Category: LOCAL

CLRCS BOARD OF DIRECTORS HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY. BUT WILL THEY?

When it comes to the Board of Directors overseeing the administration of Community Living Renfrew County South, it becomes readily apparent that there are an awful lot of linkages to a long-standing local construction company, that being M. Sullivan and Sons.

Fully four of the eight-person membership have direct links to Sullivan.  Two others are connected to Magellan Aerospace.  One board member is connected to both.

I will not, in any way, make any attempt to disparage any of these people or minimize the terrific work they do behind the scenes in this community and in Arnprior.  If it were not for people like these, life would be more of a challenge for those of us beset by disadvantages, be they mental or physical.

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TAKING THE MONEY OUT OF JENNIFER’S HANDS.

I’ve been spending the last several days churning out articles to bring to light the important aspects of the current labour dispute between Community Living Renfrew County South and their employees belonging to Local 472 of OPSEU.

As I dig into the issues and the roadblocks, a name keeps popping up as being sort of a common denominator for everything that’s going wrong with these negotiations, which aren’t really negotiations at all, but rather a naked shakedown of employee rights.

That name belongs to CLRCS Executive Director Jennifer Lavallee.

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WHERE ARE YOU, JENNIFER?

You’ve put in the time and you’ve paid your dues.  You successfully rose through the ranks of your workplace, where now you sit in the chair where real decisions are made.  

You just secured a 10% raise.  Hell, you’re even on the Sunshine List.

Life is looking pretty good.

But then your employer, and those senior to you, hand you an assignment that has all the appearances of a bag of shit.

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A DOCTORED PHOTO IS THE BEST THEY CAN DO?

Honestly, what a bunch of knobs.

It seems that Ford Nation picnic fiasco is really biting into the PC government’s ability to present themselves as good stewards of government while maintaining a straight face.

You’ll recall how Ford’s political love-fest was knocked ass-over-tea kettle last week when hundreds of OPSEU members showed up and dominated the space, drowning out the premier for the entire time he spoke.  He hasn’t been this embarrassed since Toronto fans booed him during the victory parade for the NBA champion Raptors back in 2019.  My God, they even cheered Justin Trudeau, also present on the same stage.

To a conservative of any sort, that sucks big time.

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GOVERNMENT CYNICISM PROLONGS A NEEDLESS STRIKE.

Regarding the current job action by public employee union OPSEU, any questions directed to one side of the issue, that being management, are met with virtually the same response.

The issue, says the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, is strictly “a matter between the employer and the union.”    

This is the brush-off line given to striking employees wanting answers, and members of the general public seeking the same.  It is the official response from the ministry under which these programs are funded, and its the boilerplate response given to workers when they approached their local MPP, who for the record didn’t meet with them, but still offered a statement saying that the dispute wasn’t with the Ford government, but rather was a matter between the employer and the union.

So, let me just say that I totally agree with that statement, or would totally agree with it if it was made in good faith, which it is decidedly not.

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OPSEU 472 FIGHTING FOR FAIRNESS AND RESPECT. ALSO FOR THE PEOPLE UNDER THEIR CARE.

Sadly, there Is nothing about a labour dispute that does any good for anyone.  That’s even more pronounced when the dispute involves public sector employees who deal with some of society’s most disadvantaged souls, people who, through no fault of their own, find themselves needing significant care to go about the most basic of things in their lives.  Things that you and think nothing about, things that are taken for granted.

And it’s most upsetting when many of those among the disadvantaged are children.

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MEDICINE WHEEL DELAYS FULL OPERATION OF BAFN CULTURAL CENTRE

So this was the big secret that couldn’t be pried out of the hands of the gatekeepers over at Town Hall?

For a year now, I’ve been asking about the status of the Bonnechere Algonquin First Nation, or BAFN, particularly as an entity that partnered with the town to snag an indigenous-specific cultural grant as part of the Ma-Te-Way expansion effort.  That partnership led to the significant presence of BAFN as part of the new Ma-Te-Way at what is now known as the yourFM Centre.

The place was always closed, and always empty, despite BAFN taking control of the premises in September 2024 and remaining there to this day, paying a rent of a single Canadian dollar a month until December of this year, where the rent will jump substantially to $25,000/year, or approximately $2,083/month, less than most folks pay for apartments here in town.  Both the Town and the BAFN agree that this rent is below market value, something indicated in the founding documents released as part of an agenda dump in preparation for tonight’s council meeting.

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DIRECTOR THROWS A TEAM AT “THE BUMP.”

I’ve been walking past the spot every day for over four years and I first identified it as a splash hazard for walkers on a rainy day.

No big surprise there since walking along Veteran’s Memorial Boulevard is a splash hazard generally, although most of that hazard exists across the boulevard in front of the Fairgrounds, as opposed to this one located along the fence line of Queen Elizabeth Public School.  The one in front of the Fairgrounds is significant and runs continuously for maybe twenty yards or so.  If you keep your wits about you while walking on that side of the road, you can navigate the hazard without getting drenched, although there is the occasional need for a bit of a sprint to get ahead of traffic approaching from the Hall/Raglan intersection.

The one in front of QEPS is more sharp, smaller in area than its cousin across the street, but definitely more of a jarring experience for motorists as it makes up for its lack of size with some depth.  Currently, the Town of Renfrew employs all manner of tools and practices to manage this “bump,” which is actually more of a short, sharp depression.  Nevertheless, as I walked, and as I drove, I noticed that motorists familiar with its presence would employ strategies of their own, chief among them swinging precipitously into the other lane, other motorists be damned.

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STRUCTURED TOWN HALL

Okay, so maybe eight?

As in that’s how many people I think attended both sessions of the Structured Town Hall that was organized and hosted by Renfrew Town Council and some key members of the town’s administrative staff on Tuesday.

All we were missing was the creaking saloon door and the tumbleweed bouncing down Raglan.

Billed as an exercise in transparency and openness, it apparently wasn’t something that caught fire among the local citizenry, as three people attended the morning session ( if I can rely on the camera angles ) and another five people in the evening session.  Both sessions were scheduled for two hours apiece, but neither made it much past the one-hour mark.

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MAYOR TAKES LEAVE. WILL HE LEAVE HIS POWERS BEHIND?

Mayor Tom Sidney has taken a leave of absence for “personal” reasons, which leaves Renfrew with an interim Head of Council in the person of Reeve Peter Emon.  As indicated in an earlier article, I wish the mayor the best as he navigates those personal concerns.

From the very beginning of their inception, I’ve commented on the use of Strong Mayor Powers as a theoretical construct, as well as looking at them with some greater detail as they are applied right here in town.

I’d like to know what happens to those powers when a mayor, any mayor, leaves Council under these conditions, to wit the taking of a personal leave of absence?

And honestly, where would I go to ask?

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