The North Grenville Times
The Voice of North Grenville
CRTC ruling on broadband OPP uniform recruitment introduces new reach program welcomed “On behalf of all rural residents across Eastern Ontario and those who travel to and from our region, we applaud yesterday’s ruling by the CRTC making access to mobile broadband and high speed internet services an essential service,” said Peter Emon, Chair of the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC). “It is what we had hoped they would do,” stated Dave Burton, Chair of the Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN). “Together both of our organizations have been working hard over these past 8 years to close the gaps in internet services across the whole of our region,” he added. “When we made our submissions to the Commission last April EORN urged them help ensure that rural people and rural businesses get the same type of access to high speed internet services that our urban neighbours enjoy,” stated Dave. “We asked that the Commission also develop an ongoing fund to help organizations like ours to continue to work with the telecommunications industry and that is exactly what they have done”. EORN estimates that about one-sixth of areas in rural Eastern Ontario where there are homes, businesses or major roads, is a cellular dead zone. This lack of access to mobile calling and data is a risk to the region’s economic vitality, quality of life and public safety. EORN, which helped expand high-speed internet access in the region, is now seeking federal and provincial support for a public-private initiative valued at about $200 million. The project would cover some 99 per cent of the region, providing mobile access to 72,000 more homes and businesses as well as those who travel its highways. “With this announcement and the funds that will be made available we think the time is right to act quickly on our project to improve cellular networks particularly in the rural areas of Eastern Ontario,” stated Chair Emon. “We need to build new towers, improve existing ones as well as add coverage and capacity and we are confident given our experience on the first EORN project that we can create another success partnership with private sector companies in our region,” concluded Dave Burton.
The Ontario Provincial Police [OPP] will be hiring hundreds of Provincial Constables over the coming years, and with opportunities for a career with the OPP at an all-time high, many candidates are wondering how they can be more competitive for a career in policing. The OPP’s Uniform Recruitment Unit is excited to announce the REACH Program. REACH, which stands for Recruit Essential Attributes for Competitive Hiring, was designed to help candidates navigate through the application process, identify areas of improvement and prepare for an interview with the OPP. In addition to providing resume tips, fitness guidelines and competency-based interview preparation, the program will also offer mock interviews and small-group-mentoring sessions for participants throughout Ontario – and across Canada! “There’s never been a better time to apply to the OPP, or a more exciting time to work in Uniform Recruitment,” says Inspector Bryan MacKillop. “Using social media, we’ve been able to reach more people than ever before. The REACH Program is designed to take that a step further, by identifying people who want to make a difference in their communities and giving them the tools they need to be successful.” As a part of the REACH Program, the OPP are also introducing a Recruitment Council. It will be comprised of leaders and subject matter experts from emergent and diverse communities, and we will work collaboratively with the Council to ensure our strategies are truly responsive to community needs. The council will also provide feedback on how to actively engage with the communities we serve. Interested in applying to the REACH Program? Email Outreach Coordinator Angie Sloan at opp.recruitment.outreach@ opp.ca. More information about the program will also be released on social media in the coming weeks. Follow Uniform Recruitment on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.
UPDATE UPCOMING MEETINGS COUNCIL Monday, January 9 at 6:30 pm in the Council Chambers at the Municipal Centre. For agenda information, please visit the Municipal website at www.northgrenville.ca/document-library. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Monday, January 16 at 6:30 pm in the Council Chambers at the Municipal Centre.
WINTER PARKING RESTRICTIONS
Winter parking restrictions came into effect on November 15 and last through April 15. While restrictions are in effect, parking on Municipal roads is not allowed between 11:00 pm and 8:00 am. A vehicle which is parked in a manner interfering with snow clearing or removal operations may be issued a ticket and/or removed at the owner’s expense.
The Municipality of North Grenville 285 County Road 44 PO Box 130 Kemptville, ON, K0G 1J0 Tel: 613-258-9569 Fax: 613-258-9620 general@northgrenville.on.ca Building: 613-258-4424 Fax: 613-258-1441 Fire Services Info: 613-258-2438 Fax: 613-258-1031 By-Law Services: 613-258-2438 ext. 6 Police Administration: 613-258-3441 Animal Control: 613-862-9002 www.NorthGrenville.ca
Building a Sustainable North Grenville
OPP Weekly Report
Between December 12th and December 18th, the Kemptville Office of North Grenville Ontario Provincial Police investigated 70 general occurrences: 12 in Kemptville, 43 elsewhere in the Municipality of North Grenville, 11 in the Village of Merrickville-Wolford and 4 on Highway 416. As the weather continues to change this winter season motorist should be adjusting their driving accordingly. Here are some tips for winter driving: Pack an emergency kit for your vehicle. Leave extra stopping distance between you and the vehicle in front of you. Learn and practice winter driving techniques before you need them. Check road and weather conditions ahead of time. Remove all snow from your vehicle before each trip. Give yourself extra travel time in bad weather. Avoid using cruise control on slippery roads. Travel with a fully charged cell phone. SLOW DOWN and WEAR your seatbelt. These driving tips will make roads safer during the winter months for everyone using them. Prevention is better than recovery. Winter driving can be risky, so be prepared!
the north grenville
TIMES Peter Peers
Marketing Consultant Phone 613 989 2850 Email: peter@ngtimes.ca
A national packaging tax rather than a Carbon Tax by Brian Lonergan I went to a chain store last week and bought a few articles for $56. and was then charged five cents for a bag to carry these goods home. I complained to the Company about this, stating that I should have bought less as I would not have needed the large plastic bag. They answered by saying they were doing this to save the environment by reducing landfill. I retorted that the packaging residue from what I bought would occupy twenty times the landfill space than their bag would. In fact I could recycle my kitchen garbage with the bag in lieu of buying a black garbage bag. One bag would cancel the other out, easing that landfill January 4, 2017
problem they insist is there. However, for the Chain Store that is not the issue. It would cost them the immense profit they make charging for the bags as well, lowering their packaging costs overall as less people buy these bags at their inflated cost. Their excuse is that they are doing something for the environment. Balderdash! On Christmas Day, Canada's fifteen million households filled many landfill pits with torn up Christmas paper, ribbons, bows and boxes with the residue from under their Christmas trees. Most kids don't pay attention to this misuse of non biodegradable paper as they rip it all away to get at the prizes underneath. I'm sure many households
filled a garbage pail or two with this mess at considerable cost to Municipal coffers who must rid of it all. My grandson commented that why is anything under the tree wrapped at all? Let us also look at other packaging waste that permeates throughout our society. We buy screws and nails at the hardware store that cost a fraction of the packaging used to hold them. The hard plastic enveloping them requires scissors to cut through and in some cases a lumberjack's arm to open. Cosmetics, toys, medications, food products, and especially Easter chocolate are rife with unnecessary superfluous packaging. Taxing this packaging waste would collect far more funds
than even the proposed National Carbon Tax would. The Carbon Tax would cost a commuting worker an extra eleven cents a litre at the pump. The Post Office would then raise their "fuel surcharge" when we mail a package. All delivery costs would similarly rise. What is one to do as an alternative, fill up his car with sawdust? The point is that this is not a tax but a "penalty". Companies and residents would also have to pay a large percentage more to heat their domains. This would add to the cost of producing manufactured goods, further reducing Canada's balance of payments on the world market. In the USA, Trump wants to bring jobs back home while Canada pro3
poses to keep exporting jobs as they can no longer compete with these extra added costs. Household residents would bear the brunt of the heating tax as there is no present alternative to fuelling their existing furnaces. Alas what is one to do about the dreaded Carbon tax? Not much as governments only see the revenues and don't see the damage these measures will do to our failing economy. It doesn't matter that the people will have a net decline in personal income at the end of the year. Governments will have their pound of blood and the money that goes with it. As usual, the tiny elite that run Canada will have their way!
NGCC sings for Canada 150!
New year, new challenge: to anyone who always wanted to sing, here is your chance! The North Grenville Concert Choir is about to start a new session and would like to invite you to come join us, so if you love to sing, this is your opportunity. We will be preparing a very exciting program of all Canadian songs to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday. Rehearsals are Mondays from 7 - 9 PM at St. John’s United Church in Kemptville and will begin January 9. For more information please call 613-258-1281 or go to www.ngcc.net. www.ngtimes.ca