Woolwich to extend DC waiver at former Procast site

The owner of a vacant former industrial site in Elmira’s core this week won an extension to the development charges exemption that’s been in place for eight years.

Blaze Properties now has another four years to get something going on the property, the former home of Procast Foundries, which closed its doors in 2002. The arrangement would see the township waive $56,000 in development charges – fees levied by municipalities to pay for infrastructure costs for new construction – as an incentive to get a new project underway.

The catch is that only commercial development qualifies, not residential. The owner sees demand for a residential project, but none for commercial. The township has resisted converting the land to purely residential use, however.
As director of engineering and planning Dan Kennaley noted at Monday night’s council meeting, a mixed-use project, with storefronts and apartments above, for instance, could be workable. An “important property in the core,” the site should be developed in keeping with the surrounding zoning, which is commercial.

“I think the requirement for ground-floor commercial is a good one,” he said of the township’s position.

But Coun. Mark Bauman appeared to be softening on that approach, noting there’s been no action at the site – and thus no real tax revenues – for eight years since the building was demolished and the property cleared for development.
“I’m wondering if our designation is wrong,” he said of the commercial zoning, adding the township has an incentive to look at other options.

In pushing for the extension of the development charge exemption, Mark Dorfman, a planner representing Blaze Properties, told councillors changing the Official Plan and zoning designations on the land would be the biggest incentive to seeing development there.

“I think there’s a market for residential development at that location.”

Blaze Properties has been trying to develop the 1.36-acre site at 7 Memorial Ave. since 2004. The foundry itself closed its doors in October 2002, with the building subsequently demolished.

In order to make the new exemption official, the township will have to amend the applicable bylaw, which requires a public meeting, with feedback and notification periods. Kennaley estimated it would take another two months to go through the process, which would see the exemption run to Apr. 30, 2016.

Mother-daughter fashion show to benefit shelter

Just in time for Mother’s Day, a mother-daughter fashion show is being held at Lions Hall in Elmira, with proceeds to help support the women’s crisis centre Anselma House.
The shelter helps protect women and children living in the region who are trying to escape domestic abuse.

“We wanted to help out a charity like Anselma House, which helps tons of women and children, because it is one of those charities that does not get a lot of donations as it does not have a happy feel associated with it,” said Lori Dronick, one of the organizers of the event.

Currently Anselma House has more than 30 beds for women and children and the salon is hoping to raise funds to help the organization expand its facilities to assist with the demand on space.
“Anselma House sees close to 45 people come through their doors, way more than they can handle, and they need more space so we are hoping to raise some donations to help with the cause,” said Dronick.
The Beautiful Me fashion show, hosted by Guys and Dolls Salon, will take place on May 6 starting at 2 p.m.

The fashion show will display clothing and outfits from local businesses including FB and Me, Taylors Bridal, and Core Clothing. The garments will be modeled by locals, ranging in age from 14 to 70 years old, who are all clients of the salon.
“Around spring time everyone wants to look good and feel good and the show is all about confidence and feeling better about oneself,” said Dronick. “We are really hoping to make this a community event.”
Tickets for the show are $20 and include a light lunch with door prizes available.

Anyone interested in attending the event should call 519-669-8234 for more information.

MCC collecting e-waste through to Earth Day

The Mennonite Central Committee has just the answer for the piles of electronic waste accumulating in our basements and attics. From Apr. 10 to Earth Day on Apr. 22, five MCC locations, including the thrift store in Elmira, will be collecting e-waste, and funds raised will be put towards sustainability features ranging from rainwater harvesting and solar technology, to improved energy efficiency at the organization’s new building that will be built at 50 Kent St. in Kitchener.

The other four locations are the Waterloo thrift shop at 50 Bridgeport Rd. E., the MCC head office at 50 Kent St., the New Hamburg Thrift Centre at 41 Heritage Dr., and the MCC office in St. Catharines at 22-595 Carlton St.

“It’s very important,” said Betty Marshall, the general manager of the Elmira thrift store located at 59 Church St. W. “The MCC envisions communities worldwide in relationships with God, one another and creation, and this will help fulfill that part of their vision statement.”

Given the nature of thrift, Marshall said that the store receives a lot of e-waste, but given the uncertainty of whether or not the devices still work (or how well) the store does not re-sell those electronic devices to the public. Instead, MCC used to take the waste to the landfill for proper disposal,

But about a year ago the Ontario Electronic Stewardship starting paying local electronic recycling companies to purchase e-waste, Marshall said, and now MCC receives about 11 cents per pound of waste which translates into about $500 a month for the Elmira shop.

“This is a great money-maker for thrift shops – that $500 is significant,” said Marshall.

The money collected between now and Earth Day will go towards greening their new provincial headquarters, which will be located on the same site as the current headquarters.

Unveiled last year, the plan is to bring their current thrift shops located at 50 Bridgeport Rd. E. in Waterloo and 335 Lancaster St. W. under one roof, along with a branch of the Mennonite Savings and Credit Union (MSCU), an office of the Mennonite World Conference, an office of the Mennonite Foundation of Canada, as well as the Mennonite Church of Eastern Canada.

They must raise $4 million in capital and $12 million in total to expand their operations, with hopes of completion by 2013 to coincide with their 50th anniversary in Ontario.

Acceptable electronics for donation range from CD-ROM drives and computer keyboards, to radios and speakers. A complete list is available at the organizations website, http://mcco.ca/earth-day-2012.

Bylaw aimed at residents who park on their lawns

Squeezed by a small lot and poor on-street parking? Finding yourself parking on more than just your driveway? Woolwich has $75 ticket with your name on it. Facing an increase in the number of complaints about people parking on their lawns, the township has a new front-yard parking bylaw in the works. The proposal won initial approval from council Tuesday night.

Clerk Christine Broughton, whose department handles bylaw enforcement, explained that newer subdivisions with higher densities are more prone to seeing residents parking on their lawns or illegally widening their driveways in order to accommodate their vehicles.

The new bylaw would provide the township with a tool to deal with the situation.

Under the current system, after a complaint is received a notice is sent to the offender. If the parking offence continues, a summons is issued to appear in court. The township uses rules under its property standards and zoning bylaws, but the process is slow and costly: it can take up to six months to get the first appearance date, during which time the offence continues and neighbours continue to complain.

A specific bylaw would streamline the process, which is important as the number of issues goes up, said Broughton

“Enforcement staff is seeing an increasing number of complaints regarding the parking of vehicles on front yards. The problem is especially apparent in newer subdivisions where there is limited parking. In the past 30 days alone, the enforcement division has received four calls concerning the appearance of neighbouring properties due to muddy ruts and the overall appearance of the neighbourhood,” wrote bylaw enforcement officer Lorna VanderPloeg in a report submitted to council Apr. 10.

Coun. Julie-Anne Herteis, however, raised concerns about the potential abuse of the bylaw as presented, noting neighbours could use it to make nuisance complaints about each other. If somebody puts their vehicle on the lawn to wash it, for instance, and the neighbour is immediately on the phone making a complaint.

She called for some leeway in the bylaw’s language to help avoid nuisance calls.

That sentiment was backed by Coun. Mark Bauman, who expressed concern that the process doesn’t become a “witch hunt.”

In response, Broughton noted the goal is to deal with chronic problems, not have the township get involved with neighbourhood spats.

Beyond the language of the bylaw, Herteis also fretted about yet more government interference in people’s lives.

“There comes a point where it’s the property owner’s property. It seems very strict,” she said of the proposed bylaw.

The bylaw was ultimately approved 3-1, with Herteis holding out for a change in the wording. The issue returns to council next week, however, for formal approval.

In a related matter, the township will also review its overnight parking ban during the winter months, acting on suggestion from Mayor Todd Cowan.

He argued that banning parking between 2-6 a.m. has little affect on snow-clearing, as road crews are typically not out until 7 a.m. anyway.

While crews can be out as early as 4 a.m., noted director of engineering and planning Dan Kennaley, it’s major routes that get priority over residential streets.

Adding that operations staff have requested a review of the current bylaw, he said he would get in on the schedule for review prior to next year’s snow season.

Citizens’ group to challenge biogas

The township has taken a pass on the appeal process, but a biogas plant proposed for Elmira will be debated at the province’s Environmental Review Tribunal thanks to action launched by Elmira Bio Fuel Citizens’ Committee.

The Ministry of the Environment late last month approved a Bio-En Power Inc. plan to build a energy-generating facility on Martin’s Lane in Elmira’s north end. A 15-day appeal period started Mar. 26.

Opposed to the decision, the township nonetheless opted against challenging it based on legal advice. Addressing the issue at an Apr. 10 council meeting, director of engineering and planning Dan Kennaley said the narrow grounds for appeal made success unlikely. The township would have to prove the project would cause serious harm to human health and/or the environment.

All of the onus to provide expert witnesses and backing evidence would fall on the municipality, an expensive undertaking not likely to pay dividends, he explained of the process.

Mayor Todd Cowan, while agreeing with the decision to avoid an appeal, said he would continue to lobby provincial officials to move the facility elsewhere. He was disappointed when apparent deals to do that were eventually ignored by the province, with last month’s approval catching him off guard.

For Woolwich Bio-En president Chuck Martin, the option of moving is still on the table, but he is not optimistic about that outcome.

There are challenges to moving, he said. Having the Ontario Power Authority FIT (feed-in tariff) contract shifted is just the first, as there are land issues, grid capacity and financial details to be worked out at another location. Then there’s the timing. The plant has an in-service date of May 2014. A move would require the environment assessment and public input phases to start all over again, so that contract date would have to be shifted.

For now, he’s preparing for the appeal process before the ERT.

From the appeal documents he’s seen to date, the opposition’s argument is heavy on the impact of truck traffic, which he said isn’t really an issue for the tribunal.

Given that the area was home to a truck service at one point and much of the land is zoned for industrial use, truck traffic is an issue that has nothing to do with the biogas facility, which nearby residents fear could cause odour problems.
Traffic is an altogether different issue, he said.

“Our general point on the traffic is that it is much less than what used to be generated there.”

But even if there’s a quick resolution to the appeal process – the tribunal has a maximum of six months – it’s already too late to do more than some site preparation this year. The facility wouldn’t likely be operational until late 2013 at the soonest.

“Early 2014 is the most likely scenario,” said Martin.

Looking past the review, Coun. Mark Bauman would like to see some policing and enforcement guarantees from the MOE if the province pushes ahead with the Elmira location. Historically, the ministry has been seen as lax in its response to residents’ complaints, in particular with regard to issues at the Chemtura chemical plant that dragged on for years.

“Will this be another problem with the MOE we have in this town?”

Neighbours wary of expansion in St. Jacobs subdivision

Plans to add another 150 homes to the Valleyview Heights subdivision in St. Jacobs has neighbours worried about traffic impacts, including safety of those using a nearby park. Several residents were in Woolwich council chambers Apr. 10 for a public planning meeting to discuss a proposed zone change for some 40 acres of land to the east of the existing subdivision, which got underway in 2003. The developer wants to build 88 single-detached houses, 36 semis and 20 to 30 townhouses on a 24-acre portion of the land.

Concerned about the increased traffic that will come with the new development, neighbours called for traffic to be funneled onto Old Scout Place, which runs along the southern edge of the site, rather than relying on Water Street to carry most of the flow. Old Scout Place would require upgrading to be used in that capacity.

For Water Street resident John Dixon, simply extending the street to loop through the new subdivision would create a 1.5-kilometre stretch without stop signs and traffic-calming measures, a recipe for speeding. Water Street runs alongside the existing park and the proposed expansion into the new development.

“We need another exit to Old Scout,” said Water Street resident Jill Jacklin, noting the plan has only one outlet, a road named Conlon Drive that would run north-south connecting Water Street to Old Scout Place.
She called that plan inadequate given that the neighbourhood would essentially double in size.

Along with residents’ concerns, the information presented Tuesday by director of engineering and planning Dan Kennaley included concerns raised by planners with the Region of Waterloo, who said they could not approve the application as it now stands, pointing specifically to noise concerns. The site is bounded by Hwy. 85 to the east and there’s an automotive salvage yard nearby on Old Scout Place.

Andrew Head of the Kitchener planning firm Dryden, Smith and Head, representing Valleyview Heights, said the issues raised by the region will be addressed by a noise consultant hired by the developer.
Other concerns raised by the regional government and the Grand River Conservation Authority will also have to be addressed.

Also discussed at this week’s public planning sessions was another St. Jacobs development, this time in the core of the village.

Mercedes Corp., which in 2009 tabled a plan to build 14 townhomes at lots on 10 Front St. and 1441 King St. N., now wants to change that to a 14-unit brownstone development. That design would feature ground-floor flats with two-storey lofts above.

The changes make better use of the lot, the company’s Marcus Shantz told councillors.

Both Official Plan and zoning changes are needed to accommodate the project, which would essentially convert commercial space used for bus parking into a residential area.

In response to a question from Coun. Allan Poffenroth, Shantz said the three-story building would house rental units, though it could be built as a condo, with the company retaining ownership of all 14 units.

Addressing both projects, Kennaley noted that recent easing of restrictions on the capacity of the St. Jacobs sewage treatment plant leaves ample room for the necessary hook-up capacity.

Event aims to position Kissing Bridge Trail as a community-wide resource

The second annual Spring on the Trail is set to go May 12. The event began as a necessity to bring the public’s attention to the trail, explaind Doug Creson of the Kissing Bridge Trailway Advisory Board. “A lot of residents in Elmira associate the trailway with the intersection on Arthur Street North, and people living in West Montrose associate the trail with the sign by the Kissing Bridge – we are trying to identify the trailway as a whole. This trail is 45 kilometres long and that is a large area that is being preserved in trust for our next generation to use,” said Creson. “We want to make sure people are using the trail and if they don’t know it is there they might not understand that it is theirs to use.”

The trail was developed 14 years ago and the intent of the Spring on the Trail event is to bring people out onto the trail and discover what it offers across southwestern Ontario.

“The plan is to be able to take your kids on a bike, hike or walk and leave at the starting point in Guelph and never have to share the trail with a car, so you don’t have to look over your shoulder and to see if your child is OK behind you,” said Creson. “We have to take a bigger view of the trail and look at what kind of asset we had here in Ontario and it is truly a valuable one that one else has.”

This event complements things like the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival and the street dance and sidewalk sale which are one-day events that bring the community together and brings tourists to the region, he added.

“We want to be able to advertise this trail to the Ontario, Quebec and New York market as the 401 of trailways allowing visitors to see and walk through picturesque views and three suspension bridges located along the route all while creating tourism here.”

In Elmira the days focus will be on kids on the trail as a kiddy fun track will be set up with inflatable castles and rides and numerous merchants in Elmira will set up stations and booths.

“We are trying to create a true sense of community and encourage businesses to turn the trail into Main Street or flea market for the day,” he said. “This is not a one-day event where we say thanks for the money and put some stone down on the trail two kilometres away – it’s ultimately about bringing the community together on the trail.”

There will also bike challenge where cyclists can start in Guelph travel to Millbank and back covering 90 km.

“This is a unique challenge and we are looking to attract those cyclists that have moved away from road cycling but still want to ride a good distance on a safe route.”

For the explorer there will be a geocaching event where visitors on the trail will have to find caches with tokens that will allow them to get a key which will open up a treasure chest that will have cash inside.

Passports for the event are $20 for individual or families and are tax deductible. Each passport gives the user a passport number and that number is entered into prize draws with the grand prize being $2,500 in travel vouchers.

Passports are available at the Bank of Montreal and FB and Me fashion boutique in Elmira

The funds raised by the Spring on the Trail event will be put back into the trail building and repairing bridges and maintaining the trail as a whole.

The event begins at 10 a.m. and runs until 2 p.m.

Two restaurants in mix as township clears commercial development in Elmira

A Harvey’s restaurant is pencilled in as one of the tenants at a commercial building planned for the Foodland property at the south end of Elmira. Construction could begin this spring, as Woolwich planners have signed off on the site plan and building permit application. The project, a 6,900-square-foot building with four units, is part of a larger development Sobeys Capital Inc. hopes to carry out on the site at Arthur Street and South Field Drive. Parts of the plan, including an expansion of the Foodland store, require zone change and Official Plan amendments that are still under review by the township. The new building fits into existing zoning on the property.

The Harvey’s and another restaurant, perhaps serving pitas, have been discussed for two of the units. Other tenants have not been discussed. The building will house four units, 2,100 square feet, 1,800, 1,510 and 1,465, plus space for a mechanical room. It will sit on the southwest portion of the property, adjacent to the driveway that runs off of Arthur Street, explained manager of planning John Scarfone.

A second new building on the site, to the north and closer to the Tim Hortons, is also in the works, though that project hasn’t moved along in the process. The company’s overall plan, submitted last year to the township, calls for an 8,000-square foot building, perhaps housing a Beer Store location.

The larger part of the plan would see the Foodland store expand into the vacant portion of the existing building, increasing in size to 47,000 square feet from the current 34,000. A 22,000-sq.-ft. addition would be built on to the current structure, some 9,000 sq. ft. for a retail outlet such as a dollar store and 13,000 sq. ft. for a mix of retail, services and offices, perhaps including a wine store.

The Official Plan and zoning changes requested by Sobeys would allow for the grocery store to expand and permit a wider range of uses on the eight-acre site.

The expansion of the grocery store is likely to be the biggest stumbling block, however. While the township has yet to make a decision on the application, the peer review carried out of the applicant’s market study raised several alarms.

The township engaged Robin Dee & Associates to review a study by Tate Economic Research entitled “Elmira Retail Market Demand and Impact Analysis.” Dee’s report shot down claims expanding the Foodland store would have no impact on the potential return of a supermarket to the downtown core – the former Foodland location at Arthur and Church streets has been vacant since November 2008.

The review also warned of the impact of moving the Beer Store from downtown to the southern end of Elmira.

“[I]t is my opinion that the Sobeys expansion as proposed will not serve to promote the core area as the commercial focus for the Elmira (settlement area) but rather will directly undermine that role by precluding the re-entry of a major food store into the core area and removing an important traffic generator in the form of the Beer Store.”

Woolwich would like to see more development in the core, including a grocery store, said director of engineering and planning Dan Kennaley, adding the Dee report was fairly damning of the Sobeys plan in that regard.

“Mr. Dee’s peer review was pretty critical.”

Before his department makes a recommendation on the OP and zone change application, however, he expects more meetings with the applicant, which will offer a rebuttal to the township’s report, and with Dee – something of a back-and-forth can be expected over the next couple of months before the issue ends up back before township council for a decision.

On the development front, the township has heard nothing more about the proposed Canadian Tire store for the lot to the south of the Sobeys land. The last discussion, dating back to late fall, held the potential of some work getting underway in 2012.

In St. Jacobs, however, construction of a new Holiday Inn hotel could get underway as soon as next week. That 100-room project is slated for a site on Benjamin Road, immediately next to the Jack’s Family Restaurant location.

And the vacant former township hall on Arthur Street in Elmira could also see some development, as the township has received an offer on the building, deemed “serious” by chief administrative officer David Brenneman.

While no details are forthcoming – the offer is conditional at this point – there are indications of a potential use as a health, wellness or medical-type centre.

Wellesley finds more than $100,000 in savings on roads

The Township of Wellesley has saved more than $100,000 through its competitive tendering process for 2012 paving and gravel maintenance projects.

In a report presented to councillors meeting Monday night, general manager of community services Kevin Beggs indicated that the asphalt tender, secured by Steed & Evans, came in at $396,206.50, more than $82,000 below budget.

In a separate report Beggs indicated that Joe Kerr Ltd. had won the tender for gravelling operations in 2012 by submitting a bid of $185,400.00, nearly $26,000 below budget.

Councillors praised the work of staff in their budgetary work this year to ensure cost estimates were kept reasonable.

“What I look at is staff being able to predict the approximate prices. You did a good job of following the costs,” said Mayor Ross Kelterborn to Beggs.

Coun. Jim Olender also indicated that other municipalities across the region that he had talked to are experiencing similar savings as construction companies have had to become more competitive now that the government stimulus funding has ceased.

“Some said they’ve had over a millions dollars in savings,” Olender indicated. “These companies are looking for work now, and we’re benefiting at this end, too.”

In both of his reports, Beggs indicated that prices are always the unknown factor when tendering work, and that the budget of $478,503.84 plus HST for the asphalt paving tender, and $211,293.00 plus HST for the gravel maintenance, were based on the best information available to him. The asphalt paving budget was included in the roads capital budget for 2012, and the gravel maintenance was included in the 2012 roads operating budget.

For the asphalt tender, four companies responded. Capital Paving Inc. tendered $499,185.45, Coco Paving Inc. submitted a bid of $455,005.59, The Murray Group Ltd. submitted $433,387.51, but Steed & Evans won the contract with their bid of $396,206.50.

For the gravel projects, Wellesley received three responses; Steed & Evans Ltd. for $272,100.00, Donegan’s Haulage Ltd. for $209,400.00, and the winning bid from Joe Kerr Ltd. for $185,400.00.

Asphalt paving in 2012 is planned for Greenwood Hill Road, Moser Young Road, and Willow Way in the rural areas, and in the urban areas of Edgewood Court, Village Place and Parkview Drive in Wellesley, and Isabella Street, Gordon Hain Street, Adelaide Street and the fire hall in Linwood.

The focus of gravelling operations this year will be Greenwood Hill Road and Hackbart Road, as well as Hutchison Road and Boomer Line, Moser Young Road, Empey Road, Temperance Road, Mallott Road, and Bricker School Line and approximately 30,000 tonnes of gravel will be used.

 

Federal budget something of a balancing act, says MP

The new federal budget is one that provides a long-term view for Canada which should help keep the country competitive in international markets and help reduce our deficit, according to Kitchener-Conestoga Conservative MP Harold Albrecht.

“[That is] the big thing that you’ll see different in this budget from a lot of budgets from the past, especially in minority years,” Albrecht said earlier this week of the budget that was presented on Mar. 29.

While Albrecht does admit that there is very little in the way of direct benefits to the residents of Kitchener-Conestoga, he did say that his constituents should feel the trickle-down effect of the overall strategies the government will take in terms job creation, the encouragement of innovation and investment and research.

For months speculation has run high over what the 2012 budget would present to Canadians, and while the budget contained fewer austerity measures than some pundits speculated it would, some notable measures were tabled by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.

The federal government expects a deficit of more than $21 billion in 2012/2013, but has promised to balance the books and return Canada to a budget surplus by 2015 – the same year as the next scheduled election.

“It may be a coincidence, but it’s something that we’ve targeted whether we were a minority or a majority,” Albrecht said. “We’d like to eliminate it next year, but we can’t.”

To accomplish that goal, some 19,200 federal public sector jobs will be cut over three years, the age of eligibility for Old Age Security will gradually rise from 65 years to 67 beginning in 2023 while the retirement age for federal public servants will rise from 60 to 65 for people hired in 2013, Canada will review its participation in some international organizations, and the mint will stop issuing new pennies by the end of this year, saving some $11 million annually.

Federal officials have also said they would help mining and other developments by reducing the regulatory burden on them, such as capping the time for regulatory reviews at 24 months and by introducing a new “one-project, one-review” system for environmental assessments which would prevent dual federal and provincial reviews from occurring simultaneously.

While these review changes have drawn some criticism from environmental groups who are worried that the Harper government is looking to downplay the environmental review process, Albrecht said that Canada will continue to be good stewards of the environment.

“This is in no way undercutting the environment. I think in many ways you’ll see it improving it because you’ll have a more well-defined timeline,” he said. “You’ll have one review for the project [and] that review will be rigorous. There is definitely not a weakening of the environmental regulatory system.

“I think a key factor in not only the resource sector, but manufacturing, is getting rid of a lot of the red tape and the obstacles that are put in the way,” he added.

Albrecht also addressed the issue of Old Age Security, saying that the federal government was not balancing the books on the backs of seniors, as was suggested by new NDP leader Thomas Mulcair last week, but that the realities of Canada’s economic and demographic situation demands these changes in order to ensure that the OAS program is viable for future generations of Canadians.

“In 1970 we had roughly seven people working to support each person on OAS. Today it’s down to four. By 2030 it’s projected to be slightly over two people supporting every person on OAS,” Albrecth said.

“The other factor is that people are living longer and healthier. In 1970 the average age was 69, today it’s 79.”

He also stated that the OAS changes would not occur overnight starting in 2023, but rather be phased in gradually to allow workers the chance to adjust.

The MP was particularly pleased to find provisions in this year’s budget to deal with suicide prevention, a problem which Albrecht drew attention to last fall when he tabled Bill C-300 requesting support a national suicide prevention strategy.

The budget calls for the establishment of a new network of mental-health professionals, with a particular focus on suicide prevention and in identifying and treating post-traumatic stress disorder.

“As the minster was reading the budget I was flipping through. That was the first thing I was looking for, to see if there was anything in there. I’ve been championing that for a long time and I’ve spoken to him personally on a number of occasions.”

The unveiling of the federal budget was ill-timed for most Ontarians, who were subject to their own provincial budget just two days earlier, one that called for dramatic spending cuts and austerity measures to help tackle the projected $15 billion deficit that the province is facing this year.

Albrecht can sympathize with residents, saying that while to time of belt-tightening may be upon all of us, the situation could be much worse and we only have to look across the Atlantic Ocean to see how bad it could be.

“Greece, Italy, even Britain with their huge cuts to education. We’re going to experience some pain, but nowhere near the extent that many other G7 countries are going through.”