Forested land and wetland declared surplus by council

The Leader met with NDP candidate Elaine MacDonald on September 16th to discuss  the upcoming election on October 6th.

MacDonald got started in politics through volunteering and getting involved in different issues at work. Initially, many of her accomplishments were in defense of women and worker rights.

She pointed out that “systems evolve and sometimes people get lost in the shuffle.” MacDonald felt drawn to help make things better for those around her.

As a founding member of the Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry Coalition for Social Justice, she is a strong advocate for every person’s right to be heard.

In touring Stormont, Dundas, and South Glengarry and talking to constituents, she discovered that the government programs put into place to help people are, in many situations, causing difficulty with unrealistic expectations coupled with a lack of concrete assistance.

Among the many people she has met, there are those who are working multiple minimum wage jobs trying to pay for essentials. They’re “not just treading water, but falling behind.”

She believes that today’s climate “blames the poor” for being poor when, in fact, that is not the case.

When asked how she planned to address the issue of poverty, MacDonald stated that the NDP “platform hasn’t been released yet.”

However, she did share that her party plans to “ensure more affordable housing” which will, in turn, “equate to more disposable income.”

In addition, upon being elected the NDP intend to “raise minimum wage to $11 per hour right away.” MacDonald claims that the NDP will then, “index it to inflation from here on in” with the “same (being done for) WSIB and ONDSP.”

Continuing the discussion on poverty, the Leader questioned MacDonald about the Poverty Free Ontario debate at the Agape Centre on September 15th where she was condemned for her refusal to participate in the Do the Math Challenge, which challenged candidates to eat from a food bank basket for five days.

MacDonald, who admits that she is “a bit plain spoken” told the Leader that: “I rarely commit to something I don’t think I can do.” She believes that “to do (the challenge) honestly, you have to be able to give it some attention.”

“It’s extremely complicated. You have to watch what you eat.” Logistically, she couldn’t commit to giving the challenge the attention and dedication she believes it deserves.

Moving the discussion back to the main issues for people of this riding, MacDonald focussed on jobs, taxes, healthcare and other public services.

She pointed out that “people rely on public services” and government “has to stop rationing them.”

In addition, she brought attention to the fact that “people are falling through the cracks.”

One example: “66 per cent of complaints from people who didn’t get their full wages (worked for) companies that were actually solvent.”
MacDonald points out that in a lot of cases, individual people are being taxed while the corporations are getting the breaks.

“So many of our policies advocate for people in the counties.” These include policies in healthcare, education, and jobs. For instance, MacDonald’s NDP plan will “reward job creators with up to $5,000 per year.”

When asked what voters need to know most about her, MacDonald stated: “I am a progressive woman who wants to see government move in the direction of the triple bottom line: that is that we base our decisions on environmental and social values as well as financial. That is the way to develop a sustainable economy.”

During the interview with MacDonald, she referred to 211. She later expressed concern that people be made aware of the phone number, which connects Ontarians with information and referrals to community and social services in their province. The website is www.211ontario.ca.

Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath visited the riding on September 20th at MacDonald’s campaign office in Cornwall.

[…]

 

Total utility bills in excess of $800,000 annually have municipal officials thinking that there has to be a way to cut those costs.

At the last South Dundas council meeting, council agreed to retain I.B. Storey Inc. Professional Energy Solutions to provide professional energy auditing services at various municipal facilities.

They were selected from  South Dundas’ recent request for proposal process that garnered nine proposals ranging in price from about $12,000 to over $77,000.

The proposal accepted was not the highest, nor the lowest priced proposal, but was the highest ranked for quality by the review team. The cost of their services is just about $16,000.

The facilities that will be reviewed during this audit will include the public works depots at Matilda and Williamsburg, the arena in Morrisburg, the water treatment plant, the buildings that house the Morrisburg and Iroquois Fire Stations and the Matilda Community Centre at Dixon’s Corners.

According to South Dundas chief administrative officer Stephen McDonald, the scope of the work will entail four major components for each of the buildings including; energy and utility data analysis, on-site facility audits and equipment inventories, and audit report and training and education.

The 2012 budget includes $10,000 for this energy audit. The balance will be funded through OSWAP funding allocations. Staff plans to examine other funding assistance opportunities and incentives available through the utility companies. The $800,000 annual utility cost includes annual street lighting costs of about $100,000. Staff are looking at ways to reduce these costs as well, but they will be dealt with in future through a different report.

[…]

Perennial election contender Bill Ewing, will once again have his name on the ballot for the 2014 municipal election.

Ewing filed his nomination papers for the position of councillor with the clerk January 7.

Ewing’s name has been on the ballot of every South Dundas Municipal election since the corporation was formed. Once, he ran but was defeated for the deputy mayor’s seat, but he was twice elected as a councillor having served two terms.

No matter whether he wins or loses an election, Ewing never hesitates in letting his name stand for a council seat because, whether sitting on council or not, he always has an interest in this municipality and its affairs.

Ewing chose to this time run for one of the three councillor seats. “I have sufficient time to work as a councillor,” he said. Ewing is self-employed as the owner/operator of Bill’s Towing. The mayor and deputy mayor seats require a larger investment of time, that Ewing explains he cannot fully commit to.

“I can be of benefit to South Dundas,” says Ewing who, on top of his council experience, has much municipal experience with water, sewer, roads and parks management in the former Village of Iroquois.

Ewing chose to declare his election intentions, fairly early in the process. “There’s no reason to keep people in suspense,” said Ewing. “People have been asking me whether or not I’m running, so I filed.”

[…]