12082022 December 8 2022

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OnepersonkilledincrashsouthofChapleau

Police are investigating a fatal

crash south of Chapleau last SundayNovember4th.

Superior East OPP says the single-vehicle crash happened just after 4 p.m. Dec. 4 near the intersection of Highway 129 and Highway 667, about 40kilometressouthofChapleau.

One person was killed, said police.

Both lanes of Highway 129 between Chapleau and Thessalon were closed for an investigation and have

sincereopened.

More information will be released when it's available. The investigation is ongoing and includes members of the Northeast Region Traffic Incident Management and EnforcementTeam.

Highway 129, between Chapleau to Thessalon, reopened on MondayDecember5th.

OPP said Sunday morning they wereprobingtheaccidentnearHighway 667.

VictimIdentifiedinNovember29thFatalCollision

The Superior East Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP)hasidentifiedthevictimof a fatal motor vehicle collision last week as 33-year-old Christian Casavant of Wawa.

On November 29, 2022, at approximately5:47p.m.,membersofthe Superior East Detachment of the OPP responded to a serious two-vehicle collision near the intersection of Highway17andHighway519,approximately 40 kilometres north ofWawa.

The investigation revealed that a northbound pick-up truck collided with a

southbound commercial motor vehicle (CMV).Asaresult,thepassengerofthe pick-up truck was pronounced deceased at the scene. The driver of the pick-up truckwastransportedtothehospitalwith non-life-threatening injuries. The driver oftheCMVwasnotinjured.

Members of the Northeast RegionTrafficIncidentManagementand Enforcement team are assisting with the ongoinginvestigation.

TheSuperiorEastOPPisseeking assistance from anyone who may have witnessedthecollision.Ifyouwereinthe area of Highway 17 and Highway 519 between 5:00 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. on November29,2022,pleasecalltheOPP at 1-888-310-1122. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800222-8477(TIPS)orleaveatiponlineat www.ontariocrimestoppers.ca.

WeatherSummaryforOntario

November 2022: Summer's Last Hurrah: Part Two

Temperatures: Incredible

Warmth

Followed byAbruptShifttoWinter

Afteraverywarmperiodtowardstheend of October, many believed that summer-like temperatures were over. However, November openedwithtemperaturesthatweremoretypical oflatesummer.TheperiodNovember2to6was particularly noteworthy with daily temperatures more than 14oC above average. In fact, some stationsreportedtheirwarmestNovemberdayof alltime.AfewexamplesincludeSiouxLookout Airport (20.9oC November 2), Wawa Airport (19.9oC November 3) and Toronto Pearson International Airport (25.1oC November 5). In addition, St. Catharines reached 26.8oC on November 5, which was the highest November temperature in Ontario in many years. Above normal temperatures continued for the majority oftheprovinceuntilaboutNovember12.

A prolonged period of below normal

temperatures followed which lasted until about November22,whichwasquitethecontrastfrom the beginning of the month. The most notable period was November 18 to 20 when temperatureswereasmuchas9oCbelownormal. Temperaturesreturnedtoabovenormalafterthat and continued that way through the end of the month.Asaresult,themonthasawholeendedup being a few degrees above normal for the majorityoftheprovince.

Precipitation: Wet in the Northeast, and a WinterWallopintheSnowBelts

Areas from Lake Superior to south of JamesBayreceivedbetween200%and300%of the normal November precipitation. A winter storm around November 10 was the major contributing factor for this. Significant amounts ofrain,freezingrainandsnowoccurred.Referto theSignificantEventssectionforfurtherdetails.

Much of southern Ontario was considerably drier than normal, although areas in the traditional snowbeltswereclosertonormal. Thesnowbeltsreceivedawinter wallop of lake effect snow from November 17 to 20. This

prolonged,memorableeventfeaturedlakeeffect snow streamers that were slow moving. Some areasendedupwithheftysnowfallamountsasa result. For example, Wiarton received over 120 cm of snow over the four-day period.What was particularly noteworthy was that 50 of those centimetres fell within just 12 hours on November20!Thetotalof53.4cmthatfellthat daywasenoughtomakeitthesnowiestdayever recordedatthatstation,whererecordsdateback to 1947. Refer to the Significant Events section forfurtherdetails.

SignificantEvents

November 5: Strong Wind Gusts East of GeorgianBayandLakeHuron

Acoldfrontmadeitswayacrosssouthern Ontario, bringing strong, gusty winds. Many areas experienced power outages as a result of downedtreesandhydrolines.Overone-hundred thousand Hydro One customers were without power, with the most affected areas being near GeorgianBay,includingtheSudburyarea.Wind gusts of 80 to 90 km/h were reported, with a maximum wind gust of 113 km/h at the Gore Bay/ManitoulinAirport. Cont’donP.7

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Veuillezrépondreparécritenjoignantuncurriculumvitaeindiquantvosqualificationsetvotreexpérienceavantvendredile16decembre 2022.Lecurriculumvitaedoitêtreenvoyéàl'adressesuivante:

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Chapleau Moments

by MichaelJ. Morris

AWikipidea entry says thats "The 227th Battalion, CEF was a unit in the Canadian ExpeditionaryForceduringtheFirstWorldWar. Based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and Camp Borden,theunitbeganrecruitinginearly1916on ManitoulinIslandandinAlgoma.Aftersailingto England in April 1917, the battalion was absorbedintothe8thReserveBattaliononApril 22, 1917. The 227th Battalion, CEF had one Officer Commanding: Lieut-Col. C. H. LeP. Jones."

Meanwhile, on the home front in Chapleau the local branch of the CanadianRedCrossSocietywasalso very actively involved in the war effort. As I was browsing through HughKuttner'simmenselyinteresting website,http://www.chapleau.com/

I was sure that I recognized the handwriting on the minutes of a meetingofthebranchin1917thathad beenmadeavailableandareonHugh's site.

affiliate of the British Red Cross Society (then knownastheNationalSocietyforAidtotheSick and Wounded in War). Colonel Dr. George Sterling Ryerson spearheaded the organization's founding; he was earlier responsible for setting up Canada's St. JohnAmbulanceAssociation in 1895. The Canadian Red Cross Society Act (1909) legally established the Red Cross as the corporate body in Canada responsible for providing volunteer aid in accordance with the GenevaConventions

The Chapleau branch was busy during World War I assisting with the preparation of packagestobesenttothetroopsandothersbeing affected by the war. Mrs. Copping was the general supervisor of the effort while Mrs. Cochrane was sewing convenor, Mrs. Ferguson packing convenor and Mrs. White surgical suppliesconvenor.

Recruiting for the 227th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in World War I wasunderwayinChapleauinMay1916afterits commanding officer Lieut-Col. C.H. LeP. Jones hadpaidavisittothecommunity.

AtthesametimetheChapleaubranchof theCanadianRedCrossSocietywasactive,and after the war ended the community held a ReceptiontoReturnedSoldiers.

Immediately after the visit the Chapleau Citizens Recruiting Committee was formed and byAugust,62volunteershadsigneduptojointhe 120 Chapleau persons who were already in the forces.Quiteanachievementforasmall,isolated communityofabout2,500peoplealthoughsome ofthevolunteerscamefromnearbycommunities likeMissanabieandWhiteRiver.

In Snapshots Of Chapleau's Past on www.chapleau.comGeorgeEvansnotedthaton Saturday, August 12, 1916, the First Chapleau Platoon of the 227th Battalion of the Sudbury, Manitoulin, and Algoma Overseas Battalion paraded from the YMCA building on Lorne Street,downBirchStreet,overthetracks,tothe railwaystation.

George added: "As described in Vincent Crichton’sPioneeringinNorthernOntario,itwas 'aredletterday.'TheTownBandledthewayand thewholetownturnedouttosupportthe'MenO’ the North' as they set out to do battle with 'the Hun' in fields of northeastern France. Six officers, fifty-three enlisted men, a bandsman andtwobuglersmarchedinfullgeartothecheers ofthepatrioticpeopleofChapleau..."

Somewouldnotreturn.

Reading the minutes, I realized thatEdithHunt,mygrandmother,was thesecretary,referredtointheminutesas"Hon. Sec." She had arrived in Chapleau from the UnitedKingdomjustbeforeWorldWarIwithher husband George, my grandfather, and their two daughtersElsie,andmymotherMuriel.

The minutes were from an executive meetingheldonOctober22,1917,inthecouncil roomintheTownHall,whichhadbeenopenedin 1914,oneofthemanyprojectsintheearlyyears ofChapleauledbyitsfirstreeveG.B.Nicholson, whohadretiredasheadofthemunicipalityafter servingfrom1901to1913butwasinattendance atthemeeting.

Mr. Nicholson's only son Lorne, a member of the Chapleau Platoon was one who did not return home from World War I. He was killedonNovember4.1918.

FromtheminutesIwasalsosurprisedto learn that May (Mulligan) McMullen was the president of the Chapleau Red Cross Society at the time. I contacted Michael McMullen, my cousinandourfamilyhistoriantoseeifheknew that his grandmother had held this position. It came as a surprise to him too. Michael's grandmother and mine, Lil (Mulligan) Morris weresisters.TheyweremembersoftheMulligan familyafterwhomMulligan'sBayisnamed.

The first vice president was Father RomeoGascon,ofSacredHeartRomanCatholic ParishandsecondvicepresidentwasMrs.M.L. Copping, while Mrs. H.B. Pelton was the 'Hon. Treas.',thetreasurer.

Wikipedia notes that the Canadian Red Cross was established in the fall of 1896 as an

On April 21, 1919, Chapleau held a receptionforreturnedsoldierschairedbyReeve J.D.McAdamwithT.J.Wolfeassecretaryofthe organizing committee. It was held in the Town Hall which, with its theatre and downstairs hall, hadbecomeacentreofcommunitylife.

Accordingtotheofficialprogram,which isalsoavailableonhttp://www.chapleau.com/ music for a concert was provided by Comte's Orchestra under the direction of Mr.Alf Comte, whoIrememberfromthemanyyearsheoperated the barber shop on Birch Street. The orchestra also played for a dance following dinner. As I reflected on growing up in Chapleau, it seemed thatmajorcelebrationsincludedaconcert,dinner andadanceallheldintheTownHall.

The concert program included a quartet, violin solo, flute solo, vocal solo, a reading and theoverturebyComte'sOrchestra.

The dinner menu included oysters in shell,roastturkeywithcranberrysauce,tomatoes alamodeandavarietyofdeserts.

I have always been intrigued by the formalityofdanceprogramsinyearsgonebyand the one at the reception was no exception. Divided into two parts, it began with the grand march around the hall, followed by two step, waltz,quadrelle,foxtrot,barndance,PaulJones, onestepandfoxtrot.Parttwovariedslightlybut ofcourseendedwiththeHomeWaltz.

For this column, after discovering information about my grandmother and great aunt'sinvolvementsintheChapleauRedCrossat http://www.chapleau.com/, I decided to generally focus on parts of community life connected to World War I primarily from http://www.chapleau.com/

IextendmymostsincerethankstoHugh andallthosewhohavemadethesitepossible.

MenO'theNorthof227thBattalionheadofftoWorldWarIfromChapleauwhilelocalRed CrossSocietysupportseffortandcommunityholdsreceptionforsoldierswhenwarends

REPORT from OTTAWA Rapport d’Ottawa

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

Last week, a bill designed to protect workers' pensions when their employers declare bankruptcy or insolvency passed third and final reading with unanimous support in the House of Commons.

The bill, C-228, builds on years of work from previous NDP MPs (Chris Charlton, Wayne Marston, and Scott Duvall) going as far back as 2006.It'sdesignedwiththesimplegoalofensuring that, should a corporation fall into bankruptcy or insolvency,thatpensionsarepaidoutasapriority over creditors, ensuring that those deferred wages thatworkersputasideforretirementarepaidfirst.

This is a vital step for the protection of employees' pension earnings to ensure they are treatedfairly.Aswe'veseeninthepast,whenlarge corporateentitiesfellintobankruptcy,securedand unsecuredcreditorswereatthefrontoftheline.It's thekindofbillthatreceivedlittlemediaattention,

ProtectingWorkers'PensionstheRightThingtoDo

butlikelywillhaveabigimpactonworkersacross thecountry.

Thistypeoflegislationhasbeenneededfor decades. Many will remember some prominent bankruptcies and insolvencies of major Canadian firms, like Sears, Nortel, and Stelco. Once those firmswentunder,creditorswerepaidbackaheadof pensioners, and their employees were robbed of someofthepensionstheyearnedwhileworkingfor thesecompanies.Thisbillputsworkerstothehead oftheline,asitshouldbe,aspensionsaredeferred wages. Those employees earned that money already, and losing those wages is tantamount to theft. In many cases, executives received bonuses forfailingcompaniesbeforetheirworkers'pension fundswerepaidout.

Akey measure in Bill C-228 is that it also requires regular annual reporting to Parliament on pension funds' financial standing and provides pathstofixproblemswhenpensionfundsarenotin goodfinancialstanding.Therefore,notonlydoesit ensure that workers' pensions are paid out as a priority, but it also gives greater scrutiny to the management of the fund, providing an extra layer ofprotectionthatensuresthattheyremainsolvent.

Functionally,whatitdoesismakepension liabilityaveryrealissueforcompaniestoconsider evenduringperiodsofstrengthandgrowth.Thebill

couldbeagamechangerforcorporatebehaviour.It willensurethatpensionplansarefullyfunded,asit becomes a liability for companies over the longer termifthosepensionfundsaren'ttreatedwithcare.

According to the latest data provided by Statistics Canada, 6.5 million Canadians were active Registered Pension Plan members as of 2020, accounting for 37.1 percent of all workers. It'svitalthatthosepensionsareprotectedtoensure Canadianscanbesecureintheirretirement. ThebillnowgoestotheSenate,whereamendments to the legislation are still a possibility. However, given that the bill was supported unanimously in theHouseofCommonsatThirdReading,it'sclear thatthistypeoflegislationwasneeded,andthatit's popular.

Whilecertainlythereremainsworktodoto ensure that worker's pensions are protected and Canadians' are secure in their retirement, this is definitely a step in the right direction. Moving forward, we need to also focus strengthening the Canada Pension Plan, to ensure all Canadian workerscanretireindignity.

Retirement security remains an important issuethatmustcontinuetobeinthepubliceye.As moreandmoreCanadiansretire,theimportanceof stablepensionsystemswillbecomeevenmoreofa vitalissue.

Protégerlespensionsdestravailleursestlabonnechoseàfaire

La semaine dernière, un projet de loi visant à protéger les pensions des travailleurs lorsque leurs employeurs font faillite ou deviennent insolvables a été adopté en troisième et dernière lecture avec un soutien unanime à la Chambredescommunes.

Le projet de loi, C-228 s'appuie sur des années de travail d'anciens députés néodémocrates (Chris Charlton, Wayne Marston et ScottDuvall)quiremontentà2006.Ilaétéconçu dans le simple but de garantir que, en cas de faillite ou d'insolvabilité d'une société, les pensions soient payées en priorité par rapport aux créanciers, afin que les salaires différés que les travailleurs ont mis de côté pour leur retraite soientpayésenpremier.

Il s'agit d'une mesure essentielle pour la protection des revenus de pension des employés afindegarantirqu'ilssoienttraitéséquitablement. Commenousl'avonsvudanslepassé,lorsquede grandes sociétés font faillite, les créanciers garantis et non garantis sont en première ligne. C'est le genre de projet de loi qui a reçu peu d'attention de la part des médias, mais qui aura probablementdesretombéesimportantespourles travailleursdetoutlepays.

Ce type de législation est nécessaire depuisdesannées.Beaucoupsesouviendrontde certainesfaillitesetinsolvabilitésimportantesde grandes entreprises canadiennes, comme Sears, Nortel et Stelco. Lorsque ces entreprises ont fait

faillite,lescréanciersontétéremboursésavantles retraités, et leurs employés ont été privés d'une partie des pensions qu'ils avaient gagnées en travaillant pour ces entreprises. Ce projet de loi placelestravailleursentêtedeliste,commeilse doit, car les pensions sont des salaires différés. Cesemployésontdéjàgagnécetargent,etperdre cessalaireséquivautàunvol.Dansdenombreux cas, les dirigeants ont reçu des primes pour les entreprises en faillite avant que les fonds de pensiondestravailleursnesoientversés.

UnemesurecléduprojetdeloiC-228est qu'il exige également la présentation de rapports annuelspériodiquesauParlementsurlasituation financière des fonds de pension et prévoit des voiespourréglerlesproblèmeslorsquelesfonds de pension ne sont pas en bonne situation financière.Parconséquent,nonseulementellegarantit que les pensions des travailleurs sont versées en priorité,maisellesoumetégalementlagestiondu fondsàunexamenplusapprofondi,offrantainsi une couche supplémentaire de protection qui garantitlasolvabilitédufonds.

D'unpointdevuefonctionnel,ellefaitde la responsabilité des pensions un enjeu très réel que les entreprises doivent prendre en compte, mêmeenpériodedevigueuretdecroissance.Le projetdeloipourraitchangerladonneenmatière de comportement des entreprises. Elle veillera à ce que les régimes de retraite soient entièrement financés, car si ces fonds de pension ne sont pas

traités avec soin, les entreprises en subiront les conséquencesàlongterme.

Selon les dernières données fournies par Statistique Canada, 6,5 millions de Canadiens étaient des participants actifs à un régime de retraite agréé en 2020, soit 37,1 % de tous les travailleurs. Il est essentiel que ces pensions soient protégées afin que les Canadiens puissent vivreleurretraiteentoutesécurité.

Le projet de loi passe maintenant au Sénat, où des amendements sont encore possibles.Cependant,étantdonnéqueleprojetdeloia été soutenu à l'unanimité à la Chambre des communesentroisièmelecture,ilestclairquece type de législation était nécessaire et qu'il est populaire.

Bien qu'il reste certainement du travail à faire pour assurer la protection des pensions des travailleurs et la sécurité de la retraite des Canadiens,ils'agitcertainementd'unpasdansla bonne direction. En ce qui concerne les prochainesétapes,nousdevonségalementnousconcentrersurlerenforcementduRégimedepensionsdu Canada, afin que tous les travailleurs canadiens puissentprendreleurretraitedansladignité.

Lasécuritédesretraitesresteunequestion importantequidoitcontinueràfairel'objetd'une attention publique. Comme de plus en plus de Canadiens prennent leur retraite, la question de l'importance de systèmes de pension stables deviendraencoreplusvitale.

ÉcoleSacré-Coeurstudentshavefunreading!

During the month of November, students from École Sacré-Coeur (Chapleau) took part with much enthusiasm in a reading challenge.As part of thisactivity,eachstudenthadtokeeptrackofthetime

spentreadingvariousbooksinordertoaccumulateas many reading minutes as possible for their class.At theendofthemonth,theclassandthestudentswho accumulated the most minutes of reading were

awardedagreatChristmasbasket!Congratulationsto the grade 1 and 2 students who read for more than 16,600 minutes as well as to all the readers from ÉcoleSacré-Coeurfortheirimpressiveefforts.

UnconcoursquisusciteleplaisirdelalectureparmilesélèvesdeSacré-Coeur

Aucoursdumoisdenovembre,lesélèves de l'école Sacré-Coeur (Chapleau) ont participé avec enthousiasme à un défi de lecture. Chaque élève devait comptabiliser le temps accordé à la lecture de divers livres afin d'accumuler le plus

deminutesdelecturepossiblepoursaclasse.Àla findumois,laclasseetlesélèvesayantaccumulé le plus de minutes de lecture se sont mérité un superpanierdeNoël!Bravoaux élèves de la 1re et 2e année qui

ont réussi à lire pendant plus de 16,600 minutes ainsiqu'àtousleslecteursetlectricespourleurs effortsimpressionnants.

Yournewcouncilisoffandrunning.

Mygoalistoshowthatwecanworktogetherasadiverseteam.

Ihopethatbydoingsomorepeoplewillbeencouragedtoparticipateinour localpolitics.

Our Mayor has been working very hard to promote Chapleau with the provincialandfederalgovernment. Heismakinginfrastructureforourtownatop priority.

I am happy that Councilor Lisi Bernier will be stepping into the role of DeputyMayor. Herexperienceisanasset.

Councilor Paul Bernier deserves credit for getting the ball rolling on the importantissueoftaxarrears.

Four years ago, when I met Mr. Bignucolo, I promised to support our local businesses. Now as Councilor I intend to keep that promise, while askingquestionsthatcitizensexpect.

My passion is for supporting Seniors and Recreational Clubs in our community. I will be an advocate in theseareas.

TogetherwithCouncilorAnsara,Iam learningalotinmynewrole.

OurnextCouncilMeetingisMonday, December12th. Ihopetoseeyouthere! AlexLambruschiniCouncillor

MOMENTS IN TIME

OnDec.23,1672,Italianastronomer,mathematicianand engineer Giovanni Domenico Cassini discovered Rhea (originallychristenedSideraLodoicea),thesecond-largest of Saturn's 62 moons. In 2010, a spacecraft named for Cassiniwoulddetectathinoxygenatmospherearoundit-thefirstsuchknownoutsideplanetEarth.

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705-856-4862

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Barristers and Solicitors

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

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

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

WeatherSummaryforOntario

Cont’dfromP.2

amountsof30to50cm.

GIVE

Local MARKETPLACE MARKETPLACE

November 10-11:

First Winter Storm for NorthernOntario

Alow-pressuresystempassingacrossthe upper Great Lakes brought the first significant winter storm to many parts of northern Ontario. Several road closures were associated with this storm due to weather conditions. Additionally, Highway 101 was closed due to road washout from excessive rain. Snowfall amounts ranged between 15 and 25 cm in northwestern Ontario, particularly near the Minnesota and Manitoba borders.Areas east of Lake Superior received in excess of 100 mm of rainfall, with the highest amount of 142 mm reported at Lake Superior Provincial Park. Power outages also occurred in the Timmins area as a result of several hours of freezingrain.

November 17-20: Long-duration Lake Effect SnowSquallsinSouthernOntario

Afour-day lake effect snow squall event affectedareaseastofLakeHuron,LakeErieand Lake Ontario. Significant snowfall accumulationsandgustywindsbroughtwhiteout conditions to several areas, making travel extremely dangerous, and causing several road closures throughout the weekend. The Bruce Peninsulawasthemostimpactedarea,receiving over120cmofsnowattheWiartonAirport,with over50cmina12-hourperiodonNovember20. Other areas heavily impacted include southern Niagara Region and parts of Prince Edward County towards Brockville, which saw snowfall

November29-30:ABattleoftheSeasons

Astrong low-pressure system made its way across the Great Lakes bringing significant winter weather to northern Ontario, and strong wind gusts accompanied by rain showers to southern Ontario. Snowandstrongwindsmadefordifficulttravelnorth of Lake Superior, particularly along Highway 11 between Hearst and Geraldton. In southern Ontario, numerous power and utility outages resulted from strong wind gusts, which reached up to 90 km/h, particularlyneartheshoresoftheGreatLakes.

IceConditionsintheGreatLakes

TheGreatLakesdevelopedtheirfirstlakeice onNovember19thwithsmallamountsoficeinBlack Bay and Nipigon Bay. By month's end a few other protected bays in the north shores of Lake Superior developed small amounts of lake ice and the ice in BlackBayexpandedtocovermostoftheBay.Other areas with ice include the shores of the St Mary's RiverandLakeStClair.

The month of November ended with below 0.1% ice coverage in the Great Lakes almost all of which was in sheltered bays along the shore of northern Lake Superior and Northwestern Lake Huron.This is in agreement with the climatological value of ice coverage for the Great Lakes of below 0.1%forthistimeperiod.

OutlookforDecember

Temperatures are anticipated to make a return to near normal for much of southern Ontario, whereas, a cold air mass is expected to settle over northernOntariothroughtoatleastmid-month.This temperature contrast across the province should bring above-normal precipitation to areas near the GreatLakesearlyinthemonth.

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.

Recently I found myself at a car dealership waiting to have my snow tires put on my vehicle.Admittedly,Iwasverylateandfortunate nottohaverunintodifficultiesontheroad,given my constant trekking back and forth between Queen'sParkandmyconstituencyofficeinElliot Lake.Iknowbetter.

AsIsatinthewaitingarea,Isoonstruck up a conversation with a woman who was also waitingforhercar.Itsoonbecameapparentthat shewaslessthanthrilledbecausetheysuddenly had to buy a new one since theirs had run its course.Themechanictoldherweeksbeforethat the old car could have lasted several more years hadtheymadesuggestedrepairswhiletheywere stillminorandfew.Now,shewasfrustratedwith her husband because she suspected he deliberatelyignoredtheinspectionreportssothatthecar would fall apart.The lady was convinced of her husband'snewcarscheme.

IamsurethatmorethanafewOntarians canseethesimilarityofthisstorytotheonebeing playedoutnowbytheFordGovernmentwithour healthcaresystem.

Healthcarehasbeengrosslyunderfunded for years under successive Conservative and Liberal governments. Since being elected in 2018, many stakeholders have urged Premier Ford to make the necessary investments to maintain, if not improve, Ontario's failing healthcare system. The extensive list of healthcareprofessionalsandassociationsissuing pleas to stop the cuts and provide necessary fundingisextensive.ThelistincludestheOntario Medical Association, Ontario Nurses Association, and numerous healthcare worker unions. Also included in the list is the Ontario Healthcare Coalition (OHC), which represents morethan500healthcareorganizations.

The argument can be made that, like the husband in the above story, Premier Ford is knowingly and deliberately orchestrating a plan to achieve a long-time Conservative goal — healthcareprivatization.

For several years, Premier Ford and his Health Ministers have been assuring Ontario voters that the Conservatives have no plans to privatize healthcare — that is, until recently. Now,however,HealthMinisterSylviaJonessays that“alloptionsareonthetable.”

TheOHCisrampinguptochallengethe Ontario Government head-on. CBC News reported onAugust 16, 2020, that the OHC was consulting with lawyers and calling emergency meetings with union leaders and healthcare organizations to protect public hospitals from any privatization efforts led by Premier Doug Ford'sgovernment.

Natalie Mehra, OHC executive director, told CBC, “We will fight them with everything thatwehave.Everythingisonthetabletodefend ourpublic,not-for-profithealthcaresystem.We willnotallow—withoutamajorfight—theforprofitprivatizationofOntario'shospitals.”

NewDemocratsarejoininginthisbattle. NDP MPP Catherine Fife told the Ontario Legislature that it's unconscionable that, even now,inthemiddleofahealthcarecrisis,theFord governmentischoosingtounderspendonhealth carebyalmost$900million.Asaresult,Pediatric ICUs across the province are being overwhelmed, surgeries are being cancelled, and families with sick children are waiting 10 hours plus for care. In shortchanging health care fundingby$859million,DougFordissendinga clear signal that his government doesn't want to spendthemoneytofixthecrisisinourhospitals. Instead, Ontario should invest more to ensure peoplegetthecareandtreatmenttheyneedwhen theyneedit,notspendingevenlessthanplanned.

For months, the NDP urged the Ford government to respect healthcare workers with measures including an immediate repeal of Bill 124,toensurefairwages,benefitsandincentives for healthcare workers to join and remain in the sector.TheProvinceshouldalsobeaccelerating licensing for internationally-trained healthcare workers. Unfortunately, concern for the health andwelfareofOntariansdoesnotseemtobethe focusofPremierFord'splan.

Despite the chorus of warnings, the Government passed Bill 124, the Protecting a SustainablePublicSectorforFutureGenerations Act.Passing 124 demonstratedthatfairness and respect for healthcare workers and public sector workers were not one of Premier Ford's objectives.Bill124limitedwageincreasesfornurses and public sector workers to just 1 percent per year. Mr. Ford chose to pass the bill despite countless warnings that it was unconstitutional and would be challenged in the courts. It's interesting to note that just days ago, the courts did, in fact, rule that the bill is unconstitutional, sayingthatit“isnotareasonablelimitonaright that can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society under s.1 of the charter.”

Furthermore, the courts said that the law infringed on the applicants' rights to freedom of associationandcollectivebargaining.

And if some are still not certain of PremierFord'sultimateintentsandgoals,despite being told by the judicial system that 124 is unconstitutional,hehasalreadyindicatedthatthe Governmentwillappealtheruling.

In an effort to protect Ontario patients, NDPHealth Critic France Gélinas proposed the HealthCareisNotforSaleAct.Ifpassed,theact would impose consequences for clinics and professionals who use loopholes to charge patientsforOHIP-coveredservicesandadd-ons. Penalties would have included fines, licence suspensions, and a requirement to reimburse patients.

But the Conservatives rallied behind Premier Ford and voted down France's bill, interestinglyjusthoursafter5healthcareunions cametogethertoaskthegovernmenttosaynoto privatization.

Gélinas stated, “We know Doug Ford wants to sendmoresurgeriestofor-profitclinics,andnow we have proof he is okay with Ontarians being forced to pull out their credit card to access OHIP-covered services. By rejecting my proposaltocrackdownonthepredatorypracticeof chargingforOHIP-coveredservicesandtacking on extra fees, Doug Ford's Conservatives have confirmed they won't back off their scheme to pursueprivatization.”

What will it take for this government to finallyaddressthiscrisisanddotherightthing? Weneedimmediateactiontoensureourchildren aresafeandthathospitalsarefullystaffedacross theprovince.

The lady at the dealership was understandablyfrustratedanddisappointed.Whenwe putourtrustinarelationship,weexpecttooffer and receive fairness, honesty, and respect. It seemed to me that she was feeling her trust had led her to be manipulated, just as Ontarians are beginning to realize how our healthcare crisis mayalsobebeingorchestrated.

New Democrats' message for Premier Ford is, “Ontario healthcare is NOT FOR SALE!”

Asalways,pleasefeelfreetocontactmy office about these issues or any other provincial matters.Youcanreachmyconstituencyofficeby