durhamregion.com

EDITORIAL: Support Ajax’s call for more representation

    After almost 20 years, it’s high time for a further reduction of regional council, one that will also create a body more representative of Durham’s municipalities, including Ajax.
    Ajax voters can have their say on the matter. Ajax council Monday night approved a question to be put on the municipal election ballot in October. It will ask residents if they support their local council asking for a smaller regional council. At the same time, the re-jigging would see seats distributed based on each municipality’s population.
    Asking is the key word here as the decision lies at the regional level, not with Ajax council.
    And Ajax has been leading the charge on the issue, twice trying to have it dealt with by the Region, only to be rebuffed.
    Ajax officials feel the Town is grossly under-represented at the Region and there is substance to the argument. The last time the regional council make-up was changed was in 1996, a reduction from 32 to 28 councillors. At the time, there were roughly 65,000 residents. Today, there are some 110,000 citizens of Ajax. By comparison, Oshawa's population, around 150,000 people, has crept only marginally higher. Yet Ajax still has just three regional council members while Oshawa has eight.
    As we have noted, council’s size is out of step with reality. When it was created 40 years ago, the concern that the rural, less populated municipalities would be at a disadvantage given there is far more people in the south was a big one. Thus the north was given two regional councillors each. They now represent just over 50,000 people. Again, Uxbridge, Scugog and Brock should have just one regional member and Oshawa should lose at least two or three.
    And in the shuffle, Ajax should gain a regional council position and council’s size could easily be reduced by at least two if not three or four members.
    This would make the system fairer and regional council a bit less costly to taxpayers.
    A previous report at regional council noted Durham’s council’s 28 members represent around 608,000 people. In Peel Region, 24 councillors represent almost 1.3 million and York Region, with a population of just over one million people, has 20 councillors.
    Durham Regional council can and should clearly be smaller and more representative. Further, there should be a mechanism in place to regularly, maybe every 10 years, review the size and make-up of council.
    Say it with a tick of your ballot this fall.
    
    -- Ajax News Advertiser

EDITORIAL: Uxbridge: An expensive brook runs through it

    Most of the time, people go about their business in downtown Uxbridge without giving any thought to the brook that passes beneath Brock Street. And it’s hard to imagine that the benign-looking, meandering little brook could turn into raging flood waters leaving the downtown awash in disaster should a big storm strike.
    But the flooding danger is very real. The Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority previously identified the Uxbridge Brook culvert as a flood risk, noting the pipe will not be able to withstand a regional storm. If a big storm were to brew, it would seem people in downtown Uxbridge would not be able to help but think of the brook, should flood waters begin to rise.
    Uxbridge though, has now identified a federal funding program that might be able to make the $10-million cost of replacing the culvert easier to bear. Under the Building Canada fund, one-third of the cost could be picked up by Ottawa, leaving the Province to pay a third and the Township to pay the remainder.
    While replacing a culvert doesn’t sound very sexy, this project could contain an element of excitement: consideration in the past has been given to “opening up” the brook so that it flows through an open channel downtown, with bridge crossings. That could bring an entirely new element of charm to the face of Uxbridge’s core.
    Regardless, since the Region of Durham owns the portion of the culvert that passes under Brock Street -- a regional road -- this project will require co-operation from all four levels of government if the federal funding is to be accessed. The burden of a $10-million project on municipal coffers alone can’t be overstated, and the Building Canada fund would be akin to Uxbridge finding treasure.
    The wheels on this project have been moving slowly forward for several years now. The Township will now take the next step and let the Region of Durham know it wants to tap into federal funding when the Building Canada project launches April 1.   
     It’s up to Township officials to do everything they can in their collective power to bring all levels of government to the table, and access whatever funding might be available on a cost-sharing basis to replace the aging Uxbridge Brook culvert. It would be a big relief to the Township to be able to cross this project off the “to do” list.
    Let’s get on with it.
    -- Uxbridge Times-Journal

EDITORIAL: Wire worries: Snowmobile safety in Scugog

    It appears that someone in Scugog is opposed to one of the area’s favourite winter pastimes and is risking human safety in doing so.
    Durham Regional Police officials have been made aware of a series of incidents on local snowmobile trails in which bundles of wire fencing have been deliberately laid across trails, which have been caught up in the tracks of passing sledders, damaging their machines.
    But it is the potential for injury -- or worse -- that is most concerning and which has prompted Durham police to issue a public advisory. Local members of the Port Perry Snowmobile Club are also actively working to determine who is responsible for what is being uniformly described as a malicious act.  
    Snowmobile club spokesman Rick Sauer is not understating the seriousness of the situation when he says he’s worried that someone might be killed if these acts continue.
    And really, regardless of one’s possible opposition to snow machines, or the noise their engines make, or their presence in natural areas where trails are carved into the landscape, such malicious sabotage is still unconscionable.
    Would it be worth, for example, a debilitating injury if a sledder is thrown from his or her machine because of wire seizing the track? What if it was a young boy or girl? Does the person or people responsible think that sledders will pack up and go away? In every context, these acts make absolutely no sense and, in fact, could see the perpetrator(s) serving jail time if the worst occurs.
    We call on residents to be vigilant when they are out and about in the community and report any suspicious activity. We call on local snowmobilers to stand together in the face of this assault on a perfectly acceptable winter sporting pastime. We call on police to actively investigate and determine quickly who is responsible for these acts.
    In the absence of personal injury, this case so far is one of public mischief. But if it continues, someone is going to get hurt, or worse, and it becomes something entirely different and far more malevolent.
    Spring is just around the corner, which will reduce trail traffic and potentially push the issue aside without any conclusion.
    In that context, it must be resolved. Quickly.
    -- Port Perry Star

EDITORIAL: Support Pickering’s call for smaller regional council

    After almost 20 years, it’s high time for a further reduction of regional council, one that will also create a body more representative of Durham’s municipalities.
    Pickering voters can have their say on the matter. Pickering council Monday night approved a question to be put on the municipal election ballot in October. It will ask Pickering residents if they support their local council asking for a smaller regional council. At the same time, the re-jigging would see seats distributed based on each municipality’s population.
    Asking is the key word here as the decision lies at the regional level, not with Pickering council. That and the fact that regional councillors in January voted 15 to 9 against a question on the ballot had Councillor Doug Dickerson questioning if it was worth the effort.
    “The sad fact is that it probably won’t have any effect at the Region,” he said.
    Possibly, but we support Councillor Jennifer O’Connell’s position, namely that it’s important to push the issue. As she noted, growth coming to Pickering means the city will have a larger population than Oshawa in future years. However without a council shake-up, the city but will still be represented by four councillors at the Region, compared with eight in Oshawa.
    “This is about sending a message to the Region,” she said. “The current system is broken and unfair.”
    And the Region would be foolish not to pay attention to that message, especially if it is supportive by a large majority of Pickering residents. It’s also encouraging that regional council is obviously split on the issue.
    As we have noted, council’s size is out of step with reality. When it was created 40 years ago, the concern that the rural, less populated municipalities would be at a disadvantage given there is far more people in the south was a big one. Thus the north was given two regional councillors each. They now represent just over 50,000 people. Again, Uxbridge, Scugog and Brock should have just one regional member and Oshawa should lose at least two or three. Pickering should keep its four.
    And in the process, council’s size could easily be reduced by four members.
    This would make the system fairer and regional council a bit less costly to taxpayers.
    A previous report at regional council noted Durham council’s 28 members represent around 608,000 people. In Peel Region, 24 councillors represent almost 1.3 million and York Region, with a population of just over one million people, has 20 councillors.
    Durham Regional council can and should clearly be smaller and more representative. Furthermore, there should be a mechanism in place to regularly review the size and make-up of council.
    Say it with a tick of your ballot this fall.
    
    -- Pickering News Advertiser

EDITORIAL: Hometown hero: Newcastle’s Tara Watchorn

    Greeting hometown hero Tara Watchorn in Newcastle was just as exciting as watching her hockey team capture gold last week in Sochi, Russia.

    Ms. Watchorn, who gave up figure skating at age four to give hockey a try, saw the loop close on her Olympic dream when she returned home Tuesday night to a jubilant, proud crowd of Clarington supporters.
    A crowd assembled on the Mill Street bridge brought it all home -- for Tara and the many Clarington residents who have cheered her from the start -- before Ms. Watchorn, still wearing her hard-earned gold medal in women’s hockey, waded into the crowd for photos and words of encouragement.
    Her favourite moment at the Olympics was seeing Canada’s flag being raised and hearing the national anthem after the women’s team won gold in a thrilling come-from-behind win against a talented U.S. team. Ours too.
    It’s hard to imagine the overwhelming pride Ms. Watchorn’s parents feel in seeing their daughter fully realize her hockey and Olympic dreams. They, along with their son, Tyler, are Ms. Watchorn’s most committed fans.
    Those who weren’t able greet Ms. Watchorn Tuesday night get another opportunity to congratulate her on Saturday at the Newcastle Community Hall, where she’ll be spending time from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with community supporters and signing autographs.
    And isn’t that typical? Rather than take time to reflect and recover from the rigours of international competition and long flights, Ms. Watchorn is making sure to make time for the community.
    And it’s not as if she’s got nothing to do. After a brief rest at home -- if that’s what one can call it -- she’s jetting off to Calgary for a post-Olympics de-briefing and to participate in team events. After that, she hopes to do some fundraising for multiple sclerosis, a disease her mother lives with.
    Before she heads off to a bright future and boundless opportunities, let us once more acknowledge her golden effort in Sochi, let us congratulate her for her achievement, and let us wish her every success.
    She’s a hometown girl who brought a childhood dream to life and in doing so, took us along with her.
    Way to go, Tara.

    -- Clarington This Week