Thursday, October 17, 2024

Editorial

Is P3 Funding Really The Way to Go?

By Stephen Vance, Editor It was with some amount of concern that I listened to Meaford CAO Frank Miele pitch the concept of P3 Funding to council on Monday night as a potential solution to some of the infrastructure needs within the municipality.  Specifically Miele talked about the possibility of utilizing this “Public, Private Partnership” model to realize the construction of...

The Truth a Bitter Pill to Swallow

By Kaisha Thompson, Contributing Columnist There are always two sides to every story but when it comes to Ontario drug reform the only side we’re really hearing from is the drug company and pharmacist side.  There are radio attack ads, television ads, petitions and emails. You name it and they are running it.   Yet has anyone looked at the McGuinty government side?...

Where’s The Beef?

By Stephen Vance, Editor Meaford CAO Frank Miele released the municipal 1st Quarter report today. The report is included in the agenda for the Monday night council meeting.   I have to say, I am concerned.  Before I continue, I should say that I think it is excellent that the new CAO has been issuing these quarterly reports to keep council and residents...

Legal Action No Day At The Beach

By Stephen Vance, Editor It is never a good thing when a municipality sues their own residents and taxpayers.   The ongoing legal battle between the Municipality of Meaford and property owners on North Georgian Beach Road escalated last week when on the opening day of the trial a superior court judge ordered Meaford to include more property owners in the legal...

Liberal Government Sacrifices Rural Ontario Yet Again

By Bill Murdoch, MPP You may have already heard the news that the McGuinty Liberals have proposed major funding cuts to community pharmacies in their bid to reduce drug pricing in Ontario.  But Premier Dalton McGuinty yesterday conceded to the fact that he was sacrificing small drug stores in places like Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound for the sake of winning his public relations...

Let’s Get Some Young Guns On Council

By Stephen Vance, Editor With slightly less than seven months until the municipal election, just one candidate has formally declared that their name will be on the ballot, that being current Councillor Harley Greenfield.  A couple of others have been kicking the tires, or dropping hints that they will run such as Councillor Gerald Shortt who back in January said that...

That’s Premier Bognor Bill to you…

By Shane Jolley, Guest Columnist For a while I thought I could resist weighing in on last week’s hoopla over Bill Murdoch’s desire to give Toronto the big rubber boot out of Ontario. After all it’s maple syrup season and time’s-a-wastin’, but after reading several Toronto based commentaries on the fracas, I simply couldn’t sit it out.  A part of me...

Defending Hick Town Crazy Crap

By Stephen Vance, Editor So Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Bill Murdoch tells the Bruce County Federation of Agriculture that he thinks Toronto should separate and become it's own province in order to provide a more effective provincial government for the rest of Ontario, and a bunch of city slickers now have their knickers in a knot.  Say what you want about Murdoch,...

Signs, Signs, Where Are The Signs?

By Stephen Vance, Editor I had to kill some time on Saturday afternoon and evening, so I went for a walk in downtown Meaford. As I walked I tried to imagine that I hadn't lived here for the last four and a half years, I tried to walk the downtown as an outsider and consider what impression I could form about...

We Need to be Smart About Wind Turbine Placement

By Stephen Vance, Editor The resolution with regard to wind turbines put forward by Cynthia Lemon at the January 18 meeting of council and the debate that followed reminded me of something I had written several months ago that touched on the topic of wind turbine placement.  I decided that I would dust it off, and share it again.Before I even...