Northeast town may move into post office building

by Neil Zacharjewicz

NORTHEASTERN MANITOULIN and the ISLANDS - In an about-face by the current council for the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands, it appears council is looking at a whole new space for its municipal office: the upstairs of the Post Office building.

In February, the town announced plans to move into the old Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) offices, but following an In Camera session at a special meeting of council on Monday (July 12), a motion proposing the municipal office be relocated to the upper floor of the Post Office building was tabled for further consideration.

Prior to the In Camera session, Councillor Jim Stringer had raised the issue of the use of the Post Office building during discussions with regard to the Little Current waterfront development project. He suggested that all of the proposals council was considering for the waterfront development project included the Post Office building in their parameters, and he felt council needed to put an end to any suggestion that the building could be used for a municipal office.

"We have not quite closed our purchase yet," Councillor Stringer noted, with regard to the old MPAC office. He suggested any plan to relocate the municipal office to the Post Office building might "short circuit" the town's plans for the waterfront.

Councillor Gary Green agreed.

"I, for one, will not be in favour of moving any municipal office downtown," he stated. He explained that if the municipality were to use the facility for municipal purposes, it would not likely be accessible for tourism purposes, which would jeopardize the funding for any potential renovations to the building through the waterfront development project.

Councillor Stringer proposed a motion that the municipal office not be moved into the Post Office building, and Councillor Green supported his motion.

"I don't think this matter is appropriate," suggested Councillor Sam Nardi, who urged council to move In Camera to discuss legal matters.

"Why rule anything out for downtown?" Mayor Joe Chapman asked. He noted Cambrian College has already indicated its preference to relocate into a smaller space on the ground floor of the building.

"We are going to have an empty space up there by the end of the year," he suggested.

"This motion doesn't bind us," Councillor Stringer pointed out. He suggested council should not pretend it could not change its mind. He pointed out council already had motions on the books stating its intent to move into the old MPAC building.

"We were almost there," he said. Councillor Stringer added that his motion was only to confirm council's intention was to move into that building.

Councillor Nardi suggested Councillor Stringer should not be one to talk about changing one's mind, having voted against the hotel proposal and then publicly admitting to a change of heart on the issue.

At this point, there was a heated exchange between the pair, each demanding a point of order from Mayor Chapman. Councillor Stringer indicated he took exception to personal comments directed at him.

"I have the floor and I insist on keeping it," Councillor Nardi retorted. "Things have changed now. Or are you the only one who can change your mind?"

"Please respect one another," Mayor Chapman urged the pair, noting that the only way he could maintain order during a meeting was if everyone respected what he had to say.

A recorded vote was called for on Councillor Stringer's motion. Councillors Stringer and Green voted in favour of the motion, that proposed the municipal office not be moved into the Post Office building. Councillors Nardi, Tom Batman, Tony Ferro, Bill Koehler, Jib Turner and Mayor Chapman voted against the motion.

Following his motion and a brief break, Councillor Stringer put forward a motion to adjourn the meeting, but it was defeated.

Councillor Nardi then suggested council should consider, once and for all, a motion as to whether it intended to tear down the Post Office building or renovate the structure.

It was noted by Councillor Stringer that one of the proposals for the waterfront development project suggested that the town should seek input on the fate of the Post Office building from the community at a public meeting.

"I support that suggestion," he said. However, the remainder of council supported the concept of renovating the building, and in a recorded vote, Councillor Stringer was the sole member of council opposed to the motion to renovate the existing structure.

Council then proceeded In Camera to discuss the legal matters. Following the In Camera session, the motion to relocate the town office to the Post Office building was tabled.

More deer tags issued for the Island

Most assigned to black powder and archery hunters

by Michael Erskine

ESPANOLA---There will be more antlerless deer tags offered in management area 43b, Manitoulin Island, for this fall's hunting season thanks to changes to the regulations governing the hunt.

The Ministry of Natural Resources will be issuing 5,500 antlerless deer tags in Wildlife Management Area 43b, an addition of 100 tags in the regular season over last year. In addition, come August 9 to August 22, 2004, hunters can apply for one of an additional 375 antlerless deer tags that will be made available to Ontario residents in Wildlife Management Area 43b, simply by calling 1-800-288-1155. The tags will be issued, one per hunter, on a first come first served basis. The service at that line will be available 24 hours a day during the application period.

Now for the catch, the extra tags will only be available for archery season from October 2 to November 12. An additional 125 tags will be made available for the muzzle-loading and archery season from December 6 to December 8, 2004. Whatever the season, hunters can only apply for one extra tag.

The price of the tags remains at $34, the same as last year.

The decision to add more tags to the hunt received strong support from area hunters and conservationists during a recent meeting of the local Manitoulin Deer Management Advisory Committee.

"We are happy to see we have got an increase in the tags," said John Seabrook, of Mindemoya, a member of the Deer Management committee.

A request for an extended archery and muzzle-loading season made last year did not get passed on to the new biologist, Holly Simpson, who apologized for the delay in looking at the issue.

"Last year was a shaky one for our Espanola office," she explained. A hiring freeze and an four month gap between the hiring of an area biologist resulted in a less than perfect transfer of pertinent information, including the request for an extended deer hunt.

Since any change in the regular season would require legislative action, at least a year's lead time is required to implement such a change. There is not enough time to get the change in this year.

The case for increasing the deer harvest, through more tags and an extended season on Manitoulin is strong, noted supporters of the idea.

Ms. Simpson's own data indicates that WMU 43b has the highest deer harvest per square kilometer in the province, yet car-deer collisions have been on the rise. A 40 percent increase in incidents occurred between 2002 and 2003.

Deer feeding programs and relatively mild winters have resulted in a low winter mortality amongst fawns and adult deer, and their increasing numbers reflect on that factor.

Over the past two years, the MNR has been receiving increasing reports of nuisance deer in Island communities, in addition to the increasing number of collisions being reported.

With such healthy deer population numbers, concerns arise for over-browsing of deer yards should there be a harsh winter. When yards are seriously over-browsed, the impact on sustainable populations can last for years, with a result that lower harvest yields could result.

All this points to the need for a more aggressive harvest noted area sportsmen.

In 1995, pointed out United Manitoulin Fish and Game Club representative Jim Sloss, a deer specialist cited 18,100 as the sustainable deer population on Manitoulin. The number of deer at that time stood at 28,000 deer, and according to Mr. Sloss the current number would be much higher.

"These levels are not even close to the numbers there are now," said Mr. Sloss. "We are at an all-time high on the Island and taking another 250 deer would have little impact on the deer herd."

The Island lost 2,000 deer in the last year as the winter was harsh enough to implement a feeding program, said Bob Tuomi, of Kagawong.

"It's going to come to the point again," he said. "It would be best to take advantage of this... you are on the right track by having additional tags," he added, "but I would highly suggest you add more to the numbers."

The danger to the deer herd is real without more aggressive cull through the harvest, agreed Mr. Sloss.

"We want sustainability in terms of the population of deer," he said. "We don't want to see the deer population collapse."

There are no changes being made to the 1,200 antlerless tags being issued for WMU 43A, and little change for Cockburn Island.

with files from Tom Sasvari

Community care gets funding boost from Liberals

by Michael Erskine

TORONTO---The McGuinty government stepped forward to meet commitments it made to provide better home care services in an aging Ontario last week, as Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Mike Brown announced two major funding initiatives for the Algoma and Sudbury-Manitoulin Community Care Access Services, on behalf of Health and Long-term Care Minister George Smitherman.

"Home care, supportive housing and community support services offer greater dignity and quality of life for people of all ages including seniors and vulnerable people," said Mr. Brown. "After years of under-funding, we are strengthening these services so that people in Algoma-Manitoulin will receive the dedicated, compassionate care they deserve, in the familiarity of their own homes."

"This new funding will allow us to provide services to a larger number of clients," said Manitoulin-Sudbury Community Care Access Centre (MSCCAC) Chair Richard Zanibbi.

"It's great news," said MSCCAC Vice-chair, Tom Trainor. "While this money will not create any new services, it will enable us to better meet the increasing demands placed on our existing services, and to me, that's great."

Numerous studies have indicated that services that keep people in their own homes longer, not only improve the quality of life of the client, but are also far more cost-effective over the long-term than institutional care.

"This new funding will make crucial services like home care available to more people in Algoma-Manitoulin," said Mr. Brown. "When people are able to receive the care they need in their own homes, a burden is lifted from our hospital system, while at the same time enhancing the comfort and dignity of the recipients of home care."

The new funding represents a five percent increase in the MSCCAC coffers, with their share coming to $1.165 million. The CCAC's current budget tops $21,344,818.

The new funding will provide $2,573,304 in new money to provide more people with home care and end-of-life services in Algoma and Sudbury Manitoulin, and $151,546 in new funding will be invested in community support agencies in Algoma-Manitoulin for services like adult day programs, meal programs and community transportation, as well as supportive housing.

The funding, explained Mr. Brown, is part of the government's substantial commitment of $1.3 billion in Community Support Services and supportive housing for the 2004/2005 fiscal year. The result of this funding, he said, will be that 21,000 more Ontarians benefit from home care in the province, and that there will be 8,000 more Ontarians who will receive assistance to live in their communities this year.

"This will allow the appropriate care to be given in the appropriate setting," said Mr. Brown. "It will help people remain independent for as long as possible."

In addition, more funding for end-of-life programming, means that people will be able to end their lives, in dignity, in their own homes.

"I had the opportunity to have my own mother at home to die," said Mr. Trainor, "it is the best way to do it."

The new funding may not create any new services, but with increasing demands being placed on the MSCCAC's core services, it will at least allow them to keep pace.

"It is going to go a long way toward meeting the needs of the community," said Mr. Trainor. "We think it is great news."

Gambling series III

You bet your life

The darker side of gambling

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the final installment of a three-part series on gambling in Ontario prepared for the Expositor by writer Michael Erskine. The first article examined what legal gambling venues exist and types of gambling offered in the province and on Manitoulin, as well as what happens to the proceeds of gambling. The second part of the series examined the demographics of gamblers and gambling from the viewpoint of the gamblers themselves. This week's third and final installment examines the social impact of gambling and issues surrounding gambling operations in a community. Names have been altered to protect the identity of the people interviewed for this article.

by Michael Erskine

MANITOULIN---Ontario residents like to gamble, in fact, we like to gamble quite a lot. Canadians typically gamble twice as much as our American counterparts, and the bill for this little 'harmless' vice tops out at a whopping $1,200 average per year, per household.

As many as 85 percent of all Ontario residents reported that they have gambled over the past 12 months, and estimates by social scientists studying the gambling question are that between around five percent of Ontario gamblers will develop into 'problem' gamblers.

Now it is important to understand that estimates of how many problem gamblers there are in the province, or even how many gamblers are likely to become problem gamblers, ranges from one to two percent, to a high of seven percent, depending on where the estimate is coming from.

The Ontario Lottery Corporation regards the more conservative estimate, while social service and addiction agencies tend toward the higher number.

Much of the difficulty in pinning down solid numbers here is that 'problem gambling' is not a very visible issue, and often does not become evident even to family members and friends until it has reached crisis proportions.

Problem gambling, as opposed to compulsive gambling (its final and most destructive form), can remain hidden for years.

"I am not a compulsive gambler," insists 'Rock,' a long-time gambler who prefers cards, poker to be precise, to any other form of gambling. "Compulsive gamblers have no control," he adds, "they spend everything on gambling. I take care of my bills first."

"Compulsive gamblers don't have credit cards," admits 'Art,' a confessed and clinically diagnosed compulsive, who chose to continue gambling even though it destroyed his marriage, friendships and business. "Everything else takes second place to gambling."

'Wendy,' a reformed alcoholic who took up bingo as a substitute, agreed.

"When I was drinking, I never stole from anybody," she said.

With a bingo habit that ran to multiple cards nearly every evening of the week in Sudbury, Wendy found herself stealing money from her employer's till. She insists that she has everything under control because she only gambles once or twice a week now.

Gambling help agencies identify the following warning signs of a problem gambler: increasing preoccupation with gambling; use of gambling as a way to escape problems or relieve depression; inability to stop playing regardless of winning or losing, and despite constant vows to abstain; restlessness or irritability when attempting to cut down or stop gambling; use of alcohol, sleep, or drugs to escape; lying to family members or others to hide the amount of gambling; impatience with family or friends; relying on others for money to relieve a financial problem that arose due to gambling (legal and illegal sources); absenteeism and tardiness at work; neglect of responsibility; losing or jeopardizing an important relationship due to gambling; wide mood swings; belief when winning that it will not stop; gambling another day to win back money lost gambling.

Art says that the lure of gambling is the rush of winning, even when the gambler intellectually recognizes that he or she will continue to gamble until they have lost all of the money they possess, they will still gamble.

"It's all about the rush," he said. "It doesn't matter how may times you lose, the money itself doesn't matter. When you do win, that is where the rush lies mate."

Like many addictions, the lure of the rush is almost impossible to resist without help.

Most gamblers will 'go along' with a treatment program, but they rarely buy into it. The result is they manage to convince the significant people in their lives that they have it beat. Then they can go back to gambling. Recividism is nearly 100 percent after five years. Most problem gambers require a number of relapses and crisis before they even admit they have a problem.

There are four main phases in the descent into compulsive gambling.

The first, dubbed the 'winning phase' typically lasts from three to five years on average. The gambler tends to win consistently through this phase, often scoring a 'big win' of at least a month's regular salary. They begin to see themselves as smarter than other people, a natural professional gambler of the old school.

The gambler begins to gamble more and more frequently, and begins, with laws of averages that always favour the house, to lose. The odds, or return on a bet reflect the less likely a result will occur. With more gambling, inevitably, come more losses.

The second stage, the 'losing phase,' sees a gambler lose more and more money as he chases the end of his 'losing streak.' The more lost, the more he plays longshots and seeks the big score, leading to an eventual catastrophic crisis. The problem gambler often manages to get bailed out through some scam at this point, and the scam becomes another 'win.'

By the third stage, the desperation phase, the problem gambler is consumed by thoughts of gambling. His family is in dire financial straits if they have continued to stick by him, and he is consumed by the search for the big win, but by this phase he has drained all of his resources. This phase, and the following 'hopeless phase' often end in depression, suicide or long stints in prison.

Only a tiny portion of gamblers will become compulsive gamblers, and Rock is probably quite right when he claims he isn't one. His rent is paid and he has food in the cupboard, but since becoming a compulsive is a long road, he may yet get there, he is certainly exhibiting all the signs of entering the losing phase.

Art, on the other hand, has long-since arrived at the hopeless phase, and he says he no longer cares whether he lives or he dies. He is currently in jail, facing deportation, his family and friends have long since abandoned him (they won't give him any money to dig his way out of his bad streak) and considering his gambling debts on the streets and the kind of people he owes that money to, leaving the country may be his best hope for survival. But he says he really doesn't care.

One of the single-most enabling factors in a compulsive gambler's descent is the denial toward recognition of the problem by his family. The gambler's family is often willing to accept the easier path of believing the gambler's ruses rather than taking the hard road of forcing a confrontation and real resolution. But problem gamblers rarely seek help on their own.

A compulsive gambler is the worst and final form of the problem gambler, but anyone who finds themselves in financial difficulty because of gambling has a problem. Period. The only question is, how far they will let it drag them down before they get help.

When it comes to impacts on the community where a legalized gambling operation has been built, there is surprisingly little to no scientifically valid hard data available. Researchers cite too many confounding variables and the lack of consistent measures as difficulties in tracing a rise in crime or other social problems directly to a gambling establishment.

In fact, the only quantifiable data that seems to exist about casinos and the communities that they are built in, is that other retail establishments tend to suffer as a portion of family budgets is directed into the casino. The decline in retail trade is especially pronounced in those in surrounding communities that do not have casinos themselves, as more money flows into the community with the casino.

Wages and living standards tend to rise in the casino town, as the rural community benefits from the jobs from the casino brings, but service clubs and social agencies that depend on other forms of gambling such as bingos, tends to suffer. Overall, the net economic drain of funds out of the community into the central government's coffers, is believed to have a long-term detrimental effect on the entire region, it's a simple question of micro-economics.