In case you’ve missed it:
This 2012 video was created and published in response to ridiculous and outrageous statements made to me by one of the top Hamilton Conservation Authority’s officials. I had asked for a meeting to let him know that a large part of our local population in Dundas strongly opposed the annual deer hunt conducted by the natives in our conservation area.
What can we ask for, locally, and what we expect of our Members of Parliament?
1. End the unprecedented price gouging and unregulated, monopolized marketplace. Food, housing, rent, insurance, and fuel are necessities that everybody has to buy and pay for. Since early 2000s, consumer protection does not exist. Monopolization has killed competition and, consequently, killed healthy market mechanisms. There is no valid reason for the food prices at METRO and other supermarkets to constantly rise. We are now paying 3-5 times more for food than we did in 2005. We are paying twice as much to rent an apartment than we did in 2001 and five times as much as we paid in the 1980s. The cost of car insurance has increased 5 times, since 1980s, as well. Houses and cars went up 300-500 percent. Despite salary increases, the market value of the money we make is rapidly decreasing. Consequently, our standard of living is on a constant and steady decline. Since this greed-driven trend is caused by government deregulation, we expect and demand that the government restores anti-trust as well as fair prices and services regulations and re-activates effective consumer protection a.s.a.p. – (Here)
Dear friend
If you haven’t seen them yet, you will soon! Your local federal election candidates will be coming to your door, calling you at home or standing at an intersection, asking for your vote on October 19th. Why not ask them what they’re prepared to do for nature?
90% of Canada’s land and 100% of our ocean are publicly owned. That means that most of our magnificent wilderness is in the hands of our politicians.
What action will your candidates take to protect our great outdoor spaces that cleanse the air we breathe, the water we drink and moderate our climate?
CPAWS has prepared three simple questions you can ask your candidates, and some quick facts on what the federal government can do to protect our precious wild spaces. Read our vote for nature guide.
Let’s be sure enough of us say we’re “voting for nature” to make a difference!
Yours in conservation,
Éric Hébert-Daly
National Executive Director
Watch the full debate on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSf2__qpeGA
Mr. Prime Minister, if “incomes have been growing in this country“, then why is the standard of living of most Canadian families declining?
I can tell you why. You and your government have deregulated the economy and have removed consumer protection mechanisms that used to ensure fair prices for acceptable quality of products and services. As a result, the cost of living grows faster than the incomes. At the same time, the quality of available products and services is declining, as well.
Dear CPAWS Supporters,
On Monday, we released our 7th annual Parks Report assessing Canada’s progress towards its international commitment to protect at least 17% of our land and fresh water by 2020, and to improve the quality of our protected areas. This is an important next step towards CPAWS’ long term goal of protecting at least half of our public land and water. The bottom line is that Canada is falling behind most other countries, and urgently needs a plan to catch up!
Only 10% of Canada’s landscape is protected, compared with the global average of over 15%. If Canada continues at its current pace, it will take over 50 years, not five, to achieve 17% protection! With 90% of our landscape in the public domain, action by all levels of government is key to achieving these targets.
June 26: Young buck west of the Trail Centre. Photo: L. Biegalski (Click to enlarge)
It’s July 2nd and I have not yet received any meaningful replies from my MPP Ted McMeekin, Mayor of Hamilton Fred Eisenberger, or Ward 13 Councillor Arlene VanderBeek regarding construction projects in environmentally sensitive areas of Dundas Valley, violation of construction permit limits, lack of law enforcement, and possible corruption in issuing and implementing building permits. These issues should be investigated and taken care of but, unfortunately, officials responsible for enforcing rules and policies are not willing to help. Why? Are they part of the corrupted system?
June 14: Newborn fawn near Merrick Line, DVCA. Photo: L. Biegalski. (Click to enlarge)
Below, please find today’s letter from Mr. McMeekin’s Constituency Office in Waterdown, Ontario, followed by my reply. Mr. McMeekin is a Liberal MPP for the area in question and currently serves as the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing in the Ontario government.
Lech,
Ted has asked me to inquire to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for a response. Please see below.
On two occasions, I have asked my MPP Ted McMeekin, Mayor of Hamilton Fred Eisenberger, and Ward 13 Councillor Arlene VanderBeek for their reply, input, and help, and did not receive any. I am a resident of Dundas and a voter in their respective constituencies. As I understand our political system, at least in theory, these three officials represent their consituencies in the City of Hamilton and in the Legislative Assembly in Ottawa. They are, therefore, accountable to their voters.
My letters and telephone inquiries addressed to Mr. McMeekin, Mr. Eisenberger, and Ms. VanderBeek were sent to them in mid-April and at the beginning of May. They dealt with protection of Dundas Valley wildlife and ecosystem, with development and construction in environmentally sensitive areas of Dundas Valley, with enforcement of building permit limits, and also with a provincial law requiring landlords not to switch from heating to air-conditioning in apartment buildings before May 15.
Dear Mr. McMeekin,
Over a week ago, I called your constituency office in Waterdown and inquired about a provincial law requiring that landlords of apartment buildings switch from heating to air-conditioning not earlier than on May 15 each year. This is an old law that has been in place for more than 30 years. It does not take into account the global warming. My question was, “Can this law be corrected to reflect the climate change?”
In our apartment building, we have many elderly people, some with a severe heart condition. A few years ago, an elderly tenant died of heart attack during a heat wave, before the air-conditioning was switched on. This past week, we had temperatures of 24 – 29 degrees Celsius – (which felt much higher inside the building), while the “normal” temperature for this time of the year is around 17 degrees. I need to know what can be done to change the law in order to prevent more tragic deaths and to create humane conditions for all tenants.
When I called your Waterdown office, I spoke to a female employee. She took my telephone number and promissed that “somebody from the ministry” would call me back. Nobody has called me, yet. I would like my MPP to contact me and advise me what can be done to resolve this issue. This is an urgent matter, one that cannot wait for months.
Thank you, in advance, for your time and help,
Lech Biegalski
Deer in Dundas Valley Conservation Area. Photo: Lech Biegalski. (Click to enlarge)
In response to my post, Protection of Dundas Valley Deer and Ecosystem Neglected by Officials, I have received an email from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Guelph District – (posted below). In particular, the MNRF confirms that responsibility for planning and enforcement “on matters of provincial interest related to land use planning and development” lies with the City of Hamilton and with the Niagara Escarpment Commission. I am, therefore, asking the Mayor of Hamilton Fred Eisenberger, the Ward 13 Councillor Arlene VanderBeek, our local MPP Ted McMeekin, and the Niagara Escarpment Commission for their substantive opinion and information on what they can and will do:
A previous reply from the Office of Mayor Eisenberger – (See HERE) – was both misleading and unsatisfactory. I have sent additional inquiry but have not received any further correspondence from the Mayor. Until today, I have also not received a substantive reply from our Councillor Arlene VanderBeek, or any replies at all from the Niagara Escarpment Commission and from Ted McMeekin, our local MPP and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing responsible for the Land Use Planning and for overseeing the implementation of both the Provincial Policy Statement [Link 2] and the Planning Act.
The 22nd annual Paris to Ancaster Bike Race took place last Sunday, April 26th. Weather cooperated – the course was dry and fast, except for the usual muddy sections.
Bob Haufler (#553) of Midweek Cycling Club leads a small group of Wave 1 riders on Paris to Cambridge Rail Trail
KML and GPX files with a selection of Dundas Valley Trails, Single Tracks and bike rides around Dundas, for Google Earth and suitable GPS devices can now be downloaded through this blog.
Links, instructions, and a disclaimer are included on the Downloads page.
(Updated: April 19, 2015)
