That`s the message a group of neighbours opposed to the proposed Shell refinery in St. Clair Township want to drive home to company and municipal officials through a public meeting in Courtright.
"Industry has a place and it`s not here," said Elsie Metcalfe, who operates a 100-acre farm with her husband Reg near the proposed refinery site.
TORONTO - The provincial government says Ontario`s coal plants must slash emissions over the next three years in order to meet a total shutdown goal in 2014.
The new interim target, set for 2011, means coal plants must reduce emissions by two-thirds below 2003 levels.
Jack Gibbons, chairman of the Ontario Clear Air Alliance, says the announcement is good news because it legally binds plants to limit their output.
Ontario Power Generation must reduce emissions to 11.5 megatonnes by 2011. In 2003, emissions totalled 34.5 megatonnes.
The OPG must also present the government with annual progress reports.
Local residents could see a sharp increase in their natural gas bill starting Canada Day.
The Toronto Star reported Wednesday that prices could jump by more than 20 per cent, a hike of nearly $300 on the average annual gas bill.
As oil prices hit record highs on world markets, natural gas is going along for the ride, Union Gas spokesperson Andrea Stass told The Observer.
"Because of the high cost of oil, some of the larger industrial customers are switching to natural gas, increasing demand and driving up the price," she said.
A high Canadian dollar, weak U.S. market and dysfunctional border have sparked the removal of about 156,000 trucks from the international supply chain since January, a provincial trucking body said.
The Ontario Trucking Association announced this week that this year`s cross-border truck traffic from January to April has dropped by 5.6 per cent compared to the same period in 2007. The decline is the latest hit to the trucking industry, which has lost almost one million border crossings since 2005.
Tourism officials in the Lambton region see little relief from the low number of summer visitors with a projected 8.6 per cent drop in Americans travelling to Ontario this year.
"We`ve been suffering for three years because of the low American dollar," said Judy McLellan, chairperson of Tourism Sarnia-Lambton. "The struggle`s going to still be there, but I don`t think it`ll be worse."
The symptoms that have deflated the number of American visitors in past years high gas prices and a rising Canadian dollar are further compounded by new document requirements at the border.
Residents upset by PUC fees; Mayor wants a report on single billing
Doug Allin says his water bill has more than doubled in the past year and a half.
The 85-year-old resident of St. Clair Community Estates told the Chatham-Kent Public Utilities Commission Thursday that residents of the mobile home park are concerned about the increases they are paying for water and sewer service.
Allin, a former mayor of Chatham from 1970 to 1977, said his bill went from about $22 a month in 2006 to $33 in January of 2007. Another increase in early 2007 saw his bill jump to $56, he said.
Mayor talks to landlords; Hope told it is tougher to make profit
Mayor Randy Hope heard about the challenges facing area landlords and pledged to work with them to find solutions.
Hope met more than 30 members of the Chatham Kent Landlords Association Wednesday to address such issues as taxation, utility rates and the suggestion that the municipality send social assistance recipients` rent payments directly to landlords.
Association member Frank Thibeault explained the minimal 1.2 per cent annual increases allowed on rental properties under provincial legislation don`t cover the rising costs of taxes and utilities.
The feeling is unanimous - Port Colborne residents don`t want a "Taj Mahal" sports complex and wellness centre if it means their taxes will increase.
A public meeting was held Wednesday night during which concerned residents packed council chamber to provide their opinions on a proposed multi-million dollar sports complex community health and wellness centre to replace aging facilities.
Bill Steele, chair of the Community Centre Advisory Committee, provided general information before residents were given five minutes to address their concerns.
Project on track; Regional councillors provided update on Highway 406 expansion
Southern-tier politicians are confident the widening of Highway 406 has shifted into higher gear, following a presentation at Niagara Region headquarters yesterday.
Pelham Coun. Brian Baty called the update provided to a handful of planning and public works committee members a "very straightforward" presentation.
Prepared by the province and project stakeholders McCormick Rankin Corp. and Ecoplans Ltd., visuals illustrated a number of options for interchanges at Merritt and Woodlawn roads and at East Main Street, plus a highway overpass at Port Robinson Road and a CN Rail line further south.
Tax increase in Wainfleet; Township keeps increase under three per cent for 2008
The average Wainfleet resident will see a $41.37 increase on their 2008 municipal tax bill this year.
During last night`s council meeting, staff approved a 2.89 per cent tax increase for Wainfleet`s portion of municipal taxes which equals an $31.14 increase. When the region`s increase of $10.23 for the average house valued at $189,000 is tagged onto that sum it equals a $41.37 increase .
The final report was brought forward more than three months after it was presented to council.
In February, staff had a three-hour long meeting to discuss budget details which outlined the township`s estimated spending of $6,331,362 for 2008.
Preferred bidder for new hospital expected to be chosen by fall
Debbie Sevenpifer hadn`t seen the proposals for a new St. Catharines hospital complex yet Tuesday afternoon, but the Niagara Health System CEO wasn`t expecting them to be light reading. "We kid that when you look at the complexity of the submissions ... that probably each bid, in terms of the documentation, would fill a half-ton truck," she said.
Sevenpifer was only half-joking.
Three large consortiums shortlisted to design, build, finance and maintain the hospital complex had until the end of the day Tuesday to submit their final proposals.
And each of the bids was expected to contain thousands of pages of information.
Mayor Dave Augustyn told the Pelham Business Association a decision to sell most of 13 hectares (32 acres) of town-owned land at Regional Road 20 and Rice Road will allow planning of the East Fonthill development to move ahead and give town council options to focus on other facilities.
During an association meeting Tuesday evening at Keith`s Restaurant, he touched on his position in voting to sell the land and he outlined what lies ahead.
In a general committee meeting on Monday, Pelham councillors voted 4-3 for a motion to sell all the land but two hectares (five acres) needed for stormwater management.
Two five-storey apartment buildings may soon overlook the Welland River, and a new second-hand store could soon help raise funds for Open Arms Mission.
The two developments will be the topic of public meetings, Wednesday at 7 p.m., in the Welland Civic Square community room.
The apartment buildings, being proposed by two numbered companies, will be located at 138 and 154 Riverside Dr., near the intersection of Lincoln Street. They will include a total of 107 rental units, including residential apartments as well as commercial units located on the ground floor of the two buildings.
Brampton city councillors have asked staff to take a closer look at a request for a zoning amendment that would allow construction of a supportive housing complex opposed by residents.
A 26-unit apartment building is proposed for a site on Sheard Avenue in the area of McMurchy Avenue and Queen Street West. It would provide housing for people with mental health issues and would be headed by Supportive Housing in Peel (SHIP) in partnership with Peel Living.
Residents say the project is too much for the neighbourhood because it is already home to several low-income units, and they have concerns that the tenants, some of whom may suffer from severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia, could pose a threat to the neighbourhood.
The public school board is looking to unload three surplus properties in Orangeville. Money from the sales will be used for a couple other initiatives in town, including procuring land for a future school in the Settler`s Creek neighbourhood.
"For us to look long-term at securing a site for potential development in the west end we have to have the capital available," Bob Borden, board chair and Orangeville trustee, explains of why the lands are being sold. "We`re basically taking a look at any surplus property we`ve got in the area and selling it off.
More riders translates into more funding for Orangeville Transit
Orangeville Transit ridership grew 13 per cent last year, which likely means more money for the system is forthcoming.
Since Orangeville`s ridership is up, the town expects to receive a higher percentage of federal gas tax from the Ministry of Transportation (MTO); the allotment is decided based on population served and ridership statistics.
Criminals concealing grow operations in houses on upscale suburban streets are shipping some of their marijuana crop to the United States in return for cocaine, heroin and guns, York Regional Police say.
"I don`t believe there`s any greater threat to community safety than the manufacture and distribution of illicit narcotics," Chief Armand La Barge said Friday, while displaying an array of grow equipment seized during a two-year investigation named Project Tropical Storm.
Where city fears to tread, locals see oasis in wasteland
Like nature, Torontonians abhor a vacuum. They also know a good thing when they see it. So it should come as no surprise that residents have started to colonize those empty and long-neglected spaces that run beneath and parallel to the Gardiner Expressway. Specifically, we`re talking about the area east of Yonge St., but the same phenomenon is happening elsewhere.
Ever since condos began to appear south of the railway tracks, these wastelands have become impromptu parks. They`re not quite green space, but close enough that they`ll do.
GREATER SUDBURY–It feels like Christmas here every day.
Everybody is in a rush. And everybody seems to have money to spend.
Newcomer Rick Chessel got that holiday buzz when he tried to elbow his way from shop to shop at the New Sudbury Centre on a recent Saturday.
"It was just like the day before Christmas," says the 51-year-old machinist. "It was shoulder to shoulder everywhere."
Diners are spending more at the Tommy`s Not Here restaurant in the south end. At the SRO nightclub downtown, where the Eaton`s store once stood, the acronym really fits because it`s standing room only many nights.
