Province awards Family Health Team to Mindemoya

'Manitoulin Central Family Health'

to have expanded hospital quarters

by Michael Erskine

MINDEMOYA-It was third time lucky for Dr. Nick Jeeves and the team seeking a Family Health Team nod from the province. Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Mike Brown dropped by the Mindemoya site of the Manitoulin Health Centre to deliver the good news on Monday: the Mindemoya medical clinic made the cut as one the recent 19 family health teams to be approved.

"I am very pleased to be here in Mindemoya on behalf of the government of Ontario to announce a new Family Health Team for Central Manitoulin," said Mr. Brown, as he joined Manitoulin Health Centre CEO Derek Graham, medical representatives Dr. Maurianne Reade (filling in for Dr. Jeeves), Dr. Andy Stadnyk, Dr. Kevin O'Connor and Mindemoya Medical Clinic office manager Lori Oswald at the announcement event. "The Family Health Team program represents this government's proactive approach to providing timely access to good primary health care, particularly in rural portions of the province. In terms of efficient and effective delivery, it has really given us a good bang for our buck."

Mr. Brown, who sits on the province's Northern Rural Health Panel, pointed out that his riding contains more hospitals than any other riding in the province, many of them in small, and even smaller, communities such as Central Manitoulin.

"We would be remiss if we didn't express how thankful we are to Mike Brown and Derek Graham and all of the committee members who have worked so hard to make this happen," said Dr. Reade. "It is too bad that Dr. Jeeves couldn't be here today, because he really has been a driving force behind this project."

"Without the support from Mike, and the support of all of the people in the various committees and at the ministry, well, all good intentions can go for nothing," said Mr. Graham. "I am sure that Mike Brown must have been tired from answering the number of phone calls made in getting this project approved."

"Never," laughed Mr. Brown. "I and my staff were quite happy to help make this a reality."

Dr. Reade cited the other Island Family Health Teams at Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands and Assiginack, as well as the support the concept received from the municipality. "Everybody was on board with what we were trying to do, right from the beginning," said Dr. Reade. "The folks at the other health teams were very helpful in polishing the application and making sure all of the answers were covered."

The hospital auxiliary in Mindemoya also received strong appreciation from the team. "With all of the hard work that they do, they are actually helping us to save lives," said Dr. Reade.

The province received high marks from the health professionals for the work of the embattled eHealth initiative. "Lost in all of the controversy is that our electronic record-keeping allowed us to track all of the key stats we needed to make the business case," pointed out Ms. Oswald.

In many ways, the two-site Manitoulin Health Centre has leapt ahead in the integration and implementation of health records, providing a good model of the benefits to be derived from electronic health records. "We have put three years into inputting the data-now we are starting to reap the benefits of all that hard work."

There remain many questions to be answered in the physical expansion of the site required to accommodate the new Family Health Team. How that new space will be created, how many staff and in what disciplines will be required, and of course how much funding will be need to make it all a reality, will now be negotiated through the ministry's formulas and the community's needs.

"But the important thing is that we now have the go ahead," said Dr. Reade. Manitoulin Central Family Health, as it is officially titled, will soon be a reality.

The process will be moving swifter than it did for the first Family Health Teams announced by the province, noted Mr. Brown, as the process has now been streamlined to good effect and the process is now well defined. "Health care is one of the greatest concerns that my constituents bring forward to me," he said. "We are very good at acute health care, and, with the Family Health Team approach, we are getting a much better handle on chronic health care as well. With an aging population, it is extremely important that we get it right."

HST_plan divides Ontarians

MPP_Brown cites income tax savings

by Michael Erskine

ONTARIO-Despite heated opposition from the opposition parties, polls showing a whopping 75 percent of Ontarians oppose the move, and numerous angry demonstrations from members of the First Nation members closing highways and milling about the halls of power in Ottawa and Toronto, come July 1 Ontario will join Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland with a single sales tax at the cash register.

Long a federal priority, Jim Flaherty, the federal Conservative finance minister, dangled a $4.3 billion carrot in front of his Liberal provincial counterpart to clinch the deal-this despite the vociferous opposition of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives under Tim Hudak and the NDP at both levels.

Even Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff had originally stepped into the fray, referring to the HST (harmonized sales tax) as the "Harper Sales Tax," until someone apparently pointed out to him that harmonization had long been a federal Liberal policy as well-due to the job-creating impact of its business-friendly provisions. The Liberals joined the Conservatives and the Bloc in passing the measure 253 to 37, with the NDP voting against the measure.

A few hours before in the provincial legislature, Dalton McGuinty's vast Liberal majority easily steamrolled over the Progressive Conservatives and the NDP to pass the enabling bill with a 56-29 margin.

Online blogs and comment sections had been rife for months leading up to the vote with diatribes predicting a Liberal demise at the polls come 2011.

So, politics being what it is, one has to ask: Why did they do it?

Mr. Hudak and the Progressive Conservatives declare the move is a "greedy tax grab," arguing that Liberals are congenitally addicted to raising taxes for the sheer joy of sticking it to the hard-working people of the province. But that is not so much the take of Mr. Flaherty, a Mike Harris PC who served as finance minister in the 'Common Sense' brigade-it is hard to imagine someone with more tax-averse credentials. Mr. Hudak has refused to say his government would repeal the tax.

The McGuinty Liberals, despite a significant raise in the minimum wage and providing a very moderate rise in welfare rates, have hardly been painted with a left-handed socialist brush during their long tenure at Queens Park-at least by most unbiased observers.

NDP leader Andrea Horwath would certainly not concede even the thinnest of pink veneers on the McGuinty Liberals. Instead, the leader of the Ontario franchise of the NDP posits that the harmonized tax move is a reward for the Liberal's "Bay Street friends" made "on the backs of Main Street."

At least her federal counterparts are marching in lockstep on Ms. Horwath's assessment. Curiously, however, Ms. Horwath has also refused to say that her government would repeal the measure if elected-despite what poll-gazing cynics would arguably claim to be a somewhat risk-free opportunity to score easy political points. Perhaps she is keeping that weapon in her arsenal for 2011.

Certainly there seems to be a little more substance behind Ms. Horwath's accusations than those of her Tory compatriot in the opposition benches. Both Mr. Flaherty and Dwight Duncan, his provincial Liberal finance counterpart, are steadfastly putting forth the argument that the harmonized tax will provide hundreds of thousands of new jobs-"jobs for main street," as Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Mike Brown quipped in defence of his government's policy.

Although Mr. Brown admitted that most of those jobs will be found in the hard-hit industries of Ontario's recently minted 'rustbelt' of manufacturing and business, he pointed out that the mining, forestry and fisheries industries, along with small businesses across the North, will find a welcome relief in the harmonized tax.

Harnessing that relief, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan has said the tax reforms would create 600,000 new jobs over the next decade.

"Ontario must attract new business investment to create jobs and encourage economic growth," said Mr. Duncan. "We are modernizing the tax system so that when the global recession ends, Ontario's economy will be more competitive and create jobs for our families and communities."

Mr. Flaherty's 2008 budget claimed that "tax harmonization is the single most important step provinces with (sales taxes) could take to improve the competitiveness of Canadian business."

Even the strong opposition of the First Nations on the tax is tempered by the assertion that Ontario has not changed its policy toward First Nation taxation. "Nothing in the province's position has changed there," said Mr. Brown. "First Nations are still exempt. Unfortunately, the federal approach is that you have to file for the tax to be returned to you-you have to provide receipts."

Mr. Brown said the process is under the control of the federal government, although the provincial Liberals have been lobbying hard for some accommodation to be found. Mr. Brown speculated that since it is so simple to have an Air Miles card swiped at the point of purchase, "you would think it would be simple enough to implement something like that with the band card-then it could automatically be returned to people." Mr. Brown cautioned that was simply his own thoughts on the matter. "In the end, how they do it is a federal responsibility."

The key concern with the harmonized tax-blending the 8-percent provincial tax with the 5-percent federal tax to create a 13 percent tax-is that the harmonized tax will now apply to a wide range of goods and services that it did not apply to before. Although the argument that this comprises a tax grab is seductive, the matter is far more complex than simply listing the new items that will be taxed.

Simply put, many of those items are taxed provincially now, albeit hidden through the business inputs made by their manufacturers or suppliers. Compounding the complexity is the fact that the combined tax measures will also see a drop in income taxes beginning this January 1, with most families due to receive a $1,000 cheque in their mailboxes before the July 1, 2010 kick-in of the HST.

An independent study released today indicates that the new tax really is 'revenue neutral.' The report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says low- and modest-income families will come out slightly ahead under the Liberals' HST package, which includes increased property and sales tax credits and income tax cuts, while households with incomes above $100,000 will come out just slightly behind.

First Nations, municipalities seek resolution to

land issue arising from 1990 Manitoulin Treaty

by Lindsay Kelly

MANITOULIN-Member delegates of the United Chiefs and Councils of Manitoulin (UCCM) and the Manitoulin Municipal Association (MMA) met with representatives from the provincial and federal governments last Saturday, with the goal of getting an update on the negotiations process for the 1990 Manitoulin Land Claim Settlement Agreement.

As discussions are ongoing, the meeting was closed to the public and the press, and representatives were asked by the province not to speak publicly on the matter for fear that publication of details of the process would jeopardize negotiations; however, those in attendance indicated that the mood at the meeting was positive and respectful.

"About all I can tell you is that the municipalities were invited to have an update on the 1990 Land Claim Settlement process and details we can't give to you, unfortunately, because it was a private meeting," said MMA chair and Northeast Town Mayor Jim Stringer on Monday. "I think it's fair to say that everyone, at least from my perspective, should all be positive and feeling good about it."

UCCM Tribal Chair and Whitefish River First Nation Chief Shining Turtle (Franklin Paibomsai) was unavailable for comment by press time, but UCCM member delegate and M'Chigeeng Chief Joe Hare echoed Mayor Stringer's thoughts, noting that the mood was upbeat, and everyone seemed agreeable to the discussion.

"The general intent of the meeting was for the municipalities to have a good understanding of the terms of the settlement and the issues that have yet to be included and ratified in the agreement," he said. "Everybody seemed to be on side at the meeting."

Forged nearly two decades ago, the Manitoulin Land Claim Settlement Agreement was negotiated between Bob Rae's NDP government and the Manitoulin First Nations-discussions took place during the Oka Crisis, in which the Kahnawake First Nation and Canadian Forces were locked in an armed standoff for three months-and designed to address unsold surrendered lands, held in trust by the Crown, for which the First Nations never received payment. The First Nations wanted their lands to be either sold, with the funds credited back to the First Nations, or returned as reserve land.

But while the agreement passed first, second and third readings in the legislature, it was not signed by the lieutenant-governor and passed into law. This glitch in the paperwork has left outstanding issues, including who should pay taxes on the lands in question. Should the province decide the First Nations are exempt from paying taxes, for example, the municipalities will lose that portion from their tax revenue.

Municipal representatives agreed that the outstanding issues occur primarily between the province and the First Nations, and that the municipalities don't have direct involvement in the negotiations.

Northeast Town Deputy Mayor Al MacNevin said that municipalities were invited to attend as a courtesy to the MMA, because the organization has supported the UCCM throughout the settlement process.

"It's really between the province and First Nations," he suggested. "The municipalities are third party."

Chief Hare took that a step further, saying that the settlement process lies squarely on Ontario's shoulders, since the province has taken so long to address the outstanding issues facing First Nations on Manitoulin.

"I don't think the issue here is between the First Nations and the municipalities," he said. "I think it's with the province of Ontario and whether they want to move the agenda along is up to them; they say they want to do it but they've been saying that for a long time."

Pat Madahbee, Aundeck Omni Kaning band member and grand council chief of the Anishinabek Nation, was also in attendance, although strictly as a resource and to offer historical perspective on the settlement agreement.

While he was reluctant to speak on behalf of the UCCM, he expressed optimism that the process would be fruitful. "Some common sense approaches are being put forward so hopefully there will be closure on this issue," he said.

There was no indication as to the next step in the negotiation process; however, indicators point to early spring as the deadline by which the province wants to have a firm plan in place.

Attendees suggested that additional meetings will likely take place over the coming months as the process progresses; however, "we have to basically wait for them to call us," said Mayor Stringer, adding, "we will hear from them when they're ready to tell us more."

Ideally, this most recent process will result in some clarification for the First Nations that have patiently waited for a resolution to the agreement, many of which believe that two decades is too long to go without answers.

"I think it's becoming pretty embarrassing to the government of Ontario, because after almost 20 years they've not been able to wrap up the loose ends of this agreement," he said. "It looks terrible from the First Nations' point of view that this matter should still be at loose ends."

Island youth speaks out at Copenhagen summit

COPENHAGEN, Denmark-A report released last week by Equiterre, Environmental Defence, Forest Ethics and Climate Action Network fuelled the frustration of the Canadian Youth Delegation's first Copenhagen action.

"Canada once had an international reputation as a clean, green country with progressive environmental policies," notes the report. "But when it comes to the positions and actions of the government of Canada on global warming, nothing could be further from the truth."

"Toxic tar sands are disproportionately affecting the health and wellbeing of First Nations and Métis communities and people," said Lynzii Taibossigai, a M'Chigeeng woman who is part of the Canadian Youth Delegation in Copenhagen, in a release. "For a country that talks about defending human rights internationally, Canada is failing to protect the rights of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples from the impacts of dirty fossil fuels."

"Canada is failing behind not just in our emission reduction targets, but also our investment in clean renewable energy and the new green economy," she added. "The United States has invested 14 times more per capita on renewable energy, and our only energy-efficiency program, ecoAction, has officially spent its last dollar with no plans for renewal."

Canada, argues Ms. Taibossigai, "needs to stop putting the interests of the oil companies ahead of people and the planet. We need to act now and invest in a clean, green future for Canada's youth."

"The tar sands are the single largest contributor to growth in Canada's emissions, and are preventing us from meeting our Kyoto obligations or making any meaningful progress on the climate front," said Danial T'seleie, a youth delegate from the K'asho Got'ine Dene First Nation. "Canada's failing record on the climate and human rights is not only hurting First Nations, Métis and Inuit, it is also damaging our reputation internationally."

Canada's Aboriginal peoples "have profound knowledge about sustainable economies and must be full and meaningful partners with Canada in the building of a new economic paradigm that does not sacrifice one segment of the population for the economic benefit of others," said T'seleie.

Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Mike Brown joined Dr. Kevin O'Connor, Manitoulin Health Centre CEO Derek Graham, Dr. Maurianne Reade, Dr. Mike Bedard and Dr. Andy Stadnyk in celebrating the announcement of a Family Health Team for Central Manitoulin.

photo by Michael Erskine

Editorial

Happy Christmas from the Manitoulin Expositor staff

Thirty years ago, when University of Western Ontario geography professor Dr. W.R. Wightman published his seminal analysis of Manitoulin's economic history in a scholarly text titled Forever on the Fringe, the primary sources for his research were the archived original copies (and microfilm) of The Manitoulin Expositor and the Manitoulin West Recorder.

For The Expositor, that covered almost exactly the first 100 years of this newspaper's publishing history (from 1879) and this happened to almost precisely coincide with the era Professor Wightman was considering and analyzing for his work.

For the staff and publishers of this paper, Professor Wightman's research at that time underscored the importance of the reportage of news week by week-the ordinary content of this publication-which, in the context of a span of 130 years, constitutes an ongoing and unbroken history of Manitoulin Island's changes and development.

Now, the paper is more than halfway through its 131st year of continuous publication and so, since Professor Wightman completed his research and published his book, The Expositor has recorded almost one-third more history-making years than he had access to through our archives in the mid- and late-1970s, during its first century of news gathering.

People like to know what's going on around them in their community, and on Manitoulin Island they tend to read about local issues and events in The Expositor and The Manitoulin West Recorder.

A newly published and independent readership survey bears this out: a sampling of 200 Manitoulin people were interviewed for the survey over a month-long period by a national market research firm and, consistently, 77 percent of them had read the most current issue of this paper.

That's about as good as its gets-anywhere.

They read the paper for the news but also for information about products and prices at local retail operations, to see what properties are for sale at what prices in the real estate section, what jobs may be available in the careers section, what individual items people may have for sale and where the upcoming yard sales are in the personal classified section and, of course, to read of changes in the community as people enter this world, and sadly, also leave it.

The proprietors of The Manitoulin Expositor and the Manitoulin West Recorder consider that they are the caretakers of a Manitoulin community institution and that, in this endeavour, they are partners with the reading public and the business community together with Manitoulin's First Nation and municipal governments.

This is very much a co-operative model and, on Manitoulin, it works. That, at any rate, has been the business philosophy of the current proprietors, the McCutcheon family, and shortly after New Year's Day, 2010, they will have been privileged to have held this responsibility for 40 years and would like to thank all of the many partners in the co-operative effort that makes newspapering possible, at least on Manitoulin Island. That 40 years represents a lot of news reported and generated a lot of papers read and a lot of close relationships with the businesses of Manitoulin Island.

Thank you all, past, present and future, for being important members of the team.

Specifically, we have people to thank, mostly volunteers, who contribute much to these pages that give them a unique flavour.

Take Rose Diebolt, for example. Her column, Rose's Recipes, literally adds flavour to the paper, and her kitchen-tested recipes are dutifully clipped from the paper by many, many readers for immediate or future consideration. Thanks, Rose.

Many years ago, we were asked by the local Ministry of Agriculture and Food office to provide space in which farmers would be alerted to news about important and otherwise useful developments. We agreed, of course, and ever since, Ag Rep Brian Bell has diligently provided farmers with exactly this form of information in the column Farm Facts and Furrows. Well done, Brian.

In his column Ice Chips and Canoe Quips, Andre Leblanc diligently acknowledges the accomplishments of Island athletes in a remarkable panoply of sport activities. Way to keep your stick on the ice, Andre!

Manitoulin Secondary School is well represented by columnists in these pages. Student scribe Emily Hudson researches and provides MSS individual profiles in the aptly titled Player Profile column.

Further on in the paper, the busy duo of Cassandra McColman and Cassie Bedard keeps the public informed about activities at MSS through their Kids in the Halls column.

Likewise, at Wiky's Wasse-Abin High School, Vanessa Pitawanakwat tells her school's story in the Writings on the Walls column.

For many years, two local librarians, Claire Cline from Central Manitoulin, and Debbie Robinson from Assiginack, have given us their thoughts on books they consider significant enough to profile for readers' consideration. Interpreting the work of an artist is not an easy or simple task, but each does it masterfully.

And speaking of artistic interpretation, where would we be without top-notch photographer John Savage's glimpses of nature? You have the magic touch, John.

And speaking of artists...thank you Ivan Wheale for your wonderful bon mots.

Petra Wall's monthly feature, Now and Then, profiles a Manitoulin senior or Elder, largely in their own words. And through Petra's well-crafted pieces, careful readers can easily piece together a picture of the Manitoulin Island of 60 and 70 years ago. It's a great feature and very much enjoyed and appreciated.

The Expositor's freelance cadre has grown somewhat this year and the paper is the better for having more writers and photographers in more communities. We wish to acknowledge and to thank: Mike Erskine in Little Current, Margo Little in Gore Bay, Jan McQuay and Betty Bardswich in Mindemoya, Heather Pennie in Manitowaning, Nancy McDermid in Sandfield, Sharon Jackson in Kagawong, Peggy Smith in Providence Bay, Randy Russon in Sault Ste. Marie, Matt Poulin in Little Current and photographer Brian Peltier from Wikwemikong. You are a talented troupe.

The individuals who report the ordinary facts of the community-passings, visits, birthdays-are a valued tradition in this rural paper. We will thank them here, but first acknowledge Jean Cannard, presently sidelined by health issues, whose sprightly column Sheguiandah Scribbles was a mainstay in the paper for many, many years. In fact, Jean was the very first of our country correspondents to embrace the new technology, laying aside her old-time correspondent's note paper to send in her news via email. Thank you Jean for many years of diligent service.

Thanks as well to Pat Hall (Tehkummah Talk and Times), Erma McAllister (Spring Bay Rural Route), Lillian Sullivan and Gloria Sandercott (Providence Bay News and Notes), Marilyn Sparham (News and Views from the Slash), and Ruth Dunlop (Little Current Place News). Ruth, too, is currently feeling under the weather and we wish her a speedy recovery. You all represent a tradition that we are proud to present in our pages as an important aspect of the co-operative model previously alluded to.

News about the activities of the various police forces that serve Manitoulin comes to the paper via Constable Al Boyd, community services officer with the OPP, and his colleagues at the Wikwemikong Tribal Police and the UCCM Anishinabe Police Force, and we acknowledge their efforts and co-operation.

Thank you as well to the legion of postmasters who, together with the rural mail delivery team and the Canada Post contractors, get our papers out every Wednesday and Friday. We appreciate the fine service.

And then there are yourselves, the readers and subscribers, who take this paper home week after week. This is indeed a co-operative venture. Thanks for letting us keep you informed and for sending us your useful opinions to publish on page 4.

Our best wishes to all of our many partners as we prepare for Christmas with families and friends, and then ready ourselves for a brand-new year. Happy Christmas and a healthy New Year.

Letters to the Editor

Location of M'Chigeeng makes off-reserve councillors a non-issue

To the Expositor:

Re: "M'Chigeeng referendum will verify status of off-reserve councillors," December 2.

Beware of discrimination regarding whether band councillors should live on the reserve. In my opinion, I don't think there is really an issue here regarding where two councillors live, Charles Beaudin or Henry Panamick. As far as I'm concerned, there is no problem here. I think it's the township. These two councillors living in Billings should be the deciding factor here, being that West Bay Indian Reserve No. 22 is in the Township of Billings, District of Manitoulin, and they should be able to live within that District of Billings Township.

Very simple: if people want to change the fact that M'Chigeeng First Nation should be different, then make M'Chigeeng First Nation not be a part of Billings Township. Until that happens there is no problem here as far as M'Chigeeng being in the Township of Billings, District of Manitoulin, nor that these two councillors live where they are-leave them alone. This argument is petty, and a waste of time. There are more important issues to deal with in the community. Let's move on as per the land survey of M'Chigeeng in Billings Township, District of Manitoulin.

Lyman Corbiere

M'Chigeeng

Cage-aquaculture industry committed to environmental sustainability

Ecoterrorist tactics and misleading analogies will not help

To the Expositor:

In response to the December 2 letter ("Facts about cottage group membership erroneously quoted") from Bob Duncanson, executive director of the Georgian Bay Association, we would like to share the following facts:

¥ The vast majority of local cottagers, government and respected scientists who regularly visit our cage-culture operations have no opposition to fish farming and in fact appreciate the positive impacts the operations have had on the ecosystem and recreational fishery. Mr. Duncanson has been invited to tour our operations and actually see an operating fish farm first hand, but to date has declined.

¥ We caution Mr. Duncanson's liberal use of misleading terminology when he articulates, "continuing their polluting ways," implying willful destruction. Pollution is defined as the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem. All of our farm operators maintain healthy, thriving ecosystems essential to the growth of healthy fish. Without healthy ecosystems, we would be without healthy fish and there would be no future.

¥ The environmental performance of the Ontario aquaculture industry is closely monitored through a rigorous framework of 23 pieces of federal and provincial legislation. The cage-culture industry in Ontario continues to operate in compliance with all government regulations.

¥ As obvious as it might be, fish, which are a cold-blooded species, have pooped in water since the beginning of time. Analogies between fish and warm-blooded species such as market hogs are neither useful nor relevant. Fish feces do not transmit pathogens and diseases to humans as can the untreated waste from other warm-blooded creatures including other humans (i.e. inadequate septic systems).

¥ You don't have to study it for 10 years to find numerous reports of degraded water quality including toxic blue-green algae in regions that are completely devoid of fish farms. (In over 24 years, not one of our farm sites has been the cause of toxic algae.)

An example of a recurring toxic algae problem is Sturgeon Bay in eastern Georgian Bay. According to studies by a local, well-known biologist, the nutrient point sources are: human feces, phosphate-containing cleaning products, fertilizers, pet wastes and sediments on the bottom of the bay where phosphorus has been accumulating for decades.

This problem has recently been accelerated by low water levels in Lake Huron, which result in less dilution of contaminants by the receiving water body. The aquaculture industry does not profess to be beyond improvement, but should not be held to significantly higher standards than those that oppose it. Focussing efforts on your own problem areas close to home is a responsibility shared by all users of our freshwater resources-including industry, full-time residents and recreational users.

¥ The Ontario aquaculture industry continues to support research and development, resulting in green production technologies that have improved the industry's sustainability. In addition to already improved feed-conversion ratios, reduced feed waste, and the development of alternate feeds that use more vegetable protein, current research includes the development of predictive modelling tools to assist with freshwater aquaculture site licensing decisions and farmed-wild.

¥ Mr. Duncanson represents an environmental lobby group and has been encouraged to bring the GBA's scientifically verifiable concerns to the table for productive consultation with the aquaculture industry, government and independent scientists-the true experts in environmental assessment.

Ecoterrorist tactics mixed with misinformation and outdated science will not better our freshwater resources. Face-to-face discussions and teamwork will. In the coming years, our local fish farmers are striving to surpass government environmental standards by implementing internationally recognized environmental certification programs, by which environmental performance is audited by an independent third party.

The Ontario cage-aquaculture industry remains committed to moving forward with all regulators and stakeholders in an environmentally sustainable and environmentally accountable manner. As in the past, the NOAA has an open-door policy and always welcomes input and appreciates discussions with our local neighbors and full-time and seasonal guests.

Karen Tracey

executive director

Northern Ontario Aquaculture Association

Little Current

Ratepayers group objects to chastising of Ward 4 councillor

Mayor faces test of restoring harmonious balance to council

To the Expositor:

RE: "'Secret meeting' allegations divide Northeast council," December 9.

On December 1, at the NEMI Council meeting, an apparent verbal attack ensued on Councillor Paul Skippen regarding an alleged secret meeting that had taken place on November 5 after the Administration and Finance Committee meeting.

Although specifics of this meeting were discussed publicly at the council table, the purpose of this letter is not to restate every detail, but rather to offer an opinion regarding the motion that was tabled and carried, whereby "the council of the Corporation of the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands demands a written apology from Councillor Skippen, in regard to an email that was sent to various parties on November 6, 2009, alleging wrongdoing on the part of council, and further that all parties previously notified by the email be sent the apology."

The NEMI Ratepayers Association strongly disagrees with NEMI council's decision, especially since Councillor Skippen's frustration stems from a comment made by another councillor that a meeting had taken place to tie up loose ends with the hotel.

Our association encourages and supports transparent discussions and open communication between the mayor, individual councillors, town staff and all constituents. We believe transparency and openness lead to effective, proactive and progressive communities. We also support discussions and debates that are respectful and honest, while taking into consideration the personal integrity of each individual. Unfortunately, there was a lack of respect for Councillor Skippen on December 1 and he was consequently faced with over 40 minutes of verbal criticism, persistent questioning and reprimands by his fellow councillors and mayor.

It was suggested at a later date that the mayor could remove Councillor Skippen from committees of council should he chose to not comply with the carried motion. This would be unfortunate, not only for Councillor Skippen, but for all residents of Ward 4, who have entrusted Councillor Skippen to represent their interests at the council and committee tables. Councillor Skippen has been a hard-working ambassador for Ward 4 residents and, as such, his role on council committees should remain unchanged. We believe any consideration to remove him from committees of council would be an injustice to the people he represents.

The NEMI Ratepayers Association also recognizes that the role of our mayor is to ensure there is chemistry, harmony and respect among members of his council. Clearly, Mayor Stringer's leadership will now be tested as he attempts to restore an appropriate and harmonious balance within his council, while redirecting priorities towards the business of running our municipality.

Finally, it remains a mystery that a councillor would first state to Councillor Skippen that a meeting had indeed taken place on November 5 about the hotel development, and then only a few weeks later, suggest that this was in fact, false.

Where does the truth lie?

The NEMI Ratepayers executive

Chris Bousquet, chair

Mark Volpini, secretary

Sam Nardi, treasurer

Irene Callaghan, spokesperson

Tony Ferro, director

Gary Green, director

Jack Wood, director