Municipal Elections –
Make your vote count
Dear Editor,
What a great letter Diane Mainville wrote regarding elections. She nailed it right on the head and what excellent advice she had for taxpayers. It is too bad the letter wasn’t published sooner because I would have gladly shared it with everyone I knew or didn’t know.
Unfortunately when I read her letter it was almost a true reflection of what has been going on in Thorne. Sad for sure. The rumors, lies and misinformation out here are running rampant.
I would offer this as well. Before you cast your vote ask yourself the following: If this is a second term candidate, did he/she keep the promises made? Ask yourself this question also: am I better off today than I was four years ago?
Do people know that it is a criminal offense to tamper with or steal candidates’ signs? I would even suggest that if this is happening like it is in Thorne, that people who witness such an activity report it to police immediately.
We are lucky to live in a democratic society and our veterans who fought so hard for us would be devastated to learn that this is going on.
Again, what a great informative letter.
Diane Champoux
Thorne, Que.
CNL announces a revision
Dear Editor,
CNL has announced that they will not include intermediate-level waste in the mega dump. Our colleagues, Ole Hendrickson and Craig Robinson, brought us this news from last week’s meeting of the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Environmental Stewardship Council which they attend regularly on behalf of our groups. CNL has now also posted this news on their website. CNL has reacted to public outcry and to the 200+ submissions. This is good news that public pressure is beginning to have an effect.
We are not yet victorious. There is no clear definition of low- and intermediate-level waste. There will still be very long-lived materials in the dump. It is still against International Atomic Energy Agency standards and it is still too close to the river. Our work must continue so that we will be heard fully. This news may make it easier for the dump to get approval as some will think by removing intermediate-level waste there is no longer any danger. They are wrong.
If we listen to our scientists, we know that removing intermediate-level waste does not solve one of the biggest flaws with this proposal. Scientists tell us that there is a great deal of harmful material, some with long-lived radionuclides, in what CNL calls low-level waste. In Canada, long-lived post fission wastes, such as plutonium, are considered low-level wastes as they do not require shielding for handling. There are also very toxic materials, including heavy metals, involved. In no way should these materials be abandoned in an above-ground mound. Remember too that the International Atomic Energy Agency says that a mound-landfill, which is what the Engineered Containment Mound is, is only suitable for VERY low-level waste. CNL’s proposed facility (even for low-level waste) does not comply with international standards.
We have made progress but we still have a long row to hoe. We must make sure that people understand that low-level waste includes very dangerous material. CNL must also hear us that we do not accept radioactive waste coming to Chalk River for disposal from other locations. And we must continue to tell CNL that the location beside the river is not acceptable.
Lynn Jones
Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County and Area
Johanna Echlin
Old Fort William Cottagers’ Association
Important points
Dear Editor,
I would like to take some time to address the article written in the Oct. 25 issue reporting the Western Quebec Literacy Council’s Annual General Meeting “WQLC 2017 budget dwarfed by unexpected grant.” The article failed to bring up some important points about an increased budget.
The article focused on the accountant, Peter B. Smith’s, presentation in which he warned of the dangers of a surplus in a not-for-profit organization. What is not mentioned is that a surplus covering operational expenses for a six month period is a strategy that many organizations apply because of the sometimes inconsistent and intermittent nature of grants. The situation that the WQLC finds itself in presently is a prime example of why six months operational surplus is a responsible thing to have. The WQLC has not received its funding for the 2017-2018 fiscal year (the fiscal year ends June 30 at the WQLC). At this very moment, we find ourselves fortunate to have the capacity to continue operations as we wait for confirmation of our funding.
Another point to be noted is that we received the grant less than two months before the organization’s year end. Due to the short timeline, the organization is allowed to spend the money within the next fiscal year. This surplus will be covering expenses that have been planned for 2018, such as the part-time Executive Director position becoming a full-time position, among other projects.
The WQLC was happy to upgrade its computer system with the help of the additional money received from the PACTE (Programme d’action communautaire sur le terrain de l’éducation) grant from the Ministry of Education. Two laptops were purchased as teaching tools to be used by our tutors and students. The administrative computer system was also updated.
Moreover, it was clarified at the meeting that the Retirement Savings Plan mentioned by Smith was for employees, not volunteers. The new law being implemented by the federal government only applies to organizations and businesses with five employees or more and is, therefore, not applicable to the WQLC with its two employees.
Michèle Gagnon, Executive Director
Western Quebec Literacy Council
Campbell’s Bay, Que.
Rights in our education system
Dear Editor,
On Oct. 26 I attended the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) annual Distinguished Community Service Award event held in downtown Montreal.
The evening was basically hosted by the Network’s president James Shea, who is chairman of the Western Quebec School Board and member of the Executive Committee of the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA).
Among those honoured was former MNA Clifford Lincoln whose words: “rights are rights are rights” echoed through the National Assembly on Dec. 20, 1988. (He was referring to Bill 178, a controversial law regarding the language of commercial signs in the province.)
Interestingly, the same evening, a few blocks away, the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal held a rally to complain about “the decline of French and the funding of legal guerrillas of powerful Anglophone lobbyists like the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN).” (translation)
That said, our present Liberal government led by Premier Couillard was elected by over 1.7 million voters, in 2014, with a mandate for school board reform.
In 2015, it created Bill 86, which promised to give greater decision-making power to schools, parents , teachers, principals and support staff by abolishing elected school boards.
However, the draft bill collapsed due to a massive fear mongering campaign led by the QESBA and strongly supported by the QCGN.
At the time, Dan Lamoureux, chairman of the Riverside School Board and a director of the QESBA was the president of the QCGN.
The questionable costly campaign tactics employed by the QESBA warranted an explanation.
Following the rescinding of the draft bill, the government created Bill 105, which gave school principals more power by allowing them, via Resource Allocation Committees, to distribute some school board funds, to schools.
But this forward-looking idea is anathema to the anachronistic QESBA. Its president, Jennifer Maccarone, said that elected councils are the “rights holder” of schools. Note the use of the word “rights.”
At any rate, as far as the QESBA is concerned, who claim to be the “voice” of English education in Quebec, think of the words of Premier Couillard.
He reportedly said on Sept. 16, 2015: “QESBA has neither the political support nor the legal legitimacy to represent Quebec’s English-speaking citizens.” (translated from Le Devoir)
Lastly, as far as rights are concerned, they belong to parents and the taxpayer – not the self-serving QESBA, nor the QCGN, who should know better.
Chris Eustace
Montreal, Que.
