the
Serving the Mapleton Community
Community News Volume 45 Issue 28
Drayton, Ontario
1 Year GIC - 2.06% 3 Year GIC - 2.36% 5 Year GIC - 2.71% Daily Interest 1.75%
Friday, July 13, 2012
NWHC board approves financing plan for new Palmerston health centre by Patrick Raftis MINTO - Plans for construction of an 11,000-squarefoot health centre on the Palmerston and District Hospital site are one step closer to reality. The North Wellington Health Care (NWHC) board has approved a preliminary financing plan for the project, which will be financed through a joint effort of municipal financing, hospital investment and allocated special funding from the hospital’s foundation. Stephen Street, acting CEO for NWHC, said plans for the project are “in their infancy� so it’s impossible to attach a dollar figure until the project goes to tender. Street said projections for the size of the building were based on anticipated income from prospective rental tenants. The new health centre will create some medical office space to aid in the recruitment and accommodation of new physicians, as well as space for
health care partners such as the Minto Mapleton Family Health Team and Trellis Mental Health and Community Care Access Centres. Street said additional working space will be needed as new physicians are recruited to the community. “We have some physicans planning for retirement in the next few years and we want to be ahead of the recruitment game,� he said. “It takes a number of new physicians to replace a retiring physicians at today’s practice standards.� The new health centre will also help centralize some health care services so patients do not need to travel as far for health care services. A request for proposal to hire an architect for the health centre is underway. The architect will design the new health centre as well as the emergency and ambulatory care project at Louise Marshall Hospital in Mount Forest. Both designs are expected later this year.
CN, GRCA have met over abutment issue by David Meyer MAPLETON TWP. - It has taken nearly a year, but council here is finally getting some action on eroding abandoned rail abutments on the Conestogo River in Drayton. Councillor Andy Knetsch has been pushing for something to be done about the erosion around the site, mainly because of the possibility of a collapse of the old rail bridge abutment into the river. A steep slope on one side of the abutment is eroding quickly. On June 26, the issue came up when council considered unfinished business. Chief administrative officer
Patty Sinnamon said the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) and officials with the Canadian National Railway (CN) have now held a site meeting and are considering a fence around the area to keep people away from what is literally a cliff. She added there were “no comments about removing it.� Sinnamon said CN has no environmental concerns and is waiting for the GRCA to comment on the situation. After that, officials will come to council to discuss the issue. Sinnamon concluded, “We’re sort of the mediator between the two groups.�
Reaching for the sky -The Drayton Community Vacation Bible School was held this week at the Drayton Reformed Church. Approximately 150 children danced, sang, made crafts, and played their way through the week while learning Bible stories and verses. This year’s theme was “Sky: Everything is Possible with God.� photo by Wilma Mol
Pettapiece: WSIB changes will hurt small contractors Mennonite officials also oppose changes for religious reasons by Patrick Raftis PERTH-WELLINGTON Looming changes to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) will hamper small, independent construction contractors by adding to their costs, says Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece. He is a member of the Ontario legislature’s all-party Standing Committee on Government Agencies, which is currently conducting a review of the WSIB. During recent hearings, Pettapiece says many stakeholders expressed concern that high premiums and red tape are taking a toll on small businesses. “Small businesses drive our economy,� said Pettapiece. “But they’re facing higher and higher operating costs because of too much red tape and other provincial policies.� This affects Ontario’s ability to recover from the economic downturn, Pettapiece added. Effective Jan. 1, 2013, all small, independent construction contractors must carry WSIB insurance on themselves.
Currently these owners may purchase their own private insurance. Many such policies offer better coverage than WSIB insurance and at lower costs, said Pettapiece. “Many of these policies provide seven-day-a-week coverage, while WSIB only covers them on the job,� Pettapiece explained. He noted the new rules will place all employees of a construction firm in the same premium category. “They will have to insure every employee, as if they were a construction worker, even a secretary working in an office,� he said. Also appearing at the committee’s review was a local group of Old Order Mennonite representatives from Perth and Wellington counties. Aaron Weber, Chair of the Old Order Mennonite Government Relations Committee, appealed to the committee to exempt his community from paying the mandatory WSIB premiums for reasons of religious conscience. Currently, Mennonite’s op-
erating farms and businesses which fall under the WSIB’s regulatory umbrella are compelled to purchase insurance. “It’s against their religion to pay into insurance plans and they want to be exempted,� said Pettapiece, adding Mennonites are already exempted from paying Canada Pension Plan premiums by the federal government and are simply seeking a similar exemption from the province. Some Mennonite business operators, he said, have had their bank accounts garnished for failing to pay premiums. Weber told the review committee that if WSIB were a tax, rather than an insurance plan, his community would have no problem paying, although they wouldn’t access the benefits. Pettapiece first met with Weber and others from his community in January at his constituency office. Pettapiece followed up by arranging a meeting for the group with the Ministry of Labour, and then inviting them to appear before the committee.
“I hope the government will listen to the views expressed today,� said Pettapiece. “Independent contractors and our Mennonite community have expressed serious concerns with the government’s policy of forcing them to purchase insurance through the WSIB.� Pettapiece says his party wants to scrap Bill 119, which would implement the changes. WSIB spokesperson Christine Arnott said any exemptions from paying mandatory WSIB premiums would require new legislation from the provincial government. However, she noted senior WSIB executives have had meetings in the past with members of the Mennonite community to hear their concerns and another meeting with recentlyappointed WSIB chair Elizabeth Witmer is planned in the next few weeks. Over the next three years, the WSIB expects between 65,000 and 95,000 new entrants to the system as a result of the new mandatory coverage requirements.
Councillors wrangle before ‘clean and clear’ bylaw gets approved by David Meyer MAPLETON TWP. - Just how long can a homeowner in an urban area allow his grass to grow before it becomes too unsightly? That was a big argument here on June 26 when council considered proposals from its bylaw enforcement officer for a “clean and clear� bylaw. It would set out fines for failure to comply with directions from the township to
clean up a property, but it does not replace the property standards bylaw. The clean and clear bylaw is a tool the municipality can use to force property owners to clean up messes that neighbours find unsightly. The process will be driven by complaints, bylaw enforcement officer Maurita Boyle told council. She offered a list of fines for offences, with short form wording: - failing to maintain land
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free from refuse, $100; - failing to maintain land free from wrecked, dismantled, un-plated vehicles, $100; - failing to maintain land free from wrecked, dismantled, abandoned boats, machinery, trailers, $100; - failing to maintain land free from grass or weeds over 12 inches in height, $100; - failing to maintain land free from dilapidated or a collapsed structure, $150;
- failing to maintain land free from partially constructed structures not currently under construction, $150; - failing to maintain land free from injurious insects, termites, rodents, vermin, $100; - failing to maintain land free from dead, diseased, decayed, or damaged trees, $100; and - throwing, placing, depositing refuse on property without the written consent of the
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property owner, $150. When council considered Boyle’s report, Mayor Bruce Whale asked how much time the township should give someone, for example, to cut grass deemed to be too high. Boyle replied, “You have to give them time.� She said she could live with a deadline of 72 hours, but it could go as long as 15 days. Or, she said, “You [council] could shorten that.� She said a week would likely
be adequate. But councillor Jim Curry did not like allowing grass to grow to a foot high in urban areas. He has received several complaints about that, and, “I’d like to see that amended.� Whale noted that at a previous meeting, councillor Neil Driscoll pointed out the township has not been meeting the 12 inch requirement. “We have to live within the Continued on page 3
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