Elections 2014 - Will you Vote?

As residents of Norfolk County you can’t help but notice all of the news regarding the upcoming municipal elections.   There is a distinct buzz in the air as each brave, determined, soul announces his or her candidacy for either Mayor or Councilor.   Elections, of all types, in Canada have changed drastically since the first elected assembly in 1758, and for the better, if we might add.   The ideology remains the same in the fact that a person would put themselves forward as a deserving candidate and the qualified voters would choose who is best to represent their riding. 

The notable difference in Canadian elections history within the 202 years following the 1758 election is regarding equality and transparency in our electoral systems.   For these two hundred plus years the people of this great Country struggled with the limitations of the “Privilege” to vote for their rights and freedoms.  Although Canada entered into Confederation in 1867, it did not put an end to the manipulation of the vote or the blatant discrimination encountered at the time of each election.

Nature Conservancy of Canada to Demolish Another Farmhouse

At tomorrow evening's Norfolk County Council meeting, The Nature Conservancy of Canada will seek to obtain approval of another demolition permit on a former farm.

Bylaw Application

DATE PREPARED:

February 10, 2014

COUNCIL MEETING:

February 25, 2014

The subject lands are approximately 97.7 acres in size and front on the north side of

2nd Concession Road in the Township of South Walsingham. All structures on the farmland are to be demolished. The subject lands are farmed for agricultural purposes. The surrounding land use is primarily agricultural and rural residential.

Global Forest Watch Tool

Forest Watch Tool - Show's the Facts.

www.globalforestwatch.org/map/12/42.64/-80.49/ALL

Local View

http://www.globalforestwatch.org/map/10/42.57/-80.28/CAN

Ice Fishing in Long Point Bay

So you want to take advantage of the no fishing license requirement for the Family Day weekend but don't know where to go?  With the weather looking like it will cooperate and even the calendar showing this weekend as the best fishing days of the month you better get out while you can.

If you're considering going out on Long Point Bay let us give you some tips.  Hut rentals will be really tough to secure this late in the game.  You really want to call in by Wednesday if you want to book one for the weekend.  It's usually not a problem booking a hut during the week if you can get a day off work.

Can Norfolk County Staff Get Anything Right?

We hate to sound like a broken record but the hits just keep coming in Norfolk County.  One has to start to wonder if County Staff are capable of doing anything within an approved budget at this point.  The latest boondoggle is their screw up with the new administration building.  Originally approved at $1.15-million for leasehold improvements, Council had to vote to approve an additional $1.3-million now needed for the repairs.  Yes, Citizen's that's over double the cost of what Staff had originally taken to Council for approval. 

How do you screw up so badly that it's now twice the price?

Who is the LPBLT and where do we sign up?

Do you think it's right for a County Councilor to vote on an issue where she has indirectly received almost half a million dollars?  Can she be trusted to look after her constituents best interest?

Long Point Basin Land Trust

Why is NCC buying farms in Norfolk County?

Norfolk County, Ontario is known as Ontario's Garden. The sandy loam soil makes this area one of the prime agricultural areas in all of Canada.

So why has The Nature Conservancy of Canada aimed it's sights upon Norfolk County's farms? We've uncovered data that shows that the NCC has purchased at least 40 farms in the area.

These once productive farms have been taken from production and the buildings on them are now being torn down. In a recent flyer circulated by The Nature Conservancy of Canada, they claim that they have removed 56 'derelict' buildings from these former farms. We've taken some images of these 'derelict' buildings to show you the amount of damage being done to our Community in the name of conservation.

The damage that we speak of is 3 fold. First The Nature Conservancy of Canada displaces the families that lived in these homes and secondly they reduce the Municipal Tax bill by turning good agricultural land into so called managed forests or receive a tax free status for Heritage Forest after 10 years. With the house and building value off of the tax bill the brunt of tax base is forever lost and passed on to the remaining Citizens. The third aspect of damage is one felt Canada wide.... 40 farms no longer producing food for families, nor growing food for livestock.  40 farms worth of lost local product.

Another Bronze for The Long Point Region Conservation Authority

We can only hope that that Canadian Olympic team can come away from Sochi with as many medals as our local Conservation Authority has.  After receiving many emails yesterday regarding the LPRCA's 3rd and 4th place finish in all of Ontario we were asking to expand on our statistics.  In our previous example we used a percentage to illustrate the amount of Management Costs as compared to Total Expenses.  This gives a quick indication of financial health and you don't need an MBA to understand where the bleed is.

Using numbers from the 2012 CRA tax filings and the Population Chart from Conservation Ontario we are able to show the Citizen's of Ontario how different CA's compare.  A quick check with the LPRCA Annual Report in 2012 claims that their area covers nearly 102,000 people but it's been our experience that those Annual Reports are nothing more than marketing flyers as none of the financial data checks out to the actual Tax Filings.  We'll use the figures provided by Conservation Ontario but we're not even sure of those since the number of Staff reported by CO doesn't check out with the CRA Compensation/Employee tables.

LPRCA finishes 3rd in the Province

As you are aware by now, we at the Norfolk Voice give credit where credit is due.  We've been undertaking the monumental task of compiling all of the data that each of the 36 Conservation Authority's in Ontario submit to the Canada Revenue Agency.  With this data we hope to be able to provide you with insight on the efficiencies of these charitable organizations and produce a grading system so Citizen's can make an educated decision as to where to donate their money.

We're starting to feel like the Denver Broncos being hammered by the hard hitting Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 2014.  Apparently the Long Point Region Conservation Authority's heavy handed approach when dealing with Citizen's is taking a toll and we receive many requests of Citizen's wanting to tell their stories about being strong armed into submission.  Why is the LPRCA receiving so many unfriend requests?