Investing in our past keeps us on track for a brighter tomorrow

The crew over at the Elgin County Railway Museum, in addition to their yeoman service as guardians of this area’s railway heritage, are now the subject of a news item in Built Heritage News, published by Toronto architect Catherine Nasmith.
The on-line journal applauds the efforts of the city in acquiring railway lands and assisting the ECRM in negotiating the purchase of their home (the former Michigan Central Locomotive Repair Shops) from CN.
The direction is lauded as an investment in rail history tourism in light of the “devastating blows to the St. Thomas economy.”
However, praise is tempered with the following admonishment.
“Infamous as the city that stood by as Alma College suffered demolition by neglect and destruction by arson.”
My, how our reputation has spread far and wide.

Six points about the fire arms registry (a response)

Posted by Ian:
In response to the most recent City Scope column (Nov. 28/09 below) Bruce N. Mills documents (complete with footnotes) a half-dozen key argument points to consider in support of “10,000 — a number worth investigating further” …

Point One: Criminals – who by definition are the most dangerous to public safety – don’t register their guns! The registry can’t tell cops where these guns are.

Point Two: the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police is nothing more than a special interest lobby group of appointed politicians, who receive hundreds of thousands of tax dollars from the very departments they lobby to.[1] They also received large donations from TASER Int., and CGI, the company that built the firearms registry system [2]. You can guess why they support these two items. (I also understand attendees at a recent convention were papered with Celine Dion tickets – Ian)

10,000 — a number worth investigating further

Compared to figures in the billions and even trillions we read about daily relating to deficits and bailouts, a number in the thousands is a minuscule drop in the bucket.
Take the figure 10,000 for example — a sum being bandied about in many quarters as the number of times the national gun registry is accessed on a daily basis.
It’s gospel according to the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and front and centre in material being distributed by the Canadian Labour Congress in their campaign to maintain the long gun registry which could soon be dismantled if Bill C-391 passes final vote.
However, upon closer inspection, the daily figure of 10,000 just doesn’t pass muster. Yes indeed, the registry does receive that many daily hits on average, but closer scrutiny is warranted.

Both sides shoot from the hip in gun registry debate

Don’t scrap the national gun registry, instead fix it, advised St. Thomas Police Chief Bill Lynch on the front page of last Saturday’s Times-Journal.
Lynch told the T-J he supports the position of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police that the current registry, even with its flaws, should be maintained.
He added police see the registry as a valuable tool front line officers use often when answering calls, especially ones like domestic disturbances.
“Historically, there has been a lot of controversy about it,” Lynch admitted. “It could be more efficient, probably.”
But the answer is not to tear it down or get it rid of it, he believes.
“Let’s try to fix what we have,” he suggested.

Changes proposed for pair of Oxford County wind farms

The developer behind two potential wind farms in Oxford has revised its proposal for both, increasing the wattage and changing how the turbines might be laid out across the landscape.

The information from ProWind Canada Inc. was sent out in two separate e-mails Friday to a list of local contacts. The e-mails outlined changes to the designs of both projects, noting a slight increase from 18 megawatts to 19 for Innerkip and a more-than-double increase from 10 megawatts to 25 for Gunn’s Hill Road in Norwich Township. ProWind stated the Innerkip project would still have a maximum of eight turbines, with Gunn’s Hill at a maximum of 10.

“We’re starting that process from scratch and the scope of the project has changed slightly,” ProWind’s Bart Geleynse said in a Monday phone interview. “The original plan was 10 megawatts on a much smaller area of land. We’ve expanded in terms of capacity and in terms of spread.

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Comments to Central Elgin council from ratepayers association

December 3, 2009

The Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Councillors
The Corporation of the Municipality of Central Elgin
450 Sunset Drive
St. Thomas, ON N5R 5V1

2010 Municipal Budget

Ladies & Gentleman:

It’s a very harsh economic environment, especially for the many who have or are about to lose their jobs and for those who must live off retirement funds that have taken a severe blow in the investment markets.

The excuse of provincial downloading seems to be back. The potential loss of $500,000 from the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) may be real but it’s a red herring. All municipalities will be effected by this chop of funds. It doesn’t change the fact that Central Elgin is one of the most highly taxed municipalities in Ontario. The Municipality of Central Elgin and the County of Elgin have historically done a poor job of keeping tax increases near inflation. Only a roll back of the municipal and county tax levy and costs over the next five years will placate voters in Central Elgin. Our membership and the public are becoming more vocal about this issue.

Aylmer IGPC ethanol plant provides economic benefits

Official IGPC plant opening in Aylmer, December, 2008

Construction of the Alymer-based Integrated Grain Processors Co-op Inc. ethanol plant began in mid-2007. The facility has been operational since Oct. 1, 2008. In addition to producing 162 million liters (43 million gallons) of corn-based ethanol annually, the plant also produces approximately 129,600 tons of distillers grains each year.

The plant is owned by a cooperative made up of approximately 900 members. Ownership is nearly evenly split between regional farmers and other representatives of agriculture-related businesses. The facility was capitalized in part by equity investment by the facilities ownership. Additional capitalization was sourced from a consortium of banks and federal and provincial government incentive programs.

In its study, Doyletech found that construction of the plant contributed to a net spending increase within the region of approximately $275 million, was well as an annual increase of at least $50 million in new economic spending in the region as a direct consequence of the plant’s operations.
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Investment in Rail History Tourism in St. Thomas

CASO station, St. Thomas

The devastating blows to the St. Thomas economy has encouraged the strengthening of cultural tourism related to the city’s railway heritage. Infamous as the city that stood by as Alma College suffered demolition by neglect and destruction by arson, the municipality is working hard to keep what is left. St. Thomas is now involved in acquiring railway lands and assisting the Elgin County Railway Museum (ECRM) in negotiating the purchase of their building from CN. Purchase of the property is imminent.

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What happens when politics displaces market forces in green energy initiatives?

When driving through Don Quixote country in Spain’s Castille-La Mancha region, you are dazzled by the spectacle of wind farms proudly churning out the energy that will save Iberia and the planet, followed, once you cross into Andalusia, by solar farms and the green jobs of the future.

Except that if things continue as they are in Spain, the world’s poster child for renewable fuel, wind and solar energy may not save us after all — or renew the capitalist economy.
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Will St. Thomas – London GO train service ever get on track?

A commuter train service between London and St. Thomas means a greener region: financially and environmentally.

That was the word from Rod Morley, vice chair of London’s Advisory Committee on the Environment, during a public meeting last week (Nov. 25).

Morley, along with John Lucas, Division Manager – Transportation Engineering for the City of London, and members of the St. Thomas and London Commuter Rail Association (STALCRA), discussed the initiative with the public during a meeting at City Hall.

Besides reducing car emissions and urban congestion, implementing the train service could stimulate economic growth in Southwestern Ontario, Morley said. It could create numerous jobs and attract more businesses to the region.
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Elgin Mall – connecting with the community

For shoppers in secondary cities such as St. Thomas, Ont., located 30 kilometres south of London, the Elgin Mall is more than a mid-market retail hub – it’s a destination for a tightly knit community that has seen its manufacturing base battered by the recession.

When property manager Julie Cole looks down the mall’s climate-controlled corridors, she sees no evidence of the deadmalls.com phenomenon, which chronicles the slow death of once-thriving retail hubs across North America.

At the Elgin, management has been looking for more creative ways to serve this city of 37,000 – an experience that goes beyond shopping, Ms. Cole says.
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All is quiet on the Navistar front

When and if Navistar’s idled Richmond Street truck plant re-opens remain in serious doubt.

No new talks are scheduled despite a willingness by the Canadian Auto Worker’s union and the company to return to the bargaining table.

The plant’s 350 workers have been idled since the June 30th expiration of a three-year contract.

A brief meeting in Windsor two weeks ago between both sides was just that — brief.

“The company is sticking to its original proposal to greatly downsize the Chatham operation,” said national CAW representative Joe McCabe.

McCabe admitted the lengthy closure of one of Chatham-Kent’s largest manufacturing facilities is creating a huge financial burden for its unemployed workers and the community in general.
Full story

Good news for recession-battered St. Thomas

Formet Industries, St. Thomas

Magna International (MGa.TO) said on Monday that it has won a contract to make the third generation of frames for General Motors Co’s [GM.UL] full-size light-duty pickups and sport utility vehicles.

Magna said it would not disclose the amount of the contract. It said the new frames would replace GM’s GMT 900, which is the frame for the big Chevy Suburbans, Tahoes, and Silvarados.

The frames will be built at plants owned by Magna’s Cosma unit in St. Thomas, Ontario, and Saltillo, Mexico, which currently make the GMT 900.

St. Thomas/Elgin needs to go green to jump-start economy, says Jack Layton

From the Times-Journal:
An industrial strategy, taking aim at eco-friendly jobs and technology, is what’s needed to help the flagging economy in Elgin-St. Thomas.
So said federal NDP leader Jack Layton who, Friday, met with a dozen local labour leaders, including representatives from Ford’s St. Thomas Assembly Plant, at the CAW Hall, north of Talbotville.
Irene Mathyssen, NDP MP for London-Fanshawe, attended as well.
“The message is unanimous: Manufacturing is in a crisis here and the federal government just doesn’t understand the magnitude of it,” Layton said. “What we need is an industrial strategy that’s going to put this, (the) best manufacturing work force in the world, back to work.”