Province will subsidize Manor deficit

Precedent-setting move astounds municipal officials across Manitoulin

by Michael Erskine

LITTLE CURRENT-Manitoulin Centennial Manor received an 11th-hour reprieve after a March 16 meeting between the board of management, Jarlette Health Services and the facility's funders managed to hammer out an agreement on a "turn-around" plan for the 60-bed long-term health care facility.

A revolt by most of the funding municipalities had been precipitated by a million-dollar-plus deficit that seemed, to the municipalities at least, to have no end in sight.

A collaborative effort between the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Jarlette Health Services and the funding municipalities has bought the Manor board of management the time it says it needs to bring the institution into full compliance with ministry standards for long-term care homes and to achieve financial viability.

"Last night was the first good night's sleep I have had in a long time," said Manor board chair Gary Green, who admitted that the Manor crisis was the most trying period in his political career. "It hasn't been easy."

Although the Manor remained closed to accepting new clients as of press time, with as many as eight beds now open, the facility was making preparations to renew accepting new residents in a matter of days, if not hours.

Under the agreement, the province will continue to support the operations of the Manor while allowing the funding municipalities to maintain their respective tax levies at the 2005 level.

In addition to covering the extra cost of running the Manor through the next year, the ministry is also committed to supporting the cost of a contract with Jarlette Health Services. Jarlette Health Services is the operator of a chain of private nursing homes including Gore Bay's Manitoulin Lodge. Jarlette has been contracted for the next two years to provide the expertise needed to guide the Manor's operations back to full compliance with ministry regulations.

The ministry has also committed to conducting a full operational review of the facility, including finance and governance, in the very near future. Municipal leaders and the Manor board have steadfastly maintained that the ministry's financial model, which is based on homes of 120-plus beds, was inadequate to meet the needs of smaller 60-bed facilities.

Under the arrangement, a six-month status review of progress to date was agreed upon, and the board has committed to delivering ongoing updates for the municipalities every two months. The six-month status review is widely believed by municipal leaders to be a point where the Manor's future direction in governance will be determined.

"It was much better than I expected," said Billings Reeve Austin Hunt. "It really was a good turn of events."

The speed at which the agreement was reached stunned most of those present in the meeting, both by its rapid and positive conclusion, and the unprecedented actions of the ministry in reacting to the crisis.

"I fully expected a process where there would be two or three proposals sent back and forth over a period of time," said Reeve Hunt, whose 50-plus year career in municipal politics hardly prepared him for such decisive provincial action.

During the meeting, each municipal representative in turn was given an opportunity to voice their municipality's concerns, and the province, in its own turn outlined the available options. One of those, had the proposal on the table been turned down by the municipalities, was the closure of the facility and the distribution of the residents to other long-term care homes.

But that proposal was never seriously in contention, according to Reeve Hunt, a position supported by other municipal leaders.

"Everyone at the table had expressed that they wanted the beds to remain in the community," said Northeast Town Mayor Joe Chapman, who described the turn of events as "pretty positive. It definitely gives us the breathing room we need to explore the options available."

While the room seemed to hold a consensus on maintaining the 60 long-term care beds on Manitoulin, there was no such consensus on maintaining the municipally-funded model, said Mayor Chapman. "I don't know if there was strong support for that at all. I think the solution will be to transit to some other form of governance."

Another common theme voiced in the municipal concerns was the apparent lack of a business plan.

"Last January our objection to signing a contract with Jarlette Health Services to bring the Manor into compliance was that it was being done without a business plan," said Central Manitoulin Reeve Richard Stephens. "They were agreeing to spend $350,000 to dot the 'i's and cross the 't's with no plan in place to say how or when that would be accomplished."

Under this new proposal, said Reeve Stephens, a business plan is in the making. "That will be part of the decision-making process when the board meets with the MMA (Manitoulin Municipal Association) in September," he said.

In a press release issued after the March 16 meeting, the board of management expressed confidence that "this turn-around plan will result in the Manor remaining a vital and sustainable component of the health-care delivery system on Manitoulin Island."

There is no question that the beds are needed on Manitoulin Island, a region with one of the highest median age populations in the country, and the re-opening of the facility to new clients is being hopefully anticipated by other care facilities and the Manitoulin-Sudbury Community Care Access Centre (CCAC).

The Manitoulin Health Centre, Manitoulin's hospital, reports having two patients at its Little Current site and another at its Mindemoya site who are occupying acute care beds when they should really be in long-term care.

"We are hoping to make their transition soon," said MHC CEO Jim Van Camp. "There are socialization programs in long-term facilities that will provide a better quality of life for the patients. Places like the Manor are specialists in long-term care."

CCAC director of client services Frankie Vitone admitted the placement organization currently has eight clients on its waiting list ready to be placed in the Manor.

"Our position has been to continue to take applications (in anticipation of the Manor re-opening)," she said.

Two separate forces have been credited with helping to bring the Manor crisis to a quick, albeit interim, solution.

The first, voiced by Reeve Stephens, was the resolute and united front put forward by the funding municipalities. "It was the solidarity of the municipalities," he said. "With one voice they were telling the province that they couldn't afford these kinds of increases for one project."

Reeve Stephens pointed to the Manitoulin District Social Service Administration Board, the Police Services Board and the Sudbury District Health Unit as three other significant 'projects' that the municipalities fund with little control over how those costs are allocated.

"If they each brought in 300 percent increases, we wouldn't be in business anymore," he said. "We would all be looking to hand the province the keys and telling them to take over. We just couldn't absorb those kinds of costs."

Reeve Hunt, however, placed a significant amount of praise on the intervention of Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Mike Brown's office. "They really helped to bring this to the province's attention," he said. "As speaker Mike is really limited in what he can say publicly, but I know he was very active in bringing this to the minister's attention."

Mr. Brown, however, was quick to cite the work of members of the board and the ministry staff in finding a resolution to the issue.

"Gary (Green) and Les (Fields) both had an opportunity to speak to Minister Smitherman," he said. "There were some very capable provincial people on the board, and Mary-Jo (Eckert Tracy) and Ed (Bond) working to find a solution along with the other members of the board. I have every confidence that they will find a long-term solution to the challenges facing the Manor."

Although the local issues facing the Manor have focussed attention on that facility's deficit, Mr. Brown pointed out that the province has provided the largest infusion of new money into that sector in history.

"Now the real work begins," said Mr. Green. "The primary focus of this board and the province has always been and will remain the well-being of the Manor residents. That is our first and foremost concern."

The challenge that remains for the next six months, however, is to find a governance and funding model that will ensure that well-being continues into the future, he said. "I believe we are going to do it."

Mayor predicts strike lasting to fall election

by Lindsay Kelly

NORTHEAST MANITOULIN-There is no sign of abatement in the Northeast Town labour dispute as it drags into its 25th week, and current forecasts predict that it could run well into the fall to election time.

On March 15, the town issued a press release stating the town had asked that the union return to the negotiating table. Upon request from the union, the town agreed to settle only monetary issues through binding arbitration, but the matter of contract language is still outstanding. The town wants to discuss this at the negotiating table.

"In agreeing to binding arbitration on the monetary issues, the town is clearly showing a strong desire to resolve this dispute," Mayor Joe Chapman said in the release. "I hope the union is as committed and will meet with us this week to resolve the language issues. Language issues are too complex to be decided at a distance and without input from the affected managers."

That meeting never took place, however, and no agreement to binding arbitration has been settled upon.

"Essentially, the union refused to meet with us," the mayor later said, adding that the town is currently happy with the way the town is running, and doesn't feel pressure to pursue the union for negotiations.

Union representative Fred Bond said the union does not wish to negotiate at this point with the town because "a good negotiator knows when to stop negotiating." At this point, the issues have moved beyond what should be included in binding arbitration and the time for negotiations is past, he added.

As well, the town has refused to accept the arbitrator, whom Mr. Bond described as being "well-known and well-respected in the arbitration community;" however, the town is welcome to submit a list of arbitrators it feels is fair and the union will consider it.

The mayor said the town is willing to meet with the union at any time; however, he believes the union is simply trying to make the strike a political issue, and will see the dispute through to the municipal election in the fall.

"As mayor, I welcome the challenge," he said. "I don't think the taxpayers are prepared to turn the town over to the union."

The mayor believes the union wishes to see union-friendly representatives on council, similar to the council that was in power three years ago. But the last council drove taxes up by 30 percent, something the mayor doesn't think taxpayers, especially seasonal residents and seniors, wish to experience again.

Instead, he said council stands by its record for increasing the spending budgets for the library, the rec centre and the museum, in addition to extending the dump hours for seasonal residents and lowering taxes.

On Friday night, during a Manitoulin Islanders playoff game, three strikers were charged with trespassing and issued a fine, after picketing in front of the rec centre's main doors. The strikers have been banned from town property while on strike, and union representative Fred Bond said the workers feel as though their rights have been infringed upon.

"We're disappointed that the town continues to charge us with trespassing, and prevent the workers from expressing their freedom of speech and right to protest," Mr. Bond said.

The workers have not been abusive or argumentative; they were simply trying to make their voices heard and let people know they are looking for a fair deal from the town, he added.

The mayor noted that the three people charged were warned, both verbally and in writing, before being handed tickets, which he said provided them with plenty of notice of the town's intentions.

Mr. Bond also takes exception to comments made by Mayor Chapman last week insinuating that the town only rejected part of the union's offer.

"We did, in fact, receive information, via a letter from council, by 3 pm on Friday the 10th that rejected our offer of binding arbitration on the major issues," he said. "I don't know why he said what he did."

The union representative also disagrees with the concept that the union wishes the town to hire five new workers. In fact, the union reworked the town's offer from last month to fill vacant positions within the bargaining unit, and eliminated two part-time positions, he contended. And, the workers accepted the town's demands even though they equalled an offer that was less than what they started out with.

But the reworking of the contract is something with which the mayor does not agree.

"They're cherry-picking the best parts of the offer that the town put forward," he said.

Instead, he suggested that the union should sit down to discuss the finer points of the contract during negotiations, rather than choose the points of the offer the union likes and discard the rest.

Mr. Bond said the union is also disappointed that a regular council meeting scheduled for Wednesday night was cancelled and a special meeting called for 1 pm on Monday. Councillor Jim Stringer, who has been vocal in his opposition to the town's position on the strike, was planning to present a motion that the town accept the union's proposal of binding arbitration, but Mr. Bond believes "it was moved to [Monday] at 1 pm because they knew that Councillor Stringer couldn't be there to hear the debate over the union's offer."

However, Mayor Chapman insisted that nothing of importance took place at the meeting.

Island anglers confident of cormorant cull

by Jim Moodie

MANITOULIN-"Cormorants kill. Save our trees and fish."

So reads the stark message on an ominously-illustrated postcard addressed to Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay that the United Fish and Game Clubs of Manitoulin (UFGCM) is circulating in its latest campaign to have a cull of adult birds conducted in the area.

The tone of this campaign is more co-operative than last year's lobby effort, which took the form of a petition recruiting participants for a vigilante cull. The message on the postcard thanks Minister Ramsay for his "straight talk" on cormorants and promises that Islanders will support him in his efforts "to institute culls of this out-of-control population."

The cozier approach owes to what anglers feel were heartening gestures made by both MNR biologist Mark Ridgway and the minister himself at a February convention of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH).

According to Dr. Terry Quinney, provincial manager of fish and wildlife services for the OFAH, the presentation by Mr. Ridgway, consisting of a power-point synopsis of the six-year cormorant study conducted by the MNR in Georgian Bay and the North Channel, confirmed that cormorants, as the OFAH has long argued, are decimating fish stocks.

"The results included the fact that cormorants had consumed virtually the entire inshore fish production of the North Channel, and most of the inshore fish production of eastern Georgian Bay," said Dr.Quinney, who was present at the convention. "This led the Minister of Natural Resources himself to refer to the impact of the cormorant population as 'devastating.' That comment was made as a result of being shown the results of the six-year study."

The study itself has not been made publicly available, although the UFGCM was able to obtain a portion of the summary through an application made under the Freedom of Information Act. Still, "it's missing about 20 pages," said UFGCM co-chair Jim Sloss, and the material the group does have is "hard to read without knowing the terms of reference."

While Mr. Ridgway was not available for comment, the Expositor was able to obtain a copy of the biologist's presentation from the ministry on Monday along with a fact sheet explaining the six-year research and monitoring program conducted in the North Channel and Georgian Bay.

The program, according to the fact sheet, consisted of seven 20 X 20 kilometre sample areas being assessed for numbers of cormorant nests and fish concentrations in inshore, near-shore and offshore zones, as well as experimental egg-oiling in five of the seven study areas. The fact sheet further notes that, "in addition to the experimental work, the data collected through this program have allowed researchers to estimate the annual consumption of fish by cormorants in the coastal waters of Georgian Bay and the North Channel."

Research results are still being analyzed, however, and need to be submitted as reports to scientific journals for anonymous peer review and publication before the process is complete and the full data are made public.

Still, the ministry is able, at this point, to make some general observations based on its research. Analysis-to-date suggests that cormorant nest counts in the study area peaked in 2001 and have declined since, in part due to a collapse in alewife numbers, which the ministry attributes to cold weather. As well, the period of rapid colony growth has ended.

But while numbers of cormorants are dwindling in the study area, the ministry concedes that "cormorants are consuming significant proportions of the available coastal fish biomass." And while the egg-oiling initiative had some impact in allowing fish numbers to recover, "this effect has not persisted, likely due to additional birds coming into the treated areas as response to available nest sites and/or increases in available fish."

Mr. Ridgway's presentation notes that cormorants have expanded in Lake Huron from 200 nests among five colonies in 1979, to 22,997 nests among 70 colonies today. The boom is attributed to changes in the Great Lakes fish community and contaminants, as well as changes in fish production in southern US wintering grounds.

A graph illustrates the population in this area peaking in 2001 and declining since, although not consistently-more nests (approximately 1,000 more) were counted in 2005, for instance, than 2004.

In assessing the impact of the egg-oiling initiative, Mr. Ridgway notes that "oiling has assisted in the downward trend (of cormorants) in Georgian Bay," but "less so in the North Channel," and attributes the short-lived success of egg-oiling to other birds "taking up the slack." The scientist recommends that "any effective oiling program would have to be very broadly applied and persistent."

MNR communications specialist Steve Payne told the Expositor on Monday that the "ministry remains concerned about the documented and potential impact" of cormorants on the sport fishery, and is "working to develop a provincial cormorant management framework to assist with decision making." He added that "we haven't come to any definite decisions at the moment."

Mr. Sloss is optimistic, however, that the ministry is considering an authorized cull for this area and could very well issue an Environmental Bill of Rights posting to that effect in coming weeks.  He interprets the information released at the OFAH conference as "a trial balloon they've floated to gauge public reaction from the 'antis' and groups like ours, to get a sense of the way the wind's blowing, before they make a decision."

This makes it all the more important, said Mr. Sloss, for Islanders who are concerned about the birds' impact on the fishery to make their feelings known to the ministry as soon as possible. Apart from launching the postcard campaign, the UFGCM has also initiated an email blitz, and is working with other fish and game clubs across the province to get the message across.

Should a cull be proposed by the ministry, a period for comment (typically 60 days) would follow, making it unlikely that a cull could be undertaken before June, but Mr. Sloss said it was his understanding that the MNR "can bypass the EBR posting" if the situation is deemed urgent enough.

The Peaceful Parks Coalition, which opposes the culling of cormorants, issued press releases last week that questioned the science of an MNR report dealing with the effectiveness of last year's cull at Presqu'ile Park near Belleville, and complained that "a gag order prohibiting (MNR) staff to discuss the issue double-crested cormorant management" had been handed down last week.  The 'gag,' the group claims, was "ordered after Peaceful Parks released back-to-back documents that contradicted the ministry's spin on the issue." The material made public by the coalition included correspondence consisting of "legitimate discussions with ministry staff, but these sorts of conversations are taboo for a ministry that is quickly losing control over the issue," the release contends.  Last year, a cull was authorized for Presqu'ile Park for the second season in a row, but was called off before the targeted number of birds was met, in part due to interference from environmental protesters.

Clamourings on Manitoulin for a cull in this area did not produce the desired response, with the ministry contending that it did not have the data to justify such an approach, particularly since cormorant numbers had dwindled in the North Channel and Georgian Bay by as much as a third between 2000 and 2004. The MNR cited its egg-oiling initiative, as well as a collapse in the alewife population, for the decline.

Angling groups argue, however, that the problem is simply shifting elsewhere. "While the number of active nests decreased in the study area, they're increasing in other parts of the province, including the inland lakes of Manitoulin and other inland lakes," said Dr.  Quinney of the OFAH. "They're eating themselves out of house and home, and immediate action is needed to reduce the adult population, because oiling is only a mitigating response." A sweeping study of Manitoulin's inland lakes was launched last summer by the MNR, but results of that research have not been made available, and the study itself is ongoing, with no definite time period assigned to it, according to Mr. Sloss. "There's been no release of information gathered last summer, and it's left wide open, so we don't know if when it might be over," he said.  Dr. Quinney said the OFAH is continuing to lobby the province, as it has done for 10 years now, to do more to control cormorants. "The science is clear: cormorants are taking a horrible toll on the fisheries, not to mention the habitat of the nesting grounds," he said. "We're hoping Minister Ramsay will authorize the MNR managers to use all of the control techniques in their tool kits, and incorporate culling as one of those tools."

EDITORIAL

The time has come for a cull of cormorants

For over a decade the United Fish and Game Clubs of Manitoulin Island have been calling for a cull of adult cormorants, arguing that the evidence before their eyes outweighed the reluctance of the Ministry of Natural Resource to proceed to cull the cormorant from the waters of Georgian Bay and the inland lakes without sufficient scientific evidence of the harm being caused to fish stocks and flora by its burgeoning numbers.

After six years of careful study, the MNR now has scientific proof that the cormorant is, indeed, consuming radical amounts of bio-mass and that it has quite literally eaten itself out of house and home along the inshore waters, particularly in the North Channel. Given that scientific study was needed to prove what any resident of the area could see was happening that data is now in hand. It is time to do something. It is time to cull the cormorant.

The ministry's egg-oiling program has proven that more aggressive action will be needed to bring the cormorant's numbers into line. Although new indigenous cormorants are not being born in the area, cormorants are a relatively long-lived bird, and as they eat the available foodstocks in an area, the birds are being forced, quite naturally, to move into the inland lakes and rivers to find alternate sources of food. Unless the adult bird numbers are trimmed, the damage they will cause to the inland lake fisheries before nature takes its course and their numbers fall into balance with the available food supply will be immense.

In a perfect world, nature would be in balance, the cycle of life would right itself and there would be no need for human intervention. We do not live in that perfect world. In our world the balance has been sent a-kilter, through pollution, fishing pressures, the correction of pollution, global warming and remedial efforts by humans to right their past wrongs. Nature and the ecosystem are in a state of anarchy and upheaval as a result-and it is a sad truth that man must continue to interfere, if only to accelerate the return of nature's balance to a system set out of balance by his earlier interference.

We do it with restocking efforts, we do it with radical efforts to control invasive species such as the golden goby and lamprey eel-we must do it with the double-crested cormorant.

At least one provincial ministry has proven that it can, if needed (and enough pressure is applied), react quickly to correct an imbalance. The resolution of the Manor crisis is simple proof of that.

We need the Ministry of Natural Resources to show the same kind of resolve and recognition of a problem and for it to take action to correct that problem. Manitoulin residents must provide the Ministry of Natural Resources with the impetus and political will to meet that end. Signing and mailing a United Fish and Game Clubs of Manitoulin postcard is the least we can do to generate that political will; phoning Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Mike Brown's office, sending a letter to the Minister of Natural Resources, and expressing your concerns on the pages of this newspaper, will do even more to help generate the kind of political will and action needed to meet this threat.

Send the message with one voice: it is time to cull the cormorant.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Strikers urged to rethink Haweater picketing

All proceeds go to community

To the Expositor:

An open letter to the members of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union.

We, the Little Current Lions Club, are writing to you in regards to the comments written in last week's Expositor alleging that if the strike is not settled by the time Haweater Weekend comes around, the workers currently on strike may picket the events.

We must advise you that the Little Current Lions Club is a non-profit organization and, for the past 39 years, has been holding these four-day festivities, and we are only renting the facilities from the town. In no way is the town connected with the Lions in profiting from this weekend. Again, we must advise you that this is the largest yearly fundraiser that the Lions are involved in. If you are not aware, all proceeds from this weekend are funnelled right back into this community in order to help the needy and the children that require surgery; to purchase eye glasses and wheelchairs; to assist the elderly (to help them make ends meet); to fund scholarships and bursaries; to help people in our First Nations; and many other projects too numerous to mention.

We, along with the United Chiefs and Councils of Manitoulin, conduct a toll at the bridge throughout the weekend, and at times the lineup stretches over a mile long, but all with smiles. Everyone knows that this is for a good cause. Drivers wait patiently and deposit their loose change into the buckets. As you are aware, these funds are used towards helping the Native sector and our community.

This weekend brings between 8,000 and 10,000 people onto the Island, and a large percentage comes back year after year from all over Canada, the United States, and in some cases, from overseas, on a regular basis to have fun visiting their families. It is also looked upon as a homecoming weekend. This brings a lot of revenue to this community and other parts of the Island. The stores, restaurants, shops, marinas, motels and hotels are all full during these four days, and all say that this is their biggest weekend of the year, just before the long winter months ahead.

This weekend requires a lot of planning. Commitments have to be made well in advance at a cost of more than $22,000 for entertainment and fireworks. Sunday's grand finale with fireworks has become the pinnacle and the talk of not only Manitoulin, but also from surrounding areas off the Island. The downtown core is jam packed with at least 8,000 people who come just to view the fireworks. These are only a couple to mention and there are many more. Ball teams, food, entertainment, vendors, horse pull competitions, bands, the parade, volunteers, etc. all has to be organized well in advance. We already have started and have committed to the success of these festivities.

We, as Lions, understand the situation that you folks are in. We urge you to reconsider your alleged intentions for the upcoming Haweater Weekend and let the festivities proceed without any incident. We are determined to go ahead as planned. This is too big of an event for us and our surrounding communities. Your co-operation and commitment is requested as soon as possible.

Little Current Lions Club

Labour lawyer clarifies misleading statements

Town should say why the proposal was rejected

To the Expositor:

My name is Jim Nyman. I am counsel to the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, Local 31-X-3. I am a senior partner in the law firm of CaleyWray. I have practised union-side labour law for 26 years representing numerous national, international and local trade unions before tribunals, courts and arbitration boards.

In the article titled "Union Calls for Binding Arbitration to End Strike," published on March 15, there are a number of statements attributed to Mayor Joseph Chapman concerning an offer tendered by the union to the town on March 9. Many of the statements, assuming they are accurately reported, are misleading or simply inaccurate. The purpose of this letter is to ensure that the record is set straight.

March 9 was the first time I participated in any bargaining with the town. I assisted the union in developing on that date a comprehensive proposal designed to resolve all issues and ensure a timely and orderly return to work of striking employees.

The proposal essentially was divided into two parts. One part consisted of acceptance of certain of the town's positions on the specific issues or new substantive counterproposals on these issues. From a bargaining perspective, the issues encompassed by this aspect of the proposal seemed relatively straightforward and capable of easy disposition.

The second part of the proposal was directed to the resolution of what has thus far been viewed by both parties, I believe, as the fundamental issues in dispute, i.e. job security and scheduling. The job security issue encompasses both the use of third-party contractors and the use of supervisors to perform bargaining unit work. The proposal was to place these issues (job security and scheduling) before an arbitrator to be disposed of by binding arbitration.

In the proposal, as part of the arbitration component, the union proposed a particular arbitrator. In the newspaper article, the mayor is alleged to have stated the person proposed has "union ties" and is not an "impartial third party." These comments, if made, are completely inaccurate. The person proposed has long been recognized by management and labour as an exceptional neutral. He is amongst the busiest arbitrators in the province. Moreover, if the town disagreed with the selection, there was nothing preventing it from responding with alternative names.

After the union tendered its proposal on March 9, the town indicated that it would respond to the proposal prior to 5 pm on March 10. The town did respond in the early afternoon of March 10. The response consisted of an invitation to meet in the following week and a rejection of binding arbitration as a mechanism to resolve the dispute, although notionally the town accepted the concept of binding arbitration, but limited to wages. This might make sense if wages were in dispute, but they do not seem to be. Acceptance of binding arbitration to dispose of wages solely was to reject the very essence of the union's proposal without appearing to have done so. The mayor's claim in the newspaper article that the town had not actually rejected the union's proposal is simply not accurate. The town, through its counsel, rejected the central feature of the union's proposal. I reiterate, it rejected binding arbitration of the key issues in dispute.

The mayor also claims that the union is sending mixed messages. In this regard, he cites me as saying the union is always prepared to meet. The mayor's comment is lifted from a letter I sent to counsel for the town on March 10. The mayor should quote the letter in its entirety. Context is integral to understanding the statement. It is utterly misleading and indeed, inaccurate to suggest that union representatives are sending mixed messages. There are no mixed messages.

The union's proposal was a serious and significant effort at achieving a comprehensive resolution of all collective agreement issues. The town's bargaining committee elected to reject the proposal in its entirety. It behooves the town and the mayor to say why the proposal was rejected rather than pretending it was not or making inaccurate comments about the neutrality of a respected arbitrator or further suggesting inappropriately that union counsel and union leadership are working from a different page.

J. James Nyman

CaleyWray

Toronto

Kagawong river plan panned

Drawdown would affect water lines

To the Expositor:

An open letter to Eric Cobb, fish and wildlife biologist, Ministry of Natural Resources.

I am writing to express my concerns about your proposal for the Kagawong River Water Management Plan.

The presentation held on this matter recently was well done; however, several facts were not presented properly, such as one house being flooded many years ago. Since then, new measures were introduced to ensure it did not happen again, and it hasn't; therefore, that problem was already rectified.

Also, the steering committee was not as well organized as it should have been. The township is against it, Emile is in favor of it, and the DFO is only concerned with the fish aspect, so it is the MNR that is controlling this decision. When I asked about the implementation timlines, I was told in front of the community that it would be a three-year phase-in (two inches per year), but when Emile spoke he said it was a two-year phase in (three inches per year). This is something that the steering committee should have agreed on in advance. If a presentation mistake was made, it should have been corrected. We were left with the idea that the steering committee had not even discussed implementation timelines.

The question of water lines freezing was at first called negligible by Emile. As we sat there, we realized that the vast majority of landowners do not have heated lines and don't require them. By implementing this plan, we will definitely need them at a great capital cost as well as continuing cost for electricity. So this proposal will cause more electricity consumption. Not much sense to that.

My main objection was to the idea that dropping the water level six inches in the winter would have little effect. As any high school student who has taken geometry knows, a six-inch vertical drop will cause the water to be pushed out quite a ways. In my case, my foot valve is 200 feet out into the lake and is at a depth of 50 inches at that point. Using those numbers for the pitch, I calculate that another 24 feet of my water line will not be covered by water and will be exposed to freezing. Since the MNR will not allow us to dig out and bury our water lines in the lake, the only choice we have is to heat our lines.

This "study" has been going on for years now and it seems that nothing has been  accomplished except more meetings of the steering committee. At the meeting it was mentioned that MAYBE the river will be dredged, maybe the bass spawning beds will have to be evaluated, maybe we will eventually get the gauges on the lake that have been promised for many years, and the whole process is ongoing and will be evaluated. If we go by past experience (such as the cormorant problem) any evaluation will take years to complete and by then the damage will be done.

Has anyone done a survey on how many permanent residences there are on the lake and how many will be affected? It would be a good idea.

Another concern I have is the monitoring of the water level. Until this point, the levels have been monitored by an independent person (myself) and when the water level is outside the accepted levels, I have had to contact the power company to stop (or start) generating. In most cases it worked but at times, several reminders were necessary. I am afraid that if there is not an independent monitoring of the levels, they will fall outside the range on a regular basis.

A monitoring by the MNR four times a year (as stated at the meeting) is totally ineffective. If there is any indication of a visit, the water level can be changed within an hour by shutting down the generator (as was shown in a study we did a few years ago).

In summary, the proposal does have some good points; however, rather than having discussions about it, the committee should have facts to work with before implementation-how many homes will be affected; how fish spawning beds IN the lake (and not just in the river) are going to be affected. Gauges should be installed and monitored to see the effect of winds on lake levels at different points.

By studying past level fluctuations, what effect will starting the drawdown in September have on boat navigation in the fall? Will there be a two-year or three-year implementation period?

One last point regards the contract between the township and Kagawong Power. I asked this question at the meeting but the answer was vague. Some people seem to have a problem with saying "yes" or "no" as an answer. Does this new plan cancel the agreement between the township of Billings and Kagawong Power, or does it amend it?

The people of Manitoulin are very concerned with this proposal, as indicated by the large turnout at this meeting.

I hope the steering committee will seriously consider these objections and others raised at the meeting.

Gerry Mack

Kagawong

DEAR DAVE AND BETH

Dear Dave and Beth,

What is that saying about chivalry again-is it supposed to be dead or not? I can never remember. How come people are so rude these days? Not picking on men-I mean everyone. People don't hold the door open for you anymore, and if you hold a door, no-one says thank you. Where did all the politeness go? What are your comments? Enquiring minds want to know.

Offended

Dear Offended,

Ma raised us kids (all nine of us) with two golden rules. They were to have respect (for people, properties, etc.) and manners. Of course there were a lot more rules but they're not in question.

Maybe I'm not as observant as most because this is something I've never noticed. But here are a couple of reasons why people might not be courteous:

1) People are way too busy (usually in a hurry to get nowhere);

2) Women's libbers, or some guys who have the attitude that maybe the woman should hold the door for them.

Suggestion: These same people would more than likely want to say good morning or even say hi as you pass by for their own reasons.

So don't wait for them. It don't cost you nothing to offer a smile and a word or two. (At that price you could try to give them a reason to smile, which should be your ultimate goal.)

It's sad but people (myself included) are all real busy and usually going nowhere or doing nothing, but the way I see it, there is a list of rules when approaching a door.

1) Look to see if there's someone coming out (getting smucked with a door is no fun).

2) Hold the door if anybody's within 10 feet of you unless they're going the other way.

Has this changed?

If you feel people should say hi, put them on the spot and say "hi" first. Follow it up with something like "What's on your agenda today?" You'll probably be pleasantly surprised (until you notice you're late for work or that meeting).

I live by these rules and I would gladly hold a door for somebody else just as long as they're not crossing our picket line.

Politeness. You want to see politeness? Come to the Manitoulin where people are so friendly, helpful, and polite. You'll want to stay. Tell them Dave sent ya.

-Dave

Send your Dear Dave and Beth letters to Box 369, Little Current, Ontario, P0P 1K0; or email them to editor@etown.net; or pop them through the slot on the front door of the Expositor office.

Send your Dear Dave letters to Box 369, Little Current, Ontario, P0P 1K0,