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Now to the sewage
overflows that
took
place on Monday March 13th 2006. Sewage water
was freely flowing from two manhole covers, one was discharging
into the creek on the South West corner of the Kincardine Golf
and Country Club and then into the lake where it formed a scum,
the other was in the middle of Golf Course Trail pouring out on
the golf course and onto adjacent properties.
03/22/06 Read More
and
HERE .
-Public Works Report
01/24/07 HERE
(Item 13.3)
-Power Point Presentation
05/05/07 HERE
-Dec.
19, 2007
The decision was made that home owners will not be forced to
unhook their footing drains from the sanitary sewer. |
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Kincardine
Fred Kirby
April 30 , 2008
“A BY-LAW TO
ADOPT A POLICY WITH RESPECT TO ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY” was approved
November 21, 2007 by the Kincardine Municipality Council. On one hand, it warms
the heart to see such basic principles of democracy recognized though we will
have to wait to see if the by-law is actually honoured by acceptance and
practice rather than ignored as with the federal and provincial governments
using weasel words and denial. On the other hand, it is sad that grown men and
women who feel competent to govern in a democracy would require such a policy.
This old Muser has been writing of such practices, all to no avail, for as long
as he has been writing Municipal Musings.
Members of Council do not have to be concerned about this by-law (No. 2007-354)
because it is filled with buzzwords signifying nothing. What does “Promoting the
efficient use of municipal resources” mean? That should be a given for managers
and members of council. And how does the citizen judge efficiency? Is building
an addition to the Davidson Centre, so that folks can play cards and have a
coffee when that activity could be accommodated elsewhere, a better use of
municipal resources than an extra ice surface? Is it a better use of resources
than building a rehabilitation centre that would serve the growing elderly
population as well as the young? How these decisions are evaluated is not set
out. The municipality spent some millions of dollars to build a medical clinic
thus assisting doctors in their private practice, and then Council turned down a
proposal for a rehabilitation centre as part of the Davidson Centre extension
because it was a private venture. Now the municipality is going to pay
$26,173.42 as its contribution for a gate and road extension to help out Bruce
Power. How do these examples demonstrate “the efficient use of municipal
resources?
As for accountability! How do you hold the municipality and members of council
accountable without a policy requiring specific practices? Council commits the
municipality to paying huge sums of money without a “recorded vote.” It makes
decisions without a “recorded vote on contested zoning by-laws. And after
delegates to Council speak on a contentious issue, Council’s response should be
in the way of a recorded vote but now they do not regard the vote. Individual
members of Council should be held accountable just as much as council for the
decisions they make. A mandatory procedure would be simple to put in place and
would be far fairer than the current practice of only having a recorded vote if
a member requests it and, I believe, council agrees. Recently there were two
contentious zoning issues before council; one ended with a recorded vote, the
other did not. Where is the individual accountability?
I cannot count the times I have written of the need for transparency. It is
almost becoming a sick joke. The municipal staff understands the importance of
sharing information but is limited because they are employees. There are no
restrictions on Council and committee members from open and frank discussion.
They have choice.
Who will make sure Mayor Kraemer lives up to the policy when he shows no
inclination to be accountable or transparent, even with his own colleagues?
We all should be judged by our work not by pieces of paper on an office wall or
by position. Mission statements and non-binding policy statements by themselves
are meaningless. Well done is better than well said.
Rights,
Responsibilities and Justice
by Melanie Hains April
30, 2008
Imagine one day you look into your backyard and see a group of strangers
digging in your garden. You walk outside and ask them what is going on and
they inform you that the Government of Ontario has given them permission
to mine on your land. You are shocked and upset that the government would
do so without any discussion with you. You protest that the digging should
stop until some sort of an agreement can be reached. You are told that you
must stop protesting and allow the mining to continue. When you continue
to try to prevent the destruction of your land, you are jailed. Such an
unfair situation could never occur in Canada though, right?
On March 17, 2008 six band leaders from the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug
First Nation (KI First Nation) were sentenced to six months in jail for
attempting to stop the mining company, Platinex, from drilling on their
land. Since 2006, the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI First Nation),
located in the Big Trout Lake area northwest of Thunder Bay, has been
trying to prevent the drilling in the Boreal forest. It won a temporary
injunction due to the destruction of its land that would occur if the
mining was allowed. However, this injunction was lifted last May and the
KI First Nation was told that they had to allow the drilling or face
contempt of court charges.
The KI First Nation band councillors are criminalized for asserting their
legal treaty rights. Treaty 9 was signed in 1929 guaranteeing those
rights. The disruptive and destructive nature of drilling will interfere
with their ability to sustain themselves with the products of their land.
They now have lost their trust in the federal and provincial governments.
The Government of Ontario sold a permit to Platinex without any discussion
with the KI First Nation in spite of an earlier Supreme Court ruling that
governments must consult with and accommodate first nations before doing
anything that may infringe treaty rights.
The history of our relationship with first nations has been one of broken
promises. The dispute could be easily resolved by amending the Ontario
Mining Act. Written in the 19th century, the Act has ignored treaty rights
from its inception. It is within the power of the Ontario government to
change the Act. It is a decision Premier McGuinty does not want to make.
“If democracy is to flourish, it must have criticism,
If government is to function, it must have dissent.”
-
Henry Steele Commager
Municipal Musings is a website primarily dedicated to municipal affairs:
the good,
the bad, and the ugly. The principal subject is the Municipality of
Kincardine,
Ontario, located on the beautiful shores of Lake Huron, 310 Km from Detroit
and 225 Km west of Toronto at the intersection of Highway 21 and 9.
The
heading ‘Kincardine’ gives you articles and comments on Kincardine.
‘Elsewhere’ takes you to issues in other municipalities as well as broader
political subjects.
Feedback
via the ‘contact’ button is welcome; your issues are my issues when they
include transparency, fairness, and justice.
The
column, Municipal Musings, appears weekly in the
Kincardine
Independent,
a small town newspaper that dares to be good and is read far and wide. The
column seeks fair practices and transparency in municipal council’s
activities and accountability by councillors and managers. Citizens
deserve nothing less.
Fred Kirby
“Local
government operates on a gentleman’s agreement that the officials won’t
tell how incompetent the Councillors are as long as the Councillors don’t
tell how idle the officials are.” - Yes,
Prime Minister
“The death of democracy is not likely to be an
assassination from ambush.
It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and
undernourishment.”
(Robert Maynard Hutchins)
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