I said it before and I’ll say it again.
Attending a local council meeting can be a marathon of eye-glazing procedural this-and-that, and it can be a real challenge to whatever you drink for coffee, as no level of caffeine can fully protect you from the head-nodding minutiae these affairs can showcase. That said, there is absolutely no substitute for attending in person.
And then being present with your attention.
Continue reading “RENFREW TOWN COUNCIL MEETING: SCOUTING REPORT”
China is dead. And what isn’t dead is dying. Give it maybe ten years, then watch the place collapse from within.
Demographics can be a real bitch, and the Chinese aren’t the only ones having to deal with it, but they’re the ones who will have to deal with it so quickly. Other industrialized countries, including Canada, will face this danger themselves, but will do so over a longer period of time, most likely because of immigration that’s intended to stave off this prospect.
But how can a country of 1.3 billion people be suffering from a demographic crisis? The answer is simple. When over 50% of that 1.3 billion people are over age 50, you come to the stark reality that the population is going to take a gigantic hit in the next couple of decades as these people pass on, and with no idea as to how they’re going to be replaced. That’s a staggering 600 million people gone in the next twenty years or so. And in a country where earlier laws limited parents to two children, and then one child by law, you don’t have to be brilliant to figure out the problem. In fact, China’s population is currently estimated to be under 1 billion already, and it will steadily go down.
So who’s going to work in the factories? Who’s going to keep that manufacturing juggernaut going that kicks out just about every finished product the world wants or needs? Who will be there to keep China in position to be the overlord of East Asia. Nobody, that’s who.
Continue reading “CHINA SHARES THE SAME DEMOGRAPHIC CRISIS WE DO. EXCEPT IT MAY COST THEM THEIR COUNTRY.”
Initially, I had no reason to be suspicious of anything, nor am I suggesting that there would be anything to be suspicious about.
I was simply asking a question, a question I felt entitled to ask, one that would be of some interest to people who pay their property taxes in Renfrew, Ontario.
It’s like standard journalism, the kind that existed before we were left with empty shells purporting to cover “news” at a local level. The kind of stuff that goes beyond the old “cat stuck in tree” slosh. Something that’s maybe more than a short paragraph in length.
But this isn’t about local journalism, that would be a whole other story in its own right. This is about a simple request for information that has been met with opposition, deflection, institutional ambiguity, and just good-old-fashioned bewilderment. It’s like they have no idea how to respond.
So they won’t.
Continue reading “MA-TE-WAY LEASE INFORMATION REQUEST MET WITH SILENCE”
Not that long ago, the downtown strip along Raglan Street in Renfrew was as bleak as perhaps bleak could get.
Multiple storefronts not just empty, but abandoned for all intents and purposes. Broken glass and boarded-up windows was a key take-away for anyone travelling along the Highway 60-Highway 132 corridor, not a very compelling place for anyone to stop and venture a stroll along the main drag.
I’m happy to say that, at least to me, there is more than enough evidence that the people occupying space downtown are taking it a lot more seriously than perhaps they once did. And by that I mean absentee building owners. To be absolutely clear, there have always been businesses along Raglan that have put their best foot forward to the public. It’s just that now they’re being joined by an assortment of others, owners, tenants, or both.
Continue reading “PRIDE IN APPEARANCE TAKING HOLD IN DOWNTOWN RENFREW”
“It doesn’t matter what it costs, it’s gotta be done.”
I have to circle back to a comment made by Renfrew councillor Andrew Dick in the most recent council meeting of October 22, 2024. It concerned the lighting available at Renfrew’s Ma-Te-Way ballfields.
The councillor was reflecting a certain frustration with the lighting situation at Ma-Te-Way, particularly in the face of a Parks and Recreation report that indicated that all underground electrical infrastructure outside at Ma-Te-Way was in a condition of complete failure and degradation. So much so that contractors have advised that the lights dependant upon the proper functioning of that infrastructure not be turned on until the failed aspects of it be replaced.
Council voted to proceed with an engineering study by engineering consultants JP2G that would culminate in recommendations as to how to proceed. The only problem with that, and of particular concern to Councillor Dick, was the fact that the engineering review wouldn’t be completed until well after the 2025 baseball season had concluded. In other words, no lights in 2025.
Continue reading ““IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT IT COSTS, IT’S GOTTA BE DONE.””
Clearly, I’ve fallen and hit my head and just don’t know that I’m concussed yet. How else to make sense of my even-tempered outlook on the upcoming presidency of Donald J. Trump?
Honestly, where did my old self go, other than just getting older? Why am I so bloody reasonable about this clown show coming back for a second kick at the can? I’m not American. I have no money. Why would I be giving the guy the benefit of the doubt when I never had any doubts about his absolute lack of fitness to hold the presidency in the first place?
It’s a strange spot I find myself in.
Continue reading “TRUMP AND THE DICTATORS. NEW PERSPECTIVES WHEN THE OLD ONES DON’T WORK ANYMORE.”
For the first time in a somewhat long life I witnessed an election be the reason for a watch party. Usually it’s a sporting event, a sporting championship, maybe a UFC beat-down. But on Tuesday, the US presidential election became the new Super Bowl, with almost everyone I talked to that day mentioning that they were going someplace to watch the election.
My goodness times have changed.
I’ll bet there was a watch-party of sorts at Rideau Cottage as well, or maybe on Wellington Street over at the PMO, or Prime Minister’s Office. And while I doubt anyone was wearing the colours and swag of the team they were rooting for, I’ll bet you’d have no trouble figuring it out regardless.
I’ll bet they were rooting for Trump.
Huh? Wait, what?
Think about it.
Continue reading “WAS TRUDEAU HANDED A GIFT WITH TRUMP ELECTION?”
It’s the morning after an election win for five candidates who have successfully been selected as councillors for the Town of Renfrew. Four of them are new to this, Councillors Dick, Cybulski, Legris, and McDonald. The fifth, Councillor McWhirter, has served on council in the past, but this morning I’m describing here must still feel pretty good for him too.
There’s nothing quite as exhilarating as standing for office, or any other election-based position, and coming out the other end of it on top. There’s a bit of a high attached to it. And excitement. Perhaps even a little bit of anxiety now that you’ve gone and put your name out there, and then won. You’re happy, people are happy for you, your family is super happy, and proud on top of that. It’s a cool experience.
Continue reading “NEW COUNCIL FINDS SPOILED SANDWICH IN THE FRIDGE”
I haven’t read my morning paper this morning, so I don’t have any great detail, but I feel I don’t need to for one simple reason.
I know how to read a map.
Donald Trump, as much as I hate to say it, is the 47th president of the United States, I think it’s the first and only time a once-serving president came back to serve again after being out of office for a number of years and defeated in an election between terms.
Pundits and talking-heads on television, radio, and the internet will have the complete low-down on the how’s and why’s of it, so there won’t be any of that here. As perplexed as I am by his win, I can still see how it came to pass. After all, you can’t just rage over your morning coffee about the supposed “stupidity” of Americans to vote for such a man. Rather, you have to look dispassionately at why a nation approaching 350 million people would do so in the face of everything we know and see about him.
Continue reading “TRUMP RETURNS TO THE WHITE HOUSE”
Acting Director Eckford briefs council on a staff recommendation to apply for a matching grant from the province to update local parks, both low-fee and no-fee, as they’ve not received any attention in many years and are in need of updating.
Updates would include improvements to picnic tables through replacement as well as designating at least one table/park as an accessibility table, with either a paved or stone-based pathway leading to that table, again for accessibility. Other improvements would involve obtaining new trash receptacles to replace the aging fleet of trash cans currently in place. And finally, updated signage with the latest town branding to replace the existing signage.
As indicated, the province will match what the town puts up itself and assume 50% of the financial cost of improvements. In the case of these local parks, Mr. Eckford recommends $150,000 to be the sweet spot for the town, as that would yield a total of $300,000 for the project after the government matches the town investment.
Councillor Dick asked how the money would be spent if the grant application were to be successful. In other words, who gets a say in how this money is to be spent.
Mr. Eckford indicated that there was every possibility of having council weigh-in on how and where the funds would be directed, but stressed that the money would have to be directed towards the goals stated in the application for the grant. And so, if accessibility were to be the foundation of the grant, it would also have to be the foundation of how the money is spent. In other words, you have to remain within the spirit and confines of the grant application.
Councillor Legris noted that such grants also have the potential to have the government assume 70% of the project cost in special circumstances. Is this something the town staff would consider, or perhaps have already considered?
Mr. Eckford indicated that, based on Renfrew’s population, a case could be made that Renfrew does fall within the defined “special circumstances,” but that to make that application, the content of the proposal would be put under far closer scrutiny, putting it’s approval at risk if the province deemed it not to meet the threshold for the 70% government share.
COMMENTARY
Not much to comment on here, really. It does appear to be a cost-efficient way to upgrade parts of the parks and recreation mandate at a minimal cost, what with the province throwing in half of the money. For $150,000, we get $300,000 worth of punch to direct towards improvements at these public parks that have, unfortunately, been neglected for a period of time. The grant would allow for improvements that bring those parks up to, or closer to, accessibility standards.
Going after the “special circumstances” grant may be risky, in that the application may be turned down under the closer scrutiny process, and applying for it in the first place may negate the possibility of applying for the 50% grant. In other words, I’m not sure if you could apply for both simultaneously. It may well be one or the other, and if that’s the case, it’s probably the more judicious move to apply for the 50% match than the higher one. Sure you can get lucky, and I’m sure staff would have no problem presenting their case, but still, it just might be that the lesser amount represents the greater chance of approval. A bird in hand is worth two in the bush, as granny used to say.
