-by Richard MacDonald
I have stated publicly at committee meetings that I thought the sale of the Courthouse to Southbridge rather than to the Tom Thomson Gallery was a terrible decision. That was when I thought the sale exceeded $200,000. Seeing the city sell the old Courthouse (the city's most historically important building) for $10 has not changed my opinion in the least.
There are two reasons why I think the decision is so poor.
First, in terms of heritage designation this is not a situation like the Queen's Hotel or Branningham Grove where the decision for council was whether to designate or not, and where they failed in both cases to protect the properties. The Courthouse has been designated under the Ontario Heritage Act since 1979. There is no decision required here or negotiating options. Under the Act, Council is obliged to protect all of the heritage attributes. They cannot bargain them away for what Council describes as "other considerations" and "significant financial impacts".
When Marg Gaviller asked her two questions on what Council was doing to protect the Courthouse...
-by Jon Farmer
When the geese begin to flock and the earliest leaves change colour on the trees I always think of the first days of school. Some of my strongest memories involve carrying a full load of school supplies into new classrooms. Even in my mid-twenties, the start of September makes me think of school. As students of all ages head into their classrooms for another academic year, it's the perfect time to ask why we send them off and what we expect them to learn.
For most of my childhood the purpose of school seemed obvious. It never occurred to me that there would be any other option. I was there to learn and hang out with people. The success of my time at school was measured in grades on report cards and laughter on the playground. I was never one of the 'cool kids' and my jokes fell flat so I focused my school time on class work and grades. It took me years to realize that tests might not actually be the best measure of my worth as a person.
-by Hub staff
The Twitter-length description of the Unist'ot'en Camp in coastal British Columbia seems to be "Indigenous people, on their ancestors' unsurrendered land, who want no money and no pipelines."
Here at the Hub we see implications for Grey-Bruce from the escalating Unist'ot'en situation. Local discussions about Bill C-51, fossil fuels and climate change, consent for a deep geological repository for nuclear waste and on-going land claims may all be affected by the actions, and reporting, from the Unist'ot'en Camp.
Chris Albinati, Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound Green Party candidate, offered the following statement on the current situation.
"I fully support the Unist'ot'en Camp as they assert and exercise their laws over their unceded territory as part of their inherent right to self-determination as Indigenous peoples. I acknowledge that the Unist'ot'en are not "protesting" as the media and other institutions like the RCMP have attempted to portray, but that they are rightfully occupying their land.
Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Bill Walker says he is concerned that the cost of living in Ontario is getting costlier every day. He says the increase is thanks in part to the provincial Liberal government's "nickel-and-dime" hikes to user fees like increased fees for driver and vehicle licences and new user fees on all hunting and angling licenses.
"The taxpayers will not receive any direct benefit in service from these fee increases." says Walker, adding that the 400-plus user fees net the province about $2 billion a year in extra revenues.
Walker says his party most recently demanded...
Evalyn Parry brought the audience in the amphitheatre to their feet on the closing night of Summerfolk 40. Honouring the past by letting it speak to both the present and future, she says, "I believe that part of the definition of a “living tradition” is about challenge and change: to staying awake to how the old songs and stories change in relationship to our culture as it evolves, to challenging ourselves as artists (and audiences) to never be complacent in our thinking, but to keep asking the big questions. Thanks Summerfolk for letting me ask those big questions on your main stage."
Here is a link to her website with the text of her incredible spoken word piece To Live in the Age of Melting: Northwest Passage, and her letter to Stephen Harper.
Dear Prime Minister Harper,
I am all for solving long-lost mysteries and discovering things at the bottom of the ocean.
Since having had the chance to travel in the Arctic myself, for the past few years I have been following with interest – and skepticism – your quest to find the Franklin ships. I saw it as a strategic human-interest story, a sleight-of-hand to distract the public from your larger interests in the region: namely, mapping the ocean floor for resources and military purposes...
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