Haldimand's Unheard Voice: Haldimand "Arena Twin Pad Proposal"

Dunnville group proposes twin pad funding idea

By Dave Dunham (President) Margaret Rose (Treasure) Bob Allen (Member) (For Volunteers of Maple Creek Leisureplex 2000 Inc.)

Letters
May 11, 2010

In support of Haldimand County making provisions for adding a second pad to Dunnville’s new arena – consultant F. J. Galloway justified doing so in his Feasibility Study as written:

“Based on the data for this study, this strategy would likely result in a twin pad in Dunnville, for the following reasons:

• The Dunnville Arena has an evidently higher utilization level and will have higher population growth over future years;

• Dunnville is further away from other arena facilities, while Cayuga is centrally located and has relatively shorter drive times to either Caledonia or Dunnville;

• Dunnville has a closer proximity to other population sectors that could be interested in using the facility or create a larger market for special event activities beyond ice use

The main reasons for building the second pad now are all too obvious:

• Haldimand wishes to be fair and equitable to its residents.

• If Dunnville only needs one pad for 15,000 residents, then West Haldimand only needs 2 pads for 30,000. Otherwise, if the West needs 4 pads for 30,000, then Dunnville needs 2 pads for 15,000. It is that simple.

• Building a second pad now will cost $4 million as quoted by two arena contractors – instead of $8 million later.

• Building the second pad now means the walking track will not be needed and its $250,000 cost can be used to reduce the cost of the second pad from $4 to $3.75 million.

• Building a second pad later would disrupt site parking and decrease site safety for about one year of construction.

• Dunnville residents have signed over 2,000 petitions to have their twin pad built now, because they know they need it.

• Only allowing for one pad in Dunnville is currently hurting fundraising and affecting confidence in our County.

• Building a second pad later is not a good business choice based on Ontario’s trend to build twin pads and not single pads.

• County staff and volunteers would not have to go through the costly planning, fundraising and building processes all over again if the twin pad is built now.

• To avoid passing an $8 million expense to the next Council and our trusting taxpayers.

Pay It Forward Plan:

Based on our County making provisions to add a second pad, Galloway’s professional justification for a twin pad in Dunnville, and current Ontario arena trends favouring twin pads; Maple Creek volunteers are proposing a “Pay It Forward Plan.”

• We will borrow $3.75 -4 million from a local bank or trust company to pay for our second pad now. With either private investors or our County as our co-signers for the loan.

• We will fundraise for the second pad to cover interest, principle, and to reduce the amount owing on the second pad, so we can save taxpayers and future Council over $4 million.

• Then, our future Council can realize the savings by paying for the balance of the loan from the $4 million saved.

• The “Pay It Forward Plan” will create a win-win-win scenario for this Council, our future Council and Haldimand taxpayers.

Let’s help make Haldimand a fair and equitable place to live!

Dunnville Sachem, May 11, 2010
http://www.sachem.ca/opinions/article/209780

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Haldimand's Unheard Voice: Haldimand "Halt the HST"

This certainly has my full support!

For Immediate Release:

May 14, 2010

Barrett backs MPP Macleod motion to halt HST in Ontario

Queens Park – Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett is hopeful a PC motion is successful in putting the brakes on the McGuinty HST tax hike before it’s too late.

Barrett voiced his support for the motion from Lisa MacLoed, MPP for Nepean-Carleton and Critic for Revenue and Government Accountability, at an anti-HST information session in Oakville last night.

“This motion is the latest in a long list of attempts we’ve made to ensure government listens to the people of this province and halts this hated tax on everything,” stated Barrett. “To date, over 100,000 Ontarians have signed petitions in the PC Campaign to stop the tax.”

The motion would halt HST legislation until such time the McGuinty Liberals get a mandate from voters. MacLeod’s motion, to be debated in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on May 19th, cites the Dalton McGuinty oath, “I will not raise taxes or implement any new taxes without the explicit consent of Ontario voters.” Since McGuinty has now admitted the HST “will be an increase in taxation,” MacLeod’s motion would delay the implementation of the HST until a date following the next provincial general election.

During the Oakville event, Barrett also discussed the suitability of the Nanticoke area as a host for electrical energy generation to substitute for a planned natural gas facility plant in Oakville.

– 30 –

For more information, please contact MPP Toby Barrett at
(519) 428-0446 or (905)-765-8413, 1-800-903-8629

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Feminist Mom in Montreal: Joining the chorus by not shutting the fuck up

Canadian feminists have been pretty pissed off lately, and with good reason. Debra over at April Reign has a pretty good explanation about why we’re angry:

Throughout history those who seek to reign despotically first seek to silence and disenfranchise the women, this current PM scrabbling after a majority like a junkie jonesing for a fix is no different. He started by all but completely destroying SWC and has continued to show disdain for women with quotes about “left-wing fringe groups” and Bush style gag laws on abortion for women in war-torn countries, and of course he continues to defund women’s groups and programs.

Senator Nancy Ruth caused a furor when she told aid groups “to “shut the fuck up” about abortion funding, or risk a government backlash.” She speaks the truth. Harper wants nothing more than for women to shut the fuck up and let him get on with destroying healthcare, social housing, women’s groups/shelters, eroding human rights, forwarding a right-wing fundamental christian agenda, and creating a climate of war, building prisons in place of social programs and spending all our tax dollars on funding corporate welfare payments.

My Canada is not a place where women shut up and do as they are told. My daughters are not incubators. We will continue to work for a Canadian society where all are valued and cared for and welcomed.

We will not Shut the Fuck Up!

Nasheen at Feministing warns us not to be complacent and tells that we can’t afford to shut the fuck up while Pogge asserts that silence is assent. Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe is pissed off at the Conservatives too:

The uproar coincides with the release of Marci McDonald’s book, The Armageddon Factor: the Rise of Christian Nationalism in Canada:

What’s more, The Armageddon Factor, which examines the religious right across the faiths and how Stephen Harper’s government has forged bonds with it, comes after weeks of reports on Conservatives opposition to abortion and family planning, the defunding of activist womens’ groups, the withdrawal of subsidies to gay pride events across the country, the cuts to KAIROS and the publication of an unprecedented amount of grants to Bible schools.

“My problem was, as my book went to bed, headlines were coming daily,” McDonald says over the phone from her Toronto home. “All my worries about having to prove my case that this government is intent on cultivating the social conservative constituency in this country were nothing to worry about. They were doing it so openly that you could hardly keep up with the headlines.”

These recent developments have opened a can of worms. Pro-life campaigners are seeing this as a great opportunity to get some anti-abortion laws in place:

Heartened and emboldened by Canada’s new anti-abortion stand on foreign aid, thousands of pro-life campaigners flooded in unprecedented numbers to Parliament Hill on Thursday, daring to hope that Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government will take further steps against abortion at home as well as abroad.

The debate that Harper says he doesn’t want to reopen in Canada arrived literally on his doorstep on Thursday, with high spirits and demands for the Conservative government to do much more to discourage abortion in this country.

There were MPs at the rally, too:

Dean Del Mastro, an Ontario Tory, said he’s ready for a renewed abortion debate in the House of Commons.

“Maybe the first step is to determine when this place believes that life begins,” he said. “I’m prepared to put my case forward. … I’m prepared to have that conversation. Is the other side?”

Well, unrepentant old hippie has a pretty good response for Dean Del Mastro:

In a word, Dean? Fuck no. We’re not prepared to have “that conversation” because… *rimshot* …it’s none of your business. If you don’t want to have an abortion, then don’t have one. Dean.

As you can see, many Canadian feminists have already said this and I’m just joining the chorus; no, we are not going to shut the fuck up. We have absolutely nothing to gain by being silent.

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