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Federal funding aimed at human trafficking Jennifer McIntosh jennifer.mcintosh@metroland. com
News - The federal government hopes to have an impact on human trafficking in Ottawa. Rona Ambrose, the federal minister responsible for the status of women announced that $200,000 would be given to Persons Against the Crime of Trafficking in Humans Ottawa at a June 24 event at city hall. “This project will help to support the safety of women and girls in our nation’s capital,” Am-
brose said. “Our government is taking action to protect the most vulnerable women in Canadian society. We are doing this through action plans, new laws and essential women’s projects.” Ambrose added the federal government recently launched a national action plan to combat human trafficking. To improve the safety of women and girls across Canada who are targeted for sexual exploitation. The money will fund a two-year study that aims to prevent traffick-
ing through education and collaboration. PACT Ottawa, along with the Ottawa police and Crime Prevention Ottawa will be working together to compile the data. FINDING PROGRAM GAPS
Consultations within the community will aim to find gaps in programs. Gloucester-South Nepean Coun. Steve Desroches said there have been charges of human trafficking laid by the Ottawa police in the past and he supports the initia-
tive because it will work with stakeholders to protect the city’s women and girls. “Our organization is committed to ending the victimization of women and girls that results from the crime of human trafficking,” said Christina Harrison, director of project imPACT for PACT Ottawa. “We are pleased to partner with the Status of Women Canada and local agencies on this timely project, which will focus on vulnerable girls and young women from varied socio-economic back-
grounds.” Insp. Uday Jaswal, who be the lead on the project from the Ottawa police side, said there it can be hard to identify trafficking victims because of under-reporting. “I think there’s also a wealth of information in the many agencies locally that provide support for victims of human trafficking, but they don’t often get a chance to collaborate,” he said. The project will be entitled Working Together: Engaging Communities to End Violence Against Women and Girls.
JENNIFER MCINTOSH/METROLAND
Insp. Uday Jaswal the Ottawa police talks about the importance of bringing the city’s resources to put a stop to human trafficking.
Realtors renew push for a marijuana grow-op registry laura.mueller@metroland.com
News - Ontario residents are still at risk of unknowingly buying a home that housed a marijuana-growing operation or drug lab, the provincial real estate association said as it renewed its push for a provincial registry. As members of the Ontario Real Estate Association gathered west of the city in Perth,
Ottawa real estate agent and Riverside South resident Pat Verge called on the provincial government to act now to let the public know when a home has been damaged or its safety compromised by housing a growing operation . Verge called the prevalence of grow-ops in Ottawa “alarming” and said everyone has a right to know if that’s what they are buying – or in her case, selling.
It’s not to say that those homes shouldn’t be sold to new owners, Verge said. But people should be aware that the home is damaged because it means they may have to spend upwards of $100,000 to $150,000 to repair it and make it safe. The city has made baby steps in the right direction, Verge said. The Ottawa police have a list of known grow-op locations where charges have
Rural hospitals receive funding for patient-centered projects John Carter john.carter@metroland.com
EMC news – Eight rural hospitals, including Arnprior Regional Health, will receive new funding for collaborative programs aimed at improving patient care. The Arnprior District Champlain Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) announced the $3.9 million in one-time funding in late May and discussed the programs at its board meeting May 29 at Cedar Hill school near Pakenham. The money will allow the eight small hospitals in the Champlain region to partner on six new initiatives. The projects will provide more co-ordinated quality care and improve the transition of patients between hospital and community services. The newly named Champlain Alliance of Small Hospitals worked closely with the LHIN to choose projects based on patients’ needs, ensuring they aligned with the LHIN’s strategic priorities. Most of the funding will go toward upgrading electronic patient records and allowing hospitals to share information with other providers in the patient’s care team. That will increase quality, improve efficiency and eliminate duplicate files for those being admitted, discharged or transferred. Community-based health providers such as Family Health Teams will have real-time access to patients’ hospital clinical results. This will mean more seamless care for patients as
they transition through the system. Additional funded projects include assisting hospital patients to return home safely with community supports in place, and conducting a feasibility study on the creation of a regional pharmacy among small hospitals to improve co-ordination and safety. The Home First approach used in urban areas to help hospital patients continue their recovery safely and comfortably at home while receiving enhanced home-care services will now be expanded to rural areas region. The rural hospitals will also put in place standardized, evidence-based checklists used by clinicians to ensure patients get the most appropriate treatment. The projects need to be in place by this December 2013. The eight participating hospitals are in Arnprior, Renfrew, Almonte, Carleton Place, Deep River, Barry’s Bay, Alexandria and Kemptville. “Small and rural hospitals play a crucial role in the health system, providing top-notch care to people close to where they live,” said Champlain LHIN CEO Chantale LeClerc. “The Champlain LHIN is supporting rural hospitals by investing in projects that will make a real difference to patient care. What’s most important is that eight small hospitals in our region are working together to achieve results.” If the 2013 Ontario budget is passed, the Transformation Fund for Small and Rural Hospitals will provide an annual source of funding for such programs.
been laid, but that list only dates back three months. Large operations that are busted by the RCMP aren’t included on that list. And the list doesn’t acknowledge the real number of growing operations that the police may never find out about. At any give time, it is estimated there are 300 to 400 active grow ops in Ottawa, po-
lice have told Verge. Another recent local improvement was a bylaw passed last fall that will force people who own homes that become grow ops to pay for them to be fixed. Verge said she gives the city full credit for working to address the issue. ““But we need provincial leadership on this problem,”
she said. There are ways to find out about the history of a home – for a price. Websites like iverify.com provide home histories, but they charge a fee. That information should be publically accessible, Verge said. The best way to do that would be to register the fact that it was a grow op on the home’s title.
0606.R0012126660
Laura Mueller
4785 Loggers Way, Arnprior, Ontario K7S 3G7 admin@treedoctor.ca 613-623-3780 fax 613-623-6392
EMERALD ASH BORER - COMING TO AN ASH TREE NEAR YOU This little beetle is a highly destructive insect native to the Asian Continent. It was discovered in the Windsor/ Detroit corridor in 2002. It has since destroyed millions of trees. It was discovered in the City of Ottawa in 2008. Since that time the City of Ottawa, Leeds and Grenville have been quarantined and the movement of ash wood and wood products is prohibited. The City of Ottawa removed 800 affected trees in the winter of 2011. The handling of ash trees that have been affected by emerald ash borer can take special techniques. Gardiner Tree Trimming & Removal Ltd. strives to use the safest methods possible to remove dead and dangerous trees of all species. Our methods use equipment such as a crane, bucket or excavator as the job requires. Gardiner Tree Trimming & Removal Ltd. offers TreeAzin® Systemic Insecticide. It is an injectable insecticide formulated with azadirachtin, an extract of neem tree seeds (not neem oil). TreeAzin is registered by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) (PCP 30559). Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment (MOE) scheduled TreeAzin® as a class 4 pesticide or “least hazardous that is
commercial”, with a class 11 active ingredient. TreeAzin is exempt from Ontario’s Cosmetic Pesticide Ban Act.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR: EAB is a slender, elongate insect about 1/3 - 1/2 inch long. It is widest just behind the head, gradually tapering back to the abdomen. It is a bright iridescent green to copper-green color, often with a copper colored area behind the head. Its body underneath the wings is a purplish-magenta color. Trees typically are killed in two to four years. When trees are first attacked by EABs, the symptoms are inconspicuous and hard to notice. By the end of the second year, thinning foliage and dieback in the crown begins to be
apparent. By the third year, there is severe dieback and little foliage. Ash can tolerate small numbers of EAB larvae but trees are girdled and killed when populations become more numerous. When the adults emerge, they create small, 1/8 inch D-shaped exit holes that are characteristic of this insect, although they can be hard to see. If you were to remove the bark on the trunk of a tree showing these symptoms, you should also find the larval galleries. Woodpecker attacks on ash could also indicate the presence of emerald ash borers.
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