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The Voice of North Grenville

Vol. 9 No. 36

September 15, 2021

Local All-Candidates debate held on topic of Environment Kemptville Eye Exam Clinic

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Clockwise from top left: Event organizer Sarah Tuck, Michelle Taylor, Lorraine Rekmans, Roberta Abbott, Michael Barrett, and Bruce Wylie.

MPs of our riding did just Local Journalism Initiative Reporter that, covering a range of environmental concerns in a question-and-answer format.

On September 7, canOnly some of the quesdidates of the Leeds-Gren- tions and answers are inville-Thousand Islands and cluded below in a summary Rideau Lakes riding de- format. Be sure to watch bated environmental issues the recording of the debate in the 100 Debates on the linked at the end of this article Environment all-candidates for complete questions and debate on Zoom. The virtual answers. all-candidates debate was Bruce Wylie asked canmoderated by local radio didates: “Will you commit to personality Bruce Wylie. require all sectors to reduce Spearheaded by the carbon emissions by 60 pernon-profit group GreenPac, cent by the year 2030 and the purpose of this non-par- make it law?” tisan series of debates is to Michael Barrett of the get candidates talking about Conservative Party was first environmental concerns and to answer. He stressed that policy. The four hopeful “Canada's conservatives will

by Rachel Everett-Fry

meet our Paris climate commitment and reduce emissions by 2030.” Michael cited carbon capture and the importance of job creation in that process.

Lorraine Rekmans for the Green Party answered “Yes,” and added that since we have been issued a “Red Alert” on the environment from the UN, the Green Party is proposing to act much more quickly than 2030.

Michelle Taylor for the New Democratic Party also answered “Yes” and said “I think the NDP has the priority to actually get things done.

To take these targets and to meet them, as opposed to the liberals and conserva-

tives who have not yet met a single target that they have put forward.” Roberta Abbott for the Liberal Party cited the “Net Zero Accountability Act passed in Parliament this spring,” which “sets the goal of achieving greenhouse gas emissions reductions of 40 to 45 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 and net zero by 2050.”

“Will you commit to a green and just pandemic recovery? What would you do to address how women and other marginalized groups have been disproportionately affected by both the pandemic and our environmental crisis?” was the next question posed to our candidates.

Michelle Taylor explained how so far, pandemic relief efforts have allowed people to fall “through the cracks.”

As a party, she explained that the NDP promotes Universal Basic Income, and is working to expand Health Care to include dental and pharmacare.

She said this is “huge as an anti-poverty initiative.”

Roberta Abbott stated that she is “very proud of our government's record on how we handled our response to this pandemic” and that Canadians were able to maintain “a reasonable quality of life under the circumstances.” She also explained that each section of the Liberal platform has a “gender and diversity impact summary,” allowing for “holistic responses to these issues.” cont'd on page 2

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Lorraine Rekmans said “the pandemic has shone a light on the shortcomings of our society.” She said “the discussion that’s happening about recovery is happening in the context of a time that doesn’t exist anymore. We are caught in a pandemic. We are in a climate crisis.” Concrete steps she hopes to take are for a guaranteed livable income, addressing the housing crisis, and supporting food security.

Michael Barrett explained that with the pandemic, “Canada's unemployment rate has been among the highest in the G7,” with “folks who traditionally faced barriers in entering the workforce, like young people, like women, and racialized people” facing the most problems. He said the conservatives will double the Canada Worker’s Benefit and further support Disability Supplements and Care-giving Supplements.

The last question we will summarize today was “Indigenous people play a critical role in environmental solutions. Will you implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and calls to action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission? Will you invest in indigenous led land use planning and the establishment of Indigenous pro-

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tected and conserved areas?”

Michael Barrett discussed the issue of clean drinking water on reserves, stating “We're committed to providing First Nations with clean drinking water.” He went on to state that the Conservatives will honour the article of UNDRIP that “affirmed the right of indigenous communities to pursue and benefit from economic opportunities that develop resources on their territory.” He also said his party will expand indigenous protected and conserved areas because “Indigenous people want a say in what happens on their traditional territories.

They want to be partners in the responsible development of those lands.”

"Lorraine Rekmans stated “I know you want to talk about land use planning, but the basics are making sure that communities are in an equitable or just place in order to participate from a position of free, prior and informed consent.” In order to establish these conditions, Lorraine explained that the Green Party is developing policy toward amending the Constitution of Canada so that UNDRIP can actually be implemented in its entirety.

Michelle Taylor said “Absolutely, the NDP is committed to implementing UNDRIP

and all the calls to action that are contained in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.”

She went on, “the duty to consult that is in the constitution right now, is completely inappropriate and inadequate.”

Michelle also said that “we need to be respecting treaties, which right now are just being regarded by the government as second class legal agreements.”

Roberta Abbott cited Liberal MPs voting unanimously in support of passing UNDRIP, stating that the Party is “working with Indigenous leadership and communities to develop an action plan to implement the declaration.”

She says over 80% of the calls to Truth and Reconciliation have been implemented and she believes that “We need to be equal partners, nation to nation, with indigenous peoples to not repeat the errors of the past.”

You can access a recording of the debate, and see candidates respond in full to all questions, at the Facebook Page for 100 Debates on the Environment LGTIRL, https://www.facebook.com/ LGTIRL.Debate/. Don’t forget that Election Day is September 20.

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The Voice of North Grenville

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The North Grenville Times

The Voice of North Grenville

The Making of a Province

A new province in British North America

by David Shanahan By 1791, the number of Loyalists refugees living west and south of the Ottawa River had risen to around 10,000. They had suffered greatly, not only from the loss of all they had before the Revolution, but also in the circumstances in which they found themselves as they literally carved out a new home north of the Saint Lawrence. To make their situation even less acceptable, they found themselves living under the French system of land tenure and subject to French civil law, with no representative Assembly through which they could voice their grievances.

Petition after petition was sent to the Governor, Lord Dorchester, to be forwarded to London demanding the rights of free-born British citizens. The Government in London was already looking for a way to mollify British subjects in North America without alienating the much larger Canadian population of Quebec. Ever since the British had replaced the French regime in 1763, this tension had been rising and British officials had managed to maintain some balance by ruling through the Governors without any Assembly.

In the five years after the Loyalists began to settle their new lands, the British had been asking Dorchester for reports and suggestions as to what would satisfy the Loyalists, but the Governor was unwilling or unable to come up with practical suggestions. In 1789, a new Secretary of State was appointed with responsibil-

ity for the Colonies, and William Grenville was not a man to wait for others to provide him with ideas. By the end of the year, he had drawn up a draft Bill to deal with the situation in Quebec.

Grenville’s most radical initiative was to divide the Colony of Quebec into two separate provinces. The territory west and south of the Ottawa, as far as Lake Huron and the Niagara region, would become the new Province of Upper Canada, while that to the east would be Lower Canada. Upper Canada, to satisfy Loyalists expectations, would be granted its own Legislative Assembly, representing the citizens of the Province, while a Legislative Council, rather like the House of Lords in Britain, would be appointed by the Governor who would govern as the King’s representative, with the advice of his Council. The land tenure system would change to that of Britain, replacing the French Seigneurial system that was unacceptable to the Loyalists.

The constitutional structure of the new Upper Canada was based on that of New Brunswick and Cape Breton, which had been established in 1784 to cater to the Loyalists who settled there. This was something that the Upper Canada Loyalists had been seeking: the same rights and privileges of British citizens that had been granted to their fellow Loyalists in the Maritime region. However, the British authorities were determined that any new Assembly established in

Upper Canada would not But, by defining the voter have the same potential for as a “person”, the new Act disruption and revolt that opened the way for women had attended those of the to have a vote, as long as Thirteen Colonies that had they owned property of the led to American Indepen- required value. However, •because Brakes • Vehicle repairs of English Comdence.

• Suspension • ToClass “A” Mechanic that end, the role of mon Law, this freedom was Salesby women in • Legislative Sale of Quality Pre- •not Tire enjoyed the Assembly • Air Conditioning Owned Vehicles was quite limited, with the Upper Canada. This aspect Alignments • Flat and Bedhis Tow Truck •of the new Act was amendGovernor appointed Council having613-989-3839 the greater ed within a few decades power. The role of taxa- to remove the vote from C o u n t yabout R d 1the , M owomen u n t a i nunder O n t aFrench r i o civil tion in bringing Revolution was also taken law in Lower Canada also.

Grenville sought into account in the new Bill through establishing areas Dorchester’s input into the of each township to be Bill before it was finally surveyed in Upper Canada drafted as the Constituto be assigned to the Crown tional Act, but the Govand the Clergy. Revenue ernor had little to add to from the same or lease of Grenville’s vision. After these lots would provide some desultory debate in the Governor with a certain the House of Commons, the freedom from the need to Act received royal assent in June, 1791, and came into overtax the Loyalists.

One aspect of the Bill effect on December 26. which seemed to have Upper Canada received its slipped past the attention first Lieutenant Governor, of the authorities concerned John Graves Simcoe, who the franchise that would arrived in the new province be granted to residents of in 1792. Lord Dorchester the new province. Those remained as Governor Genwho were declared to be eral of the two provinces eligible to vote in Assembly until he resigned in a diselections were described as pute with the Secretary of “persons” who were at least State in 1794.

But the new Province of 21 years old and “natural” citizens or subjects of Upper Canada had arrived, the monarch who had not a new entity which would been convicted of a serious last for just fifty years becriminal offense or treason. fore it was rejoined with Voters were also required to Lower Canada in 1841. own land or property of a With Confederation in certain value, though those 1867, it became the Provwho rented at a certain rate ince of Ontario. It all started in urban areas were also with an attempt to cater to included in the franchise. just 3,000 Loyalists looking Property valuations were to make a new home north quite low, leading to a wider of the Saint Lawrence, 230 franchise than might have years ago. been expected, but this was necessary in a society where basic land clearance had not progressed very far.

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Editorial

The North Grenville Times

The Voice of North Grenville

Rural drain to revival

by Rachel Everett-Fry We all know it. North Grenville is, increasingly, a bedroom community to Ottawa. This state of affairs is produced by a number of factors, but there are two key demographic shifts at play that reflect broader social and political circumstances.

Since confederation, rural life in Canada has slowly given way to urban living. In 1911, only 45% of citizens lived in cities.

100 years later, over 80% of Canadians live in urban areas. In studies of human geography, ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors are identified to make sense of the movement of people. Push factors make people leave, while pull factors attract people to an area. The ‘brain drain’ is a well-doc-

umented phenomenon in which the most educated members of an area consistently leave it, because they are pulled toward better and more numerous career opportunities elsewhere. I would argue that there is also a different, equally powerful drain in which people who do not fit the social and political norms of rural areas leave them in order to find places where they are accepted and valued.

At the same time, from 2019 through the present moment, large Canadian cities are seeing record numbers of people, particularly young adults and families, leave cities in favour of bedroom communities. This movement has only been reinforced

by COVID-19; people have had the time to take inventory of what matters in life. With the freedom

Letters to the Editor Dear Editor, Climate Change I witnessed climate change first hand and not by luxury cruise boats which are major polluters. I took ten sailing trips throughout the Caribbean and this was done 95% by wind power.

I saw fish nets all tangled up with the remains of our beautiful sea mammals. I saw so much plastic which will never decompose. For all those bedroom scientists, I defy you to contradict the proof of the damage to our environment. All the chemicals that are so toxic are being discharged into our oceans and the St. Lawrence River is one of the major contributors. If we can’t save the oceans, we can’t save the world.

The world is deteriorating at such a great rate that we haven’t got time to think about it for the next five to ten years. This deterioration has to be neutralized and it could take up to twenty to fifty years to bring the earth back to normal.

Ralph Raina Dear Editor, A stopover in Spencerville My 87-year-old mother

and I were on the first day of our two-week road trip to visit my son and sister, with stops at the major shrines/basilicas, in Quebec. It was our first vacation (August 2021) since the passing of her husband, my father, in March 2020.

As we were driving toward the Hwy 416 exit ramp, I noticed a leak in tire pressure came on the dashboard (technology, you gotta love it!). We took the exit and with a few prayers, we barely made it to the Drummond gas station in Spencerville. I couldn’t access the air pump as Russell, the driver of a tanker truck, had his big rig filling the underground gas tanks. He calmed my anxiety and said he would be finished before my wheel would touch pavement. After he finished, he helped me fill my tire with air, but the leak was so large it spewed it back out as fast as the pump that pumped it in! Jacob from the store came out and offered a product to slow down the leak in order to help me get to a service station to fix the tire. Russell offered his advice and I decided to call CAA. Meanwhile, a paramedic in town (didn’t get his name) came over and called his friend

The North Grenville Times is published weekly by North Grenville Times Inc. Marketing Gord J. Logan gord@ngtimes.ca 613-258-6402

September 15, 2021

to work from home, many have happily traded an active nightlife for easier access to nature, or a small downtown condo for a rural house.

With the geographic movement came changes in behaviour. Many stereotypically rural activities have gained more mainstream appeal: loosely identified as the “slow living” movement, many former urbanites have learned the joys of tending gardens or chickens, baking bread, hanging laundry on a line, knowing the farmers that grow their food or the owners of the businesses they choose to frequent.

This is to say — in general, people leave more rural communities because they do not offer the variety of opportunities or the diversity in ways of being that people need in order to thrive. But, in the last cou-

ple of years, people have been choosing to venture slightly closer to rural life by choosing bedroom communities like ours. For all of us, this is an opportunity for rural revival; our small towns and hamlets do not need to be void of life.

The question is: how do we make this sustainable?

Sustainable for those who have always been here, for those who have just arrived, and for the earth we live on.

As we work to figure this out, it seems to me that we must bear in mind those push and pull factors that led people to favour urban life in the first place.

Reliable access to high speed internet is crucial for people to be able to access gainful and fulfilling career prospects. In the absence of social justice, however, I suspect that many of the former urbanites who are

giving rural living a try will not be able to make satisfactory lives for themselves out here. Everyone needs access to work, a safe place to live, and a community in which they can be themselves and establish social relationships.

The dominance of conservative values in Canada’s rural areas is one of the reasons that people have left. And to be clear, this is not necessarily a partisan issue; it is a matter of how we treat one another.

There are always members of a community who face the impacts of structural difference; whether these are ones of class, gender or sexuality, race, ethnicity, ability, religion, or any combination thereof. But the impacts of these differences in shaping people’s access to the fundamental things they need have been swept under the rug for too

long.

This is in some ways a plea. To older members of our community: continue in the ways of life that make rural living special.

But it is also crucial that you come to understand why so many young people left these communities to begin with. For rural areas to stay vibrant and full of life, people need access to the things they need.

To those young people: you might need to leave in order to find out about yourself and your values.

I certainly did. But once you do, please consider bringing all that you’ve learned out in the world back home.

who owns the service station in town, but unfortunately, his friend was away. After that, I decided to put on the truck spare tire. At that moment, two other young gentlemen, Liam and Lane (my heroes!), came by and asked if they could help. I told them I called CAA but they said it would probably be at least 2 hours! I greatly appreciated their help and they took right over. My husband tied the lock nuts so tight Liam stood on the wrench and that didn’t move them. Luckily another buddy came by and lent them his hammer. It worked! In the end, they changed the tire in record time, for which I was very grateful. Jacob later helped me find a motel close by where we stayed overnight and got a new tire put on the next morning at Canadian Tire in Prescott. That also proved to be a pleasant experience!

All in all one of the fondest memories of our vacation, of which there were many, happened on the very first day with an unintended stopover in Spencerville. I will never forget the hospitality of your small town. But it was more than that, we were complete strangers taken care of like family! The people make a town, and within Spen-

cerville there is a wealth of really awesome people. We will never forget your willingness to serve others and that has changed the lives of two people for the better!!!

THANK YOU. Susan and Edith

(available at opr.ca.gov).

The OPEC cartel have a statement on their website stating they accept anthropogenic climate change and the need to reach net zero emissions. Oil and gas companies including Shell, BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Enbridge have statements on their website accepting the reality of anthropogenic climate change.

Even the countries and companies that make the most money from selling fossil fuels accept that anthropogenic climate change is real, that it presents a threat to human civilization, and have plans to reduce emissions - and all this information is easily available through the search engine of your choice.

We need to move past these discussions about whether climate change is real and move onto discussions about how to tackle it at all levels of society.

Steve Gabell Kemptville

validity of the information being presented to us on an array of matters, including climate change. And I agree that it's very useful to have as much sound information as possible about the causes of a problem before embarking on solutions - problem definition before problem solving is never a bad idea.

However, given that Mr. Bertram offered up an article

by Prof. Gray as making an important contribution to the discussion around the causes of climate change, it may be helpful for readers to have some relevant context regarding the cited article.

A paper published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Vol. 98, No. 11 (26 pgs), Nov. 2017, authored by P. Klotzbach et al., entitled The Science of William. M. Gray: His Contributions to the Knowledge of Tropical Meteorology and Tropic Cyclones, provides a thorough overview of Gray's work and scientific contributions.

It describes Gray's area of expertise as tropical meteorology, particularly tropical cyclones (TCs). It makes note of his strong disagreement with the science behind the

Dear Editor, Another letter trying to deny the reality of anthropogenic climate change. The list of non-government organizations, governments, government agencies, professional bodies, political parties, and private sector organizations that accept the reality of anthropogenic climate change is very long - far too long to print here.

All the mainstream parties standing in the upcoming federal election have policies in their platforms to reduce emissions and tackle climate change. Only six countries have not ratified the Paris agreement; the largest emitters not to have ratified it are Iran, Turkey and Iraq.

NASA has a list of American scientific bodies which accept the reality of anthropogenic climate change. The state of California has a list of over 200 scientific societies across the world which hold the position that climate change has been caused by human action

the north grenville

ISSN 2291-0301 www.ngtimes.ca

TIMES Editor David Shanahan editor@ngtimes.ca 613-215-0735

Accounting Pat Jessop cfo@ngtimes.ca 613-258-4671

OFFICE 613-215-0735 Staff Reporter Rachel Everett-Fry rachel@ngtimes.ca 613-914-6697

4

Dear Editor, I would like to offer context to the letter submitted

by Mr. Bertram, published in the Sept. 1/21 issue. I don't disagree that it's essential that we continuously question the

Letters cont'd on page 5

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Letters Cont'd human-induced global warming hypothesis in later years.

Klotzbach was a long-time mentee of Gray, and penned a very positive tribute to his mentor in a eulogy (Gray died in 2016, aged 86) published in the Washington Post. In the eulogy, Klotzbach writes that Gray, who retired from Colorado State University faculty in 2005, is best known for developing the first seasonal forecasts for Atlantic hurricanes in the 1980s. Klotzbach's review can be accessed at journals.ametsoc.org.

From Klotzbach's review's summary: "In the later decades of Gray's life, he was a prominent "skeptic" or critic of the prevailing view on climate change science. He had a well-known distrust of climate models and believed that the water vapour feedback from increasing CO2 was negative, not positive. He argued that the recent increase in global temperatures was primarily due to long-term weakening in the strength of the Atlantic thermonaline circulation (Gray 2012). While his thoughts on climate change were well known among his students and presented at several conferences, they were never published in the peer-reviewed literature......

His primary contribution to the peer-reviewed literature was with regard to the impact of climate change on TCs." (emphasis added) Turning to Gray's article cited by Mr. Bertram, a few details are relevant when weighing the soundness/ validity of the arguments made therein. The Physical Flaws of the Global Warming Theory and Deep Ocean Circulation Changes as the Primary Climate Drivers is a self-published article that was prepared by Gray in 2012 and never peer-reviewed. By the author's own admission, the article contains only a partial listing of the references he used/cited. Of the listed references, the most recent is dated 2011, now a decade old.

Finally, the conference for which, and at which, Gray's article was presented was the Heartland's Institute's International Conference on Climate Change held in May 2012, which Klotzbach describes as a "venue for climate change skeptics to voice their views".

I close with this. Prof.

Gray was a highly-regarded scientist who made many important peer-reviewed contributions in the field of tropical meteorology, especially TCs, which included the impact of climate change on TCs. But during his lifetime, he did not make peer-reviewed scientific September 15, 2021

contributions regarding the causes of climate change.

Klotzbach greatly admired Gray; yet his 26-pg review of Gray's many scientific contributions is silent when it comes to contributions regarding the causes of climate change, because Gray never published peer-reviewed literature on this question. The article cited by Mr. Bertram must therefore be viewed as Gray's opinion/interpretation of whatever data he chose to consider and include in his article, one that is now almost a decade old.

Maybe Gray was onto something. Maybe he wasn't.

All readers must do the critical thinking to decide for themselves. I'm just pointing out that critical thinking must be applied equally to the source of the article as well as its contents.

Maria Koller-Jones, Oxford Mills Dear Editor, Sincere congratulations to Lorraine Rekmans! Well done.

My favourite letter in this week’s Times is by Sasha Hons! Her quote “The most violent element in society is ignorance” is impressive. If ignorance is bliss, why be wise? Probably it is more blissful to live in a ‘haze’ of some sort.

As always, I could never disagree with Nadia Gray.

The situation in Afghanistan is horrific.

And Willem van Dam has many good points. It appears by the ‘hundreds of cars and BIG trucks that go past ‘back and forth’ each and every day that we’re growing but not ‘green’.

Many huge gravel trucks all summer, so I guess we’re growing. And lots of very new pickup trucks with very noisy sound systems.

Oh well, it could be worse.

Kath Piché Dear Editor, For Mrs. Janice Afkey Videto to make a comparison between the requirement to prove that you have been vaccinated in order to enter workplaces, arenas, or any places where she, unvaccinated, risks the health of others, to the Holocaust where six million Jews and others were murdered is appalling.

I had a Dutch friend, now dead, who was a prisoner during WWII in a German Concentration camp. She was incarcerated because she had a Jewish grandparent.

My father, who served in the Medical Corps during WWII saw and told me about the condition of the prisoners in

such a camp as it was liberated in 1945. I have Dutch born friends who lived under the Nazi occupation during WWI. Ask them if they see any comparison between being asked to be vaccinated for the protection of friends and neighbours to refusing vaccination for some cockamamie idea that showing a proof of vaccination can even begin to compare with the horrors of the Holocaust.

Some facts: · No one has passed any

The Voice of North Grenville

legislation forcing you to be vaccinated so there is no “forced vaccination.” · Nothing should give you the right to enter public places and risk the health of others, especially children under the age of twelve and those who, for health reasons, may not be able to be vaccinated. You may contract Covid-19 and be asymptomatic and therefore spread the virus to others. · There is nothing new about requiring vaccination - school systems across the

country have for years required students to be vaccinated in order to attend schools. Travellers to other countries are quite accustomed to the requirement to be vaccinated for several diseases.

Maybe if you actually talked with people who remember what it was like before vaccinations became available for the so-called childhood diseases that so often killed, and remember how grateful we were as parents

when the polio vaccine was developed and we no longer spent each summer in fear for our children, you might come to realize that you are making a mountain out of a molehill in terms of the concerns you express about your “rights” and think more about your responsibility as a citizen, neighbour and friend.

Shirley Price North Grenville

UPDATE For updates related to COVID-19 and the North Grenville Municipal Centre visit: www.northgrenville.ca/coronavirus Municipal Centre Office hours are between 8:30 am and 5:00 pm (Monday-Friday).

Stay informed about your community by subscribing to our weekly e-news at: www.northgrenville.ca/connect.

UPCOMING MEETINGS COUNCIL MEETINGS Council will meet in Council Chambers. While members of the public are invited to attend the meeting, seating has been arranged to facilitate physical distancing and accordingly is limited. Pre-registration at clerk@northgrenville.on.ca is required. Persons arriving without pre-registering will be accommodated where there is sufficient seating capacity to permit attendance while complying with safety protocols. All attendees will be required to self-screen and masks must be worn when physical distancing cannot be maintained. If you require accommodation, please advise the Clerk when pre-registering so that we may best assist you.

To make a deputation in relation to an item on the agenda, please provide your comments no later than two hours prior to the start of the meeting to clerk@northgrenville.on.ca This meeting will be live streamed on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/user/NorthGrenville/featured and on the Municipality’s website at: www.northgrenville.ca/govern/governance/agendas-and-minutes.

Council agendas are available at: www.northgrenville.ca/govern/governance/agendas-and-minutes •

Council Meeting – September 21, 2021 at 6:30 pm

ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETINGS Committee meetings will be conducted virtually via Zoom. For any members of the public wanting to attend the meeting virtually, pre-registration is required by e-mailing the Clerk’s Office at clerk@northgrenville.on.ca.

•

Arts and Culture Advisory Committee – Monday, September 20, 2021 at 5:00 pm

•

Active Transportation Advisory Committee – Thursday, September 23, 2021 at 5:00 pm

ACCESSIBILITY SURVEY

The Accessibility Advisory Committee of North Grenville invites you to complete a short survey to determine your accessibility needs and concerns. The survey can be completed at: www.northgrenville.ca/surveys. A print version of the survey is now available at the North Grenville Public Library and the Municipal Centre. if you require any assistance with this survey, including receiving it in an alternative format, please email the Clerk’s Office at hbabcock-cormier@northgrenville.on.ca or call 613-258-9569 extension 178.

Le Comité consultatif sur l’accessibilité de North Grenville vous invite à répondre à un court sondage pour déterminer vos besoins et vos préoccupations en matière d’accessibilité. Le sondage peut être rempli à: http://www.northgrenville.ca/surveys. Une version imprimée du sondage est maintenant disponible à la Bibliothèque publique de North Grenville et au Centre municipal. Si vous avez besoin d’aide pour le remplir, y compris pour le recevoir en média substitut, veuillez envoyer un courriel au Bureau du greffier à hbabcock-cormier@northgrenville.on.ca ou composer le 6132589569, poste 178.

TAX BILLS

All 2021 final tax bills have been mailed. If you have not received your bill, please contact the Administration Office. The due date is September 30. Payments can be made by credit card when paying online through our website.

MAYOR’S YOUTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE The Municipality of North Grenville is seeking applications from individuals aged 15 to 23 years of age to join the Mayor’s new Youth Advisory Committee for the term of the 2021-2022 school year. Join Madame Mayor and have a say in your community!

Please submit applications to the Deputy Clerk by email at jworkman@northgrenville.on.ca or online application tool. Should you require a paper application, please contact the Deputy Clerk.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

The Municipality of North Grenville is seeking to fill the following positions. Please visit northgrenville.ca/careers. Should you require a paper application, please contact Human Resources at hr@northgrenville.on.ca.

• Facilities Attendant (Part-Time) (application submission deadline: 4:00 pm on Wednesday, September 22, 2021)

The Municipality of North Grenville 285 County Rd. 44, PO Box 130, Kemptville, ON K0G 1J0 Tel: 613-258-9569 Fax: 613-258-9620 general@northgrenville.on.ca www.NorthGrenville.ca 5

Building: 613-258-9569 x130 Fax: 613-258-1441 Fire Services Info: 613-258-9569 x201 Fax: 613-258-1031 By-Law Services: email: bylawinquiries@northgrenville.on.ca 613-258-9569 x211 Police Administration: 613-258-3441 Animal Control: 613-862-9002 www.ngtimes.ca

The North Grenville Times

Find a passion and go for it

New plaque honours Joe Slater, caretaker of Meisel Woods

LLGAMH Board Member Mike Larocque submitted by Jane Adams, LLGAMH Mike Larocque lives just down the street from one of the group homes run by Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Addictions and Mental Health (LLGAMH). He is a trained volunteer with the Brockville Distress Centre and call-in line. And he says these experiences have reinforced his interest in mental health and housing.

In fact, his compassion to help people in need led him to apply to serve on the LLGAMH Board of Directors.

He joined the Board at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) earlier this summer.

“I have a desire to offer service to the community and have shown that throughout my career in public service,” Mike explains. “I believe in having a passion for something and then going for it. You’ll know when you have a real burning in your belly. If you care, you will achieve it.”

Mike, who was born and raised in Brockville, also brings extensive financial and governance experience to the Board. He is a certified accountant with over 40 years in municipal governance and financial administration as well as banking and business accounting experience. In fact, he has retired four times, having served as Director of Finance at the City of Brockville, Chief Administrative Officer in both Gananoque and Augusta Township, and with his own accounting practice.

“Mike will be an excellent addition to the Board,” notes CEO Patricia Kyle. “We are so grateful to all of the community volunteers who support LLGAMH.” At the AGM, outgoing Board member Scott Coombes was thanked for his service. He is now Chief Financial Officer at Pembroke Regional Hospital.

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C: 613.295.0300 Send in your letters to the editor to editor@ngtimes.ca September 15, 2021

The Voice of North Grenville

Crawford, Dorothy “Dolly” Dorothy passed away peacefully at the Kemptville District Hospital on Sunday September 5, 2021, at the age of 97 years. Beloved wife of the late Orval Crawford. Loving mother of Rodney ( Tr u d y ) , B a r r i e , Gerry (Karen) and Steven Crawford (Nancy). Cherished granny of Matthew, Kyle, Hugh, Julie, Ruth, Olivia and Genevieve. Greatgranny to Blake and Kayliegh. Dorothy is predeceased by her parents, Hugh and Nannie Carleton and 12 siblings.

She will be sadly missed by many nieces and nephews.

A Funeral Service was held at the Kemptville Chapel of Hulse, Playfair & McGarry, 805 Prescott Street on Thursday September 9 at 11 am, followed by interment at South Gower Cemetery. Donations in Dorothy’s name may be made to the Kemptville District Hospital Auxiliary.

Hulse, Playfair & McGarry www.hpmcgarry.ca 613-258-2435

A new plaque at Meisel Woods Conservation Area pays homage to one of the park’s most earnest caretakers: Joe Slater.

Joe and his wife Sandi moved to the village of Crow Lake around 1999 to enjoy a quiet retirement outside the big city.

They quickly became good friends with their neighbour, Dr. John Meisel, who owned 130 acres of pristine Precambrian Shield surrounding a small lake.

John graciously welcomed the couple to enjoy walks on his informal trails that followed the lake (called Bass or Beaver Lake depending who you ask), which they embraced as part of their new daily routine.

Even after the property was donated to the Rideau Valley Conservation Foundation in 2000, in those early years few outsiders visited the property. The Slaters often had it to themselves and cared for it as though it was their own.

But tragedy struck in May 2003 when Sandi died suddenly, leaving Joe to walk the paths alone.

In her memory, John and Joe worked with the Rideau Valley Conservation Foundation to create the Sandi Slater Memorial Trail later that fall, which Joe diligently maintained until his death in November 2019.

“Staff from the conservation authority would show up to do some work and find that my dad had already done it,” said Sheryl Slater, Joe’s daughter.

Joe expanded and formalized the trail around the lake.

He used his background in civil engineering and called on old colleagues, including family friend Graydon Knights, to help design the 40-foot bridge at the south end of the trail.

He put his son Jeff’s University of Waterloo swim team to work clearing paths and building rock cribs while they were up to train in the lake each summer.

“My dad really committed himself to it,” Jeff said. “They wanted to give something back to the community and this was the best way he saw that he could do that.”

Volunteers like Joe are key to making sure such pristine properties can be enjoyed by all watershed residents for decades to come, said RVCA’s Conservation Lands manager Chelsey Ellis.

“We are delighted to support the installation of this plaque.

It is our small way of thanking Joe for all his hard work – hard work that can never truly be repaid,” Ellis said.

But the out-and-back trails are still unfinished. A 3.5-km rugged trail heads south around the lake, while another 1.5-km trail heads north. Due to a wetland at the north end, they don't connect. Adding a bridge would be a difficult and costly endeavour, but Jeff and Sheryl hope someday to complete the loop so that visitors can enjoy more of the beautiful bluffs and lakeshore that their parents came to love.

For more information about Meisel Woods Conservation Area, visit www.rvca.ca/conservation-areas. To learn more about donating land or supporting land maintenance through Rideau Valley Conservation Foundation, visit www.rvcf.ca.

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Reduce water usage by 10 percent The Rideau Valley Water Response Team is maintaining a MINOR low water status for the Rideau River watershed after officials met to discuss conditions on Wednesday, September 8.

This low water status is a result of a warm and dry August.

The August Weather Summary prepared by Environment and Climate Change Canada indicates that the average temperature at the Ottawa Airport was 2.4� Celcius above normal and the monthly precipitation total was 57 percent of normal.

Watershed residents and businesses are encouraged to voluntarily reduce their water usage by 10 percent. This is especially important for those who have water-taking permits from surface or groundwater sources, as well as residents on private, communal, or municipal wells. There is less of a concern for residents of urban Ottawa because the City of Ottawa central drinking water system draws from the Ottawa River.

Because of minimal rainfall and warmer than average temperatures in August, the Rideau Valley Water Response Team decided to maintain a “Minor” low water severity. Stream flow values for the large waterways (i.e., Rideau River and Tay River) are at about 90 percent of their normal values for this time of year but stream flow values are well below normal for the smaller waterways (i.e., Jock River and Kemptville Creek).

Field observations around the watershed indicate that ecological conditions are being impacted with increased fragmentation, extensive vegetation growth, low oxygen levels and algae growth in many streams. Looking ahead, the seven-day weather forecast suggests some but limited rain across the watershed.

Following an early spring freshet this year, Parks Canada staff are closely monitoring the water levels throughout the Rideau Canal system inside the Rideau Valley watershed. The water level in Bobs Lake (reservoir lake) is currently below normal and slowly declining. The water level in Christie Lake (flow-through lake) is also below normal and declining.

Rideau River flows downstream of Big Rideau Lake remain at minimum. Water levels in the Rideau River below Smiths Falls are within navigable ranges.

To better understand local conditions, landowners, businesses, and industries are encouraged to contact Brian Stratton by email (brian.stratton@rvca.ca) if they are experiencing any unusual water-related problems.

Conservation Authority staff continue to monitor conditions and communicate with water managers throughout the watershed. Updates to this message will be issued as conditions warrant www.ngtimes.ca

The North Grenville Times

The Voice of North Grenville

Local COVID-19 Vaccine Status Report – September 7, 2021 We are still moving toward our goal of 90% second doses, with people continuing to receive both first and second doses at public health clinics, pharmacies, hospitals, and primary care.

Statistics Of the region's population 12 years of age and over, 92.5% have first doses and 86.8% have second doses (as of Sept 5, 2021).

1,228 first doses were administered last week In youth 12–17, 82.9% have first doses and 72.6% have second doses.

In ages 18–29, 75.2% have first doses and 64.5% have second doses.

We encourage those 18–29 to check out the options for getting vaccinated below.

Our vaccination dashboard has all the details and will be updated again next Tuesday, Sept 14.

Vaccine Clinics A number of clinics are available still in various communities: check our website for the up to date times and dates: https://healthunit.org/health-information/covid-19/ protection/vaccine-clinics/ - Some locations have changed so remember to check the listing.

Letters of consent will be sent to all parents of students in Grade 7 and up. Any parent wishing for their child to get COVID-19 immunization at school can send in the consent form.

Vaccine Policies We developed a page on our website for workplaces which have questions about developing their own policies for vaccination amongst their employees or about having a clinic on site for employees: https://healthunit. org/health-information/covid-19/business-re-opening/ workplace-covid-19-vaccine-policies/ Vaccine Certificate Beginning September 22, 2021, Ontario will require proof of vaccination focused on indoor public settings. All Ontarians who registered their vaccines are encouraged to download their vaccine receipt as proof of their vaccine status until an enhanced vaccine certificate with a QR code is available. You can also call the Provincial Vaccine Booking Line at 1-833-943-3900.

If you received vaccinations outside of Canada there is a New Option to Submit Out of Province COVID-19 Vaccination Records.

Effective September 8, 2021, the email sent to clients upon receiving their COVID-19 vaccine, OR manually triggered by Provincial Call Center/PHU, after the client has been verified through COVaxON ,will not have the vaccination receipt PDF attached. The new vaccination receipt email will now contain a secure individualized URL instead.

Using the URL clients will be able to access/download all their vaccination receipts through the COVID-19 Patient Portal. Clients will be required to enter their Ontario Green Photo Health Card, Red and White Health Card, or their COVID ID (assigned by a PHU), as well as their month of birth, in order to access their vaccination receipt(s). Clients without an existing Ontario Green Photo Health Card, Red and White Health Card or COVID ID will not receive the vaccination receipt email/URL and will be required to contact their PHUs to get an COVID ID assigned.

Provincial Third Booster Doses for Selected Populations Those eligible for a third dose are able to bring a letter into one of our clinics from their physician stating they are eligible How to Get Vaccinated All those born in 2009 and earlier are eligible for a first dose anytime and can get a second dose: 21 days after first dose of Pfizer 28 days after first dose of Moderna (NOW approved for anyone born 2009 and earlier).

Remember it is important to continue to follow precautions if you have one or even two vaccine doses. We need to keep protecting each other until we are all fully vaccinated.

For more information on COVID-19 vaccines, visit the COVID-19 Protection and Vaccines section of our website.

September 15, 2021

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North Grenville recognizes Firefighters’ National Memorial Day On Sunday, September 12, the Municipality of North Grenville will recognize Firefighters’ National Memorial Day, a day to pay tribute to the firefighters who risk their lives keeping Canadians safe. The day is also intended to remember those firefighters who have fallen in the line of duty.

“On behalf of Council and our community, I want to thank our volunteer firefighters for continuing to keep us safe over these long months of COVID. They have demonstrated such dedication, often going above and beyond for our community,” said Mayor Nancy Peckford.

The Municipality of North Grenville recognizes the many dangers firefighters often face when carrying

out their duties, as well as those who have made the ultimate sacrifice with their lives in the line of duty.

“North Grenville residents are fortunate to have such a dedicated volunteer fire service. Our volunteers were not exempt from the many challenges that we have faced over the last 18 months, and they have continued to deliver and exceed our expectations,” added Councillor Kristin Strackerjan, liaison for Emergency

and Protective Services.

“Their ongoing service to our community is important and is recognized.”

Firefighters’ National Memorial Day is recognized annually on the second Sunday of September. It commemorates the courage, selflessness, and unwavering commitment of all Firefighters who, whether current or past, have stepped up time and again to serve our community.

“I invite all residents

to take a moment to pause and reflect on the sacrifice of these brave individuals. Firefighters’ National Memorial Day is a day to honour and remember those firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty,” added Mayor Peckford.

Given the significance of the occasion and to honour their dedication to public safety, flags at the Municipal Centre and Fire Hall will continue to be at half-mast.

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The North Grenville Times

Baldwin's Birds

Good morning faithful readers, Having given my recent attention to one of the largest of the birds in the area, namely the Osprey, for this week I have switched to the smallest one, the Ruby Throated Hummingbird!

I spotted one the other day flitting from flower to flower at the front of our house, so had to get a picture

of it which is easier said than done! They are so fast and elusive for this slow moving "Old Guy", yours truly, that it was a bit of a frustrating job to capture any picture at all!

Anyway I did manage it, as shown by the shot that I got of it in the sunshine amongst our few remaining flowers.

The next day, the weather didn't oblige and torrents of rain descended on any birds

ruffled! Not having the male's bright coloring, she didn't suffer from the wet so badly as he did, or some of the other birds such as the Blue Jay family of six, and our nut feeding Woodpeckers, Chickadees and Nuthatches. Fortunately, their and our dampened spirits didn't last too long, although the cooling nights are already making them think about moving south of us to warmer climes. Hopefully I am wrong and they stay a little longer to provide us with their beautiful images and songs that brighten our days, in their unselfish way. I hope that you are enjoying their feathery presence too whilst they are still here, but remember, we will be getting their replacement winter residents soon, so don't stop looking out for them, they'll be there!

Stay safe and well, Cheers, John Baldwin

that had ventured out to feed.

Amongst those caught in the deluge were a pair of immature Cardinals, the male of which, although sporting some bright red feathers, also displayed some very patchy dark ones, which didn't enhance his bedraggled wet appearance. The female looked in a little bit better shape, (don't they always!?), and her feathers didn't look too

The Voice of North Grenville

Economic Development Leadership Award

It's time to nominate an economic development community leader!

The Leeds Grenville Economic Development Office is asking individuals, councils and economic development committees to identify candidates for the 11th annual Bill Thake Memorial Award for Economic Development Leadership.

Many volunteers help to improve the economic vitality of Leeds Grenville and its many communities. Our goal is to honour them for their ongoing efforts.

Our 2020 winners were Janet Campbell, owner of Mrs. McGarrigle's Mustard and Fine Foods in Merrickville, and Wendy Merkley, co-owner of Andress Boat Works in Rockport, for their extensive volunteer work in their respective communities.

Since the award was launched, 14 area economic development leaders have earned the award, with a total of 38 nominees also recognized for their outstanding community work.

If you have someone in mind within the 10 member municipalities of Leeds Grenville, consider putting their name forward. You can connect with us at econdev@uclg.on.ca or call Deanna Clark at 613-342-3840, ext. 5360.

For more information and nomination forms in both Word and PDF, visit our Summit 2021 webpage.

The award will be presented at the annual Economic Development Summit on November 19, 2021, which is being held virtually.

The deadline for submissions is Friday, September 24, at 4 pm.

Call for applications for the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Committee

September 15, 2021

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The Municipality is seeking youth identified individuals ages 15 - 23 to join the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Committee.

“I am excited to establish North Grenville’s first ever Youth Advisory Committee so Council can hear directly from young people on a wide variety of backgrounds regarding the key issues that matter to them,” said Mayor Nancy Peckford.

“Enhancing the quality of life and opportunities for younger generations of residents is crucial to our success and strength as a community.”

The Mayor’s Youth Advisory Committee provides members with a focused opportunity to have a positive impact on the Municipality through dialogue on issues, causes and organizations they are passionate about.

“Members of the Committee will also learn how to engage and influence local government and help shape some specific programs and services. In certain cases, they will also support Municipal staff and Council to incorporate a youth perspective when making decisions, and build their own leadership skills,” added Mayor Peckford.

The Committee will provide a direct communication link between North Grenville’s youth and Council, and invite feedback from young people from a diversity of backgrounds on how to enhance the quality of life, health and well-being of youth in our community.

Members of the Committee will keep Council informed on important matters affecting youth and play an active role in youth engagement.

Those interested in applying who are between the ages of 15 and 23 are invited to complete an online application (www. northgrenville.ca/careers). The deadline to apply is October 3 and meetings will be held a minimum of once a month.

Should you require a paper application, please contact the Deputy Clerk at jworkman@northgrenville.on.ca or call 613-258-9569 ext. 171.

Applications will be submitted to the Municipality of North Grenville and reviewed by the selection committee that will consist of the Mayor, a Council member, a representative from the Department of Parks, Recreation & Culture, the North Grenville Public Library and from the local health unit.

For more details including the committee’s Terms of Reference, visit the volunteer posting at: www.northgrenville.ca/ careers. www.ngtimes.ca

The North Grenville Times

North Grenville’s Annual Audited Financial Statements accepted by Council

by Rachel Everett-Fry

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Under the Ontario Municipal Act, each Municipality is required to prepare annual audited financial statements. At the Council meeting of September 9, Council accepted and approved the Audited Financial Statement for the 2020 tax year.

Brad Brookman, Director of Finance/Treasurer, explained that this process provides assurance to “the Council and the public that the administration's financial reporting is appropriate.” It is important for businesses, provincial and federal governments, members of the public, and investors to be able to access this information in order to feel certain of North Grenville’s financial health.

The audited financial statements are not intended to verify accuracy or to determine the efficacy of cost management, only to determine that the financial position and controls of the Municipality are, in the opinion of the auditor, fairly presented.

Allan and Partners LLP were the Auditors.

Serena Deschamps, of Allan and Partners LLP, stated “We have a clean opinion this year. Which really means the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position [of the Municipality].” Here, consolidated means the operations of the Municipality as a whole, including “the library, the BIA, your Police Services Board, and the North Grenville

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Community Centre,” clarified Deschamps.

Major changes in North Grenville’s financial situation are due to COVID-19.

Operation costs saw a reduction of recreation user charges, at least in part due to the closure of public facilities. Revenues from penalties or interests on taxes were lower than expected, because, like many other municipalities, North Grenville offered interest relief due to COVID. Deschamps said “what we can see is our revenues from operations are 3 million dollars on the year. So, higher than budget, mostly due to the Safe Restart monies that we received, and also the decrease in some of the expenses.”

This kind of surplus from operations is a great thing for us to see. Overall, the annual surplus totalled at 6.3 million dollars. Deschamps explained, “We do need to raise surpluses so that going forward we can pay down our debt and actually acquire our capital assets.”

This year, North Grenville has gone from “a position of being in net debt to a position of being in a net financial asset of almost a million dollars.” Given the significant obstacles that came with COVID-19, this is quite the achievement.

Deschamps said “this is a fantastic thing to see.”

Mayor Peckford noted that “we’re a high growth municipality” and any surpluses will have to be carefully considered in terms of infrastructure needs as we continue to evolve. She said of Council “we’re doing our best” to prepare for upcoming capital needs.

The Voice of North Grenville

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Reception area of Municipal Centre to be renovated

lar funding for grants in the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. The Municipality was successful in its application. In order to receive the grant, it was necessary for Council to pass a by-law in order to enter a Transfer Payment Agreement. This was resolved at the Council meeting of September 7.

Mayor Nancy Peckford said “The impact [of this project] speaks for itself in terms of the degree of accessibility, people not having to confront a big stairwell or an elevator around the corner.” Not only will the renovations help with accessibility, but they serve to solve another problem too.

“I think this is a very good idea,” explained Councillor Doreen O’Sullivan, “we were outgrowing the space we had for administration and office space. This has really resolved that.”

The renovations are currently in the detailed design phase, and hopes are high that the project will be completed by the end of the year.

by Rachel Everett-Fry

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The North Grenville Municipal Centre is going to be renovated this fall in order to permanently relocate the reception area to the first floor. The Municipality was successful in obtaining $100,000 in funding for the project under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program: COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream.

Director of Parks, Recreation and Culture Mark Guy explained “When the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, the safety of municipal staff and the public were of the most concern. Initially, the Municipal Centre was closed. But before reopening, the senior management team made the decision to temporarily move the reception area to the first floor of the Municipal Centre for the safety of staff and the public. Since then, having the reception area on the main floor has been met with positive response by staff and the public, therefore the decision was made to permanently relocate the reception area to the main floor.”

In October 2020, the Province of Ontario announced $250 million dol-

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September 15, 2021

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The North Grenville Times

North Grenville takes NAVY LEAGUE NEWS on cancer fundraising and awareness

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

September is not only Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, but also the month in which Canadians typically recognize the legacy of Terry Fox. At the Municipal Council Meeting of September 7, Council received two presentations marking the importance of cancer awareness and fundraising.

The first was a presentation from Steven Paterson of the Kemptville Terry Fox Run Committee. Steven said “41 Years ago this April 12, a young cancer survivor by the name of Terry Fox stood on the shoreline in St. Johns’ Newfoundland and dipped his prosthetic leg into the Atlantic Ocean. From there he set off on the Marathon of Hope, in an attempt to run across Canada to help raise awareness and funds for cancer research. On September 1 of that same year, in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Terry was forced to put his run on hold, as the cancer had returned to his lungs.

As most of us know, Terry was unable to complete his run, but every year since, people from all over Canada and other parts of the world have come together every fall in pursuit of continuing Terry’s dream and vision of raising awareness and funds for Cancer Research.”

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, The Terry Fox Organization made the decision to make its annual Terry Fox Run virtual again this year. This means that people will independently organize the time and location of their run. Those wishing to participate can register at terryfox.org and register under the Kemptville event.

Those wishing to donate to

September 15, 2021

the cause can do so at the same link.

Steven said “Participants can make use of the beautiful trails available in our Municipality or map out a route through their neighbourhood. Last year, with the Terry Fox Flag flying high over the Municipal Centre, North Grenville showed that despite being in the middle of a pandemic, the Terry Fox spirit is very much alive and well.” He went on to ask that Council proclaim September 19, 2021 as "Terry Fox Run Day" and to raise the Terry Fox Flag September 14 to 20.

Council unanimously agreed to pass the motion.

Following Steven’s presentation, Kevin Dionne spoke to Council on behalf of the Canadian Cancer Society. Kevin’s presentation was intended to bring attention to the Kayaking for Cancer event. Over the course of eight days, paddlers make their way from Kingston to Ottawa. “We kayak for cancer to show people we care, and to never forget those we have lost,” explained Kevin.

This has been an annual event for 21 years. The event “started with a Kemptville group of people” stated Kevin, “and it now expands across Canada essentially.”

Kayaking for Cancer is the #1 third-party fundraising event in Canada. Kevin says “We have raised over $810,000.”

He hopes to see “the 1 million dollar mark” as a figure for overall funds raised in our community. Deputy Mayor Jim McManaman noted that as Canada’s Most Active Community, we should have no problem getting out to achieve this fundraising goal.

Barbell Legends Bench Fest a success

Hilda Siegel, MPP Steve Clark, Curd Hos, Mayor Nancy Peckford, and Debbie Wilson at Kemptville’s Bench Fest.

Image by Derrick Smith.

September is also Childhood Cancer Awareness month, with flag flown at the Municipal Centre.

by Rachel Everett-Fry

The Voice of North Grenville

In the last issue, I defined the nature and importance of the Navy League of Canada’s 125th Anniversary celebration and the award of the commemorative coin to selected deserving cadets and citizens. I outlined the special nature of the award by the two cadet corps in Kemptville to recognize two very special cadets and two accomplished community supporters of the Naval Cadet Program for boys and girls.

As the cadets, the corps and the Board (what Board?) all benefit from the warmth and kindness of their municipality and its business owners and citizens, it seemed appropriate to first recognize the two special citizens chosen by the corps to receive this distinction.

The first is very well known and has been personally engaged in all aspects of community life here in Kemptville.

She is the redoubtable Marguerite (Maggie) Boyer, Production Manager at North Grenville Times, artist, illustrator and as an author with an enormous output of articles on all walks of life and community affairs, a firmly engaged and independent newspaper professional. As a production manager, have a good look at the truly excellent Heritage Anniversary magazine available throughout Kemptville stores and businesses, to appreciate her skills in layout and design.

Don’t know her as an artist? Visit the entry of Jim and Judy Beveridge’s B&H grocery to view the superb watercolour she has contributed to benefit the Oxford Mills Community Association charitable draw. Her illustrations abound in local publications.

She is also an ardent supporter of youth programs in Kemptville and especially of the boys and girls – the cadets – of RCSCC Defiant and NLCC Assiniboine, the two Navy cadet corps in Kemptville. But she was chosen for so much more than her support for our cadets.

The scope of her influence in the affairs of the Municipality and region are obvious in her articles – covering the energy and results of charitable events, meaningful accomplishments in the lives of residents, the successes of local businesses and artisans, - from quality-of-life issues to food drives and the achievements of other artists. Her articles are not just a chronology – the comments of an observer cataloguing what she sees. Just read her account of her participation in the House of Lazarus Hunger Awareness Challenge. She feels personally the issues and challenges faced by others and reports on these with great integrity. On one hand, she is illustrating a historical society cookbook while entrepreneurs with new businesses in Kemptville have described her as a person who “acts as a bridge between new businesses and those in the community who could benefit from their expertise”.

This is not an inert by-stander. This is an engaged, feeling and committed member of our community who does for our cadets what she does for the rest of us – contributung meaningfully and caringly! Day in and day out! Recently recognized with a Friends of the Library Honorary Life Membership in recognition of her years of voluntary service, it is no surprise that the officers and cadets of RCSCC Defiant nominated Marguerite Boyer to receive this award!

Another citizen recipient will be highlighted in the next issue and then a special issue will follow to recognize our two outstanding cadet recipients.

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members of the public.

Hilda says “I think people Local Journalism Initiative Reporter were impressed by the fact that people were here liftKemptville’s first ing super heavy weights. sanctioned powerlifting It went over really well.” event was held on SepHilda wants to extend tember 4. Hilda Siegel, thanks to the community powerlifting record holder for supporting Kemptand owner of Power Pole ville’s first sanctioned Performance, and Curd meet and hopes to make Hos of Iron Hos Gear or- this an annual event. She ganized the event. Sixteen says “I just want to menlifters participated in the tion our wonderful volevent. Hilda says lifters unteers and sponsors beset “record after record, cause they were such an there were honestly too important part of the event. many to count.”

Our sponsors included ReMelissa Cohoe set a born Catherine Fit, Panda Canadian record and was Strong Podcast, Iron Hos the best female amateur Gear, Power Pole Fitness, for the day. Sandra Jo- Anytime Fitness Kemptdoin-Legue set another ville and The Root Cellar Canadian record and was Hair Studio. I also want to best pro female lifter for thank the Municipality for the day. Troy Sauve won giving us the space to host the title for being the the event.” event’s best male lifter.

Hilda is also extremely proud to report that her daughter, Adia Siegel, set a Canadian record as well. Several Kemptville locals, including Jessica Goodman, as well as Chad Brisebois and Catherine Swail of Reborn Catherine Fit, completed their first sanctioned lift at the event.

Held concurrently to Kemptville’s Downtown Promenade, Hilda says the event had a “really good public reception.”

Mayor Nancy Peckford and MPP Steve Clark attended the event as spectators along with many

by Rachel Everett-Fry

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Rick Charman and Brian Wilson honoured with Civic Awards

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services

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Brian Wilson

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Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Municipal Council awarded the last two 20192020 Civic Awards at the Council Meeting of September 7. While other Civic Awards were presented in

December of 2020, these two recipients were unable to attend at that time. This was the first opportunity that Council had to present these awards in person.

Mayor Nancy Peckford said, “It gives Council a lot of pleasure to recognize and

honour the selfless efforts and dedication of two individuals who volunteer in service to their neighbours, friends, citizens, and our community.”

The next call for nominees for civic leadership awards will be sent out soon.

The first award recipient was Nick Charman. Nick received the 2019-2020 Recreation, Sport and Leisure Award. Deputy Mayor Jim McManaman said, “Nick has a long list of volunteer efforts in sports and recreation, including volunteer coach for the Kemptville Warriors, volunteer fitness leader, volunteer CrossFit coach at a local gym, he’s the chair of our Health, Wellness, and Fitness Advisory Committee, as well as playing a key role in fundraising for various charities.”

Councillor Kristin Stracker-

jan thanked Nick, stating that he “motivates and educates athletes of every age, teaching the lifelong benefits of an active lifestyle.”

Brian Wilson was awarded the 2019-2020 Exemplary Work in the Community (Senior, Ages 56 and Over) Award. “Parks manager by day and volunteer by night, Brian has been an integral part of youth activities for over three decades, and bringing the spirit of Christmas by playing Santa Clause for over 7 years,” said Councillor John Barclay. For Councillor Doreen O’Sullivan, Brian is “very deserving of this award.” She said he “has been a longstanding cub leader and bowling coach, and the booming voice for our Kemptville 73s.”

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News Reporter Wanted The North Grenville Times is an independently owned publication serving the population of North Grenville and surrounding area. We are seeking to hire a talented and motivated journalist. Responsibilities include collecting and analyzing information of public interest and writing news articles for a weekly publication. The successful candidate will be gathering information, conducting interviews, writing articles and taking photographs of events in the local community.

Position is from October to end of December 2021.

Please consider submitting your resume if you are a person with: Excellent news judgment Strengths in accurate, clean reporting The ability to initiate stories and features Excellent reporting and writing skills Experience at a news organization in a deadlineoriented reporting/writing role Ability to work quickly and independently, meet multiple deadlines, and make efficient decisions A valid driver’s license and access to a reliable vehicle If you have your finger on the pulse of your community and you are willing to work both independently and as part of a news team, to tell this community’s stories, please submit your resume to: editor@ngtimes.ca

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The Food Corner

PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR HOUSE IS

By Paul Cormier, Salamanders of Kemptville A guest at our restaurant asked me last week where we get our Bacon Jam. My response was that we make it from scratch, like most everything else, to ensure the flavour we want. Bacon Jam may not be a health food but it sure is tasty as a condiment, particularly on hamburgers.

Since it's very easy to make, it's worth sharing the recipe with you.

Cajun Style Bacon Jam Ingredients 2 pounds of bacon 2 teaspoons butter 5 large yellow onions ½ cup malt or sherry vinegar 4 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar 2 teaspoons thyme leaves 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon Cajun spice ½ cup water 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

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Preparation 1. Place the bacon in a large, heavy-bottomed pot and cook over medium heat until bacon is crispy.

2. Put the bacon and rendered fat through a strainer placed over a bowl to drain the fat.

3. Chop the bacon into fine bits.

4. Return your pot to medium heat.

5. Drizzle 2 teaspoons of the bacon fat and butter in a separate pan.

6. Sauté onions and 1 teaspoon salt until soft and translucent.

7. Stir in the brown sugar, malt or sherry vinegar, half of the thyme leaves, black pepper, cayenne pepper and Cajun spice into the onion mixture and add the bacon bits.

8. Stir the water into bacon mixture and cook until the jam is a brown bacon color and has thickened, about 15 to 20 minutes.

9. Remove from heat and stir in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and remaining thyme into the jam; stir until heated through.

10. Store in a mason jar and use within a few weeks of preparation.

Thanks again for all your feedback and recipe hints. I'm still at pcormier@ranaprocess.com.

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by Leeds & Grenville Food Bank w/ All Proceeds Going to Help the Leeds & Grenville Food Bank Props: Brian & Dorothy Seeley Terms: Cash or Good Cheque w/ Proper ID Auction Conducted By: Peter Ross Auction Services Ltd. Ingleside, ON 613-537-8862 For full listing and photos see: www.peterrossauction.ca

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September 15, 2021

& sheers asking $200. for all. 613-215-0884 Firewood for sale - mixed hardwood, 3 cord minimum for delivery, $110 per cord, call Jon 613-227-3650 Annabelle hydrangeas.

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Tamarack, Pine and Cedar posts available..call Jim 613.258.3561 JENN-AIR BLACK SELF CLEANING WALL OVEN EXCELLENT SHAPE $ 50.00.

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NEW AUGUSTA WOODBURNING FIREBOWL $80.00.CALL 613-2580445

Hardwood for sale. Milled black walnut. Merrickville jgharris@sympatico.ca MISCELLANEOUS Looking to rent farmland for cash crops. Call or text Mitch @ 613-262-1204.

Looking to harvest cedar trees for hedges off acreages from landowners.

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GARAGE SALES GARAGE SALE SEPT. 17 AND 18 FROM 8 TO 3 AT 755 COUNTY RD. 44.

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Mythunderstandings An irregular column by David Shanahan

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CROSSWORD

Who gets to point the finger?

I have often said in these articles that it is really important to have an open and honest discussion of issues, and that anything worth believing has to be open to questions. This applies to Christians and what they believe, as much as to anyone else. Over the centuries, many ideas, practices and attitudes have been introduced to Christian thinking that have no foundation in Scripture. Most of these are what are called Adiaphora, “the Secondary Things”, things not fundamental to Christian belief and practice. Those are the things Christians can disagree on, base denominations on, argue happily (or otherwise) about. Then there are the vital, fundamental things that define Christianity and Christians. But that is another topic.

Some of these Secondary Things have actually become central to the thinking and attitudes of some denominations and Christians. They may not be essential, but things like the clergy-laity divide, the concept of altars and sacrifices, special buildings improperly called the House of God, and many other elements, do not originate in the New Testament. Some go directly against the New Testament, and they are the things that have harmed the Gospel over generations.

For example, many denominations engage in some serious condemnation of groups, or individuals, in ways that are in opposition to the Word of God. For example, many Christians tend to place too much emphasis on sex and sexuality. What I mean is that they seem to think that sexual sin, or practices, are somehow more sinful than any others. Homosexuality is seen as something that is far more serious an issue than other aspects of life. Where does this come from? After all, the basic gospel is quite clear: “There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” [Romans 3. 22-23], or “Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, September 15, 2021

no one who does what is right and never sins.”

[Ecclesiastes 7:20] None of us are more unrighteous than others, all have fallen short. So why do we act and behave as though some are more deserving of judgement and condemnation? Think seriously about what the New Testament teaches.

When the woman caught in adultery was brought before Jesus (note the man involved was not dragged out in public), Jesus did not condemn her, but told her to leave her sinful ways. Modern Christians would probably turn her out and condemn her without mercy. As for anyone with a non-heterosexual identity, they are condemned in ways that are quite opposed to the ways of Jesus. You don’t have to agree with or even approve of the ways of another. You can even believe those ways are wrong or sinful.

But you have no right to condemn them in ways that Jesus wouldn’t.

Think also about what Paul says about this very thing. In Romans, he addresses the character of fallen humanity. Because of the Fall, “They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice.

They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.” [Romans 1.29-31]. Paul had just described the problem with homosexuality, and then goes on to describe everyone. Note that gossips, slanderers, the greedy, the arrogant, and other characteristics are also put in the same category, because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. When congregations or individuals treat members of the LGBTQ community with disgust and judgement, do they do the same to those who abuse their wives or children or to gossips? Do they oppose the teaching of Jesus by favouring the wealthy and respectable over the less educated or the poor?

All have sinned, no one is righteous. Why do we

make a special case when it comes to sexuality? Perhaps it is because of the influence of Manichaeism, a belief system that arose in the Fourth Century and had a huge impact on some Christian communities. It taught that the material was evil and the spiritual was good, and therefore the physical was evil and needed to be subdued and negated. This led to severe forms of austere practices to punish the body and deny physical desires. One of the most important influences in this area was Augustine of Hippo, who converted to Christianity from Manichaeism. It has been suggested that Manichaean ways of thinking influenced the development of some of Augustine's ideas, such as the nature of good and evil, the idea of hell, the separation of groups into elect, hearers, and sinners, and the hostility to the flesh and sexual activity, and his dualistic theology.

The truth is that all that God created, he called good, and emphasized this by becoming man. When he created humans, it says that “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them”. [Genesis 1.27]. Whatever problems and issues we have as people now stems from the rebellion against God that has resulted in all of the things that Paul listed in his letter to the Romans.

It is really important that Christians get the right perspective on things.

Jesus was condemned by religious people for associating with “sinners”.

The only people he was angry with were the selfrighteous religious people who looked down on others and judged them, saying, God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this... fill in your own favourite target. He called them hypocrites.

More next time.

ACROSS 1. Boorish 5. Crest 9. Footnote note 13. Not odd 14. Sediments 16. Prying 17. Tidy 18. Artist's workstand 19. Only 20. Russian country house 22. Standards 24. Bluefin 26. Place 27. A part of a broadcast serial 30. Each 33. Lilac 35. Doctrine 37. New Zealand parrot

38. Cranium 41. Bro or sis 42. Filled to excess 45. Disappear gradually 48. Close 51. Senselessness 52. Respond 54. Prank 55. Brothels 59. Typefaces 62. Food thickener 63. 4-door car 65. Wail 66. Infamous Roman emperor 67. Quickly 68. Sea eagle 69. Dribble 70. Kid 71. Not the original color

DOWN 1. Cleave 2. Eye layer 3. Make inactive 4. Excite 5. Citrus drink 6. Fourth sign of the zodiac 7. Plateaux 8. Excrements 9. Business executive 10. Godsend 11. Small island 12. Colors 15. Slumber 21. Nameless 23. Nonclerical 25. Contributes 27. Large North American deer (plural) 28. Song of praise 29. Startled cry 31. An assignee by conveyance 32. Decree 34. Regret 36. Comply with 39. 56 in Roman numerals 40. Territory 43. Pendant earring 44. To endure (archaic) 46. Childlike 47. Gifted 49. Light wood 50. Named (archaic) 53. The day after yesterday 55. Prohibits 56. Curved molding 57. Unusual 58. Big bag 60. Melody 61. Toboggan 64. Born as

Solutions to last week’s Sudoku

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Easy

Medium

Hard

Solution to last week’s Crossword

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Raffle for Ursa Meyer Menu # 79 Wed Sept 22 - Friday Sept 24 Welcome Autumn Menu

Order & Pay online www.cateredaffairs.ca 613-324-3136 $37.50 Complete Meal for 2 + HST $70.00 Complete Meal for 4 + HST All Meals include; Chef's choice of Appropriate Side Dishes Add on a Dessert of the Week - Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese icing $2.50 per slice

Shepherd’s Pie Mac n Cheese

Saucy Ground Beef topped with Mac ‘n’ Cheese, Market Vegetables & Salad

Raffle tickets $5 each Original framed Watercolour by Marguerite Boyer On display in the foyer at the B&H

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Pick up Fri Oct 8th or Sat Oct 9th 2021 $55 + HST Serves 2-3 $110 + HST Serves 4-5 $215 + HST Serves 8-9 Moist and tender brined Berube turkey both white and dark meat (gluten free) - Made-in-house Herb & sweet onion confit dressing Whipped mashed potatoes - Harvest Vegetables - Homemade gravy - Fresh cranberry sauce It's not too late to book your Christmas party with Catered Affairs both on site or the location of your choice. Contact us today!

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Highlights from the September 8 Board of Trustees’ Meeting

OFA reminds members of their responsibility for a safe harvest on the roads

by Brent Royce, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture As the fall season approaches and some normalcy returns to our daily lives, the pace of traffic has picked up. School buses are back on their routes, commuters are home from summer vacation and back to work, and as farmers, some of us are already back on the road with harvest equipment.

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) reminds equipment operators of the responsibility of abiding by road safety rules, including the increased use of lighting and signage. Being proactive rather than reactive can be the difference between another day on the job and a dangerous accident. Doing our part as farm equipment operators increases our visibility and creates more awareness among motorists on the road who aren’t accustomed to encountering farm equipment.

Some farm implements, wagons and tractors across Ontario still lack proper lighting, reflective gear and up to date signage which is necessary to avoid road accidents.

We encourage our membership to recognize the role and responsibilities we have to keep the roads safe.

As an organization, we

UCDSB Student Trustees Bradford Ward and Eshal Ali signed their declaration and oath. of alliance alongside Director of Education Ron Ferguson and Chair John McAllister.

Submitted Photo Trustees with the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) met on Wednesday, September 8, 2021, for a regularly scheduled board meeting.

More than 98 per cent of UCDSB students choose in-person learning Staff presented the current enrollment numbers for remote learning amongst the UCDSB students at the elementary and secondary levels. After reviewing hard data, staff confirmed that 107 of the 18,163 elementary school students are enrolled in either synchronous or asynchronous digital learning. That number makes up .6 per cent of all elementary school students. At the secondary level, 32 of the 8,849 students are enrolled in remote learning, making up .35 per cent of total secondary school student enrollment. These numbers indicate that less than 1 per cent of the mainstream student population is enrolled in mainstream remote learning.

The Secondary Remote Self-Study Program offered at the TR Leger School for Adult, Alternative and Continuing Education has 112 students enrolled and they will participate in this fully independent/asynchronous learning model.

Overall, less than 2 per cent of UCDSB students are enrolled in remote learning, which translates to more than 98 per cent of students opting for in-person learning. For comparative purposes, participation in remote learning in 2020-21 was approximately 21 per cent in the first half of the school year.

UCDSB Implements Staff Vaccine Attestation Protocol Adhering to the Ministry of Education’s requirements, the UCDSB has implemented a COVID-19 immunization disclosure protocol. As of Sept. 8, 93 per cent of UCDSB staff have attested to being fully immunized against COVID-19.

The attestation protocol applies to all UCDSB employees including occasional staff, school board trustees, bus/van drivers and visitors who attend schools frequently and have direct contact with staff or students.

Staff outlined how the Ministry’s protocol also requires unvaccinated staff and visitors to regularly complete rapid antigen testing for COVID-19 and demonstrate a negative result at least two times a week. As well, unvaccinated staff and visitors who do not have a documented medical exemption from being vaccinated must complete a COVID-19 education program as directed and provided by the Ministry of Education.

Staff will continue to collect data and publish the UCDSB staff vaccination rates monthly beginning Sept. 15.

UCDSB Student Trustees Sworn in as Board Members The student trustees nominated by the Student Senate publicly signed their declaration and oath of allegiance to the UCDSB Board of Trustees for the 2021-2022 school year. Eshal Ali from Seaway District High School and Bradford Ward from Brockville Collegiate Institute will share responsibilities in all areas in their new positions as Board members.

The student trustees also provided a report to the Board. Last month, they were invited by the Ontario Principal’s Council (OPC) as the only two student trustees and Ontario Student Trustee Association representatives to participate in a de-streaming panel organized by the OPC. They voiced their support for the newly implemented de-streamed system and outlined a better need for communicating the de-streaming benefits to students and their families.

Trustees Seeking Alternative Approach to Student Transportation During Inclement Weather Trustees passed a motion that will make a request to the school board’s transportation provider, Student Transportation of Eastern Ontario (STEO), to prepare a report outlining possible approaches to student transportation during inclement weather.

Currently, student transportation cancellations are done on a board-wide basis. With its large geographic landscape, there have been instances when inclement weather has affected part of the school district’s regions while other regions have not experienced these same weather conditions.

Trustee Cram brought the motion forward, outlining that when not all regions of the district have been affected by inclement weather, it should be the school board’s responsibility to have as many students as possible in the school buildings. The motion carried.

are lucky to have county and regional representatives across the province to ensure pressing farming issues are considered and addressed. Specific to road safety, OFA’s Member Service Representatives (MSRs) are engaging with local federations on the increased awareness of Slow Moving Vehicle (SMV) signs and sharing the road with farm equipment. Through the OFA Revive Fund, county and regional federations have gained the opportunity to develop campaigns, initiatives and projects focused on road safety in an effort to make a difference in their region.

The Leeds County Federation of Agriculture (LCFA) and Grenville Federation of Agriculture (GFA) have teamed up to implement an educational road sign campaign. These county federations are purchasing additional roadside ‘Caution Farm Equipment’ signs and ‘Horse and Buggy’ signs to place along major roadways in Leeds and Grenville counties. The focus is to not only increase awareness of farm traffic on roadways, but also to educate travellers on the difference between farm equipment and regular vehicles.

Engagement and support from local police departments and munici-

palities has enhanced the power of these campaigns and helped to spread the messaging further than the agricultural echo chamber. OFA’s Revive Fund has provided an excellent medium to facilitate these campaigns and OFA is proud of the federations that have initiated these road safety initiatives. Hopefully the increased use of signage can spread across the Province to help protect both rural and urban drivers. We care about the safety of everyone on the roadways and recognize the importance of shared responsibility to ensure we all return home safely.

As leaders in the Ontario agriculture community, it’s important that we all continue to take initiative and improve the situation. These campaigns offer an opportunity for non-farming community awareness, in addition to peer education among the farming population.

When it comes to safety, training, reminders and extra precautions to prevent avoidable accidents on roadways represent time well spent. This approach can be successful in yielding a long-term impact by increasing the consistent use of signage and providing education that resonates.

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From truckload to tote bin: An invasive species success story

If you’ve ever been to Voyageur Provincial Park near Hawkesbury, you’ve seen European Water Chestnut in action.

The ornamental pond plant likely hopped a fence nearby, establishing itself in dense mats in the Ottawa River and nearby tributaries around the park more than a decade ago.

Robust removal programs are in place, but getting ahead of it is as hard as the thorny seeds it throws into the riverbed to reproduce.

Eradication is not impossible though as proven by the recent success of the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) and its partners at Parks Canada, Ducks Unlimited and the City of Ottawa. They faced their own prickly problem above Black Rapids locks in the Rideau River near Nepean in 2014. The partners quickly sprung into action, removing a large dumpster load of the invasive aquatic weed in 2015.

Since then, staff, students and volunteers from the RVCA and its conservation partners have had to remove a little less each year. This summer, less than a tote bin’s worth of weeds was pulled from the river. “We’ve seen a pretty significant decline,” said RVCA aquatic biologist Jennifer Lamoureux.

“We got it early, and that was the difference. The key with any invasive management is to get it early and to commit to ongoing removal.” She said the Black Rapids patch isn’t completely gone, and seeds can continue to germinate in the riverbed long after the active plants have disappeared.

“We’re not out of the woods. We still have some continued surveillance to do,” she said.

European Water Chestnut is particularly nasty because it forms dense floating mats that shade out native vegetation, decreasing plant biodiversity and making it nearly impossible to enjoy activities like swimming, angling, and boating in the infested area. Without light penetration below the chestnut canopy, plant growth slows and dying plants start to decompose, which lowers dissolved oxygen levels and can cause die-offs among native fish and other species. The plant’s hard nuts with sharp, barbed spines can also become a huge pain – literally - when stepped on. Jennifer said keeping European Water Chestnut out of aquariums and backyard ponds is the easiest way to avoid new outbreaks. “The key is to not have this available to people at all,” she said.

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Healthy conversations about weight should not be taboo

respected researchers have argued that weight loss is not the solution and obesity is not the problem! Rather, the goal, they say, is “good health”. But is ignoring the major health hazards of obesity an effective way to slow down the tsunami of type 2 diabetes?

In the consultation room, doctors need to be frank with their patients, and it would help if everyone else didn’t contradict the message. Make no mistake, obesity is not good for one’s health.

But “body shaming”, the label applied to those who humiliate people with critical comments and attitudes about body size or shape, has made any supportive discussions about weight issues taboo.

Health promoting support is vastly different from stigmatizing discrimination. A study published in the Journal of Obesity showed that weight discrimination stigma was associated with increased risk of becoming more obese!

So what’s the right ap-

This week launches a series of columns on the current crisis – not the COVID pandemic, which will eventually come to an end, but rather the seemingly endless escalation of the type 2 diabetes pandemic. We begin this week with the greatest culprit: obesity. Worrisomely, changing attitudes about weight are making matters worse.

We’ll continue next week with an article on the interplay between diabetes and COVID, followed the subsequent week by a challenge to powerful media houses to do better.

Finally, as we know from your letters that this column helps prevent many from falling victim to avoidable health problems, we’ll do a three-part series on the signs of pre-diabetes and where you can turn to for help.

So let’s turn to obesity, one of the greatest risk factors for type 2 diabetes. How can we resolve the obesity pandemic that worsens every year? Recently several well-

proach to take if you are concerned about a family member or friend? Experts recommend discussing ways to improve lifestyle, eating healthier foods, and exercising more. This column has argued for years that a daily step on the bathroom scale should be a tactic for healthy weight maintenance. When paired with diet and exercise, the scale can be an essential tool for those who need to lose excess pounds.

Is it possible to be healthy and obese? Research shows that 30 minutes of exercises in obese individuals, even if weight loss is not achieved, significantly improves physical health compared to sedentary peers.

Other researchers have studied healthy men comparing their cardiovascular fitness to the amount of belly fat. The results show a relationship between the location of body fat and the risk of heart attack and diabetes. It’s the belly fat – called visceral

fat that is stored around important internal organs – that poses the greatest problem.

Even being thin does not equate to good health if hidden visceral fat is present in the belly.

Surgeons are well versed on belly fat. It makes operations more technically demanding, with more blood loss, and more anesthesia required for longer operations.

Following surgery, incisions are more apt to become infected, and if patients are less active, a fatal pulmonary embolism (blood clot) is more likely.

A natural product called “AppleSlim”, sourced from unripe green apples in Central Asia that contain high concentrations of apple polyphenols, attacks visceral belly fat.

In addition to fighting obesity, the green coffee bean extract in AppleSlim lowers blood pressure.

But the key message this week is, don’t let obesity unnecessarily elevate your risk of developing diabetes. If you are struggling with excess weight, don’t struggle alone.

Have a healthy conversation with someone who can support you in making a change.

100 Women Who Care North Grenville Q3 Meeting 100 Women Who Care North Grenville is hosting its third quarterly meeting Thursday, September 23, 2021 at 7 pm – this will be held virtually on Zoom, please go to the website to register and get a link for the meeting. We encourage you to gather in small, safe groups to join us virtually! There will be prizes for Group Spirit and New Members – so please invite a friend and neighbour!

The 3 nominated charities for this quarter are: Habitat for Humanity – Kemptville Connect Youth Victoria's Quilts – Kemptville 100 Women Who Care NG has partnered with the Ottawa Community Foundation to streamline its donation process.

Members can log on to the Foundation's central website and enter "100 Women Who Care North Grenville" as the fund to receive their donation. This system automatically generates a tax receipt, making the whole operation that much easier.

Please do not choose to be anonymous.

We don't stop at 100 women: in fact, the more the merrier! We are looking to make the biggest local and immediate charitable impact we can. Remember that 100% of the proceeds go towards the chosen charities that night.

Join us for the North Grenville Chapter of this amazing charity and help bring positive change to your community.

For more information on 100 Women Who Care North Grenville, visit them on Facebook or on their website.

We look forward to "seeing" you for a fun-filled meeting on Thursday, September 23 at 7 pm.

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