Tag Archives: Ontario Legislature

Indy MPP Brady Frustrated With Both Parties Re Bill 28

November 2, 2022 The Silo 1 Comment

Brady stands up for educational workers and students

QUEEN’S PARK – Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Bobbi Ann Brady over the past two days, stood in the House and implored the government and CUPE to tone down the rhetoric, work together through negotiations, and stop using education workers and students as political pawns.

“To this government, to CUPE, stop using some of the province’s lowest paid education workers and stop using our kids as political pawns,” MPP Brady stated in the Legislature.

The government declared Bill 28 to operate the notwithstanding clause during the dispute involving school board employees represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees. The notwithstanding clause blocks the ability of the union employees to walk off the job and keep students from class.

As an Independent member of the Legislature, MPP Brady has the unique position of viewing legislation genuinely and providing honest feedback about how it will affect her constituents as well the rest of the province.

Through her question and statement on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively, Brady expressed her frustration with both sides of the House. She then questioned which side actually cares about education workers and students.

“I’m a bit cranky with what is happening here. Who here actually cares about our education workers? Who cares about our students?”

Brady is fearful that if the lives of students are impacted, education workers will be blamed by Ontario parents who are frustrated with kids being in and out of school the past few years.

In a line of questioning yesterday, MPP Brady encouraged the government to do treat educational workers fairly and do what is right for Ontario students.

For more information, contact MPP Bobbi Ann Brady at babrady-co@ola.org or 519-428-0446 Please mention The Silo when contacting.

Politics

How Covid Affects Ontario Legislature

June 7, 2021 The Silo 1 Comment

The past week has been a whirlwind of activity in Ontario politics. Some have asked about my absence from the Legislature for the vote on May 31.

With the advent of COVID-19, all political parties decided to divide the sitting members of the Legislature into two groups with equal representation from all parties.

Separate groups in the Legislature are an attempt to diminish the spread of COVID-19.

The Legislature is divided into two groups or cohorts in case COVID-19 swept through the sitting members, which could result in all members being in quarantine and the Legislature grinding to a halt. Instead, with two groups, only part of the Legislature would end up in quarantine and the other half could take over.

My group was not designated to be in the Legislature May 31. For this reason, I was not present in the House. All parties agreed to not have remote voting in the Ontario Legislature. I am presently working from home, including serving virtually on Standing Committees.

The motion passed on Monday relates to the ability to extend and amend existing orders under the Reopening Ontario Act. Orders made under the Act’s authority have always been, and will continue to be, required to be extended in 30-day increments by Cabinet. All orders may also be amended by Cabinet at any time to loosen or tighten restrictions as necessary. These Orders have been the mechanism that we use to implement the COVID-19 response since last July, including the colour-coded framework, the shutdown, and now the roadmap to reopening.

Please note that the declaration of emergency and Stay-at-Home orders have expired as a result of key indicators for COVID-19 trending in the right direction and significant progress being made in vaccinations.

However, because of the new, fast-growing Indian B.1.617.2 and to allow for higher vaccination rates, our government made the difficult decision to continue with remote learning for all elementary and secondary students across the province for the remainder of this school year. This will allow the province to continue its focus on accelerating COVID-19 vaccinations to support a safe summer and return to in-person learning in September for the 2021-22 school year.

The health and safety of Ontario students, staff, educators and families remains a top priority.

On a personal note, my wife Cari and I both contracted COVID-19 and have completely recovered. Cari is home from Joseph Brant Hospital and is doing very well after a week-and-a-half there, including one week in Intensive Care. We have ended our self-isolation, although we continue to follow public health guidelines.

We can’t begin to express our appreciation for all the messages of support and concern – thank you everyone!!

My positive test for the N501Y mutation of the UK B.1.1.7 variant was a result of picking up the virus just prior to my vaccination.

The changing face of the pandemic: New COVID-19 variants spark concern

We must also be vigilant as the new B.1.617.2 variant, which was first identified in India and entered the province through Canada’s international borders, grew in Ontario by 600 per cent from May 12 to May 19.

The threat of new variants reinforces my belief that we all must continue to be cautious because of this highly transmissible disease. For the Silo, Toby Barrett MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk.

Earth

When Are We Going to Get Serious About Invasive Species- Phragmites?

July 26, 2015 The Silo 7 Comments

The Phragmites invasion was identified as the number one concern facing the Long Point area at this summer’s Long Point Biosphere symposium on ecosystem stresses.

Phragmites growing along the Chesapeake Bay shoreline. image: chesapeakebay.net

In the pond adjacent to my house, a few Phragmites plants appeared about 20 years ago. Those few stalks then turned into a patch covering 15 per cent of the pond. It took 20 years but I’ve now eliminated it – although it has cropped up elsewhere on our farm. I realize what I’ve seen for an increase is small in comparison to what has occurred in some areas, for example, Phragmites dominates the ditches along Highway 402.

More than 10 years ago, Dr. Scott Petrie and Long Point Waterfowl were one of the first to research the expansion of Phragmites in the Long Point area. At that time, the potential threat was just beginning to be realized. Its threat wasn’t widely known outside Long Point except amongst waterfowlers and naturalists.

The last session of the legislature debated Phragmites as a part of the Invasive Species Act. This bill has currently had its second reading.

My concern as a landowner is to have the tools to deal with Phragmites. The Invasive Species Act doesn’t provide this kind of help. Ideally, the Act should contain an education plan, funding and ways to prevent spread. The Act puts an emphasis on landowners to control invasive species, but doesn’t provide the wherewithal to make it happen.

This is not to say the Invasive Species Act is all bad legislation, it’s just big on stick and small on carrot.

Now in talking about tools, we realize the challenges of controlling Phragmites. It spreads through both seeds and rhizomes and is just about impossible to control without herbicide.

I recently attended a St. Williams meeting on Phragmites, hosted by the Ontario Phragmites Working Group and Long Point Ratepayers’ Association, that focused on methods of control. Control alternatives varied from manual extraction, to discing it under, to experimentation with herbicides, to prescribed burns. Herbicides are the best alternative for large areas, but the issue is approval needs to be granted for application over water.

When Phragmites colonizes an area, it spreads quickly and prevents the new growth of other plants. It’s also poor habitat for wildlife. It impacts humans as well through loss of recreational opportunities, negative tourism impacts, decline in property values and blocked sightlines.

When Purple Loosestrife was the hot invasive plant, I was Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Natural Resources. In conjunction with the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, hit squads went into areas where Loosestrife was rampant and manually removed it. It’s not that simple with Phragmites, and we have yet to see this kind of commitment from government.

During the St. Williams symposium, we learned the City of Thomas has tackled Phragmites with minimal expenditure. The goal is to have the city Phragmites-free by 2020. Lambton Shores has also been aggressive and the plant is now 99 per cent under control in the municipality.

When Purple Loosestrife was first identified as an issue, it was thought to be the worst invasive plant in the province’s history – Phragmites now has that dubious honour. It will take a concerted effort by government, communities and individuals to take it on. It’s time to get serious! For the Silo, MPP Toby Barrett