With the Labour Day long weekend now upon us, we are in the midst of summer’s last gasp, and in just a few weeks autumn will arrive.
This weekend parents will be busy double- and triple-checking their lists in order to ensure that their children are prepared for the first day of the new school year. There will no doubt be some last minute trips to pick up needed supplies. The summer fun is ending, and a new school year is about to begin. So be ready next week for all of those first day of school photos that will be posted on social media by proud parents.
While the Labour Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer, there are still a few weeks of summer left before autumn moves in. So there is still time for some backyard barbeques, or a round of golf, but time is certainly running out.
If your are looking for a final family outing before the kids return to school, consider stopping by the fairgrounds and Curling Club on Saturday, as it’s time for the 168th Meaford & St. Vincent Fall Fair.
The Fall Fair is a showcase of our rich agricultural heritage, and it offers a reminder that we live in a thriving agricultural community where many families have grown produce or raised livestock for generations.
I am always hopeful when I see families enjoying a day at the Fall Fair that some of the youngsters might one day decide to go into the business of growing or raising food, and that visits to fall fairs might help them to make such a decision.
If the current weather forecast holds (I write this column on Tuesday mornings), it is looking to be a sun-filled weekend with temperatures in the high teens to low twenties, which is perfect weather for the final long weekend of summer. So I suspect we will see many out and about this weekend walking our local trails or enjoying some fun in our parks, and that is what long weekends are for. It is also looking to be perfect weather this weekend for some end-of-summer yard work before the leaves begin to fall in the coming weeks.
The end of August also means the end of council’s annual summer break, and so council will soon get back to work with regular meetings resuming on September 8.
For me, council’s summer break is always a good time to relax a little bit as there aren’t hundreds of pages of reports to sift through each week while preparing for council meetings. But in the final week of the break, I always find myself eager for council to get back to their regular schedule, because while a break can be good, I am a council nerd at heart, and I will be happy to see council get back to work. As I wrote on this page last year, some guys love sports: I love council meetings.
One of council’s first tasks once they return will be to discuss the options for replacing Councillor Steve Bartley, who as we reported this week has bid farewell to council and is moving out of the municipality. The options are either to hold a by-election (unlikely with just a year left in the term before the next municipal election), or an appointment to fill the seat.
Before we know it, the 2026 municipal budget season will be in full swing, and council will certainly miss Councillor Bartley during that often frustrating exercise, as he has built a reputation during his 11 years on council as being somewhat of a ‘budget guru’, delving not just into Meaford’s operating and capital budgets, but also every other municipality in the county.
Each year I hope for significant public participation in the budget process, but in recent years there has been very little and sometimes no public participation. With next year being an election year, perhaps this year’s budget season will see increased participation. And if you are considering running for council next year, I would encourage you to closely follow the budget process and to take notes, because the annual municipal budget is one of the most important tasks undertaken by council, and you can learn a lot about municipal governance and the many pressures that help shape the annual budget.
So enjoy this coming Labour Day long weekend, as once it is over summer fun ends for most, and folks get back to work, students return to school, and the daily grind once again becomes part of the routine.
But let’s remember the reason for this long weekend: it’s a celebration of the labour movement, which brought us things that we take for granted today, like an eight-hour work day, the 40-hour work week, safety protections for workers, and paid time off and maternity leave to name just a few. None of those things which we consider standard today would exist without the labour movement having fought for them over many years.
Happy Labour Day, I hope you are able to get out and enjoy this final weekend of the summer season, and as I often remind, be safe. Enjoy those adult beverages, or the cannabis, but don’t get behind the wheel; it just isn’t worth the risk to yourself or to others, stay home, or arrange a ride.
