Local forces combine with US chopper to find body

MAPLE POINT-A young fish-farm worker from Aundeck Omni Kaning is dead after his all-terrain vehicle (ATV) plunged through thin ice near Maple Point on the weekend.

David Andrew Boyer, 28, was driving a green ATV on Mudge Bay in the pre-dawn hours on Sunday, when the vehicle went through the ice about 200 metres off the shore of Maple Point, northwest of the village of Kagawong.

At about 6:30 am, Pat and Lynn Beaudoin of Maple View Road heard Mr. Boyer's cries for help and alerted the Billings and Aundeck Omni Kaning (AOK) fire departments, as well as the OPP.

According to Constable Al Boyd, community service officer with the OPP, the elderly couple was "quite shaken up by the incident," but "unfortunately couldn't do much because they weren't physically capable and didn't have the equipment."

The Billings fire department was the first on the scene, with members of the AOK fire department, who are trained in ice rescues, and OPP officers arriving soon thereafter. A helicopter operated by the US coast guard was also commissioned to assist in the search, after police contacted the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre based in Trenton.

Constable Boyd explained that, under a new international agreement, "any vessel that's in the closest proximity to a mayday or emergency within joint territorial waters of the US and Canada" can be accessed for help, and "it just so happened that the US helicopter was in Sault Ste. Marie at the time. They were fantastic," he added, noting that the helicopter was "there within half-an-hour."

AOK Fire Chief David Corbiere said that his crew arrived at 7:35 am. "Everybody's trained in ice rescues," he said. "We had dry suits and ropes, and there was a boat already there, so we used that to do a search. The chopper showed up about an hour later."

It was the helicopter, he said, which finally located the individual's body, which had sunk to the bottom of the bay. The water is quite shallow off the end of Maple Point, however. Mr. Corbiere said that, when his team "went out to retrieve the body, we found him in just eight feet of water."

The fire chief said that one of Mr. Boyer's boots had come off, so a white sock was visible in the depths. The firefighters used a pole to raise the body.

By that point, however, the accident victim had succumbed to the icy water, and showed no vital signs. He was later pronounced dead by the coroner, said Constable Boyd, with a post-mortem to have been conducted in Sudbury on Monday.

Initially, police and fire departments were unable to identify the individual, and it wasn't until Monday afternoon that a statement was issued that named Mr. Boyer as the victim. Fire Chief Corbiere explained that, while Mr. Boyer was a resident of Aundeck Omni Kaning, he had only been in the community for about a year, and had not grown up on the reserve.

Mr. Boyer was employed with Wabuno Fish Farms, which operates an aquaculture site in the North Channel. Kagawong resident Dan Yorke said that this seemed evident once the ATV was raised by the OPP's underwater search and recovery unit on Sunday afternoon. "There was fish feed on the back of the seat, so you could kind of put two and two together," he noted.

According to Mr. Corbiere, a former president of Wabuno Fish Farms, it is unlikely that Mr. Boyer was conducting work related to the aquaculture operation, as employees are expected to wear flotation suits, and the site where Mr. Boyer went through the ice is not on a typical route that such workers would follow.

The investigating officer in this incident is Sergeant Richard Rusticus.

Hagersville example lends urgency to local tire cleanup

by Jim Moodie

MANITOULIN-When a massive tire pile near Hagersville was ignited by vandals in February, 1990, the fire smouldered for 15 days, necessitated the evacuation of everyone within a four-mile radius, and drew the attention of media the world over.

While the plume of smoke has long since dissipated, the experience lingers as a figurative black cloud over the Hagersville community, and acts as a continuing reminder of the danger posed by such massive tire heaps.

At the time, 14 million tires had accumulated at the Hagersville site, and when they went up, the smoky blaze represented the largest tire fire in the world. Since then, the province has imposed stricter standards on the storage of scrap tires, limiting the number allowed at a given site as well as mandating better security and fire prevention measures.

But problematic tire piles still exist, with the largest in the province now existing at Zhiibaahaasing First Nation on western Manitoulin, where equipment malfunctions at the community's tire recycling plant are blamed for the accumulation.

It's unclear exactly how many tires have built up at Zhiibaahaasing, but even a conservative estimate is alarming. Tom Brown, district supervisor for the Ministry of the Environment in Sudbury, says, "the estimate I have is 1.4 million, but I've heard everything from 750,000 to 1.5 million."

Let's call it a million. That, by anyone's standard, is a lot.

Zhiibaahaasing is the Island's smallest First Nation community, with an on-reserve population of less than 50 people. Tires, then, outnumber individuals here by 20,000 times.

Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing MP Brent St. Denis, who chaired a recent meeting at the reserve concerning the tire buildup, stresses that the First Nation has not acted with deliberate disregard for the environment. "I think their intentions all along were good. They wanted to create jobs for their community and neighbouring ones, and to be involved in recycling, which is good for the environment. These are all laudable goals," he says. "The problem is the machine broke, and now they find themselves in this quandary."

The First Nation is presently seeking funding to conduct a study on the feasibility of fixing its equipment and continuing the recycling operation. Mr. St. Denis says that an earlier study was completed but "it wasn't done in a comprehensive enough way to satisfy funding agencies."

The First Nation, he notes, has been going it alone so far in its tire endeavour. "There has been no outside funding for this, which was confirmed by Chief Irene Kells at our last meeting." Chief Kells was contacted by the Expositor last week, but the chief wasn't available for comment.

Mr. St. Denis says he doesn't want to speak on the First Nation's behalf, as he is merely trying to facilitate a course of action, but says he personally wants "to see this come to a resolution," and he is confident that the First Nation is equally committed to finding a responsible answer to the problem.

The band is seeking $80,000 to conduct the feasibility study, and is presently requesting the support of municipalities and First Nations across the Island for its application. Presuming the funding comes through, and the study is completed, "I guess there will be one of two outcomes," the MP says. "If the project is deemed feasible, presumably they will go forward and deal with the pile with equipment that they have there to shred them. If it's not feasible, presumably the tires have to be removed-but how, I don't know."

A representative of Ontario's largest tire recovery company has estimated the cost of picking up tires from the Zhiibaahaasing site at $2 million, based on the figure of one million tires and a pickup fee that takes into account current trucking costs. But the First Nation would obviously prefer to revive its recycling plant and reap some revenue by dealing with the scrap rubber on its own, rather than try to come up with the money to pay for the removal of the heap.

Meanwhile, "mitigation efforts are being undertaken and looked at to reduce the potential for a fire hazard," Mr. St. Denis indicates. "A committee has been struck-which will be led by the United Chiefs and Councils of Manitoulin but open to others, including the fire marshal-to put in place a mitigation plan."

Some fire-prevention and containment strategies have already been carried out, such as the construction of a berm and clearing of brush, but "a complete plan will be put in place by the committee," says Mr. St. Denis.

Still, while any effort made to minimize risks is obviously welcomed, many Islanders remain alarmed by the potential for disaster that still exists as long as the pile is there. And according to one First Nations individual whose community has been dealing for years with the fallout of the Hagersville tire fire, it's not an unreasonable concern.

Islanders, says Chief Brian Laforme of the New Credit First Nation, "should be alarmed."

Mr. Laforme's community, a reserve of 700 Mississaugas, is positioned directly next-door to the site where burnt rubber from the Hagersville fire has been stored in a landfill. "The Towhow Landfill Site is adjacent to our First Nation, and this is where they put the remains of the tire fire," he says. "They dug a cell and put a liner in it, and it's monitored, but when you get a lot of rain, you get overspill."

Chief Laforme says that when his community learned of the plan to store the waste near their reserve, "we fought it as long as we could, but unfortunately we weren't successful." The original location of the tires struck the First Nation as a more appropriate place to bury the waste, as "it was out in a field and not adjacent to any population," but "we were told that there was an issue with lack of clay there."

The band was also assured by the Ministry of the Environment that the material "wasn't considered waste, and wasn't hazardous," the chief relates, but the New Credit band was skeptical of this assessment. "We did our own testing, and found all kinds of crazy stuff in there that you can't even pronounce," notes the chief.

The band's concerns were evidently well-founded, as 10 wells in the vicinity of the waste storage site were deemed to have been contaminated and had to be shut down. "Some of the wells we didn't decommission, though, become we want to keep track of it," Chief Laforme notes.

Eventually, the First Nation was awarded funding of $491,000 "to help residents adjacent to the site do renovations to protect their homes from contamination and odour," and resources were also made available to run water lines to many of the community's homes. "Most of our houses were on wells, so we're piping water in now, although that is only 40 percent complete," the chief says.

While the concern about contaminated well water has now been largely addressed, Chief Laforme says his community is still worried about the nearby hazard. "Our concern now is, what happens to the waste when it comes time to close the landfill?" he says.

As for Zhiibaahaasing's tire pile, the chief says he can appreciate that small First Nations like his own need to explore economic development options, but encourages the chief and council to "sit down and talk with other communities about how to deal with this, and what kind of plans are in place in case of an emergency, because you have a potential tire fire there."

Chief Laforme notes that some people are reluctant to ask "what if?," because it's so speculative. "A lot of people will say, 'If a frog had wings, it would fly,'" he notes. But he believes it's important to imagine the worst-case scenario, and prepare for it, because he's lived through a disaster of this type and is still dealing with the regrettable environmental consequences.

"You have to be the devil's advocate, and find out what plans are on paper for an emergency and evacuation," he says, noting that his own community has an emergency evacuation plan that it reviews each year. "You have a potential hazard there, and if something happens, it won't only affect that one community, but surrounding communities too," he warns.

It's a prospect that Jeff Edwards, Northeastern Ontario representative for Emergency Management Ontario, also views with great gravity. His organization has been acting in an advisory capacity as Zhiibaahaasing and other communities across the Island assess local capacity to handle a potential disaster. "You have to gauge the ability of communities on the Island to respond effectively to the tire pile if it ever catches on fire," he counsels.

Mr. Edwards had planned to attend the meeting in Zhiibaahaasing last month, but was unable to be there due to vehicle problems. Still, he's following the situation closely, and, as a resident of Blind River, is also geographically close to the issue, as the town is directly across the North Channel from the small First Nation.

He stresses, however, that Emergency Management Ontario is not an emergency service, per se. "We won't respond ourselves" to a crisis, he says, because it's up to "the community to be the lead. But if a community writes an emergency plan, we help them."

Mr. Edwards says that he doesn't "want to sound alarmist," and hopes the situation "will be resolved before it gets to the point of a fire." But, in the meantime, the Island should "imagine the worst, and prepare for the worst," he recommends.

If the tire pile did catch on fire, "local firefighters would be the first line of attack, but if it spread beyond their control, you can access provincial resources," he notes. "And you need a plan so that you know how to get those provincial resources."

Water bombers could conceivably be accessed, but Mr. Edwards points out that "water bombing hasn't been shown as effective (in combating a tire blaze), so a deployment of water bombers wouldn't be the first choice."

In the case of the Hagersville fire, the pile had to be broken up by equipment on the ground before the blaze was brought under control. "It's pretty much one tire at a time," says Mr. Edwards. "Tires turn to oil when they burn, and we all know that oil and water don't mix. Water just tends to spread the oil around, and you don't want it running into the North Channel."

Should the situation reach such a serious state that Islanders had to be evacuated, Mr. Edwards notes that "the swing bridge in Little Current poses some problems, and would have to be permanently fixed so traffic could get off the Island. You'd also probably increase the ferry schedule and look at the two airports, if it got to that point."

Unlike a forest fire, however, a tire fire "wouldn't be all of a sudden," he notes, so there would presumably be some time to put an evacuation plan into motion, rather than having to act in a rush.

The local police would play a role in any such crisis. Dan Esposto, emergency preparedness officer with the Little Current detachment of the OPP, says his force "would assist in an evacuation." He notes that each community on the Island was mandated by Emergency Measures Ontario to have an emergency plan in place by the end of last year, "and by the end of this year, they are supposed to have them tested."

If a tire fire forced people out of communities close to the site, "there are mutual aid agreements between municipalities, so communities at the east end of the Island would be mobilized to accept west-end people," Constable Esposto points out.

He admits that the police haven't previously put much emphasis on tire fires in their response planning, as the scenario was never seen as a likelihood on the Island. "When developing an OPP response (to potential emergencies), one thing we looked at was what had happened in the past, and we assessed threats based on that," he indicates. "We didn't have any hurricanes or tornados, so the biggest threat was an ice storm or power outage, because we've had those before."

But while there's no precedent for such a catastrophe on Manitoulin, the Hagersville example should act as a wake-up call to anyone who thinks of a tire pile as simply a benign, inert mass.

Robert Hall, the owner/editor of the Hagersville-Cayuga Haldimand Press, has vivid memories of the incident in his community. "There was one hell of a cloud of black smoke for days," he says. "We're six or seven miles from where it happened here in the village of Hagersville, but you could see the smoke, and I remember one night while I was delivering newspapers, I was six miles to the west of it, and I could see the flames."

While the community has largely recovered from the crisis, and the regrettable spotlight that was cast on it at the time, Mr. Hall does concede that the fire had a detrimental impact on the local economy. "It affected us to some extent. I know one couple who had a small business they wanted to sell, and the prospective buyer said, 'isn't this where the fire was?' and backed right out."

He says corn is now flourishing right across the road from where the fire occurred, which suggests to him that the lingering environmental impact has been negligible. But at the time, "there was a lot of contamination in in one creek, because of all the water they used to fight the fire, and with the water taking its natural course, it found its way into Lake Erie," he notes.

With the Zhiibaahaassing site obviously overloaded with tires and located not far from the North Channel, many observers are perplexed as to why the Ministry of the Environment hasn't mandated the removal of most if not all of the scrap heap.

The short answer is: they can't. As Mr. Brown, the MOE's district supervisor, points out, "our ministry has no legal authority on First Nation land; it's the responsibility of the federal agencies." He notes that the province does have a rule prohibiting the storage of over 5,000 tires (or 300 cubic metres) without a certificate of approval-which "gives special criteria concerning site security and the distance between the piles"-and enforces such policies on a regular basis elsewhere in the province.

"If this was not on a First Nation reserve, we would definitely be involved," he says.

Northeast Town strike enters its sixth month

by Lindsay Kelly

NORTHEASTERN MANITOULIN-There has been a lot of buzz generated amongst taxpayers, unionized workers, and members of council this week, as the community gears up for this evening's regular meeting of Northeast Town council. But it is unlikely that the matter of binding arbitration will be discussed as a resolution to the ongoing labour dispute in open session, according to the mayor.

Binding arbitration was suggested as a solution last month in an offer made by the union to the town. The town has not agreed to the offer; however, Councillor Jim Stringer, who has been vocal in his opposition to council's position on the strike, has noted his plans to introduce a motion to council that would see the town accept the union's offer.

He has made the attempt on at least one previous occasion; however, the motion did not receive a seconder, and was therefore dismissed.

Mayor Chapman believes Councillor Stringer's intent to present the motion is optimistic.

"It's not likely we're going to debate the issue in public," he said on Monday. "We've never debated bargaining issues in public before, so I don't know why he would think we would on Wednesday night."

But Fred Bond, CEP union representative, believes that council should debate the issue in open session and give taxpayers an opportunity to understand where council stands on the matter.

"We've had a lot of suppport from the community to find a solution to this," he said. "So we have agreed to binding arbitration as a means to do it."

While council still deems negotiations the best way to solve the issue, Mr. Bond said the union doesn't see an end in sight. Consequently, he views binding arbitration as the most realistic way to resolve the impasse.

But supporters-of both the union and the town-will be "very disappointed" if they show up on Wednesday seeking clarification from council about the strike, Mayor Chapman noted, adding that there will not be an opportunity for taxpayers to express their opinions. The mayor did say, however, that he believes the public does have a right to know where each member of council stands on the issue.

"Sooner or later, as a politician, you need to be forthcoming and stand up for what you believe in and explain why," the mayor said.

In agreeing to binding arbitration, the town would be turning over important decisions about the town to someone else, and the result to the town could be detrimental, he agreed. As examples, he cited higher taxes, the loss of the use of local contractors, or staffing that is superfluous to the needs of the town. It's too much to leave to chance, and as a result, "both sides could be dissatisfied" with the decision, he said. "It's always better to come to an agreement."

"Binding arbitration may end the strike, but it doesn't end the problem," the mayor added. Contract language-which has been a major issue throughout the labour dispute-can be rewritten, but if the two sides aren't clear on what it means, that opens the town up to grievances by union members, which could cost the taxpayers money, he added.

But Mr. Bond noted that the town and the union have made an attempt at negotiations before, without success. The two sides have "dug their heels in," and as a result, the only way to solve the issue is to look to a third party, he added.

"The community wants to see an end to the strike," Mr. Bond said. "It's unusual for us to do it (binding arbitration), because we run just as big a risk with arbitration of us losing on our position as the town does on theirs."

Yet, the mayor remains confident that negotiation is the best course of action to take in resolving the dispute, and contends that the town is still willing to meet with the union "at any time" to resume negotiatons. But he believes the union has presented the town with a scenario that favours their preferences, and maintains there have to be advantages for both sides.

Mr. Bond, on the other hand, believes that the community has spoken, through their support of the union's suggestion of binding arbitration, and that it is the only solution to the issue.

"We have to try to resolve this, so there can be an end to it, and it can be over," he said. "We have to respect what the community wants, so the community doesn't have to endure a summer strike."

Mayor Chapman suggested that most councillors were elected to council based on their promise of creating financial accountability at the town, and it would be insincere to then not follow through on keeping those promises.

And while he realizes that opinions are strongly divided on the issue, with some community members vocally opposing council's decision to reject binding arbitration, he suggested that people should be aware of his, and other councillors', reasons for taking that position.

"Certainly some will disagree wtih my opinion," he noted, "but they have a right to know where I stand on the issue."

He added that he is hopeful that people will maintain a respectful presence at the meeting.

EDITORIAL

Tires need to go, one way or another

The ongoing challenge of dealing with a million tires piled up on the Zhiibaahaasing First Nation is an ecological disaster waiting to happen, and it would be a better use of taxpayers' dollars to clear the potential disaster out now, than to wait until catastrophe strikes and remedial action is required.

A business case for the project could have been better prepared before embarking on such a project, and, laudable as providing economic development and employment may be, such development must be sustainable and a market exist for the products that will allow the project to move tires through the system in such a way as to remain within safety and environmental guidelines.

If such a business case cannot be made, then the clearing operation should be instituted quickly, without delay-even if it must be funded through a further application of taxpayer dollars. Fretting or agonizing over the matter will not decrease the danger or provide any increase in environmental security any more than increasing acrimony or placing blame.

It is heartening to note that the representatives of Island First Nations and municipalities, along with Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapusaksing MP Brent St. Denis and Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Mike Brown, are working in a co-operative manner to try and find an equitable solution to the dilemma posed by the failure of the tire recycling initiative-but action must quickly follow these noble intentions.

Although work is apparently under way to move the tires into less volatile piles, limiting the danger should any fire break out, efforts must also be made to bring the number of tires being stored into line with provincial legislation. At last report the number of tires currently stored exceeds those standards by a factor of 20,000 times. Clearly this is unsustainable. The provincial legislation was formulated for reasons of public safety, based on very real events, not as an affront to legitimate treaty rights or the division of powers of the various levels of government. The regulations are there to protect all people and they are there for good reason-witness the huge fire which assailed the communities surrounding the Hagersville debacle.

We strongly urge the leadership of Zhiibaahaasing and the federal and provincial governments to quickly bring this issue to a safe and amenable resolution for all our sakes.

Northeast Town mayor opposes arbitration solution

A best solution is a negotiated settlement

To the Expositor:

I note that your paper has advocated arbitration to end the current NEMI strike. I wish to go on record that I am opposed to arbitration for the following reasons.

Firstly, arbitration is financially "open ended." This means, in the worst-case scenario, that the residents of this community could see their taxes rise by up to 30 percent. I cannot agree to expose our ratepayers to this possibility. I must respect the views of our seniors, cottagers, and farmers on this issue. I believe in financial responsibility and accountability to our taxpayers.

Secondly, accepting arbitration is tantamount to council turning its back on our local contractors. These businesses, their local employees, and their families are sure to lose in arbitration, as no-one is representing their interests at the hearing. I believe that they deserve to be treated with respect and recognized for the good work they do for the town. Consider that it took our CEP union employee eight days to read the water meters in Little Current and Sheguindah. It took local contractor Ed Trusz two days to do the same job. I believe in rewarding efficiency and hard work, and I take this opportunity to thank all of our local contractors for the good work they have done for the town over the years.

Thirdly, arbitration will not address over-staffing. The former mayor and council hired far more employees than the town needed. The best example of this is that we do not need four people working full-time and year-round at our arena when the building only has ice in it seven months of the year (only one employee is temporarily assigned to grass cutting in the summer). This is just one of the reasons that we have been able to replace the 14 striking unionized employees with five replacement workers. We simply can't justify the current number of employees we have.

Fourthly, arbitration will end the strike but it won't solve the problems that caused it. Arbitration will force terms on the parties that neither may want. It will inevitably lead to many expensive grievances. The last grievance filed by the union cost the town $25,000 to defend even though we won. Just three or four union grievances could cause taxes to rise significantly.

The best solution to this labour dispute is a negotiated settlement. Obviously this requires a commitment to compromise by both the town and the union. I know that council is prepared to make concessions on this matter, and I urge the union to return to the bargaining table to work out a financially responsible agreement that benefits the community as a whole.

Joe Chapman,

Northeast Town mayor

Town councillor echoes mayor's arbitration reservations

A bad business decision I cannot support

To the Expositor:

RE: "Northeast Town strikers appeal to community for arbitration support," March 29.

I am not in favour of mediated arbitration and won't vote to accept it. The reason we don't have to use mediated arbitration is that it is only an option for a corporation when they have low productivity. Our municipality now enjoys the best productivity we have had in years. The particular problem we face politically is our union is telling ratepayers that if we choose mediated arbitration "the strike will be over," and just like water meters, we will be stuck with the consequences, including possible tax increases of 30 percent. Our lawyer has advised us to never go to any kind of arbitration. If Fred Bond would not have left our mediated negotiations and the union really wanted to work, we likely would have an agreement because in my view we have offered this group good jobs and they have continually turned down better deals than most people on the Island enjoy for more skilled positions.

After watching the town waste millions of dollars on our landfill with a paved highway to it and the Okeechobee docks float by and refusing to collect taxes, I decided to run for council to bring this community and its residents to a higher standard. Mediated arbitration is simply a bad business decision I will not support.

Jib Turner,

councillor, Ward 1,

Northeast Town

Concerned citizen supports arbitration option

Urges all concerned citizens to attend meeting and witness how councillors vote

To the Expositor:

At tonight's, April 5,  town council meeting, Councillor Jim Stringer will present a motion that could immediately end the long strike in our town. His motion requires the support of only four other councillors to end the strike.

I join the Expositor (in its editorial of March 29, "Arbitration is a solution"), Councillor Stringer and other individual taxpayers of NEMI who have publicly and privately supported an end to this strike.

I urge all of my fellow concerned citizens to attend tonight's meeting to witness how each of our councillors votes on this issue. We have a right to know.

Norris Valiquette

Little Current

Letters can also be dropped through the slot on the front door of the Expositor office.Send your Dear Dave letters to Box 369, Little Current, Ontario, P0P 1K0,