE FRONT LINE OF MOST OF THE OPPORTUNITIES AND MOST OF THE PROBLEMS. THIS IS A SIGN THAT WE WANT TO WORK TOGETHER."
THE FUNDS ARE TO SUPPORT ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE MUNICIPAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSIT PROJECTS SUCH AS WATER, WASTEWATER, SOLID WASTE, COMMUNITY ENERGY SYSTEMS AND LOCAL ROADS AND BRIDGES IN THE PROVINCE'S SMALLER COMMUNITIES.
MALONEY SAID THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE PROGRAM'S FUNDING WOULD ALLOW MUNICIPALITIES TO COMPLETE MORE PROJECTS.
"ALL MUNICIPALITIES OF EVERY SIZE HAVE ESSENTIAL WORKS THAT HAVE TO BE DONE AND WISH LISTS," MALONEY SAID. "THIS IS GOING TO HELP THEM GET TO THESE OUTSTANDING PROJECTS MUCH SOONER. IT'S GOING TO BE A TREMENDOUS BENEFIT TO THE CITIZENS OF THE VARIOUS COMMUNITIES AS WELL AS THE ENTIRE NIAGARA REGION BECAUSE WE'RE GETTING ALMOST TO BE THE CITY OF NIAGARA."
REGIONAL CHAIRMAN PETER PARTINGTON HAILED THE DEAL AS GREAT NEWS FOR THE ENTIRE REGION.
"WE ARE EXTREMELY PLEASED. OUR PLANS ARE IN PLACE, AND WE ARE READY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS FUNDING," HE SAID. "NIAGARA'S EFFORTS IN OVERALL SUSTAINABILITY ARE IN DIRECT ALIGNMENT WITH FEDERAL STRATEGIES.
"THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR. THIS IS GOOD FOR NIAGARA"
MARTIN MET WITH LOCAL POLITICAL LEADERS IN THE NEW WELLAND CITY HALL FRIDAY AFTERNOON. WHILE EVERYTHING FROM PROBLEMS AT THE BORDER TO SECURITY ISSUES AND CULTURE WERE DISCUSSED, MARTIN SAID THE OVERRIDING THEME WAS LOCAL LEADERS' SATISFACTION AT OTTAWA RECOGNIZING THEIR CITIES AND COMMUNITIES AS IMPORTANT PIECES OF THE NATIONAL PUZZLE.
"THE RESPECT FOR MUNICIPALITIES AS TRUE PARTNERS. I THINK THAT WAS THE MESSAGE THAT RESONATED AND THEY ALL RAISED IT--EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM RAISED IT," HE SAID.
BUT BEFORE MUNICIPALITIES GET THEIR HANDS ON ANY MONEY, THE FEDERAL BUDGET MUST BE PASSED. ON THURSDAY THE MAIN BUDGET BILL FROM THE LIBERALS PASSED IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, BUT A SECOND BILL COVERING THE AMENDMENTS TO THE BUDGET BROKERED BETWEEN THE NDP AND LIBERALS TO KEEP MARTIN'S MINORITY GOVERNMENT IN POWER IS EXPECTED TO FACE STIFF OPPOSITION FROM STEPHEN HARPER AND THE CONSERVATIVES.
MARTIN SAID THE MAYORS FROM AROUND THE NIAGARA REGION WERE OUTSPOKEN IN THEIR BELIEF THE BUDGET SHOULD BE PUSHED THROUGH AT HIS MEETING WITH THEM FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN WELLAND.
"THIS IS A BUDGET THAT EVERYBODY WANTS PASSED," MARTIN SAID. "THE FACT THAT STEPHEN HARPER AND THE CONSERVATIVES CONTINUE HOLDING THIS BUDGET UP FOR STRICTLY PARTISAN PURPOSES IS JUST INCOMPREHENSIBLE. IT IS INCOMPREHENSIBLE TO ME AND I THINK IT IS INCOMPREHENSIBLE TO CANADIANS."
LESTEWKA ACCUSED HARPER AND THE CONSERVATIVES OF FLIP-FLOPPING ON THE BUDGET AND HAMPERING THE WORK OF GOVERNMENT.
"IF YOU GO BACK TO FEBRUARY HE SUPPORTED THE BUDGET THEN HE FLIPPED AND SAID NO HE'S NOT GOING TO SUPPORT THE BUDGET," LASTEWKA SAID. "THEN HE COMES BACK AND SAYS I'LL SUPPORT HALF THE BUDGET, NO I'LL SUPPORT THREE QUARTERS OF THE BUDGET.
"IN A MINORITY GOVERNMENT YOU HAVE TO HAVE CONSENSUS. YOU HAVE TO NEGOTIATE BACK AND FORTH AND YOU HAVE TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT IS GOING TO BE GOOD FOR THE COUNTRY."
MARTIN PRAISED MALONEY AND LASTEWKA FOR THEIR HARD WORK IN MAKING THE DEAL FOR CITIES AND MUNICIPALITIES HAPPEN, AND FOR THEIR DAILY CONTRIBUTIONS AS MEMBERS OF HIS CAUCUS.
"YOU DON'T GO INTO GOVERNMENT BECAUSE YOU WANT TO GET YOUR PICTURE IN THE PAPER," HE SAID. "YOU GO INTO GOVERNMENT BECAUSE YOU REALLY WANT TO SEE THINGS GET DONE. I LOOK AT WALT AND JOHN AND I SEE THINGS GETTING DONE. THAT MAKES YOU FEEL VERY, VERY GOOD."
HE ALSO SAID MALONEY AND LASTEWKA MAKE SURE NIAGARA IS ALWAYS HELD IN THE HIGHEST REGARD IN OTTAWA.
"WELL, IF YOU EVER GOT INSIDE OUR CAUCUS AND LISTENED TO JOHN AND TO WALT, IT IS REGARDED AS PROBABLY ONLY SECOND TO HEAVEN," MARTIN SAID WITH A LAUGH.
"WELL IT IS," MALONEY SAID.
ASKED IF NIAGARA CITIZENS MIGHT SEE ONE OF THEIR MP'S IN A PAUL MARTIN CABINET SOME DAY, THE PRIME MINISTER OFFERED THAT, "THE QUALITY OF THE PEOPLE IS HERE CERTAINLY."
IN THE WELLAND TRIBUNE
ARTICLE by KALVIN REID
JUNE 11 , 2005
WAIFLEET WILL REAPPLY FOR PIPELINE FUNDING
The Township of Wainfleet is hoping the second time's a charm in its quest to land federal-provincial infrastructure funding for the proposed pipeline solution to the water and wastewater problems along the Lake Erie shore.
In late April the township got word its $52-million funding request from the federal provincial rural infrastructure fund (COMRIF) was rejected.
With another round of COMRIF funding set to be announced this month and applications due by the end of September, the township is hoping that passing an environmental assessment will improve their chances of succeeding this time.
"I think both the federal and provincial government were looking for ready-made projects," Wainfleet Mayor Gord Harry said of the April rejection. "Ours weren't ready to go because the EA wasn't approved and there was still design and so on to do. There might be other things that might be involved with our applications, but the federal and provincial ministries have been very tight-lipped, other than recommending that we get our EA in, so that's what we're trying to do."
Harry said time is of the essence with the second application. In the first round close to 40 per cent of the $600-million COMRIF fund was doled out across the province. Harry said the second round is expected to be about the same, leaving municipalities fighting for a smaller piece in the final round next spring.
"If we don't get funding in the second round I don't have big hopes after that," he said. "I hate to look at what's going to happen then. The problem isn't going away because we don't get the funding, but I won't put that kind of cost on the people along the lakeshore."
"I guess then the Region has to make a decision because the surveys have shown that 80 per cent of those homes have sewer systems that are malfunctioning one way or the other and we can't leave it like that. With those percentages so high, doing nothing is not an option."
At a Region Public Works & Utilities Committee meeting Tuesday a report on the EA was discussed and passed on to Regional government, where it faces final approval June 9. If the resolution passes it gets moved to the provincial Ministry of the Environment.
Wainfleet council passed a resolution and bylaw on the issue Tuesday night to give its support to sending the environmental assessment to the MOE.
"All it does is say that we agree with the region and that the solution is the best," Harry said. "It doesn't commit any money, it just says we want the environmental assessment sent in."
The mayor said council is going to do everything in its power to make this application successful.
"We're certainly going to try our best," Harry said. "We're going to try to get the best qualified people to help us with the application and we'll go from there."
Wainfleet has no municipal water or sewer services, meaning residents rely on well water or cisterns for drinking water and septic systems for waste removal. Studies have shown that a number of private wells in the 1,400 homes along the lakeshore are contaminated, with aging, leaky septic beds singled out as the cause.
"The problem is that the groundwater is so polluted," Harry said. "That's what scares us. There's a lot of private wells and E.coli is in a lot of those wells."
The solution suggested by the Region, through their consultants Earth Tech Canada Inc., in its Class Environmental Assessment Study, is a 22-kilomtre pipeline that would connect the lakeshore homes with municipal water and sewer services in Port Colborne.
Estimates on the cost of the project have ranged from $42-million to as high as $70-million. Communities that qualify for COMRIF money are expected to contribute a third of any project's cost.
Individual homeowners would have to come up with anywhere from $20,000 to $35,00 to connect to the pipeline. The Region currently has set about $12-million aside for its portion.
PLEASE BE ADVISED ALSO , THAT OUR COMMITTEE HAS BEEN ACTIVE AND WILL NOTIFY PEOPLE OF A PUBLIC MEETING AND WILL TRY TO REACH ALL CONCERNED BY LETTER , EMAIL OR PERSONALLY !!
Mayor Gord Harry
PHONE: (905) 899-2625
They are listening and know we aren't going away!
Here's hoping for some changes to the problems .