the
Serving the Mapleton Community
Community News Volume 47 Issue 20
Drayton, Ontario
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Friday, May 16, 2014
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Pending legislation delays decision on hiring commissioner by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON – Implementation of a decision to hire an integrity commissioner for the township may be delayed until pending provincial legislation on municipal accountability works its way through the system. Mapleton council adopted a code of conduct on June 25, 2013. Adoption of the code, which went into effect July 1, was a reaction to two harassment complaints heard by council during the latter part of 2012. Council also directed the CAO to proceed with recruiting a municipal integrity commissioner. At a recent meeting, councillor Neil Driscoll asked if a resolution from the Town of Aurora urging the province to adopt legislation allowing for the public to petition for the ouster of municipal politicians over integrity breaches could impact the need for the appointment of a local commissioner. At the April 22 meeting, CAO Patty Sinnamon presented a report updating council on related developments. In addition to the munici-
pal recall legislation sought by Aurora, Sinnamon explained, Bill 124, a private members bill introduced by Conservative MPP Randy Hillier, was given first reading in the legislature last fall. That bill proposes recall of an MPP upon receiving a petition signed by 25 per cent of the total number of voters who voted in the electoral district in the election at which the member was last elected. “In a nutshell, the proposed legislation is a mechanism to remove provincial elected officials from office,� said Sinnamon. The private member’s bill is separate from the Liberal government’s Public Sector and MPP Accountability and Transparency Act, 2014 (Bill 179), introduced on March 24. Sinnamon pointed out current legislation allows the provincial ombudsman to investigate decisions or actions of municipal councils only if the municipality has not appointed an investigator under subsection 239.2 of the Municipal Act. Under Bill 179, she explained, “complaints may be investigated by the Ontario Continued on page 8
Youth centre Mud Run promises mess of fun DRAYTON - The Drayton Youth Centre’s second annual Mud Run is set to take place on June 7. The approximately six kilometre run will start at the soccer field on Wellington Street and follow the trails beside the Conestogo River. Organizers note this year’s event features some new, challenging obstacles and “lots more mud!� Participants can sign up on Eventbrite.ca. Pledge forms are available on the youth centre’s website. Spectators are encouraged to come and cheer. Also new this year is a muddy obstacle course for youths aged 6 to 13 at 9am at the soccer field. Participants may pre-register for the youth event by contacting Gillian Mackenzie, Dahl Atin or Brian Kamm. All proceeds from the Mud Run activities go toward operating the youth centre’s facilities and special events. For more information, check draytonyouthcentre.ca or the group’s Facebook page Drayton Youth Centre Mud Run.
High school musical Theatre Norwell staged its annual musical production at the high school in Palmerston from May 8 to 10. ABOVE: Mapleton residents Morgan Mitchell and Drew Morgan played the roles of Belle and Gaston in the well-attended production of Beauty and the Beast. RIGHT: Jeremiah Weidemann, left, and Ben Wideman portrayed enchanted objects in the show. photos by Patrick Raftis
Small-town roots serve Mapleton native well in position with Google by Patrick Raftis KITCHENER - Growing up on a farm between Drayton and Moorefield, Michelle Debeyer didn’t give a lot of thought to the idea of one day working in a high-tech field. “I didn’t even know this world existed,� said Debeyer, who today strives to hire and retain Canada’s top tech talent as a human resources specialist at Google Canada’s KitchenerWaterloo office. “I grew up fairly isolated in a small town and sometimes your world feels very small and I didn’t realize there were all these great opportunities,� Debeyer told the Community News in a recent interview. “And that’s something I hope guidance counsellors at high schools are a little bit better at ... showing people these opportunities are out there.� While living on the farm with her parents Jerry and Liz Debeyer and five siblings, if she thought about a future career, it was in the field of teaching. “I just felt like that was a job I should do,� she recalls adding, “Once I got into uni-
Google worker - Mapleton native Michelle Debeyer enjoys her work in the human resources department at Google Canada’s Kitchener-Waterloo office. The company was recently named Canada’s top workplace for the fourth year in a row. submitted photo
versity my world opened up.� Originally planning to study English, Debeyer took a psychology class at the University of Waterloo and enjoyed it enough to switch her major. “Then I was lucky enough to get a co-op term at a company in tech, in HR and really liked it,� she said. Main St. W. Palmerston
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About that time she began taking courses in industrial organizational psychology and decided to minor in human resources studies and gear her work terms to HR. After graduating in 1995, she went to work in human resources for a series of technology companies, including
a five-year stint at Research In Motion (now Blackberry). “From there, I had my family (she kept her maiden name and still goes by Debeyer) and I decided to do independent consulting,� she notes. “And then this Google opportunity came up and I thought, this is fantastic and a
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great thing for my career,� said Debeyer, who joined the search engine giant just under three years ago. Debeyer says her focus at work is in career development, rather than recruiting. “I look after the tech population in Canada,� she said. “Once a person comes on board, I make sure they’re doing well at Google in terms of career development - making sure they are happy, their careers are growing ... basically retain and make sure our employees are the happiest employees on the planet.� While Google offers a wide range of programs aimed at delivering employee satisfaction, Debeyer said the company’s career development focus is one of the most unique. “We really want people to move with their career. We spend a lot of time with employees making sure we set goals for them and they meet their goals and we reward them for that,� she explained. “We do that by getting a lot of feedback. And that feedback helps drive people’s careers.� Promotions at the company
are arranged through committees. “I support all the engineers through that process,� said Debeyer. While Google is a global company, Debeyer said her own work, while involving some international travel, is focused domestically. “Obviously we are focused on Canada and hiring the top talent in Canada. Once in a while I have to meet with my colleagues around the world, but mostly my focus is our Canadian engineers.� The work environment at Google is another selling point for the company’s recruiters, Debeyer notes. “We really pride ourselves on our work environment. We try to create a very collaborative base. We do work in teams. We put teams together,� she said. “We also provide places where people can be quiet and they can think. We also provide comfortable spaces. If you walked around our office you would find couches and a lounge area. You feel like you’re working in your living room.� Continued on page 3
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