The Creemore
ECHO
Friday, March 25, 2022 Vol. 22
No. 12
www.creemore.com
News and views in and around Creemore
INSIDE
Brush Away Winter
Community art show canvasses available PAGE 7
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INVESTORS TAKE NOTE 151 MILL ST. AKA CREEMORE MEAT MARKET PLUS APARTMENT BUILDING MLS#40018368 Vicki Bell, Broker 154 Mill St.Creemore 705-446-4539
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Refugee shares story at fundraiser for Ukraine by Trina Berlo Jim Slattery has invited his Ukrainian friend Andrew Melnyk to Creemore to speak at a fundraiser for the Canada Ukraine Foundation. Slattery said he was inspired to do something to help after Russian invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, so far resulting in the death of more than 2,000 civilians and displacing close to 3.5 million refugees. “People don’t know what to do. I didn’t know what to do,” said Slattery. He thought of his friend Melnyk, an educator and historian who has authored a book about his family’s experience as refugees after the Second World War. In My Father’s Mill, Melnyk tells the tale of returning to Ukraine after the fall of the iron curtain, a journey he made with his wife Chrystyna Tatomyr. The couple met while skiing in Quebec and realized they had a common experience; they had both been born in what was then called Galicia, a region that now spans western Ukraine and eastern Poland, at the height of the war. As the Red Army approached, they fled (See “Ukrainians” on page 3)
Contributed photo
Jim Slattery (centre) with Andrew Melnyk and Chrystyna Tatomyr at a protest and fundraiser held outside the Russian embassy in Toronto on Feb. 27.
Speed issue parked to allow for legal input by Trina Berlo Clearview council has voted to refer approved speed reductions to staff, directing them to seek legal advice on liability, insurability, and whether council was required to follow its Traffic Calming Policy when making the decisions. The move is another turn on a long and winding road that is close to resulting in the lowering of posted speeds from 80 km/hr down to 60 km/hr on Fairgrounds Road, River Road/Concession 6 and the 10th Concession. The speed limit debate was back on the agenda Monday because Councillor Connie Leishman put forward a motion to reconsider the decision. This allowed
council to then refer the items back to staff, which passed unanimously. Although the 10th Concession was not specifically discussed at Monday’s council meeting, it was swept up in the referral process after Gord Zeggil, in an effort to put a stop to the speed reductions, tabled a legal opinion in support of his claim that council disregarded its own Traffic Calming Policy when making the decision, specifically with regard to public consultation. Staff will investigate if the policy is relevant to the topic of rural roads, which have come to serve as routes for through-traffic. Deputy director of public works Dan Perreault said speed reduction is not a measure outlined in
the policy. “Arbitrary, unrealistic and nonuniform limits have created a socially acceptable disregard for the speed limits,” said Zeggil during a March 21 deputation, presenting data that unrealistic speed limits will actually increase the risk of collisions and decrease compliance, and increase safety risks to pedestrians and cyclists. “A reasonable speed limit offers an effective enforcement tool to the police by clearly separating the occasional violator from the reasonable majority.” Zeggil solicited a legal opinion from Steven J. O’Melia of Miller Thomson Lawyers that said the policy should have been followed.
“…It is our opinion that township council has not followed the rules it established for itself in its Traffic Calming Policy. Not doing so renders any decisions that are made pursuant to that flawed process more vulnerable to a legal challenge. While the outcome of such a challenge can never be predicted with certainty, it is clear that the township’s failure to adhere to its own rules would form part of the judicial consideration, writes O’Melia in a letter dated March 21. “It is not too late for the township to correct these deficiencies by carrying out the process set out in the policy prior to making a decision on a bylaw to (See “Opposition” on page 3)
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