Summary of Manitouwadge Council September 11 2013 (+Video)
Left to right; Clerk Cecile Kerster, Acting Mayor Councillor Connie Hunter, Councillor Sheldon Plummer and Councillor Donna Jaunzarins.
MANITOUWADGE, ON – The regular meeting of Manitouwadge Town Council September 11, 2013 was quite brief, lasting only about 30 minutes. Absent from the meeting were Mayor John MacEachern and Councillor Natalie Labbee; in attendance were Acting Mayor Connie Hunter who chaired the meeting, Clerk Cecile Kerster, and Councillors Sheldon Plummer and Donna Jaunzarins (CLICK HERE for the agenda).
Director of Community Services Paula McCloskey presented a report to council regarding the curling ice/facility at the Recreation Centre and it’s use by the Manitouwadge Curling Club. McCloskey had been approached by the club in regards to their interest in renting the curling ice for the 2013-14 season. There were questions regarding mixed and men’s curling, the first (mixed) will be part of what is offered and organized by the club however, they had been careful not to mislead anyone, making no mention of any commitment to offering men’s curling in their letter as this has proven nearly impossible with many of those who might be interested working conflicting shifts or at fly-in jobs which see them away from Manitouwadge for 2 -3 weeks at a time it is not possible for the club to maintain a men-only curling league. McCloskey told council she had confirmed with both the High School and Public School that they would have teams for the 2013/14 school year however there was no mention of Our Lady of Lourdes School or Ecole Publique Franco-Manitou and so whether they have been contacted regarding curling by McCloskey is unknown. A motion was passed to approve their request, maintaining the same fee structure as last year (The ice will be ready November 1st, 2013).
It was confirmed that the MNR is terminating 3 positions at the Ministry’s Manitouwadge office, it is interesting that in Minister David Orazietti’s interview with OntarioNewsNorth.com (CLICK HERE) he seems to deny accusations of job cuts (which were obviously accurate) by NDP MPP **, choosing to list off large numbers of jobs being created in the MNR’s current “Reorganization” though of course, in a small place like Manitouwadge (and to those loosing their jobs) 3 positions is significant (ONN will be contacting Minister Orazietti this week for some clarification regarding whether those in the positions being terminated will have the option of relocating to another MNR office or position as the term ‘reorganization’ would suggest). Councillor Jaunzarins talked for some time regarding whether people could still get ServiceOntario services in the same time frame though the correlation between ServiceOntario an the Ministry of Natural Resources is still unclear as though, in Manitouwadge, they are in the same building, ServiceOntario is not under the umbrella of the MNR (ServiceOntario is part of the Ministry of Government Services).
Among other issues discussed were attendance at NOMA (Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association) Northwestern Ontario Regional Conference being held in Thunder Bay the 25th through 27th of September [Co-hosted this year by; Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association, Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing, Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce, and Northwestern Ontario Development Network). Councillor Sheldon Plummer was, unfortunately, the only member of council to express an interest in attending. These types of conferences, especially being held by associations which our municipality is a member of, are very important, they are learning opportunities, they offer municipal leaders the opportunity to network with their peers from neighbouring municipalities and with those making decisions which will affect us and it is disappointing to see so little interest by council, to attend. Kudos to Councillor Plummer for seeing the value in attending, his interest was supported by council who passed the necessary motion. If you are interested in what he will have the opportunity to participate in the NOMA NWO Regional Conference Agenda is available to review by CLICKING HERE. OntarioNewsNorth.com is hoping Mr. Plummer will be able to share details from his attendance upon his return.
Watch everything Council discussed, resolved or initiated during their September 11th, 2013 meeting by watching the video below…
