10262023 October 26 2023

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Vol. 28, Issue 8, October 26, 2023

Mini-clubs are back at École Sacré-Coeur!

W

ith the arrival of the new school year, the identity-building activities known as "mini-clubs" have also made a comeback at École Sacré-Coeur (Chapleau). This year, Sacré-Cœur students

have been divided into separate teams for the duration of the school year. With the help of their teammates, young and older students will try to compete against the other teams in the school

during mini-clubs and school rallies. Each team has created its own poster and developed a rallying cry to make their presence felt! SacréCœur is gearing up for a fun-filled year!

distinctes pour la durée de l'année scolaire.

Avec l'aide de leurs coéquipiers, les petits et les grands tenteront de compétitionner contre les autres équipes de l'école pendant les miniclubs et les rassemblements de succès.

Chaque équipe a créé leur affiche et a développé leur propre de cri de ralliement pour faire ressentir leur présence! À l'école Sacré-Cœur, on se prépare pour une année remplie de plaisir!

Le retour des mini-clubs à l'école Sacré-Coeur!

A

vec la nouvelle année scolaire qui défile à grande vitesse, les activités de construction identitaire connues Long Term sous le nom de Forecast ''mini-clubs'' ont Thursday aussi fait leur High 9 entrée en scène.

Low 7 Cette année, les élèves Friday de l'école Sacré-Cœur High 13 (Chapleau) ont été Low 11 divisés en équipes Saturday High 4 Low 1

Sunday High 4 Low 4 Monday High 1 Low -3 Tuesday High 1 Low 0

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CHAPLEAU EXPRESS, October 26, 2023- Page 2 Wildfire fighter retention issue is putting one of Northern Ontario's greatest assets at risk.

Each year around Thanksgiving, Northerners bite the bullet and grudgingly go about closing down camp for the winter so it is all set to go as soon as in spiring arrives. When spring rolls around, we want to be able to jump into our boats or onto our quads, ready to rock. It is so disappointing if we fail to do so and have to wait and tend to matters in spring. As US President Benjamin Franklin said, “Don’t put off till tomorrow what can be done today.”

As an elected representative, I believe using the same philosophy should be applied to our government. Take care of things while it is calm before we find ourselves reacting and struggling to keep things together down the road. It is a common sense principle.

I recently read a Village Media online news article about the overall wildfire situation in the province. It reminded me of unfinished business the government has yet to resolve. As I see it, Ontario is leaving itself exposed to potential disasters if we don’t act now to step our game in forest fire prevention.

Thousands of square kilometres of bush surround our communities here in the North, and forests constitute an enormous portion of our economy. That is why I have on numerous occasions raised the matter of Ontario’s failing wildfire fighting program with Graydon Smith, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF).

I say failing because, for one thing, Ontario’s wildfire program is dangerously understaffed. In June of this year, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) said the province was short 50 fire crews, thus leaving countless communities at an utterly avoidable risk. OPSEU President JP Hornick says, “Every season [the province] faces the same problem. There’s a scramble to manage with too few workers.” The problem is that the positions offered are only for three-to-six-month rather than year-round contracts. “So, what you have is that young workers start but there are too few permanent jobs, and so they leave.”

The solution to this is not exactly news to the MNRF. Records indicate that in the past when Ontario operated a more rigorous proactive approach to wildfire management, wildfire fighters worked in the off-fire season clearing brush that adds tinder-dry fuel to fires that start and then serve to intensify the heat and flames. OPSEU’s Hornick explained, “They would do the kind of upkeep work in other areas of the ministry or across ministries to actually help prevent forest fires the following season and to help with things like snow clearing and whatnot.”

MNRF can also carry out controlled prescribed burning. Such measures effectively help to prevent out-of-control wildfires. Prescribed fires strategically reduce fuels in forested areas that are predictably at high risk of burning nearby.

Some would say that employing forestry workers year-round is an unaffordable luxury. I could not disagree more. First of all, forest remediation and cleanup were the standard practice for many years.

The practice was dropped purely for cost-cutting measures. Secondly, the world is changing drastically, especially with the growing problems of

climate change. Around our homes and in our communities, we go to great lengths to protect our assets. Our forests are of inestimable value economically, socially and environmentally. Forests are critical components of our ecosystem as they prevent flooding and erosion, cool the earth, provide habitat for wildlife and convert CO2 into the very oxygen we breathe. They are an asset we can’t afford not to protect.

The second problem contributing to the poor retention of forest firefighters is that Ontario’s wages are not in line with that of other provinces and nations. Ontario’s wildfire fighters are classified and paid as resource technicians. Let’s face it: standard resource technicians are not generally exposed to the high-risk, harmful toxins, high-intensity flames and life-threatening situations that forest firefighters face.

What’s more, they work to literal exhaustion for endless hours daily in remote locations under unbearably difficult conditions for months at a stretch with little to no time off.

An article by The Daily Press of September 12, 2023, quoted OPSEU Vice President and fire crew leader Noah Freedman’s description of the job, saying, “We can work 19 days in a row for 16 hours a day, inhaling carcinogens, sleeping in our own filth and away from our families.”

On October 13, Global News reported that in 2015, the Ontario government created a task force that was to investigate why MNRF has such problems recruiting and retaining wildfire fighters. In 2016, the released report warned the MNRF that something must be done to address the issue. Global News stated they, “viewed 2016, 2018 and 2019 editions of fire ranger retention reports. Each followed the same issues, raising them again and again. A memo sent to firefighters in July 2022 suggests the issue persists.”

In May of this year, during a Question Period, I asked the Natural Resources and Forestry Minister if he would commit to reclassifying wildfire fighters and improving their wages to resolve the crisis. In response to both the original and supplementary questions, Minister Smith totally skirted the issue, instead choosing to praise the exceptional performance of the Ford government in protecting our forestry resources.

You can see this video under “Hey Minister, let’s do more than just celebrate conservation officers and Fire Rangers” on my Facebook page.

Ontarians should feel confident that the province has the finest and most experienced professionals available, especially in leadership or supervisory roles. But such is not the case with our forest fire management program. About 40 percent of the workforce must be replaced each year with new, untrained recruits. The abovementioned 2016 report noted a worrisome trend in firefighter experience. While training and education are good, we all know there is no substitute for experience. Global News reported, “69 percent of Ontario fire ranger crew members —

the most junior position who make up the bulk of front-line firefighting resources — had one year of experience or less.”

Kevin Wallingford is a fire ranger based in Timmins District. In the October 13, 2023, edition of Elliot Lake Today, Wallingford said, “Without having as many experienced people, it’s definitely a lot riskier. The dangers are higher. ’Cause we have people who haven’t necessarily seen high-intensity flames, and they’re out there making decisions that put people’s lives at risk and using multi-million dollar equipment, and these are people who haven’t had the experience to necessarily know what they can handle,” Above, I indicated that governments are responsible for being both reactive and proactive in all matters of managing the province. Yet, how many years have successive governments turned their backs on addressing this issue? Let there be no doubt; this issue includes responsibility for not only the loss of many millions of dollars in resources and fire damage but also the genuine loss of life.

In 2021, Ontario set a single-year record with 793,000 hectares of burned forestland in the Northwest. There have been nearly 750 fires this summer compared to 268 in 2022, thanks to climate change. Unless we act now, things will only worsen.

Ontario must make drastic improvements to our wildfire fighting and prevention program a top priority to resolve now, not down the road.

As always, please feel free to contact my office about these issues or any other provincial matters. You can reach my constituency office by email at mmantha-co@ola.org or by phone Toll-free at 1-800-831-1899.

CHAPLEAU EXPRESS, October 26, 2023- Page 3

Chapleau Moments

Austin, Nicholson lumber company becomes largest supplier of railway ties in the British Empire in the 1930s from mills near Chapleau

years. Mr. Nicholson also became reeve of CPR did in Chapleau to heat the Chapleau Chapleau on February 15, 1901, being re-elected Memorial Community Arena, YMCA, and other each year by acclamation until he retired from the buildings. Nicholson also had an internal by telephone system and when tied in with the CPR position in 1913.

How Mr. Nicholson found the time to do telegraph line, long distance calls could all that he did for Chapleau, as well as pursue his sometimes be achieved.

Brian Westhouse wrote that "in 1920 the business interests, continues to amaze me almost 30 years after I first wrote about him in my book, company began to plan for a second mill to satisfy CPR's increasing demand for sawn ties... Dalton, 'Sons of Thunder ... Apostles of Love'.

Their first mill was under construction on 21 and a half miles west of Nicholson, had been a point of land between Lake Windermere and the the site of earlier axe-tie loading operations. The CPR, 22 CPR miles west of Chapleau, and the new plant at Dalton Mills was located on community of Nicholson developed at this site Shikwamkwa Lake, three miles south of the CPR including boarding houses, cottages, warehouses, and linked to it with a private railway. The lumber and other structures necessary to support the storage yard alongside the CPR main line had a capacity of up to fifty million feet". logging operations of the company.

According to an article on the community As I was researching this article, I could not help of Nicholson, on the web site Ghost Towns of but recall my own small connection to the Ontario, by 1914 a town site had been laid out and community of Nicholson as a young boy growing the company had built a general store which up in Chapleau, but our family camp was at Healy included post office and grocery delivery. A in the late 1940s until 1957. My grandfather's bunkhouse and cookery were built which could connection went back many years earlier. accommodate sixty men, and a school established Photo courtesy Brian Westhouse which was eventually able to include eighty students.

Describing Mr. Nicholson as a "fervent At about the same time that Chapleau was Anglican" he established a church in 1914 but becoming incorporated as a municipality in 1901, allocated a former schoolhouse to the larger George Brecken Nicholson, its first reeve was embarking on a business venture with James Roman Catholic congregation who quickly McNiece Austin which would eventually become refurbished it and added a steeple and bell.

Many homes were built during this time Northern Ontario's largest lumber firm mainly and residents paid a monthly rent of $5 for a from a contract with the Canadian Pacific Railway single-family dwelling or $7 for two stories. to provide it with ties.

My grandparents Harry, Lil (Mulligan) The company's head office was in Brian Westhouse, in an excellent article Morris at Healy circa 1949 about the community of Nicholson and the Austin Chapleau. and Nicholson lumber company wrote that in the A great adventure in my grandfather Harry 1890s James McNiece Austin, a Chapleau general Morris's freighter canoe powered by a Johnson 5.8 merchant, took tie cutting and delivery contracts outboard motor (I think) was to make the trip on from the CPR. Mr Austin had taken over the store Lake Windermere from Healy to Nicholson, to from his brother T.A. Austin, who had established visit Chapleau friends with camps there and to it in 1885. shop at the store. To this day those journeys, Mr. Westhouse wrote that Mr. Nicholson perhaps prompted by my mother's love of the who had been a locomotive engineer left the CPR explorers of early Canada and how she would in 1901, entered into a partnership with Mr. Austin make them come alive for me, made our trips to and became full time manager of the tie cutting Nicholson voyages of discovery. I always sat in operations. In 1902 the railway agreed to a threethe front of the canoe watching as the navigator, year contract and Austin, Nicholson Company even though my grandfather knew the route like guaranteed to deliver 200,000 ties a year for three the back of his hand.

Photo courtesy Brian Westhouse In fact, he would have preferred to paddle it in the canoe, having little use for outboard The Ghost Towns of Ontario article notes motors, but Mom, (Muriel E (Hunt) Morris, and that to enhance the social atmosphere Potney's my grandmother, Lil (Mulligan) Morris would pool hall was set up in the company store and there have no part of that one. was also Sheffields boarding house (hotel) I went on Google Earth and retraced the a harness maker and blacksmith. By 1915 the journey and about 60 years later, I recalled those community had grown to 350 residents and was trips like it was only yesterday. fast becoming the largest lumbering settlement What happened to Nicholson? between Sudbury and the Lakehead, Brian Westhouse tells us that "in the early A piping system was installed to heat hours of Sunday September 13th, 1931, night homes with the mill's boilers --- much like the Cont'd on P.8 Photo courtesy Brian Westhouse

Michael J. Morris

CHAPLEAU EXPRESS, October 26, 2023- Page 4

PBO Report Shows Pharmacare Good for Canadians and Economy REPORT Hoskins, the former Ontario Health outcomes for our emergency rooms. from OTTAWA MinisterEricwho led the advisory council on It's a bit puzzling why the government pharmacare, continues to recommend its continues to drag its feet on this issue. They have Rapport implementation, even penning a recent op-ed in previously campaigned on universal pharmacare, d’Ottawa The Globe and Mail. In his op-ed, he discusses despite ignoring it during the last election. They by/par

Carol Hughes Federal member of Parliament Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing

Last week, the Parliamentary Budget Officer, Yves Giroux, released a long-anticipated report on the anticipated costs and effects of a single-payer universal drug plan. His findings confirm, once again, that Canadians can save billions of dollars while extending comprehensive prescription drug coverage to everyone through a single-payer universal pharmacare system.

It was the vision of Tommy Douglas, the father of Canadian Medicare, to have all aspects of health care, from routine doctors' appointments to dental care and indeed medication, covered in such a manner that no Canadian would go without the medical coverage they needed. Universal pharmacare has been studied endlessly for decades now. Even in recent history, the Liberal government had promised a universal pharmacare program. They funded the Hoskins Advisory Council report which provided a detailed blueprint for how to implement pharmacare. But, over the years, pharmacare seemed to have dropped completely off their radar, and during the 2021 election campaign, the promise for universal pharmacare was no longer featured on their platform. Implementing pharmacare is, however, a feature of the Supply and Confidence Agreement with the NDP. The government has been exceptionally slow tabling a plan to develop the framework for universal pharmacare, and it has just months to get it passed if they wish to keep their commitments to the Supply and Confidence Agreement.

Last week's PBO report on pharmacare is another prime example of why this issue is so important.

It estimates that, excluding hospital drugs, total prescription drug spending across the country was $36.6 billion in 2021-22, 28 percent higher than in 2015-16. However, a single-payer universal plan would cost $33.2 billion in 202425, with the PBO estimating cost savings on drug expenditures of $1.4 billion in that first-year estimation alone, rising to a total savings of $2.2 billion by 2027-28. Canadians would actually save money under universal single-payer.

Additionally, it would allow 8 million Canadians who have no or poor medical coverage to receive the prescription drugs they need. In essence, because of the bulk purchasing power afforded by a single payer, the federal government's ability to negotiate medication at their lowest cost will be maximized.

the cost-savings universal, single-payer pharmacare would have, stating “bulk purchasing of medicines would shave $5-billion annually from what Canadians currently pay for prescriptions… families will save, on average, $350 a year on medicines, while businesses will save $750 per employee.” When we listen to the experts, it's clear that pharmacare is not only good for Canadians, but also for the economy.

Additionally, a pharmacare program would have greater knock-on effects to the rest of the economy. If people can get the medication they need, at no additional out of pocket cost, they will be healthier, and will take less sick time.

If people can access medication without needing to cut pills in half, they will be less likely to need a hospital visit, which in turn will result in better

appointed the advisory board that recommended universal, single payer. It's understandable, to some degree, that delays may happen. Health Minister Mark Holland has only been in the position since this summer, however given all that has happened in this file over the years, particularly with the Supply and Confidence Agreement in place, it's hard to understand why the government hasn't tabled a bill yet. They know universal, single payer is the right approach.

There are 8 million Canadians who currently lack adequate drug coverage who can no longer afford to wait. The next few months will give us a lot of insight into where this government's priorities are.

Le rapport du DPB montre qu'un régime d'assurancesmédicaments est favorable pour les Canadiens et l'économie La semaine dernière, le directeur parlementaire du budget, Yves Giroux, a publié un rapport très attendu sur les coûts et les effets prévus d'un régime d'assurance-médicaments universel à payeur unique. Ses conclusions confirment, encore une fois, qu'un régime à payeur unique de ce genre permettrait aux Canadiens d'économiser des milliards de dollars, tout en étendant à l'ensemble de la population une assurancemédicaments complète.

C'est le père du régime canadien d'assurance-maladie, Tommy Douglas, qui a imaginé un régime où tous les aspects des soins de santé, des visites périodiques chez le médecin aux soins dentaires en passant par les médicaments, seraient couverts de manière à ce qu'aucun Canadien ne soit privé de l'assurance dont il a besoin. La création d'un régime d'assurancemédicaments universel est à l'étude depuis des décennies. Il n'y a pas si longtemps même, le gouvernement libéral avait promis un tel régime et financé le rapport du Conseil consultatif, qui présentait un plan détaillé pour la mise en œuvre de l'assurance-médicaments. Au fil des ans toutefois, les libéraux semblent avoir oublié cette promesse, qui ne figurait d'ailleurs plus dans leur programme pendant la campagne électorale de 2021.

Cependant, la création d'un régime d'assurancemédicaments est mentionné dans l'entente de soutien et de confiance avec le NPD. Le gouvernement met énormément de temps à présenter un plan en vue de l'élaboration du cadre du régime d'assurance-médicaments universel et il ne dispose que de quelques mois pour le faire adopter s'il veut respecter les

engagements pris dans l'entente de soutien et de confiance.

Le rapport de la semaine dernière du DPB constitue un autre excellent exemple de l'importance de ce dossier. D'après ce rapport, les dépenses totales en médicaments d'ordonnance au Canada, à l'exclusion des médicaments achetés par les hôpitaux, s'établissaient à environ 36,6 milliards de dollars en 2021-2022, soit une augmentation de 28 % par rapport à 2015-2016.

Toutefois, un régime universel à payeur unique coûterait 33,2 milliards de dollars en 2024-2025.

Le DPB estime que les économies réalisées sur les dépenses de médicaments au cours de cette seule première année s'élèveront à 1,4 milliard de dollars en 2024-2025, pour s'établir à 2,2 milliards de dollars en 2027-2028. En fait, les Canadiens économiseraient de l'argent dans un régime universel à payeur unique. De plus, les huit millions de Canadiens qui ont une assurancemaladie insuffisante ou qui n'en ont aucune recevraient les médicaments d'ordonnance dont ils ont besoin. Essentiellement, le pouvoir d'achat en gros dont dispose un payeur unique (le gouvernement fédéral) permet de maximiser la capacité de négocier les médicaments au prix le plus bas.

Eric Hoskins, l'ancien ministre de la Santé de l'Ontario qui a dirigé le conseil consultatif sur l'assurance-médicaments, recommande toujours la mise en œuvre d'un régime de ce genre. Il a même récemment publié dans le Globe and Mail une lettre d'opinion où il est question des économies de coûts que représenterait un régime Suite P.7

CHAPLEAU EXPRESS, October 26, 2023- Page 5

Backyard Astronomy - The Next 100 Years

By Gary Boyle - The Backyard Astronomer The night of October 5-6, 1923, forever changed the way astronomers saw and studied the cosmos. It was believed the Milky Way we see on clear moonless nights was the 'universe'. Little did they know a simple 45-minute photograph would throw them a curve. It was long suspected a small patch of light located in the constellation of Andromeda was a cloud and referred to as the Andromeda Nebula.

The American astronomer Edwin Hubble set his sights on imaging this object with the massive 100-inch Hooker telescope at the Mount Wilson Observatory in California, the largest telescope in the world at that time. Placing a 4 by 5-inch photographic glass plate at the back of the grand telescope, he exposed the camera on the 'cloud'. Because of the immense light-gathering power of the large telescope, the image revealed individual stars including a variable star called a Cepheid. These types of stars help astronomers determine distance. With this valuable measuring tool, the object was determined not to be part of our so-called 'universe' but a completely different one. It is officially called the Andromeda Galaxy residing some 2.5 million light-years away and containing an estimated one trillion stars. Since then many more galaxies have been imaged and their distance measured.

By 1929, Hubble showed that the universe was expanding faster than the speed of light which is hard to imagine. But all galaxies seem to be moving away from each other except for the merging galaxies whose gravity attracts each other such as our local group. This is how galaxies grow. So if galaxies are racing away from each other, they must have all started from a single point long long ago. In 1931 the Belgium priest father George Lemaitre, considered the Father of The Big Bang, stated “The day of the Big Bang, was a day without a yesterday”.

By the 1940s radio waves were first detected both from the sun and a supernova, the remains of a massive star that exploded in our galaxy that is named the Crab Nebula. The 200inch Palomar Telescope in California was the largest in the world in 1949. The larger the telescope mirror, the farther astronomers can peer into space and the farther we see back in time.

The '60s and '70s saw Apollo astronauts landing on the moon six times, two Viking crafts parked on the planet Mars as well as launching identical Voyager 1 and 2 crafts measuring about the size of a subcompact car. They were designed to take closeup images as well as collect data from the outer planets and their moons. These were Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Launched 46 years ago, they are now 24 billion and 20 billion kilometres respectively from Earth.

Other than using ground-based telescopes with giant mirrors piercing the cosmos in optical light, technology has now allowed astronomers to study the cosmos in radio, microwave, infrared, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma-rays. However, we are not restricted to earth-bound instruments.

Spacecraft such as the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray, Spitzer, Compton Gamma-ray and the newly launched James Webb Space Telescope as well as many more are hard at work viewing the cosmos in amazing detail.

The sole purpose of the orbiting Kepler Space Telescope was to search for exoplanets, planets orbiting other stars in our galaxy. To date, there are more than 5,500 confirmed planets and thousands of candidates yet to be confirmed. But the majority of these worlds would be as large as Jupiter but closer to their star as Mercury is to the sun. The first ground-based discovery of an exoplanet was back in 1995. It is believed there are possibly more planets than stars in the Milky Way. There are a very small number of planets thought to be located in the 'Goldilocks Zone' such as Earth where oceans stay liquid. Too close to the star water would boil away, and farther out would freeze. We have recently received samples from the asteroid Bennu, delivering pristine material from the origins of the solar system after the birth of our sun, dating back about five billion years.

I am looking forward to seeing boots on the moon in 2025 as well as the first humans on the planet Mars in about 10 to 15 years. Decades ago a rendez-vous with the sun was an unthinkable goal for obvious reasons. The Parker

Solar Probe is presently studying our daytime star close-up and personal. At times it dives very close in the solar atmosphere before retreating in elliptical orbits. On September 17 of this year, it approached a mere 7.26 million kilometres above its surface at a speed of 635,266 kilometres per hour or a staggering 176 kilometres per second.

For reference, the Sun lies 150 million kilometres away. The heat shield is designed to keep the internal electronics a nice 30 degrees Celsius while the outer part is exposed to 1,400 degrees Celcius I believe we will eventually discover a new type of physics that could explain the workings of dark matter and dark energy that is thought to have played a role in the creation of the universe. We have the technology as well as the ambition to pursue and unlock the mysteries of our fascinating cosmos. The path to discovery is ever-evolving and I cannot wait for the next big discovery.

Clear skies, Known as “The Backyard Astronomer”, Gary Boyle is an astronomy educator, guest speaker, monthly columnist for the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada as well as a STEM educator. He has been interviewed on more than 55 Canadian radio stations as well as various television stations across Canada and the U.S. In recognition of his public outreach in astronomy, the International Astronomical Union has honoured him with the naming of Asteroid (22406) Garyboyle. Follow him on Facebook and his website: www.wondersof astronomy.com

CHAPLEAU EXPRESS, October 26, 2023- Page 6

Last weeks solutions MOMENTS IN TIME On Nov. 12, 1799, American astronomer Andrew Ellicott observed the Leonids meteor shower from a ship off the Florida Keys. In the first recorded instance of such an event in North America, he wrote that the "whole heaven appeared as if illuminated with sky rockets, and I was in constant expectation of some of them falling on the vessel. They continued until put out by the light of the sun after day break."

CHAPLEAU EXPRESS, October 26, 2023- Page 7

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Le rapport du DPB montre qu'un régime d'assurancesmédicaments est favorable pour les Canadiens et l'économie Suite de la P.4 universel à payeur unique. À ses dires, grâce à l'achat en gros de médicaments, les Canadiens paieraient 5 milliards de moins par année pour les médicaments d'ordonnance. Les familles économiseraient en moyenne 350 $ par année, tandis que les entreprises économiseraient 750 $ par employé. Lorsque nous écoutons les conseils des experts, il est manifeste que l'assurancemédicaments est favorable non seulement pour les Canadiens, mais également pour l'économie.

De plus, un régime d'assurancemédicaments aurait d'importantes retombées sur le reste de l'économie. En effet, si les gens obtiennent les médicaments dont ils ont besoin (sans avoir à payer des coûts additionnels de leur poche), ils seront en meilleure santé et prendront moins de congés de maladie. S'ils ont accès à des médicaments sans avoir à couper leurs pilules en deux, ils sont moins susceptibles de se rendre à l'hôpital, ce qui se traduira par de meilleurs résultats pour nos services d'urgence.

Il est difficile de comprendre pourquoi le gouvernement continue de se traîner les pieds dans ce dossier. Les libéraux ont déjà mené une campagne sur la création d'un régime d'assurancemédicaments universel, même s'ils n'ont pas retenu cet enjeu pendant la dernière élection. Ils ont formé le conseil consultatif qui a recommandé un régime universel à payeur unique. Il est compréhensible, dans une certaine mesure, que des retards surviennent. Le ministre de la Santé, Mark Holland, n'a pris ses fonctions que l'été dernier. Toutefois, si on tient compte de tout ce qui est arrivé dans ce dossier au fil des ans, en particulier l'entente de soutien et de confiance qui a

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été conclue, il est difficile de comprendre pourquoi le gouvernement n'a pas encore déposé un projet de loi. Il sait qu'un régime universel à payeur unique est la bonne solution.

Il y a en ce moment 8 millions de Canadiens sans assurance-médicaments adéquate qui ne peuvent plus se permettre d'attendre. Les prochains mois nous donneront une très bonne idée des vraies priorités de ce gouvernement.

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NNADAP Worker @ 864-0174 info.

CHADWIC HOME, FAMILY RESOURCE CENTRE. Offers shelter, emotional support, and information for women and their children who are in crisis situations. We have a Toll Free Crisis Line which is staffed 24 hours a day. We can arrange for free transportation to the Centre for women who live in the Algoma/Chapleau area. We also offer support to women who live in the communities of Chapleau, White River, Dubreuilville, and Hornepayne through our Outreach Program. Our Outreach Worker travels to those communities to meet with women who need emotional support as well as information about their rights and options. If you need to speak with 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 resident of the Centre in order to use our services. If you need someone to talk to or if you just need someone to listen, call our Toll Free Crisis line at 1800-461-2242 or you can drop in at the Centre. We are here for you.

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CHAPLEAU EXPRESS, October 26, 2023- Page 8 The mill at Nicholson was not rebuilt but served as a Member of Parliament after his service Chapleau Moments remained an outpost to supply the logging camps as reeve of Chapleau died on January 1, 1935.

Cont'd from P.3

His obituary referred to him in part as "a true son of that served Dalton.

Ghost Towns notes that the school closed the north... vigorously fighting to improve the in 1936, the company store about 1954 and the post condition of the people of this country".

My most sincere thanks to Brian office in 1956. By 1956 the station was closed.

In the early 1970s most buildings were still Westhouse for his assistance and for permitting me intact, and it had been recommended that to refer to his article, to Doug Greig for his articles Nicholson be preserved as an historic site, but a fire in Chapleau Trails and to Dr. William R. Pellow, its destroyed much of the site. There are still a few editor and publisher as well as to Ghost Towns.

Any errors are mine. My email is cottages there.

Austin, Nicholson had mills at other mj.morris@live.ca locations, and played a huge role in the economy of the Chapleau area for many years.

Ontario Helping Families and Small After James McNiece Austin died in 1922, Mr. Nicholson became Businesses Keep Electricity Costs Down president, Allan McNiece Austin, Increased Ontario Electricity Rebate and Ontario Electricity and Bill Austin, first and second Support Program will help families and businesses save money vice presidents respectively and The Ontario government is keeping electricity costs down Reg Thrush was secretary for families and small businesses by increasing the on-bill Ontario treasurer.

Electricity Rebate (OER) from 11.7 per cent to 19.3 per cent, Mr. Nicholson, who reducing a typical household’s electricity bill by a total of 26 dollars a month – or $312 a year. Further, Ontario is supporting thousands of additional low-income families with an additional $50 million investment in the Ontario Electricity Support Program (OESP).

“Our government is once again acting to ensure families and small businesses have access to affordable, reliable and clean electricity by providing immediate bill relief when they need it,” said Todd Smith, Minister of Energy. “By increasing our investment in the Ontario Electricity Support Program, we are also providing additional targeted support to those who need it most.”

Every October, the government adjusts the OER to protect electricity customers from the normal year-to-year variability in electricity costs. Increasing the OER from 11.7 per cent to 19.3 per cent will ensure electricity bills remain affordable and predictable.

The government’s increased investment in the low-income targeted OESP, will support a significant expansion to the program, increasing the income eligibility thresholds for the program by up to 35 per cent. For example, a four-person household, which is eligible for an additional $40 each month in financial support, will see the maximum income eligibility threshold increase from $48,000 to $65,000 per year after-tax – an increase of $17,000.

"This significant investment is yet another example of our government's commitment to making life more affordable for the people of Ontario, including individuals receiving social assistance," said Michael Parsa, Minister of Children, Community, and Social Services. "In addition to raising income support by nearly 12% over 12 months for people with disabilities through the Ontario Disability Support Program, we continue to help alleviate the cost of essentials for low-income families with programs like the OESP.” The updated OER percentage will take effect November 1, 2023.

The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) which administers the You’ll have customers hopping into your business when you advertise your products and services in our newspaper.

OESP will introduce the increased income thresholds for that Take a leap of faith and get noticed by our 2000+ readers and program on March 1, 2024. subscribers in Chapleau and area.

The OER was introduced by the government in 2019 to provide families, small businesses and farms with affordable and predictable electricity costs.

Households eligible for the OESP can receive credits of $35 to $75 through the program depending on household size.

Higher monthly credits of between $52 to $113 are available to Indigenous customers or customers living with Indigenous family members, customers using electric heating, and customers using certain electricity-intensive medical devices.

watchman Sullivan noticed flames leaping up from the roof of the Nicholson sawmill. The Chapleau branch of the Ontario Forestry Corps who with pumps and fire fighting equipment and the CPR fire car were quickly dispatched to the scene.

"Fanned by a very high wind glowing embers were hurled across the lumber piles to the station buildings, an eighth of a mile away, setting alight the wooden platform, damage to the latter being negligible owing to the prompt action of volunteer workers.

"As soon as the aroused workers were on the scene a bucket brigade was organized, the women folk courageously taking their places among the men, braving the fierce heat and dense smoke in a desperate endeavour to protect home and employment. “http://www.trainweb.org/ oldtimetrains/photos/logging/austin.htm LINK TO BRIAN WESTHOUSE ARTICLE

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