09072023 September 7, 2023

Men’sChampionCurtisBrunette

Women’sChampionGwenMcKight

WeatherSummaryforOntario

August

2023:StormyandSoggyintheSouthwest,TemperaturesFluctuatedProvincewide

Temperatures

August was a month of relatively weak temperature anomalies when compared with July.Meanmonthlytemperaturewasnearnormal formostoftheprovince.Themonthwasslightly warmer than average near Hudson Bay and slightlycoolerinnortheasternOntario.

On finer timescales, there were again no dominant,multi-dayanomaliesregionallyduring themonth.Dailyobservationsforindividualsites show high variability (alternating between cool and warm days) with the number of slightly cooler days dominating provincewide. Parts of the northwest saw some of the warmest days comparedtotheirmeanandthecoolestdayswere found mainly in the northeast. Parts of southern Ontario saw a very cool day on the 18th with temperaturesnotevenreaching20°C.Therewas a noticeable absence of 30-degree days throughoutthemonth,mainlyinnortheasternand southern Ontario; for Toronto this hasn't happened in over a decade. Early-morning temperatures were below freezing in the last weekinmuchofthenortheast.

Precipitation

The map of monthly precipitation anomaly across the province shows a similar spatial pattern to July. The southwest was extremely wet. Unofficial monthly totals (CoCoRaHs)shownear200mmfromLondonto Windsor and over 300 mm south of Windsor toward Lake Erie. For some locations, this may be a record amount for August, but a more indepthanalysisisrequired.

Muchofthenorthwasconsiderablydrier than normal whereas central portions of the Far North experienced more rain than normal. The driest regions were located from the northwest across toTimmins and the far northeast. In fact, Sioux Lookout Airport received no measurable precipitationthismonth.PartsofeasternOntario werealsodrierthannormal.CatLake,Moosonee and Pembroke saw less than half of their mean monthlyAugusttotal.

SignificantEvents

August3:ThunderstormsfromtheNortheast totheEast

Anapproachingcoldfrontbroughtsevere thunderstorms to northeastern, central, and eastern parts of the province. A tornado with maximum wind speed of 130 km/h (rated 0 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale or EF-0) touched down in Ottawa; a trailer was flipped over, and roofs and exteriorofhomesweredamaged. Funnel clouds were reported in Kinburn(westofOttawa)andin Sudbury. Damaging winds resulted in reports of downed trees from Lindsay to Sudbury. 13,000 Hydro One customers were without power that night. There were also reports of golfball sized hail, which damaged vehicles and siding in Lindsay. Five cars were stranded in Peterborough due to flooding with 49 mm of rain reported while a volunteer reported 110 mm in Eldorado, northwest of Tweed.

August 10: Flash Flood in Ottawa

Severe thunderstorms developed across southern Ontariowiththegreatestimpacts inOttawa.Weatherstationinthe city reported 78 mm of rain, 49 mm of which fell in an hour. Meanwhile,radarestimatednear

100 mm in the Carleton Heights and Riverside areas. Flash flooding led to abandoned cars, schoolsandbusinessesevacuations.Severalroad closures with water 90 cm in parts; Ottawa Fire Services advised people at one point to only travelifnecessary.

August 23-24: A One-Two Punch for the Southwest

A warm front pushed into southwestern Ontario providing a steady stream of showers and thunderstorms over the area. Harrow received 185 mm of rain in 9 hours (11pm to 8am), an event that had one-percent chance of occurring in any given year, and 129 mm were reported at Point Pelee. Township of Warwick declared emergency because of significant flooding. A section of Highway 402 was closed for more than 12 hours. Outside of London,adriverdiedafterhisvehiclefellintoa three-metre-deep sinkhole. A thunderstorm broughtanEF-0downburst(maximumwindsof 125km/h)nearDresdeninChatham-Kent;trees were snapped, and two barns suffered damage. Another round of thunderstorms came in the eveningofthe24thandspawnedthreetornadoes and a downburst: an EF-1 tornado (maximum winds of 145 km/h) in Tecumseh km/h, which collapsed barns, snapped power poles, damaged grain bins, downed trees and branches, and removed shingle; a second EF-1 tornado (maximum winds of 145 km/h) near Cottam, which damaged homes, barns, power poles, and trees; an EF-0 tornado (maximum winds of 125 km/h) in Windsor, which downedtrees and branches, removed shingles, and damaged fences; an EF-0 (maximum winds of 125 km/h) in Chatham, which damaged roofs of several homes and numerous trees. At least 27,000 customers experienced a power outage in the southwest. There were also power outages in Walpole Island First Nation. Trees and hydro linesweredownedinSixNationsofGrandRiver, resulting in power outages; the rain lead to localizedflooding,erosion,andmudslide.

OutlookforSeptember

Temperatures are likely to be above normalformuchoftheprovince,especiallyinthe Ottawa Valley, northeastern Ontario, and areas alongHudsonBay.Forprecipitation,thereisno clear trend for most of the province, except in northeastern Ontario where it will likely be belownormal.

Chapleau Moments

by MichaelJ. Morris

ArthurGroutOfSmithAndChappleImproved QualityOfLifeOfChapleauInManyAreas

ThereIwas,sittingintheStarbucksofthe new Target store in Cranbrook, chuckling to myself and thinking about Arthur Grout, of Chapleau.

Mr.Grout,oneofChapleau'sbestknown citizens, and as Dr. Bill Pellow, writing in ChapleauTrailsnoted,hehad"hisfingersinthe pie,manypiesandsometimesbothfeetinevery aspectofChapleau'sexistence"atonetime.

But it was one of the Target managers, they call them "team leaders" that had captured myattentionwithhisclipboard.Infact,itseems like all the team leaders scurry around the store withtheirclipboards.

Out of the mothballs of memory, I saw Mr.Grout,presidentofSmithandChappleLtd., neverwithoutaclutchofpapersoraclipboardas he seemed to be always in a hurry, going somewhere,butneverfailingtostoptotalkwitha customer.

When I got home, I went to Bill's piece aboutMr.Grout,andhetoo,hadtakennoteofthe clipboard. "Remember him racing around from one department to another with his clipboard, jotting down memos to refresh his memory and puttingorderintoaverybusyday..."

In fact, when I was going to high school and university, and working part-time at Smith andChapple,Mr.Groutonceconfidedinmethat if I wanted to be successful in business, always

carry a bunch of papers -- looked impressive to people.

No way that all these years later, Target would have received advice from Mr. Grout include in its team leader training program, that all carry clipboards, but there you have it, in many ways, A.J. "Art" Grout was ahead of the curve.

As a Smith and Chapple alumnus, I workedinthemen'swear,furniture,grocery,and garage,aswellasatMidNorthNewsandCHAP TVinthelate1950sandearly1960s.

Mr. Grout started as a messenger boy at the store, and in 1930 with his business partner D.O. Payette, took it over with Mr. Payette as president.

When the end of an era came for Smith andChappleLtd.onApril30,1987,althoughMr.

Grout had retired in 1962, Bill Payette, commentedinanarticle,"Myfatherwasagreat businessmanandheandArtgotalongverywell." Billhadjoinedthestorein1941.

In the 1930s in the midst of the Great Depression, the Chapleau Winter Carnival was founded with Mr. Payette, the catalyst with meetings in his office, but Mr. Grout was more thepublicfaceascarnivalchairman.

Also, in 1939, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were visiting Canada and the RoyalTrainwouldbepassingthroughChapleau. Mr. Grout and Earle Sootheran, manager of the jewelry department chartered a plane for a fishing excursion to the Goose River. The plan was to catch some speckled trout to present to theirmajesties.

It worked. The fish were accepted, and Mr. Grout received a letter of appreciation from the Royal couple.

Mr. Grout took over the business in 1949 when Mr. Payette retired, and during the 1950s the physical face of Chapleau changed. Mr. Grout expanded the store to "the other side of Main Street" where CPR houses had been and is now Collins Home Hardware. He established a real estate business and built houses at the end of MonkStreetaswellasseveralon King Street primarily to house CPR employees as the diesel shopwasestablished.

Cont’donP.5

GraceandArthurGrout

from OTTAWA Rapport d’Ottawa

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

The cost of basic shelter is a hot-button issue for many people these days, particularly for youth. Housing prices are at a peak never experienced in Canada before, and along with it, rent costs have exploded. The cost of a one bedroom in Toronto is over $2,500 a month. In Vancouver, it's even higher at about $3,000 per month. Average rental costs for a one-bedroom apartment this past June were $1,780 across the country, up 10.2 percent from a year ago. It is a nightmarescenarioforrenters,especiallyforyoung peoplewhoarejusttryingtogetahead.

As prices continue to climb higher and higher, both Federal and Provincial governments have paid lip service to the housing crisis without providing concrete solutions to fix the problem. One of the more bizarre statements on this issue recently has come from the new Housing, InfrastructureandCommunitiesMinister,whohas suggested that one option for tackling the price of housing is to scale back on the number of international students admitted to Canada. While likelyunintentional,hiscommentshavestartedan unfortunate conversation about the impact international students have played in pushing housingcostshigher.

Following the Minister's comments, even the Prime Minister had to weigh in, stating “We havetobeverycareful.Overthepastyears,we've seen a lot of different people and a lot of different groupsblamedforthehousingcrisis.Atonepointit was foreign homebuyers. At another point it was developers being super aggressive.Another point, it was under-investments by various orders of government. Now it's people saying, 'Oh, it's internationalstudents.'Yes,there'salotofdifferent factors that go into this housing crisis. But it's something that has been brewing and developing overthepastnumberofdecades.”WhilethePrime Minister, his government, and provincial governments have not done nearly enough to address the out-of-control costs and reckless financializationofhousing,heisatleastcorrectin stating that international students shouldn't be bearingthebruntoftheblamehere.

Infact,oneofthereasonsthatweadmitas manyinternationalstudentsaswedohasalottodo with how post-secondary institutions are funded. Statistics Canada examined these issues, and in a report from last year titled Trends in private and public funding in Canadian colleges, 2019/2020, they point to the fact that public funding of postsecondary education has “declined steadily since 2008/2009, from 67.0% to 54.7% in 2019/2020.” Those funding shortfalls have been made up primarilyfromcollegesanduniversitiesincreasing

InternationalStudentsShouldn'tbeBlamedforHousingCrunch

student fees, with international students paying a sixfold increase in student fees during that same time frame. In fact, Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyck has stated that international students pay 68 percent of Ontario college tuition fees. So, while many provinces continue to underfund post-secondary education, colleges and universitiesmustnowrelyoninternationalstudents to cover those funding gaps. While students are tryingtogaintheskillstheyneedtocompeteinthe job market, they are now being saddled with a largerdebtloadthaneverjusttoaffordshelter.

While the Prime Minister has stated recently that affordable housing isn't chiefly the responsibility of the Federal government, nobody who is struggling to find affordable housing is worried about the technicalities of jurisdiction. There are a number of things the Federal governmentcandotoensurethatyoungCanadians and international students can find affordable shelter.

First,theFedsneedtoconvenearoundtable with provincial and municipal governments,

Lecoûtd'unsimplelogementestdevenu unequestionbrûlantepourbiendesgensdenos jours,enparticulierlesjeunes.Danslesecteurde l'immobilier, les prix ont atteint un sommet jamais vu au Canada; à cela s'ajoute l'explosion du coût des loyers. Un appartement d'une chambreàcouchercoûteplusde2500$parmois à Toronto. Ce montant est encore plus élevé à Vancouver puisque l'on parle d'environ 3 000 $ parmois.Enjuindecetteannée,leloyermoyen d'un appartement d'une chambre à coucher était de 1 780 $ à l'échelle du pays, ce qui représente unehaussede10,2%parrapportàilyaunan.Il s'agit d'un scénario catastrophe pour les locataires, en particulier pour les jeunes qui essaientsimplementd'améliorerleursituation.

Alors que les prix continuent de monter, le gouvernement fédéral et les gouvernements provinciauxontfaitsemblantdesepréoccuperde la crise du logement sans offrir de solutions concrètes qui permettraient de régler le problème. L'une des déclarations les plus bizarres faites récemment sur cette question provient du nouveau ministre du Logement, de l'Infrastructure et des Collectivités qui a laissé entendrequel'unedesoptionsquipermettraitde s'attaquer au problème du prix des logements consisterait à réduire le nombre d'étudiants étrangers acceptés au Canada. Même si cela n'étaitpaslebutrecherché,sescommentairesont lancéuneconversationregrettablesurlerôleque les étudiants étrangers jouent dans la hausse du coûtdeslogements.

À la suite des commentaires de son ministre,mêmelepremierministreadûpeserses mots : « Il faut faire attention. Au cours des

partners and stakeholders to develop coordinated short-, medium- and long-term housing plans to increase purpose-built affordable rentals and nonmarket community housing. Additionally, coordinatingtheallocationofstudypermitstopostsecondary institutions that can demonstrate credible and affordable student housing plans would put the onus back on those institutions to ensure the international students they take in are housed.

Weshouldalsolookintodevelopingacostsharing initiative between the federal and provincial governments, and educational institutions to construct new affordable student housing to ensure that every post-secondary student has access to affordable living conditions thatarenotsubjecttothenormalfluctuationsofthe housingmarket.

If we want to develop a strong economy that addresses the structural employment gaps left by the mass retiring of baby boomers, we need to makehousingmoreaffordableforthoselookingto fillthosegaps.

dernièresannées,laresponsabilitédelacrisedu logementaétérejetéesurdifférentsindividuset surbonnombredegroupes.Àunmomentdonné, c'était les acheteurs de propriétés étrangers. Ensuite, ce fut les promoteurs qui étaient très audacieux. Puis, il y a eu le manque d'investissementsdelapartdesdifférentsordres de gouvernement. On entend maintenant des gensdire:"Oh,cesontlesétudiantsétrangers".Il yaeffectivementdenombreuxfacteursquisont en cause dans cette crise du logement. C'est quelque chose qui se prépare et se développe depuisquelquesdécennies[TRADUCTION].» Bienquelepremierministre,songouvernement et les gouvernements provinciaux sont loin d'en avoir fait assez pour s'attaquer aux coûts démesurés et à la financiarisation irresponsable du logement, il faut au moins admettre que le premierministrearaisonquandilaffirmequeles étudiants étrangers ne doivent pas faire les frais decettecrise.

Dans les faits, l'une des raisons pour lesquelles nous acceptons présentement autant d'étudiants étrangers a beaucoup à voir avec le mode de financement des établissements postsecondaires. Statistique Canada a examiné cesdifférentsenjeux;dansunrapportproduitl'an passé intitulé Tendances en matière de financement privé et public dans les collèges canadiens, 2019/2020, Statistique Canada souligne que le financement public des établissements postsecondaires a suivi « une tendance à la baisse depuis 2008-2009, sa part des revenus étant passée de 67,0 % à 54,7 % en 2019-2020 ». Ces manques à gagner sur le plan du financement ont été compensés en grande SuiteP.7

Laresponsabilitédelapénuriedelogementsnedoitpasêtrerejetéesurlesétudiants

étrangers

ChapleauMoments

RotaryClub,hecommissionedFrankBarberioto build the Rotary Table depicting wood from every country in the world that has Rotary. It is nowlocatedintheciviccentre.

A major part of Mr. Grout's legacy to Chapleauoccurredin1964whenhearrangedto purchase CPR Engine 5433 and bring it to Chapleautobeplacedintheparkbythestation. Theenginewasmovedtoitspresentlocationby layingaspecialtrackfromtheshopstothepark withJ.M'Bud'Parkastheengineerof5433,and EarleFreebornontheenginepushingittoitsnew home.

Mr. Grout also headed the Chapleau CentennialCommitteewhichbuiltthecentennial museum,nowcalledtheheritagemuseumwhich Iunderstandhasnowbeenclosedformorethana year.

AfterheretiredfromSmithandChapple in 1965, when Gene Bernier and RobertWarren took it over, he continued to promote Chapleau. In 1978 at the official openings of the Chapleau Civic Centre, Chapleau Recreation Centre, and Cedar Grove Lodge in June, he seemed to be everywhereandmadeadonationofpaintingsto Cedar Grove. He also loaned his Cadillac to transportdignitaries.

For many years, Mr. Grout's first wife Nettie collaborated with him at the store. After she died, he married Grace Hartman who had beenacouncillorandmayorofSudbury.

Cont’dfromP.4

WhenOldtimers,likemenow,talkabout major activities we remember from Chapleau, twoarealwaysrecalled--thedrawsatChristmas heldatSmithandChappleandDr.G.E.Young's Christmasdisplay.

After Mr. Grout established Mid North NewsandCHAPTV,Igotmystartinjournalism writingaChapleauHighSchoolcolumnwithJoy

(Evans) Heft and hosting a television program with Phyllis Chrusoskie. Imagine, a small place like Chapleau, had a television station in the 1950s. In fact, it had two competing cable televisioncompaniesafterDr.Youngestablished onetoo.

In a 1958 store advertisement in Mid NorthNews,Icountedover120employeesofthe company, making it a very large employer in Chapleau.

Althoughbusinesswasalwayson his mind, Mr. Grout was also very muchinvolvedinthecommunityand the province. In Chapleau, he was activeinSt.John'sAnglicanChurch, the chamber of commerce, the hospital board, and served as a township councillor as well as reeve forbrieftime--andthatislikelyonly a partial list. He was also on the committee that built the Chapleau MemorialArenaonLorneStreet.

He was also a member of the boards of the Northern Ontario Development Corporation, Northeastern Associated Chambers of Commerce, and the Northern TouristOutfittersAssociation.

Also active in the Chapleau

For sure, Mr. Grout could be controversial,andnotalwaysappreciated.Itgoes withtheterritorywhenyouareasactiveashewas in the life and times of Chapleau, but he made a differencethatimprovedthequalityoflifeforus inthecommunity'sboomyears.MrGroutdiedin 1980.Myemailismj.morris@live.ca

Lastweekssolutions

MOMENTS IN TIME

On Sept. 23, 1989, foggy conditions led to one of the worst days for accidents on the German Autobahn, with five vehicular pileups involving 256 cars and a large number of serious injuries. The Autobahns in Germany have no speed limits, and carssometimestravelasfastas140mph.

NorthernLightsFordSales

Andrew G. McKenzie Travis Gendron

Highway 17 North P.O. Box 1033

Wawa, ON. P0S 1K0

Business 705-856-2775

Fax 705-856-4862

tgendron@northernlightsford.ca sales@northernlightsford.ca

SuitedelaP.4 partieparlahaussedesfraisdescolaritédansles collèges et universités; en effet, les étudiants étrangers ont vu leurs droits de scolarité multipliés par six au cours de cette même période. La vérificatrice générale de l'Ontario, Bonnie Lysyck, a déclaré que les étudiants étrangerspaient68%desdroitsdescolaritédes collèges ontariens. Par conséquent, puisque plusieurs provinces continuent de sous-financer le secteur de l'éducation postsecondaire, les collèges et les universités doivent désormais se tournerverslesétudiantsétrangerspourcombler le manque de financement. Alors que les étudiants essaient d'acquérir les compétences dont ils ont besoin pour être compétitifs sur le marché du travail, ils se retrouvent désormais avec une dette plus importante que jamais seulementpourpouvoirpayerleurloyer.

Bien que le premier ministre ait déclaré récemment que la question des logements abordables ne relève pas principalement du gouvernement fédéral, les gens qui ont de la difficulté à se trouver un logement abordable ne s'attardentpasauxpointstechniquestouchantau secteur de compétence. Il existe un certain nombre de choses que le gouvernement fédéral peutfairepours'assurerquelesjeunescanadiens etlesétudiantsétrangersparviennentàtrouverun logementabordable.

Tout d'abord, le gouvernement fédéral doit convoquer une table ronde avec les gouvernements provinciaux, les administrations

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

BERRY’S FREIGHT SERVICES

TIMMINS - CHAPLEAU - TIMMINS

Monday to Friday: 1 lb. to 10,000 lbs

Monday to Friday

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

Phone (705) 856-4970

Fax (705) 856-2713

municipales, des partenaires et des intervenants dans le but d'élaborer des plans de logement coordonnésàcourt,àmoyenetàlongtermequi permettront d'accroître le nombre de logements locatifs abordables construits à cette fin et de logements communautaires hors marché. Par ailleurs, en coordonnant l'attribution de permis d'études pour qu'ils soient remis à des établissements postsecondaires pouvant démontrer qu'ils possèdent des plans de logements crédibles et abordables pour les étudiants, on obligerait ces établissements à s'assurer que les étudiants étrangers qu'ils acceptent seront en mesure de trouver un logement.

Nous devrions également envisager d'élaborer une initiative de partage des coûts entre le gouvernement fédéral, les gouvernementsprovinciauxetlesétablissements d'enseignement dont l'objectif serait de construire de nouveaux logements abordables pour les étudiants et de veiller à ce que chaque étudiantdeniveaupostsecondaireaitaccèsàdes conditions de vie abordables qui ne sont pas soumises aux variations normales du marché du logement.

Si nous voulons créer une économie vigoureusequis'attaqueauxlacunesstructurelles sur le plan de l'emploi causées par le nombre élevédebaby-boomersprenantleurretraite,nous devons pouvoir offrir des logements plus abordablesauxpersonnesquiviendrontcombler cesmêmeslacunes.

FORQUALITYSERVICESAT INEXPENSIVEPRICES

GIVE USACALLAT 1-705-264-4334

1-705-363-7804

Local MARKETPLACE MARKETPLACE

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.

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.

Library Hours

Monday 1-5 pm

Tuesday & Wednesday 1-7 pm

Thursday & Friday 1-5 pm

Website : www.chapleau.ca

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8mm & Super 8 mm

Laresponsabilitédelapénuriedelogementsne doitpasêtrerejetéesurlesétudiantsétrangers

Love it or hate it, we need government. Before 500 BC, the purpose of governmentwas to serve the interests of the rulers of the day, whether they were monarchs, dictators, aristocrats or some privileged ruling class. We havetheGreekstothankforredirectingthetarget ofgoverninginterests.TheGreeksfirstproposed the concept that a land should be ruled by a governmentthatisbyandofthepeople.Ancient Greecewasthebirthofdemocracy.

A government has a vast range of responsibilities. However, one of the highest prioritiesisprotectioninaverybroadway.This includes national defence, personal security, provision of safe infrastructure and care for the sick,elderlyandvulnerable.Italsomustinclude corporate regulation and oversight to ensure the products, equipment, devices and services we purchasearesafe.

Forgive me for being blunt, but after witnessing the goings on with the Greenbelt debacle and the demise of our universal

NorthernPublicHealthUnitsarealreadychallengedtomeetthedemandsofvastterritories. Howismergingthemgoingtomakeservicebetter?

healthcaresystem,itseemstomethatthegoalof protecting the interests of all people equally is quickly diminishing, almost day by day, under theleadershipofPremierFord.

IrecentlyattendedtheannualAssociation of Municipalities of Ontario conference in London. Health Minister Sylvia Jones utilized the opportunity to announce that the province planstoreversetheMinistry'scutstothePublic Health Unit (PHU) funding formula and offer specialfundingtounitsthatmergetoformlarger PHUs. They plan to amalgamate Ontario's PHUs, thus drastically enlarging the territory they are responsible for.And, just to grease the wheel and silence naysayers, she explained that only PHUs that voluntarily merge quickly (before being forced later?) will receive additional one-time funds. In other words, the government is exploiting PHUs financial desperationtobuytheircooperation.

Northerners know from experience that, uphere,PHUsprovideservicestoareasthatare already vast, some spanning dozens of communities with unique needs and circumstances. The realities faced by Northern PHUs are different from those in urban and southern parts of Ontario. Mergingforsomejustmaynotbe workable. Only offering additionalfundstoPHUsthatcan unite is disadvantaging Northern residents already coping with decades of underfunding public healthandmentalhealthservices. Before the pandemic, the government announced in 2019 that it was cutting the provincial share of public health funding. It movedfroma75-25cost-sharing formulawithmunicipalitiesto70 percentfromtheprovinceand30 percentfrommunicipalities.After receiving an earful from voters and health unit administrators, Premier Ford relented and implemented in-year retroactive cuts and offered mitigation fundingtohelplocalgovernments transition to the new formula. That mitigation funding was considered temporary but continuedupuntilrecently.

Municipalities are already struggling, especially here in the North, where the corporate tax basemaynotbeverybroad.This was unnecessary and unfair from thestart.

So, Minister Jones used the

conferencetosellherplans,announcingareturn to the previous 75%-25% cost-sharing formula for public health between the province and municipalities.Atfirstglance,itmightseemthat the province put PHUs back where they were before.Itmaybewelcomenews,butitwasnotan improvement. It corrected the government's mistake. Furthermore, one must remember that the province decreased its funding for public healthby12.1percentthisyear.

Ohwow,thanksawholebunch,Minister!

After tinkering with the PHU system, NorthernOntariansareworseoffthanbefore.In effect, the Ford government is implementing a new scheme that gives the illusion that PHUs support the merger plans.They are in dire need, desperate for additional funding; they sure as heck are not going to function as well working witha12.1percentfundingcut.Worse,theycan onlyaccessthemoneyiftheyvoluntarilymergebefore they are forced down the line. So, of course,theywillcomplyandsaythankyou.

The new government policy is unacceptable and will harm vulnerable populationsintheNorththatmaynotfitintothe government's cookie-cutter solution for all PHUs. When the PHUs are hurting, that means localpatientsaresuffering.IwillensurePremier Ford and Minister Jones receive this message when I head back to the Legislature. The Ford governmentalsoneedsremindingthattheirduty istodowhatisbestforallpeople,notjustbolster theirpoliticalpowerandfillthepocketsofselect supporters.

Asalways,pleasefeelfreetocontactmy office about these issues or any other provincial matters.Youcanreachmyconstituencyofficeby email at my new address, mmantha-co@ola.org orbyphoneToll-freeat1-800-831-1899.