Letters & Op-Ed, March 16 2022

I’m writing in response to Dr Hirji’s recent suggestion that “Providing rebates of OHIP premiums would actually be a way to give money back to people, and would probably do a lot more social good,” and, “It just makes logical sense in order to keep hospitalizations and the health burden down. So give people a reward for having done their part for community health [by being vaccinated against Covid 19].” [“Hirji: Give fully vaccinated Ontarians an OHIP tax rebate,” March 2, p.10.]

This is a fantastic idea, and maybe his next suggestion could be that residents who aren’t obese also get a rebate because they aren’t burdening our health care system with extra risks of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, osteoarthritis, joint complications and other risks associated with obesity.

Maybe non-smokers can get rebates because they are at less risk of various cancers, heart disease, lung disease, and pre-term labour.

Or maybe people who don’t drive under the influence will be rebated because they are at less risk of causing car accidents and injuring other people or themselves, and thus adding to ER visits.

While he’s at it, he might just want to give everyone a rebate, stop OHIP all together, and only charge residents who actually use the healthcare system.

That way no one is being an excessive burden on our system, people are being rewarded for doing their part, and the only people paying would be those who are using the services. Much more logical sense in rewarding those who do their part and don’t burden our healthcare system.

Kelly Slingerland Welland

Paralympics lesson for “freedom convoy”

I remember watching the news in the ‘60s and seeing images of the war in Vietnam. Those pictures came from perhaps a day before or a week before, Now, I am watching the war in Ukraine in real time. Then, as now, I am horrified with what I see and feel so powerless.

What helps me out of the desperation that I feel is watching the Paralympics in Beijing. We have followed many mandates, but I believe that “Watch the Paralympics for an hour a day” should have been one of them. By watching these athletes, from whatever country and in whatever event, is indeed uplifting. Just to realize what they have overcome gives me hope. Our Canadians have proven that they have surely overcome by doing exceptionally well. At the close of the games, Canada stood third in gold and overall medal counts (Ukraine was second). They have shown all of us what our flag stands for—true sportsmanship.

I may be out of line by writing this, but since I am old and just a little cynical, I have an idea for the “freedom convoy” participants: I’m sure if you asked, you would be able to raise enough money from your sources to put you on a plane and fly you to Ukraine. There, you would really be “fighting for freedom” by driving a truck full of humanitarian aid to the people who are under siege and starving—just a thought.

Vilma Moretti Fonthill

Two flag-related themes appeared in the March 9 issue of the Voice. In his excellent letter to the editor, Chris Patterson declares his disgust with the “backwoods-bearded man-children” who think they are freedom fighters, and says that he will never look at the Canadian flag the same way again.

I would suggest to Mr. Patterson that he not allow these insurgents to get on his nerves with the tainting of our flag. Their use of the flag as a prop in their “cause” is maddening, but all we can do about it is express our disgust and move on. The flag hasn’t been permanently tainted.

Next there was a picture of “Mr. Freedom,” who draped himself in the Red Ensign, the unofficial flag of Canada until our Maple Leaf flag was officially adopted in 1965. By some stretch of his imagination “Mr. Freedom” thinks that the Red Ensign will represent his “cause.” However, to me the picture shouts out, “Look at me! I’m living 57 years in the past!”

David Fowler Wainfleet

As a Pelham citizen and taxpayer I was deeply disturbed when watching the live feed of the Town of Pelham’s March 7th council meeting. The reason for my discomfort was the presentation from Trout Unlimited Niagara, where they asked the Town for $70,000 to complete a study of the erosion problem that has been an issue at Rice Rd. and Highway 20. I was aware that a motion was passed some time ago in which council approved $70,000 to remediate and fix this erosion problem. When a tender was let out by the Town which came in at a substantially higher price, the job was not awarded. This is why I was surprised to see another motion put forth to give $70,000 to Trout Unlimited. This money would not include any remediation work or permits, and I am not sure why the Town of Pelham is giving Trout Unlimited the authority to act on their behalf when we have a very capable Engineering Department that usually carries out this work.

I am not sure how Trout Unlimited got in the position of becoming a delegation to ask for this money but after watching their presentation I feel that they were misleading the council members. I also believe that if special interest groups can start to do the Town’s “bidding” for them then this will only result in the advancement of this group’s own agenda which may not align with the best interests for the Town.

Their slide show depicted volunteers on various sites although not one photo was of the Rice Rd. site that is in question. Trout Unlimited is not a firm that can carry out any type of investigative or assessment measures and by their own admission would have to hire another firm to do so.

It is interesting to note that later on in the meeting Trout Unlimited stated that the Rice Rd. pond was a poor design. In the same breath, however, they said that they are not wanting to point fingers at anyone. I believe that Lisa Haun and Bob Hildebrandt had it right (in a previous council meeting) that whoever is responsible for this should be held accountable.

Councillor Haun also expressed some concern regarding the fact that if passed this motion would result in the Town giving a special interest group money to hire a firm to conduct design work on the Town’s behalf. I believe that Councillor Haun was wondering why the Town just doesn’t hire this firm themselves. She also asked what that this so-called “seed money” of $70,000 would get the Town in terms of deliverables and also made it clear that she would not be supporting any further amounts of money in this case. I am not sure exactly what the promised deliverables are here but one thing that can be noted is that Trout Unlimited said that they cannot guarantee that they will not be asking for more money nor can they guarantee the funding that they are hoping to raise through private and public donations will actually come through.

All in all I get the feeling that Town Council members got mislead into believing that Trout Unlimited has some professional insight into this very serious and critical erosion issue. I would have expected the Trout Unlimited presentation to come prepared with an initial assessment of the issues at hand and also a few ideas of ways to combat these problems. During their entire presentation there was not any reference to the established facts of the erosion issue. Only once was there a comment that the pond was “not a good design” but Trout refused to elaborate on this. To my mind, Trout Unlimited are asking to broker the Town’s business and I agree with Councillor Haun when she stated that this could be a “slippery slope.” (Pun intended!)

Rose Galway Fonthill

Over a year ago, our neighbour Sandra was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer and now the cancer is widespread. The neighborhood has rallied around and have placed orange ribbons in their yards to support her. Orange is the colour of the Netherlands, from where she immigrated to Canada. She loves her community, which is a veterans neighbourhood, one of the few remaining in Canada. The area is Montgomery Rd., Summerlea, Topham, and Crerar, where you will see a lot of ribbons.

Sandra was on the board of directors for the neighbourhood. The neighbourhood has an ice rink, which the residents and outlying neighbours enjoy. There is also the yearly community yard sale which hundreds attend. Sandra was instrumental in starting the chili cook-off on Family Day, in which everyone vies for the coveted wooden spoon trophies which Sandra carved every year. It’s a blessing, as neighbours have brought food, driven her to the hospital, taken care of the dog, bought and picked up groceries, and just have stopped in for a chat or have inquired about her health. She couldn’t have picked a better neighbourhood to live in.

The small acts of orange ribbons for this special neighbour pay tribute to a very special and integral part of our neighbourhood. Thank you, Sandra.

Susan Duskoff Fonthill

There are a number of private and public entities that are the backbone of the Niagara Region’s prosperity and image. This area of the province shines much brighter by their presence and contributions. Two of these institutions from the educational sector have established reputations as being among the best, if not the very best, in a number of categories.

We are referring here to the two post-secondary institutions of Niagara College and Brock University. Too often one of the shortcomings as citizens of the peninsula is that we take some of our greatest assets for granted. Assets such as Brock University and Niagara College are the envy of many communities across the province and even wider.

Unfortunately, in the brievity of this column I can only tip my hat to the presence of the College. To be certain, I greatly admire the contributions and accomplishments of Brock University. The Niagara Region is fortunate to have both of these educational facilities that are interconnected in some academic programming.

In the interests of full disclosure, I had the honour of being among the first academic staff hired by Niagara College when it was established in Welland in 1967. Clearly, I admit to a bias when recognizing the efficacy of this genuinely dynamic institution. I was a member of the College’s faculty for many years and truly enjoyed that experience. I will try my best to be objective.

When the College opened in 1967 there were about 450 students and maybe a total of fewer than 50 academic and administrative staff. The initial small metal building was situated on the outskirts of Welland and attracted students from across the Region and some few from further distances. I got to know a high percentage of that first student population and greatly admired their tenacity to enroll in one of the new colleges of applied arts and technology (CAATs). After all these years since my retirement I am aware of many successful career achievements among the many thousands of graduates of the College.

Each and every year since it’s opening the College has grown dramatically and has achieved many milestones and instituted many innovations. It’s growth has been led by six capable presidents and devoted academic and administrative staff.

From that modest beginning in Welland, the College has grown dramatically in size, offerings and achievements. It has grown to be housed on two large campuses—the original site in Welland and the newer, beautiful Glenridge campus in St. Catherines. The student population has grown to be more than 10,500 full- time students enrolled in some 130 programs of study that address the present and future needs of a large number of sectors of the economy. Additionally, there 6,000-plus part-time students. Notably, and due to the reputations of its programs, a large percentage of the students are from of countries throughout the world.

The people of the Niagara Region should be very proud of Niagara College (Go, Knights, Go!) and Brock University (Go, Badgers, Go!). ◆