Letters & Op-Ed, April 27 2022

I would like to voice my profound disappointment in Pelham Town Council's lack of support regarding the motion brought forward by Councillor Wayne Olson at the April 19 council meeting.

The scientific community has repeatedly told us that we need to cut greenhouse emissions by 45 percent by 2030, reach carbon neutrality by 2050, and limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees by the end of the century to avoid worst-case scenarios. Scenarios that will directly affect our children!

A survey done in Niagara, conducted as part of Niagara Adapts, in collaboration with Brock University, found that the vast majority of citizens feel adapting to climate change is a top household priority, with 85 percent of respondents supporting municipal resources being used to combat it. The survey showed the people of Niagara want our elected officials to not only take meaningful action on the climate crisis, but we are willing to put tax dollars behind it.

The Waterloo Region has been very progressive on climate change. Every one of us should applaud their commitment to a greener and more environmentally stable Ontario. They have already adopted a net-zero carbon policy for new local government buildings and endorsed a corporate greenhouse gas and energy roadmap to achieve a 50 percent emissions reduction by 2030 for existing local government buildings, and net-zero emissions by 2050. The Province of Ontario has committed to greenhouse gas reduction targets of 30 percent by 2030— emissions from buildings represented 22 percent of the province’s 2017 emissions

The motion that Councillor Olson put forward was to support and endorse Waterloo’s request to the provincial government to establish a model National Building Code. This code would be province-wide and ensure that, among other things, new builds are created to net zero greenhouse emission standards.

We need to start somewhere. Starting with new builds and ensuring that they are constructed in ways that help us maintain a net-zero greenhouse gas emission level is a mere baby step in what needs to be done, but it is still a step forward. Councillor Hildebrandt’s objection that it would be too difficult for engineers and administrators to navigate the changes from municipality to municipality is not only insulting to engineers and other professionals in Ontario, but a moot point, as the proposal by Waterloo would ensure a streamlined Ontario-wide code for new builds. This in turn would save money going forward, as fewer buildings would need expensive retrofits to meet green building criteria. Buildings with better energy performance provide owners and occupants with lower energy bills, improved building comfort, and resilience from power disruptions that are expected to be more common in a changing climate, tackling both inequality and energy poverty.

Is it too much of an ask of our councillors to respect the wishes of their constituents and support greener action? Apparently it is. That is a sad commentary on our council.

Kudos to Councillors Olson and Wink, as well as Mayor Junkin, for being the only three with the ambition and foresight to move forward on this. It is my hope that this motion can be revisited with a better outcome for us all.

Donna Gorham Fonthill

At last week’s Pelham Town Council meeting, a glorious opportunity for climate action was lost. It would have been a great and significant Earth Week contribution. I believe this was a major error in judgment on the part of Town Council. Clearly, our council had not been canvassed enough on this issue. I feel that I must take some responsibility in that omission of action.

Apparently, some councillors believed that, if implemented, changing building codes to reduce green house gas emissions from new builds would created too much work and confusion for engineers and administrators. My experience working on and quoting jobs for 50 years in the industrial, institutional, and residential construction industry throughout Ontario and across Canada tells me otherwise.

For too many years the environment has suffered because looking after our Earth is “too much work.” The environmental crisis that confronts us is extremely complicated. It’s unrealistic to expect minor adjustments to our way of doing things will be sufficient. This council has been too short-sighted in failing to support this resolution.

We are all saddened by the fact that our council did not endorse the City of Waterloo resolution that would have created a zero Greenhouse Gas (GHG) building code. Despite our disappointment, we thank the Mayor and the councillors who voted for the motion, championed by Councilor Wayne Olson.

This Waterloo resolution was largely created by the group called 50x30WR. They were in consultation with participating communities from across Canada. Our own 50x30Niagara, under the leadership of local pastor and environmentalist Herb Sawatzsky, has been drafting its own Climate Action Plan for our region. Members from PATH (Pelham Advocates for Trees and Habitat) are involved in that effort, alongside environmentalists from like-minded groups across Niagara.

Considering this major defeat for climate change action in hindsight, I am hoping that our council will work along with Herb Sawatzsky and the 50x30 organization. Let all of us pitch in to respond to the climate change crisis in every way we can. We must do better!

Mike Jones Fonthill

If there ever was a time to honour people, animals, plants and our land, it is now.

We are all privileged caretakers of the land, our earth and world that we are allowed to share and live on. Volunteers have been the heart of our community in many ways and for many years.

The Friends of Maple Acre are currently working towards a great recognition of our past and present volunteers. Our projects include new gardens and an art installation of a carved silver maple tree stump. The carving will reflect all things matter. People, animals, flora and our earth. The carving will embrace the native trail (now known as Canboro Road) that passes through our village and will honour all volunteers in our community.

We have many activities and projects planned at the Maple Acre Branch in Fenwick. We will be raising funds to assist us in funding these enhancements and appreciate all donations.

We hope our tree carving and new gardens will begin in May and continue evolving in June and throughout the summer. The tree carving is to be done by Jean Pierre Gauthier. We invite your support and visits as these projects evolve.

The Pelham Garden Club and the Pelham Beautification committee will assist the Friends with prepping the garden beds, planting and maintenance. Our new gardens will help beautify our village by providing a relaxing place for all to pause and enjoy.

On Saturday April 23, The Friends of Maple Acre and volunteers tackled the cleanup of the Fenwick library grounds and the adjoining municipal parking lot. We would like to thank all our neighbours and businesses that joined in to help clean up our town.

As part of the cleanup we also took the opportunity to promote our projects and to raise some funds through donation boxes and by selling Peace cookies. Donation boxes are located at both library branches Fonthill and Maple Acre Fenwick, as well as at the Fenwick Avondale, the Broken Gavel, and the Grill on Canboro.

Online donations can be made through https://pelhamlibrary.on.ca/. Tap on “donate now,” top right, and you will be taken to Canada Helps page with the Pelham library listed on this page. Donations can be directed to Maple Acre for our carving and garden project. Tax receipts available for donations over $10.

The Maple Acre friends will be selling Peace decals (permanent, removable, or iron-on) at $5 each. We also have a limited edition of stained glass replicas of our original 1920 windows in the Maple Acre branch library at $25 each. All of these items have been donated to help raise funds. We remain a great community of great donors and volunteers.

Through the infamous grapevine we have also had some early donors to our project. Our garden beds at Maple Acre have generously received design assistance and plants from Willowbrook Nursery, and we have received some financial donations from RBC, Fenwick Lionettes and some other generous individuals. Thank you for this great kick-off and support. This inspires us!

We continue to have a great community and we are inviting all to join in and support us in anyway you can. Volunteers always welcome.

Sandee Matthews A Friend of Maple Acre Lincoln Pelham Public Library

Last Friday, April 22, I attended two events in Niagara, each one being the accumulation of years of hard work. In the morning I was at the Glendale Campus of Niagara College, along with Councillor Wayne Olson, to attend the announcement of new monetary support from the Ontario Green Belt Foundation—$95,000 dollars was presented to The Niagara Peninsula Aspiring Global Geopark Foundation. This donation will help the Foundation secure its UNESCO Global Geopark designation. I attended the primary meeting of this dedicated group in 2018. After hundreds of hours of work, the Geopark Foundation is ready to receive UNESCO officials next summer. They will be viewing the geological sites that they have chosen to make up what would be Ontario’s first geopark. With such features as Niagara Falls, the Niagara Escarpment, the Fonthill Kame, and Balls Falls, just to name a few, there is justified optimism that the geopark designation will be granted. Once established it is hoped that the geopark will entice tourists from all over the world to visit our region. For more information on this project please go to the Niagara Geopark website.

Also in the afternoon, CAO David Cribbs, Councillor Olson and I attended the grand opening of the Canada Games Park complex. This complex is located on the campus of Brock University, directly across from Regional Headquarters on Merrittville Highway. After listening to various speakers we toured the interior of this magnificent building. Coming in at a price of just over $100 million dollars, it is definitely what I call a WOW building. Financed by all three levels of government, this building contains two hockey rinks, a huge basketball court, and a large section dedicated as the Walker Sports and Abilities Centre. The building will host five sporting events in the upcoming Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games. The games will take place August 6 to 21.

Just west of the main building are six competition beach volleyball courts, a cycling and storage pavilion, and a 400-metre track and field facility.

After the Games, the complex will be a legacy for the community and provide opportunities for accessible recreation, cultural events and endless activities for all of Niagara’s residents.

On the Covid front, as of April 22, 1591 patients were in Ontario hospitals. This number was down slightly from just over 1600 the day before. Patients in ICU due to Covid-related illness numbered 214, up from 207 the day before. The province announced last Friday that it will extend the remaining mask mandate in high-risk settings such as senior homes until June.

I hope everyone had a happy Earth Day on the 22nd and took some time to reflect that this old rock we live on is the only one we’ve got. Scientists are telling us that we have got to show it a lot more respect!

Finally, I'd like to express my appreciation to the Voice for helping the Town keep residents informed about Covid through this column for the past two years. I will be returning to this space from time to time, along with other municipal commentators from here on out. I'm sure you join me in hoping that the need for a dedicated weekly message regarding Covid does not return.

Now let's enjoy some sunshine! ◆