12012022 December 1, 2022

ÉSCTrilliumstudentsbenefitfromamultidisciplinaryartisticexperience

For a few weeks, students from École secondaire catholique Trillium (Chapleau) registeredintheVisualArtscoursehadthegreat pleasure of taking part in a multidisciplinary project.Thisactivity'sgoalwassupportstudents

incompletinganAtoZpaintingworkshopinthe classroom.Withthesupportoftheirteacher,the studentsthereforefabricatedtheirownarteasels aswellastheframeoftheirpaintings. Guidedby the artist Ms. Natasha Boucher, they were then

abletopaintthesecanvasesaswellaslearnnew painting techniques!The ÉSC Trillium Coyotes would liketo thank Mr. Julian Boucher and Ms. Natasha Boucher for allowing them to live this wonderfulartisticexperience!

Durant quelques semaines, les élèves de l'école secondaire catholique Trillium (Chapleau) inscrits au cours d'Arts visuels ont eu le grand plaisir de participeràunprojetmultidisciplinaire.L'objectifdecetteactivitéétaitdevoiràla réalisationd'unatelierdepeintureensalledeclassedeAàZ.Avecl'encadrementde leur enseignant, les élèves ont donc fabriqué leurs propres chevalets ainsi que le cadredeleurstoiles.Guidésparl'artisteNatashaBoucher,ilsontensuitepupeindre cestoilesainsiqued'apprendredenouvellestechniquesdepeinture!LesCoyotesde l'ÉSC Trillium remercient M. Julian Boucher et Mme Natasha Boucher de leur permisdevivrecettebelleexpérienceartistique!

Agent(e)dedéveloppementcommunautaire

LaSociétéd'aideaudéveloppementdescollectivitésSupérieurEstestunorganismeàbutnonlucratiffinancéparlegouvernementfédéral et dirigé par un conseil d'administration élu localement. Nous travaillons avec des entreprises, des particuliers et des partenaires communautairespourfaciliterlacréationetlemaintiend'emploisetpourbâtirdescommunautéssainesetdurables.

Noussommesactuellementàlarecherched'unepersonnepourcomblerlepostepermanentetàtempspleind'agentededéveloppement communautaire. Comprend des bénéfices de soins de santé et des contributions à un régime de REÉR. Voici les qualifications/compétencesrequises:

• Diplômededouzièmeannée,préférencepourundiplômed'étudespostsecondairesendéveloppementéconomiqueouen affaires/commerce,ouunecombinaisond'étudesetd'expériencedansledomaine

• Compétencesinformatiquesetwebmestresavancées

Veuillezrépondreparécritenjoignantuncurriculumvitaeindiquantvosqualificationsetvotreexpérienceavantvendredile16decembre 2022.Lecurriculumvitaedoitêtreenvoyéàl'adressesuivante:

TracyAmos

Sociétéd'aideaudéveloppementdescollectivitésSupérieurEst 14rueGanley,C.P.709 Wawa,ONP0S1K0 Téléphone:705-856-1105 Télécopieur:705-856-1107 Courriel:amos@superioreastcfdc.ca

La SADC Supérieur Est s'engage à respecter la diversité dans le milieu de travail et encourage les candidatures de tous les postulants qualifiés.Nousremercionstouslescandidatsdeleurintérêt,maisnousnecommuniqueronsqu'aveclespersonnessélectionnéespourune entrevue. LaSADCSupérieurEstestfinancéeparFedNor.

Lesélèvesdel'ÉSCTrilliumviventuneexpérienceartistiquemultidisciplinaire

Chapleau Moments

by MichaelJ. Morris

ChapleauhockeymomentsfromtheMcEwenCuptoJunior “B"titleplus"HeartofMyHeart"byTheFourAces

Ontario Hockey Association championships coached by Lorne Riley and Keith 'Buddy' Swanson. Back from l: Andre Rioux, Lorne Riley, Merrick Goldstein, John Babin, Ray Larcher,MickeyJurynec,GregVaughan,Robert Morin, Reg Bouillon, Gerry Boucher, Jamie Broomhead; Front: Corky Bucci, Jean- Claude Cyr, George Swanson, Richard Morin, John Loyst, John Laframboise, Ted Swanson, Bud Swanson and missing Bruce Pellow, Bruce Fortin.ThanksBuddy!!!

"Heart of my Heart, when friends were dearer then, too bad we had to part.." lines from one of the top songs of 1953 by The FourAces maywellbethethemesongforChapleauhockey teams throughout the community's history. The Bantamhockeyteamofthedaysuresangitover andoveragainonaroadtriptoSudburyintheir ownpassengercar

Shown here in the Sudbury Arena are coach Garth 'Tee' Chambers, arguably one the best players in Chapleau's history with Harry 'Butch'PellowandAldeeMartel.

The following is a glimpse of hockey in Chapleau from 1910 to 1967. Chapleau had a hockeyteamin1893,likelyearlier,butweknow thattheteammadeatripontheCanadianPacific Railway to play Sudbury that year. I hope you will look at family connections in hockey over the years and depending on your age be able to relate to some of the teams, players and your relatives.

High school hockey was very popular in Chapleau and teams played in the town league andagainstoutsidecompetition.Hereisthe1965 team.Backfromleft:PeterGrey,JohnBabin,Jim Lapp, Richard Morin, Bruce Pellow, Jim St. Amand, David Stevens, Mike Tangie, J. Parker (coach), Brian Corston, Darryl Downey, Keith Corston, Merrick Goldstein (and thanks to Merrick for his phone call providing names and allonfacebookwhoalsocontributed).Kneeling: Larry Joyce, Albert Bignucolo, David Futhey, Reg Bouillon, Gerry Boucher, Ted Swanson. NotethatseveralplayedfortheJr.'B'Huskiesthe next year. Ten years later Jim St. Amand was a memberoftheInt.'A'HuskiesandTedSwanson never missed a game in that team's four year history in the Northland Intermediate Hockey League. Mike Tangie went on to coach in Chapleau

Here are the 1953-54 Chapleau Bantam championswhowontheAlgomaDairyTrophy.. Back row from left: Basil Collings (coach), Michael McMullen, Mrs. Broomhead, David McMillan, Richard Pilon, Tim Goodwin. Front are Charlie White, Ken Schroeder and Harry 'Boo'Hong.

In1966-67hockeyseasontheirfirstyear of competition, the Junior 'B' Huskies won the International Junior 'B' League and Northern

The CHS team of 1956 is below.A highlight of the year for the Chapleau High School team of 1956 was a trip to Terrace Bay. Back row from left: David McMillan, Doug Sleivert, Stan Barty,Thane Crozier, Clarence Fiaschetti (teacher and coach), George Lemon (principal) Second row: Doug Espaniel, Roger Mizuguchi,BillCachagee.FrontareJimHong, Bert Lemon, Harry Pellow, Ken Schroeder, Robbie Pellow (Mascot) Marc Boulard, Harry Hong, Jim Machan, Ron Morris. Note that Clarence was playing on the 1949 Junior team, and was also first CHS student to return as teacher.

IanMacdonaldhasprovidedphotoofthelosing Bantam team -- 5-4 in a thrilling overtime with Mike McMullen finally notching the winner. BackrowfromleftTeeChambers,JimMachan, Jim Evans, Jack Poynter, Ian Macdonald, Bill McFarlane Front: Wayne Faught, Bill McLeod, RogerMizuguchi,AldeeMartel Cont’donP.5

REPORT from OTTAWA Rapport

d’Ottawa

by/par Carol Hughes Federal member of Parliament Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing

For many parents of younger children in Canada,thelastfewmonthshavebeenparticularly challenging. Pharmacy shelves have been lacking significantsuppliesofchildren'spain,cold,andflu management drugs, especially common drugs like children's acetaminophen and ibuprofen. It's a bizarre made-in-Canada problem that Health Canada confirmed could be an issue as far back as April. At the time, Health Canada worked with suppliers to double production, and then come August, they were still aware there would be shortages, with demand three to four times what it would be in a normal year. What's all the more baffling is that the government did not prepare for theinevitableoutcomewhenitwasknownthatcold andfluseasonwouldbeamongthemostchallenging inyears,andthatevenworkingwithmanufacturers todoubleproductionwasn'tgoingtobesufficient.

Thesupplyofchildren'sacetaminophenand ibuprofen across the country has dwindled significantly, with shelves in pharmacies and grocery stores empty. It's causing problems well beyond access, as hospitals across the country are seeing childrenbeinghitwithatriplethreatofviruses,from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), COVID-19 and theflu,causingsomechildren'shospitalstooperate atupto200percentcapacity.Withthelackofsupply

Childrens'PainMedicationShortageShouldNeverHaveHappened

of children's acetaminophen and ibuprofen, an already bad situation is becoming worse.Anormal childhood fever that could be broken with generic, over-the-counter medication can't be, forcing parents to take children to ERs, compounding the problem of overcrowded children's hospitals even further.

The shortages in children's acetaminophen and ibuprofen appears to be a uniquely Canadian problem. The U.S. has not seen issues keeping shelves stocked with children's medication. Obviously supply chain issues are a part of the equation,asaretheincreasesin RSV,coldandflu, and Covid cases in children that are driving higher than expected purchases of these drugs. In many instances, like in any other time of a shortage of a good, some people started stockpiling the medication, further compounding access problems. As a result, some parents are crossing the border to buy them, while others are purchasing them through online marketplaces like Amazon for exorbitant rates. There's no easy solution when your children are ill. Parents will do what they can to ensure the health and wellbeing of their children, as they should.

Health Canada recently announced that three proposals to import more than one million bottles of foreign-sourced children's pain and fever medicationhasbeenfinalized,andthattheycouldbe hitting shelves and hospitals as early as this week, but there are warnings that the supply may not be enough. Justin Bates, the CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists Association, recently stated in a TorontoStararticlethat“basedonthedemand,and the fact that we're seeing the spread and infection

rates so high for RSV, colds, flu and COVID, that onemillionisnotgoingtolastlong.Thatnumberis fortheentirecountry.”

In the short term, it seems that importing additionalsupplyistheonlyanswer,butwhatisthe solution to prevent situations like this from occurringinthefuture?Oneanswerthatmayhelpresolve these issues is to have the government create a public drug manufacturer to supply the generic medications people need. We have limited drug manufacturing capacities in Canada, and ensuring wehavetheabilitytocreategenericsathomewould alleviate situations where there is a run on certain medications that we need. Having our supply of necessary drugs be dependent on foreign markets weakensourabilitytoaddresscriseslikethiswhen they happen. Ensuring that our capacity is kept public would keep prices low and guarantee that theycouldgettomarketswhennecessary.

Anotherwaywecanaddresstheseissuesin thefutureistotaketheadviceofDr.SaadAhmed,a physician and co-founder of Critical Drugs Coalition, who recently appeared at the House of Commons Health Committee meeting where the topic of drug shortages was being examined. He argued that Canada needs to develop a national critical medications list, and a stockpile of those samemedicinestoensureenoughsupplyisavailable in situations such as the one we currently find ourselvesin.

These solutions won't alleviate children's acetaminophen and ibuprofen shortages immediately, but they just may be necessary if we are to ensure situations like these don't become normalized.

Iln'auraitjamaisdûyavoirdepénuriemédicamentspourenfants

Pour de nombreux parents de jeunes enfants au Canada, les derniers mois ont été particulièrement difficiles. Les étagères des pharmacies manquent de médicaments pour enfantscontreladouleur,lerhumeetlagrippe,en particulier de médicaments courants comme l'acétaminophène et l'ibuprofène pour enfants. C'estunétrangeproblèmeiciauCanadaalorsque Santé Canada confirme que la situation remonte aussi loin qu'au mois d'avril. À l'époque, Santé Canada avait collaboré avec les fournisseurs pour doubler la production, mais, en août, le Ministère savait déjà qu'il y aurait des pénuries, la demande étant de trois à quatre fois supérieure à celle d'une année normale. Le plus déconcertant, c'est que le gouvernement ne s'est pas préparé à cette pénurie annoncée,mêmes'ilsavaitquelasaisondesrhumes etdelagrippeseraitparmilesplusfortesàfrapper lepaysdepuisdesannéesetqu'ilneluisuffiraitpas de collaborer avec les fabricants pour doubler la production.

Les stocks d'acétaminophène et d'ibuprofène pour enfants ont considérablement réduit partout au pays, et on n'en trouve plus dans

les rayons des pharmacies et des épiceries. Les problèmesquecettesituationentraînevontbienaudelà de l'accès aux médicaments. En effet, les hôpitaux du pays voient des enfants qui sont frappésparunetriplemenace:levirusrespiratoire syncytial (VRS), le virus de la COVID-19 et la grippe, et certains hôpitaux pour enfants doivent fonctionner à 200 % de leur capacité. La pénurie d'acétaminophène et d'ibuprofène pour enfants vient empirer une situation déjà très difficile. Commelesparentsnepeuventplusdonneràleurs enfants des médicaments génériques, en vente libre,pourcombattreunefièvreinfantilecourante, ilslesemmènentauxurgences,aggravantencorele problème d'engorgement des hôpitaux pour enfants.

La pénurie d'acétaminophène et d'ibuprofènepourenfantssembleêtreunproblème bien canadien. Les États-Unis n'ont pas eu de difficulté à garder les tablettes garnies de médicaments pour enfants. Il est évident que des problèmesdanslachaîned'approvisionnementfont partiedel'équation,toutcommel'augmentationdes casdeVRS,derhume,degrippeetdeCOVIDchez

les enfants, qui entraînent une plus grande consommation de ces médicaments que prévu. De plus, comme c'est le cas dans n'importe quelle périodedepénurie,desgensontcommencéàfaire desréservesdecesmédicaments,aggravantencore davantage le problème. Par conséquent, certains parents traversent la frontière pour s'en procurer, tandis que d'autres en achètent auprès de marchands en ligne comme Amazon, à des prix exorbitants.Iln'yapasdesolutionsimplequandles enfants sont malades. Les parents font ce qu'ils peuventpourassurerlasantéetlebien-êtredeleurs enfants,etc'estnormal.

Santé Canada a annoncé récemment la conclusion de trois propositions visant à importer plus d'un million de flacons d'analgésiques et d'antipyrétiques pour enfants provenant de l'étranger et que ces médicaments pourraient arriversurlesétagèresetdansleshôpitauxdèscette semaine, mais on craint que cela ne soit pas suffisant. Justin Bates, président-directeur général de l'Association des pharmaciens de l'Ontario, a déclarédansunrécentarticleduTorontoStarque, SuiteP.7

CHAPLEAU MOMENTS

Cont’dfromP.3

The1949TrapperswereanIntermediate teamsponsoredbyMrs.A.W.Moorewithmany players who had returned home after serving in

fromleft.

In 1919, Bob Turner, a legendary goaltender over the years was playing for a Chapleau team. In back are Clothier (could be differentspellingandfirstnamenotgiven),Fred Kelland,Alex McAulay, Frank Boucher, Buster McAdam, Bob Turner, Amon Saylors, Ken Sheppard. These were the days of seven man hockeyandnosubs.

Cup, emblematic of hockey supremacy in Chapleau.Hereisthefirstwinningteamin1911.

Photosarenumbered:1,PeterMoran;2,Gordon Sheppard;3,SimonKruger;4,HarryMorris(my grandfather);5,OmerLahay;6,OscarTremblay; 7,KenMcFadden;8,CharlesMulligan(mygreat uncle);9,HerbMerrickand10,RobertMcEwen.

Canada'sarmedforcesinWorldWarII.

Also, in !949, Chapleau iced a Junior team.IrecallgoingtowatchtheJuniorsplayand theyweregood.Chapleauhadanawesometown leagueatthattime.BackrowarefromleftOrville Robinson, Doug Swanson, Lorne Riley, Greg Lucas, Tee Chambers, Fred Goheen, Keith Strapp, Toddy Collinson, Ernest 'Sonny' Bignucolo, D.O. Payette (manager), Pat Serre, Ross Hamlin, George Payette. Front from left, Yen Hong, Bob Evans, Reggie Sonego, Ross Thornton (coach), Tom Jardine, Angelo Mione, JohnnyMorin,MikeMione,ClarenceFiaschetti.

Below,coachedbyJohnMcClellan,who for 30 years defined Chapleau High School as teacher and principal are the Juvenile Flyers fromthe1930s.Thiswasmyfather'sgeneration of hockey players in Chapleau, born between 1913and1916.Myfather,JimMorrisissecond

Hereisalocalteamfrom1910,andifyou lookcloselyyoucanseeeachphotoisnumbered: 1, Robert McEwen; 2, Richard Brownlee; 3, Gordon Sheppard; 4, Adelard Lafrance; 5, GeorgeCollinson;6,TommyThompson;7,Tom Godfrey;8,OvidePayette;9.WilfredWolfeand 10,ErnestCressey

Robert McEwen donated the McEwen

My thanks to www.chapleau.com and Hugh Kuttner for the wonderful collection of Chapleauphotos.

Iwelcomecomments,storiesandphotos from all on Chapleau hockey. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

NowforyouraddedpleasureenjoyHeart of My Heart by The FourAces, dedicated to all who were in any way involved in hockey in Chapleau,especiallytheBantamsontheSudbury tripsintheFifties.

Lastweekssolutions

MOMENTS IN TIME

On December 17, 1969, the U.S. Air Force closes its "ProjectBlueBook,''startedin1952todeterminewhether UFOs were a threat to national security and to analyze UFO-related data. The closure came after concluding therewasnoactualevidenceofextraterrestrialspaceships behindthe12,618UFOsightingsithadcollected.

NorthernLightsFordSales

Andrew G. McKenzie

Travis Gendron

705-856-4862

tgendron@northernlightsford.ca sales@northernlightsford.ca

ALLEMANO, FITZGERALD PASCUZZI & BERLINGIERI

Barristers and Solicitors

MICHAEL C. ALLEMANO, B.A., L.L.B.

Certified by the Law Society as a Specialist in Real Estate Law

P.O. Box 10, 369 Queen St. E. Suite 103 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario P6A 1Z4 Phone (705) 942-0142 Fax (705) 942-7188

P.O. Box 1700, 37 Broadway Avenue, Wawa, Ontario P0S 1K0

Phone (705) 856-4970 Fax (705) 856-2713

de pénuriemédicaments

jamais

SuitedelaP.4 compte tenu de la demande, et du fait que nous assistons à un taux d'infection tellement élevé et à unesigrandepropagationduVRS,durhume,dela grippeetdelaCOVID,unmilliondeflacons,cela ne va pas durer longtemps, surtout que c'est pour l'ensembledupays.

À court terme, il semble que l'importation d'un stock supplémentaire soit la seule chose à faire,maisquepeut-onfairepouréviterqu'unetelle situation ne se reproduise? Une solution qui pourrait aider à résoudre ce genre de problème serait que le gouvernement crée une société publique dont la mission serait de fabriquer et de fournir les médicaments génériques dont les gens ont besoin. Nous avons peu de ressources consacrées à la fabrication de médicaments au Canada.Ennous dotantdelacapacitédeproduire des médicaments génériques chez nous, nous pourrionsatténuerlasituationencasdepénuriede certains médicaments. Le fait que notre approvisionnement en médicaments dépende des fabricantsétrangersnuitànotrecapacitéàfaireface à des crises comme celle-ci. Avec un fournisseur public,nouspourrionsmaintenirlesmédicamentsà unprixpeuélevéetgarantirqu'ilssontdisponibles encasdebesoin.

Une autre façon d'aborder ces questions à l'avenir est de suivre les conseils du Dr Saad Ahmed. Médecin et cofondateur de la Critical Drugs Coalition, le Dr Ahmed a récemment témoigné devant le Comité de la santé de la

enfants

Chambre des communes, qui étudiait les pénuries demédicaments.IlafaitvaloirqueleCanadadoit dresser une liste nationale des médicaments essentiels et se constituer une réserve de ces médicaments afin de garantir des stocks suffisants dans des situations comme celle que nous connaissonsactuellement.

Ces solutions ne résoudront pas les pénuries d'acétaminophène et d'ibuprofène pour enfants dans l'immédiat, mais elles pourraient s'avérer nécessaires si nous voulons éviter que de tellessituationsnedeviennentmonnaiecourante.

Local MARKETPLACE MARKETPLACE

CHADWIC HOME, FAMILY RESOURCE CENTRE. Offers shelter, emotionalsupport,andinformationforwomenandtheirchildrenwhoarein crisissituations.WehaveaTollFreeCrisisLinewhichisstaffed24hoursa day.WecanarrangeforfreetransportationtotheCentreforwomenwho liveintheAlgoma/Chapleauarea.Wealsooffersupporttowomenwholive in the communities of Chapleau, White River, Dubreuilville, and HornepaynethroughourOutreachProgram.OurOutreachWorkertravels tothosecommunitiestomeetwithwomenwhoneedemotionalsupportas wellasinformationabouttheirrightsandoptions.Ifyouneedtospeakwith the Outreach Worker when she is in your community, you can call the Centre at any time to set up an appointment. You do not need to be a residentoftheCentreinordertouseourservices.Ifyouneedsomeoneto talktoorifyoujustneedsomeonetolisten,callourTollFreeCrisislineat1800-461-2242oryoucandropinattheCentre.Wearehereforyou.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (A.A).Open discussion meeting every Monday evening. Brunswick House First Nation Band office lounge 7pm.NarcoticsAnonymous(N.A)everyTuesdaysameplacesametime. NNADAPWorker@864-0174info.

As Christmas approaches each year, we finddemandsandpressuresonourdaysandnights escalate with each passing day. Even our kids experience the same thing at their own level.As such,welearntotakeitinstrideasasocialnorm, andinsomeways,whilewemightcomplain,deep down, we enjoy the traditional challenge of meetingsuchdemands.

Speaking of trying to fit things in, for sometime,Ihavebeentryingtofindtimetovisita goodfriendtocatchup.SoIfinallymadeitapoint todropbyforacoffee.AssoonasIgotthere,he quickly took me into his rec room to show me some improvements he'd made at his wife's behest. Unfortunately, his pumped-up chest and broad, beaming smile were short-lived. His wife walked in and pointed out that, while the final product was excellent and took considerable effort, ultimately, the real talent was hers in that she never wavered in her commitment to seeing the job through all delays and excuses. I had to agreethatthatiswheretherealtalentlies.Weall enjoyedthechuckleatmyfriend'sexpenseasthe wholetruthcameout.

I share this story with readers because, after years of relentless pressure from the NDP, the Ford Government has finally recognized the importance of Highways 11 and 17 to Northerners.Foryears,theNDPtriedtohelpthe Government understand that Hwy 11 and the TransCanada are as vital to Northerners as the highvolume400serieshighwaysaretoSouthern Ontarians. These highways are vital lifelines for Northern Ontarians. They bring us food, medicine,andessentialproductssuchasgasoline andfuel.Wecountontheseroadsdailytogetour loved ones back and forth to work, school, medicaltreatment,andmanyothertravelneeds.

BurnedintomymemoryisthedayIstood inthelegislature,appealingtotheGovernmentto improve winter highway maintenance standards. Burnedintomymemoryisstandingtherereading out headline after headline after headline about deathsandinjuriesthathappenedonHighways11 and17inrecentmonths—manyofwhichcould almost certainly have been reduced or avoided altogetherwithimprovedclearingstandards.

MPP Guy Bourgouin and the NDP, on several occasions, presented a bill called the Making Northern Ontario Highways Safer Act. Bourgouin's bill proposed classifying the major Northern highways the same as all 400 series

highways and the Queen Elizabeth Way. Each time it was presented, the bill was defeated. Defeated by the same Conservatives who previously cried foul on the Liberal Government forlackofaction.WhentheConservativeskilled the bill, Bourgouin stated, “The Ford Conservative government has shamelessly put a priceonthelivesofpeoplethattragicallydieand get injured on Northern Ontario highways every winter.”

As most readers now know, the Ministry of Transportation says they plan to implement improved winter maintenance standards for Highways 11 and the TransCanada, which are now classified as Class 2 highways. Currently, Class 2 highways must be cleared to bare pavementwithin16hoursoftheendofastorm.If the Conservatives follow through on their announced plan, they will add a new winter maintenance standard for Hwys 11 and 17, requiringthosetwohighwaystobedowntobare pavementwithin12hoursoftheendofastorm–a reductionof4hours.Thatissignificant.

Clearly, New Democrats join with Northerners, extremely pleased to see the Government finally doing the right thing. However, while this does represent a significant improvement, it does not provide the equivalent safety and service standards enjoyed in other regionsofOntario.

It is incredibly galling that Premier Ford's Conservatives can't seem to pat themselves on the back hard enough, congratulating themselves on such an outstanding achievement. How many times did they first turn theirbacksonNortherners?

When in opposition, the NipissingMPPVicFedelicalled upon the Liberal Government of the day to improve Northern wintermaintenancestandardsfor major highways. Mr. Fedeli said that MTO should“undertakethe evaluation and potential reclassification of all provincial highways to ensure adequate road maintenance and to ensure that contractors consistently maintain provincial highways to the standard that ensures continuedpublicsafety.”

But in more recent days, as a member of Premier Ford's cabinet, Minister Vic Fedeli stated that the Government recognizesthatthewintermonths pose significant challenges for drivers and proudly believes Ontario has some of the highest

wintermaintenancestandardsinNorthAmerica.

Unfortunately,despiteMr.Fedeli'swords above, it has definitely taken far too long for the FordGovernmenttoact.Worseisthatwhengiven the opportunity to support Bourgouin's bill to improve Northern highway standards, Conservative cabinet members, including Vic Fedeli of Nipissing, Ross Romano of Sault Ste. MarieandGregRickfordofKenora-RainyRiver (all Northern ridings) were conveniently absent forthebill'ssecondreading.Convenientlyabsent, I say, because had they been present, as Conservatives, they would have had to vote against a bill that would have helped to save the livesoftheconstituentstheyrepresent.Howcana politicianpossiblydefendsuchanact?

So, just as my friend's wife took pride in her unfailing determination to encourage her husband to see their renovations through to completion, New Democrats are proud of our determination to see these potentially life-saving improvements to our major Northern highways. New Democratswillalwaysbeproud totakethe voicesofNorthernerstoQueen'sPark.

As always, please feel free to contact my office about these issues or any other provincial matters.Youcanreachmyconstituencyofficeby email at mmantha-co@ndp.on.ca or by phone at 705-461-9710orToll-freeat1-800-831-1899.

Pleasereplyinwritingwitharesumestatingqualificationsandexperienceby