Winegard speaks out on Harper
By the time you read this, either Stéphane
Dion has seized power in a bloodless coup that undermines our democracy or
Stephen Harper did the right, Canadian thing and ask the Governor General to
put Parliament on hold till cooler heads prevail. Hopefully, whatever’s going
down it’s not another election, but I can tell you one thing: Mr. Harper hasn’t
made any friends after current events with at least one high profile Guelph Conservative.
In an article for the Guelph Mercury, former Guelph Conservative MP (1984 – 1993) Bill Winegard told the paper that a coalition
government is “a slap on the wrist” for Prime Minister Stephen Harper “and in
my opinion one he deserves.”
Winegard, who’s
still active in the local wing of the party, went on to say that the situation
stems from people’s belief that Harper was going to put aside partisan politics
for the good of the nation, out response to the global economic crisis. This
did not happen though when Jim Flaherty gave his financial update to the House
two weeks ago. “I think it's a most unfortunate situation, but regretfully Mr.
Harper brought it on himself,” Winegard said. “People wanted assurances they
would be protected financially … and what they got was a rather fighting
document, which didn't address any of those things and instead addressed only
party politics.”
Lafarge talks remain secret
Things might be moving forward on the Lafarge
front, although to what extent we have no idea because there’s at present a
media blackout on the top level negotiations between a number of players.
Apparently talks resumed between the
city, 6&7 Developments, Armel Corp., the Howitt Park Neighbourhood Group
and the Lafarge developer last week in an attempt to resolve the development
stand still through mediation. The hope is to have a deal in place before the
Ontario Municipal Board hearing on January 12; if mediation fails,
the OMB is the next hope to resolve the matter.
In case you can’t remember, the debate is
as to whether or not a 400,000
square foot retail part will be built on the land at Silvercreek Parkway South.
The city and the HPNG are against the current plan, but the debate is fairly
open as to what sort of things could possibly be built there instead. The media
blackout will continue through the mediation, although the HPNG will be holding
a meeting tonight at Guelph Bible Chapel, 216 Silvercreek South, to
discuss the outcome of mediation talks. Everyone is invited to come.
Council haggles
over budget
After last Monday’s
council meeting, the budget, as presented in its current form, calls for a 5.3
per cent tax increase for the 2009 fiscal year, but that might not be the end
of it. The 5.3 per cent increase translates to about an extra $12 per month for
the average taxpayer, but that might not be the end of it. Ward 2 Councillor
Ian Findlay put forward a motion to direct city staff at seeing if that
increased tax burden could be reduced to 3.75 per cent, in order to respond to
his constituents’ concerns. The motion was passed unanimously, and options will
be presented at the December 15 council meeting where the budget
will hopefully be voted upon. Chief administrative officer Hans Loewig, while promising to look at
options, stressed that given the turbulent economic waters, it’s important for
council to pass a budget before the end of the year.
Amongst the items
already modified from previous budget discussions is the deferment of the
purchase of land for the new library and Baker Street redevelopment project
until 2010 and the air quality monitoring project from the Hanlon will be
spread over nine years rather than two. Basically, new and future services
projects will be targeted for money saving initiatives. The city’s also looking
at increased user fess, delaying capital projects and using reserve funds in
order to make ends meet. The Guelph City Council - 2009 Operating & Capital
Budgets Deliberation & Approval meeting takes place on Monday, December 15
at 7 pm in the main council chamber in City Hall.
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