Remembrance Day and Afghanistan

When I was young, I was always aware of Remembrance Day.  I remember lots of cold November Sundays marching in the parade with Girl Guides, and gathering around the cenotaph.  In school, I can recall yearly assemblies held- often with Veterans in to speak to us; they brought the history to life.

Now, as I've grown older I've become more aware of that history.  What Canadian soldiers did in both world wars was nothing short of heroic.  In W.W. I the French, and English tried to take Vimy Ridge, and failed.  But the Canadians succeeded, and have been honoured for it with a monument on French soil.  In W.W. II, Canadians landed on Juno Beach on D-Day, and ended up gaining the most ground of any allied forces in Occupied France.  They fought through Italy, and in Holland when the Nazis finally surrendered their hold on that country, they did so to a Canadian General.  This is just some of what we are honouring as we pause today- at the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month for two minutes of silence.  We will remember them.

In remembering the past today, let's also spare a thought for the future.  Canada is still fighting a war  in Afghanistan; our soldiers trying to bring the same values to that country, others defended on our behalf so long ago.  I have been fortunate enough in the course of my job to meet a Veteran of that conflict.  He served one tour there, and would consider serving another.  For me, that has put a face on the conflict happening half a world away. 

At 11am I thought of the soldiers fighting in Afghanistan, and I thought of the younger faces I saw at the cenotaph. I hope we will listen to the stories of the Afghan Veterans as surely as we listen to the older gentlemen. Because in listening that's the only way we learn.

Spare a thought today or any day for those who fought for our freedom, and those who continue fighting for it.

What an Election!!

This is shaping up to be quite the election  40 candidates have registered for 8 ward seats, 2 regional council seats, and Mayor's chair.  And I find myself in the interesting  position of having met them all.  All are passionate, and believe in Milton, and believe they can make difference.

The general issues I see cropping up are: hospital expansion, growth, and the whole notion of an "new milton, old milton." idea. The hospital expansion comes down to money of course.  Some believe it's about pledging- $60 million over 30 years in order to show the province we're serious.  Others believe in fundraising, and that a tax increase should be the last option.   I've said before in other entries, a good thing to keep in mind is that nothing can be done about the hospital, without provincial consent... something that isn't gauranteed.

Growth I think will always be an issue here.  Town Council has just approved Boyne development, the size of which will see Milton double.  The new council will have to grapple with concerns dealing with building infrastrucutre, and financing it.  Council will also have to deal with the continuing consequences of too much growth too soon, and finish catching the infrastructure up with the rest of subdivisions.

I know the terms of "new milton" and "old milton" are ways of geographically designating the town; ways to describe where we live, and where we work. But are they more? Could they be used to do divide people.  And speaking of "old"- the matter of St. Paul's is still on the front burner.  But it's doing the job getting people talking about what we kind of Milton we want.  What kind of identity do we want? Do we want to keep the gorgeous downtown full of life, and restaurants along Main St? Or do we want to become another Mississauga?

There are a lot of issues for the upcoming council to decide.  But before they make their decisions, we need to do our research, and vote.
 

St. Paul's

I have an attachment to St. Paul's Church.  My grandparents were members there, my parents were married there.  I spent happy sleepovers throughout my time in girl guides there- the place is full of happy memories for me, as I'm sure it is for at least half the town. These happy memories, and emotions made it difficult for me to hear on Canada Day that there was a fire at this beloved Milton landmark.

Shock was what I felt when I first heard it, followed in typical reporter fashion by the need to do the story.  I did the story, and frankly I'm sceptical that the cause was electrical in nature.  For the last two years the place has been involved in a redevelopment idea- to take down the old church, and in its place put a life-lease condominum as well as new worship space.  It is a decision that has caused much argument among the congregation, and town at large.  It was recently announced St. Paul's had plans to apply for a demolition permit- the matter is being heard before Heritage Milton tomorrow (Thursday).  The situation makes me ask- if the whole situation doesn't sew the seeds of suspicion on the fire's cause, then what does?  I don't think the church should really blame the rest of us for concluding there is a possibility it was arson.

Looking at it without emotion, and in purely practical terms, there are legitmate arguments on both sides.  On the one side is heritage- the place has been a part of Milton for about as long as Milton has existed.  It's dominated that part of downtown, and it's hard to imagine that part of downtown without it.  It has the fabled "rose window" as well as several from World War One.  This kind of history is hard to find, can we really afford to lose that?  If it gets designation, I think it's worth looking at the downtown as some kind of heritage district.

On the other hand.  There is no denying progress.  St. Paul's is part of the area targted for intensification- more seniors housing would fit well there.  Damage from the fire is said to be in the six figure range- Would it cost more to fix the damage, and the pre-existing structural problems than it would to just take it down and start again?

I'm a history lover.  I would love to see the place saved.  I can't really picture what downtown Milton would look like without it.  But the reality is, it may happen.  I hope before a final decision is made, they discover what exactly happened in the fire, be it electrical or something more sinister.  

Lifting The Curtain

In this week's Halton Compass, I did a story on Ted Chudleigh's nomination as the Progressive Conservative (PC) candidate in next year's provincial election.  In town for the meeting, and events related to the ongoing fight against  the HST was PC Leader Tim Hudak.  Following the formal part of the meeting, my colleague from the Champion and I were offered time with the leader... we're reporters and it's not everyday we're offered time with the leader of the opposition, and someone who could potentially be the next Premier of Ontario.  So we took it, and my colleauge's article is also in this week's Champion.  He chose to focus on the hospital, and the local funding' portion. 

But here's where we differ. I read the situation in a completely different manner.  The way I read it was here was a man who is probably 1 year out from fighting a provincial election.  Hudak wants to make frontline healthcare a priority, but admits he needs a better business environment if the province is to continue its financial recovery.  And on some level I think he realizes financially the needed financial committment may not be possible.  He wants to disband the LHINS (Local Health Integrated Network) but doesn't know what if anything to replace them with.

Call me an eternal optimist, but I think we should take a wait-and see approach before we discount the DC idea.  It's a long time between now and next October.

Milton District Hospital: Devil's Advocate

As some of you know I've been spending time lately in the role of devil's advocate asking the question: What if the Province says  "No" to Milton's hospital expansion? Given the extremely unpopular nature of the question I've had varying degrees of success in actually getting answers as you can imagine.

Most say "No" isn't an option; MPP Ted Chudleigh says he can't conceive of a case where Milton wouldn't be near the top of the priority list.  One councillor backs him up saying the province can't say no.  The same councillor also says we're not even on the desired  priority list.  So my question still stands, what if the province says no" to Hospital expansion?.

The Case for a hospital: Milton, a community with a population of around 75 thousand by now is being served by a hospital built to serve 35,000.  The facilities there have according to a LHIN report reached the end of their working lives- so if there is room for expansion in existing facilities, chances are it would cost much less to build a new one, than to update the technology.  And let's say we've raised our part of the required funds making our request even harder to say no to.  That's a pretty powerful case- and when put this way, with the addition of the growth reports it could make a new expanded hospital for Milton a near certainty.

But it's not.  And here I come to the case against it.  The case against it boils down to money- it does make the world go around.  And right now there isn't enough of it, making for some interesting, if controversial decisions.  From a provincial perspective, I'm looking at Milton, and I'm looking at Oakville and I'm thinking a hospital with state-of-the art techonlogy is being built at Dundas and 3rd line- new facilities at Milton aren't exactly critical, despite what town council says.

Another scenario under the "no" perspective is the possibility there will be a new provincial government next year under the Progressive Conservatives.  Chudleigh says he'd fight for funding for this project, and I believe him.  But the possibility still exists a Progressive Conservative government could get elected, and then realize the books are in much worse shape than they've been briefed.  And then they'll have to make cutbacks.

The case for a hospital is a strong one- an expanded population, and out-of-date facilities.  We should go for the new hospital, but I also think we have to consider the question: "what if the province says no?"

Milton District Hospital Part #2: "Show Me The Money"

I was at Milton Council meeting last night and they had a presentation by Halton Health Services on the expansion project at Milton Hospital.  They're calling for a full-service expansion on the Milton site they hope will be the same level as the new Oakville Hospital.  The presentation backed a motion proposed by Councillor Cindy Lunau, part of which deals with raising money reads: "including a special tax levy on the municipal property bill in the 2011 budget considerations." 

In their presentation, and when pressed afterwards they didn't say exactly how much they need; they couldn't because of the tendering process going on with the Oakville site.  I understand, but it made me uneasy.  I thought; you're here, asking for my money, and can't tell me how much you want- or really for what you want it for? other than the idea it's going to be for a "full-service hospital". It struck me as a little odd to say the least.  I would've liked to see a range.

Halton Health Services (HHS) is planning 10 years in advance.  Five years from now the new Oakville hospital will be finished- so we're looking at possibly 2020, or later.  Given the 10- year planning schedule, all variables including the possibility of switching governments mid-stream, why don't we take a step back? I know... we need the hospital now. You really won't get much argument from me on that, after all town isn't getting smaller. But shouldn't we at least take our time, and have a long look at how much this is going to cost- how long are we going to see this possible charge on our property tax bill?

Another problem with this is the province; they are the final judge on healthcare. Potentially after all this fundraising they could still say no.  There are other places competing for the same money- yes, Milton is the fastest-growing municipality in the country and that should count for something.  But in a province that is cash strapped, and seeing  a year-long infrastructure audit the possibility of a "no" answer exists... even though I've been told by sources that failure in getting the expansion done, simply isn't an option.

The province could also say "yes," but scenario.  The but could place limits on the expansion in terms of departments.  Yes, you can have your expansion- but only with the ER, Maternity, and  some day surgeries.  Everything else should go to Oakville.

I completely agree that we need an expanded hospital- the population of Milton is nearing 100,000.  But don't we owe it to future and current residents that we achieve it, in a financially responsible way?  Let's take a step back, get more information and look at our options.  More information never hurt anyone.

Regional Transit

I was at a presentation given by the Region on its transportation plan until 2031.  It was interesting- improvements to area roads, and the addition of high-speed bus lines along Trafalgar and Dundas.  But the one thing that was missing was the idea of regional transit.  I asked afterwards, the response was no actual region-wide transit has been planned.  The alternative: coordinating municipal transit systems.

Now to an extent I understand the reasons.  The logistics alone of setting up a region-wide system. would be a big challenge.  A region this size- stretching from the shores of Lake Ontario, as far north as I think #7 highway and across four municipalities. The smaller population in the northern parts of Halton region might not make for high ridership.

The costs for setting up such a system would be high, with likely not a lot of pay-off.  Transit hardly ever makes money.  I've often thought of public transit as a "if you build it, they will come" scenario.  In other words I think  if you planned it, and executed it well, making it affordable people would take it.  I know I would. There were times when I went to Sheridan in Oakville I would've gladly leftt the car at home in favour of the bus.  But I couldn't because I would've had to first take the bus into Peel, then down to Oakville.  It's slightly better now, but still the only way to Oakville is an over-priced Go Bus that goes down Hwy 25 to the commuter lot at Bronte.   I don't know about you, but I want a better way.