SUDBURY––An Islander attending the electoral boundaries commission meeting in Sudbury on October 11 might easily have developed a bit of a rejection complex, as one after another representatives stood before the commission and argued against being forced into the riding new riding of Algoma-Manitoulin-Killarney. The Honourable Justice George T. S. Valin, chair of the independent 2012 Federal Electoral Bound ...

MANITOULIN—Thanks to the lobbying efforts of the Manitoulin Area Stewardship Council (MASC) and Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Michael Mantha, the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) will be holding a public meeting on Manitoulin Island concerning the proposed Great Lakes Protection Act on August 23. As reported in last week’s edition of the Recorder, the Manitoulin Area Stewardship Council had requested the MOE hold ...

Tom Sasvari The Recorder ELLIOT LAKE—A second casualty was confirmed on Wednesday in the Elliot Lake tragedy after a portion of the roof of the Algo Centre Mall collapsed on Saturday afternoon. Premier Dalton McGuinty had announced on Tuesday morning that crews would be dismantling the mall from the outside in as they attempted to rescue people trapped in the rubble. Unfortunately, the disaster has also hit ...

Tom Sasvari The Recorder EVANSVILLE—Ed Wright is lobbying the Burpee-Mills Township council in hopes it will consider its own motion to allow the use of side-by-side vehicles on town roads, similar to a motion recently passed by the Township of Prince and one currently up for consideration in the Sault Ste. Marie. And it appears council is listening. “We are looking at a motion bylaw to allow these type of ...

by Stacey Lavallie QUEEN’S PARK—Leaders from the provincial Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party (NDP) found a middle ground regarding changes to the 2012 budget on the afternoon of Monday, April 23, the day before the vote on the budget was scheduled to happen. This vote marks the first time a budget vote has been held under a minority government since David Peterson’s Liberals took power in 1985. If ...

by Alicia McCutcheon M’CHIGEENG—M’Chigeeng Chief Joe Hare is seeking assurance from the Children’s Aid Society (CAS) of the Districts of Manitoulin and Sudbury that an overly aggressive approach of removing children from their homes will never be used on the M’Chigeeng First Nation, and while he waits for this assurance in writing from the executive director, a 30-day ban has been placed on all CAS organiza ...

Tom Sasvari The Recorder MELDRUM BAY—The Dawson Citizens Improvement Association (DCIA) is asking for support from Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Mike Mantha for help in its lobbying to get cell phone service in their area, as part of the current NetCentral enhanced cell program for much of the Island, which is to be completed later this year or early in 2013. As well, the DCIA is calling on other western Manitoulin ...

The Recorder OTTAWA—Canadians planning to retire at 65 with a little help from public pension plans are staring at a curve-ball thrown by the government, as the federal Tories are set to change the eligibility rules for Old Age Security (OAS), according to Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing MP Carol Hughes. New Democrats are criticizing the trial balloon floated by Prime Minister Stephen Harper at meetings on th ...

GUELPH—Escalating concerns about industrial wind turbines has prompted the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) to urge the province of Ontario to suspend further development until farm families and rural residents are assured that their interests are adequately protected. The OFA unveiled its strong stance in a new position statement on industrial wind turbines that will be presented to government later ...

Tom Sasvari The Recorder QUEEN’S PARK—Ontario’s New Democrats are asking drivers in Northern Ontario to help put together a record of all the provincial highways that are poorly maintained this winter. The new NDP Northern Road Report will compile the reports from the people who use our roads day in and day out, and who suffer the consequences when things go wrong. “We will definitely keep this issue at the ...