Aurora Citizen

News & Views from the Citizens of Aurora Ontario

Discussion: What is the Appropriate Use of Electronic Devices during Council Meetings?

Posted by auroracitizen on March 16, 2011

Another great suggested discussion topic from a reader.

I was glad to read in the paper last week that the use of electronic devices during council meetings is under review. The Blackberry activities and twittering that have been going on during meetings have been bugging the hell out of me. I think it is rude, inappropriate and disrespectful to others in the chamber but above all, to voters.

I have heard all the arguments about the “age of multitasking” and being able to pay attention to several activities at once without losing the thread of any. I say hogwash! If that were the case, why is there evidence to show that attention deficit disorders are on the rise or that young people nowadays can only focus on snippets of superficial information and miss most of “meat and details.” I also wonder why basic good manners have disappeared. There is nothing more irritating and demoralizing than having to share someone’s attention with cyberspace, especially during a pre-scheduled meeting.

I have 2 grown up children, both of whom work for large organizations in management positions. While they are Blackberry fiends and avid texters and twitterers, even they acknowledge that it is not appropriate during meetings where one’s 100% concentration and focus is required. If some young people who are relatively new to the workforce can recognize the importance of this concept I would expect older, more experienced people to do the same.

As a voter, I expect my elected officials to bring 100% of their attention to the table when dealing with the town’s business in order to make crucial decisions. I do not want texters and twitterers phasing in and out of the discussions. Nor do I want them communicating with others outside of the council chamber for advice or direction in what to say or how to vote. If I valued those opinions I would have voted for them in the last election. I expect current councillors to use their own noggins and draw their own conclusions and have the decency to carry their own responsibility and do the job they are paid to do. I would be most interested in hearing others’ opinions on this issue.

Posted in Discussion Topic, Town Council | 27 Comments »

Guest Post: If hockey is our national game then Canada is in serious trouble.

Posted by auroracitizen on March 15, 2011

I was about 10 years old when I sat in Maple Leaf Gardens for the first time, beside my father, in the reds. The Detroit Red Wings were in town that wintery Saturday night, and even though blue was, and still is, my favourite colour, for some reason I became attached to the team from the motor city. I can still close my eyes and here the dull rumble of the crowd, and then an occasional roof-splitting roar when a Toronto goal was scored and the sighs when the Wings put one in the net. My father once threw me out of the living room when the two teams were in the Final and I was cheering for Detroit.

What impressed me most that first night was the speed at which the players moved, their stick handling and passing skills, and the accurate shots that bounced near or into the net.

So far as I know the size of the ice surface that was used in those far away days of hockey’s greatest years has not changed materially. What has, and dramatically, are both the number of NHL teams, from the original six to a figure I don’t even know, and the size of the players.

Back in the 1950’s the majority of players might have ranged between 5’8” and 5’10” in height and 160 – 175 pounds. In today’s league these then super athletes, many among the greatest in all sporting accomplishment, would be looked upon as midgets and would be rejected. It’s hard to believe that Henri Richard, who won 11 Stanley Cup rings, was 5’7” and160 pounds soaking wet and played for 20 years.

What has changed in hockey is that for the most part skill is no longer the prerequisite that it once was. When you have 10 men on the same relatively small ice surface, many of whom weigh over 225 pounds and stand 6’ 5” in their skates, you must by necessity sacrifice the passing and stick handling and instead get physical – there isn’t enough room on the ice for anything else. I know – this might be a bit extreme, but where I am going requires extreme.

I no longer watch hockey unless it is international play on the larger surface. That provides the opportunity for players to demonstrate that they can still use the old skills.

The point of all of this is the destruction that is being wrought on far too many hockey players, with no apparent response from the NHL hierarchy, which I suppose is not surprising when one considers who comprises this and the general lameness of their approach to the entire game.

The man who brought Canada a moment of great golden glory is presently gone – out to concussion; will he return? None of us knows. The most recent revelations about a former player suffering from a degenerative brain condition following repeated concussions should not just be alarming, but also should serve as scientific proof about the possible long-term consequences of head shots.

Consider the Lindros brothers, two physical giants, both with careers cut unnecessarily and prematurely short, both victims of concussion. Consider that millions of Canadian girls and boys play hockey, from coast to coast. Consider that our young men and young women have brought home World and Olympic gold medals in our national sport. Consider that all of us who are parents with children who play hockey can make known the way we feel about needless physical aggression, to our children, to their coaches, to the leagues in which they play and to the governing bodies of the sport. In The Globe and Mail sports section dated March 10, 2011, the front-page article headline reads: “Shock Waves reach Parliament Hill.” Aggressor receives “10-minute game misconduct, no further penalty.” This for what in civilian life would have been a criminal act, probably assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Hockey is a very physical game, but I suggest that being able to take a one or two minute shift and skate up and down the ice, passing, stick handling and taking the occasional shot on goal is far more physically demanding then jumping out onto the ice and 15 seconds later crushing an opponent head first into the boards.

It is time that real hockey fans start to express themselves in order to preserve the game, and our children, from the carnage that is happening weekly before our eyes.

Posted in Community, Discussion Topic, Health & Fitness | 3 Comments »

Is Our Children’s Health At Risk?

Posted by auroracitizen on March 14, 2011

The following was received from one of our readers.

To Aurora Citizen re suggestions: I would like a dialogue on the health of our children related to the obesity epidemic and related medical conditions being found in children, e.g. type 2 diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.

Your suggestions for future topics are encouraged. We have received a number of suggestions and will publish them over the coming weeks.

You can either send your ideas as a comment (marked clearly that it is a proposed post) or via email to input@auroracitizen.ca.

AC

___________________________________________________________

In response to the above suggestion, we reference the following website www.childhoodobesityfoundation.ca

Currently, 59% of adult Canadians are either overweight or obese.

There has also been a dramatic increase in unhealthy weights in children. Obesity rates in children have almost tripled in the last 25 years. Approximately 26% of Canadian children ages 2-17 years old are currently overweight or obese.

The latest Canadian Community Health Survey indicates that children who watch more than 2 hours of screen time (i.e. TV, computer, video games) per day have double the incidence of overweight and obesity when compared to children who have lass than 1 hour per day.Obesity rates continue to increase into adulthood.

If this trend continues, in 20 years we can expect 70% of the 35 -44 year olds in Canada to be overweight or obese vs. 57% who are currently overweight or obese.

As a result of obesity it is possible that for the first time in history our children may have a shorter lifespan than their parents.

Obesity in childhood may result in serious medical problems in childhood such as:

  • type 2 diabetes
  • high blood pressure and elevated blood cholesterol
  • metabolic syndrome: a number of conditions that are all associated with high blood insulin levels including type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure
  • liver disease
  • bone and joint problems
  • respiratory problems such as asthma
  • sleep disorders such as difficulty breathing while asleep (sleep apnea)
  • earlier than normal puberty or menstruation
  • eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia
  • skin infections due to moisture from sweat being trapped in skin folds
  • fatigue

Overweight or obesity in childhood can also result in serious psychological difficulties.

Overweight or obese children:

  • are more likely to be teased and bullied
  • are more likely to bully others
  • may have poor self-esteem and may feel socially isolated
  • may be at increased risk for depression
  • may have poorer social skills
  • may have high stress and anxiety
  • may have behaviour and/or learning problems as a result of psychological difficulties related to childhood obesity

Unfortunately most obese children and youth do not outgrow their weight problem. In fact, most people continue to gain weight as they age.

______________________________________

On the other hand, there has also been considerable coverage about the issue with body image — particularly among females — as a result of the unrealistic role models we see in the media. This has led to eating disorders. Because of the media coverage, some progress has been made in this area (i.e. Dove) — but is it enough?

So do you agree or disagree? Are the school systems doing enough to address these issues?

Is it too easy to opt-out of physical activities? Should pop and snack foods be banned from schools — at what level?

Can our government legislate good nutrition and exercise? Tax credits? Subsidized activities?

What role are parents playing to support healthy eating and levels of activity? Does the double income family — who often must drive long distances each day to/from work which leaves our kids to fend for themselves for longer periods — to blame?

How do we change our sedentary culture so our children — and ourselves — start to value a healthy body?

Posted in Health & Fitness | 5 Comments »

To Strike or Not To Strike — That is the Question.

Posted by auroracitizen on March 12, 2011

The first of 2 scheduled court dates has passed and for the first time the $6 million lawsuit launched by former Mayor Phyllis Morris against 3 alleged local bloggers was heard by a judge.

Acting on behalf of the 3 local residents, lawyer Jordan Goldblatt, argued a motion to have Mrs. Morris’ lawsuit against them, other blog participants and the blog’s host dismissed.

“The mayor’s claim is fundamentally flawed,” the document reads. Goldblatt argued that Morris has not pled the actual words which form the basis of her claim and this is a requirement in a defamation action. Otherwise, how can the defendants mount a reasonable defence.This argument was further supported by the fact that the comments have changed since the initial action was started — making it a moving target.

Documents filed by the defence plead that the legal case is a strategic lawsuit against public participation, or SLAPP action, and argues the matter should be dismissed on the grounds it has not properly identified the comments being complained about.

As reported in the Era Banner. “At this point, we’ll have to see what Justice Spence rules,” Mr. Goldblatt said, adding there’s no time limit on his decision.

Mr. Goldblatt had no other comment on the case other than the facts enclosed in the factum presented. However, the matter could drag on for years if the case does go to trial, he noted. As such, costs could climb as high as $200,000.

The judge has a number of options; strike the motion completely, strike the motion — but give Morris the opportunity to correct the fatal flaws in the claim and require that she plead the actual words so the defence can respond, or allow the case to proceed unchanged.

A second date is still scheduled for Mar 15 to hear the Morris motion to identify anonymous bloggers — which is being defended by the 3 local defendants — but is also being contested by the CCLA on the  grounds that it violates basic rights to freedom of expression under the charter. However, this date may be deferred until the strike motion settled. A decision will be made on Tuesday by the hearing judge on whether to proceed.

Furthermore, the Town has retained  lawyer George Rust-D’Eye to determine if the process leading to the town funding the initial lawsuit was legal and the contract entered into valid. In dispute are approx $55,000 in legal fees incurred by Morris which currently the town is responsible for paying. Mr. Dawe indicated Mr. Rust-D’Eye’s findings could be revealed by the end of the month.

Posted in Legal | 52 Comments »

What is the Appropriate Role of a Citizen Committee?

Posted by auroracitizen on March 11, 2011

There has been some discussion about the appropriate role of a citizen committee in a number of blog comments, so we thought we would ask the question directly.

Currently there are legislated committees such as the Library Board or Cemetery Board which are not the focus of this post– but could provide some ideas about roles.

This discussion is intended to focus around discretionary committees that are set up by Council to solicit and encourage community input — such a Leisure Service or Economic Development or Financial.

Here are some questions to get the conversation started. We are sure you will have more.

  1. Should a committee have a budget? If so, who would be accountable for the budget?
  2. Should Council members sit on advisory committees or should it be only citizens? Will citizens defer to Council members if they are part of the committee?
  3. Who should the committee report to — Council directly or should they go through staff?
  4. What role should staff play on the committee?
  5. Should staff be asked to comment on all committee recommendations prior to coming to Council?
  6. Should committee recommendations be vetted by staff before presentation to Council?
  7. Is Council under any obligation to follow recommendations from an advisory committee?
  8. Who is the committee accountable to? Are they accountable to anyone or are they independent?

Also, what committees do you think Aurora should have? Is there an area that is missed?

_________________________________________________________

FOOTNOTE: What started as an intelligent discussion quickly degenerated into name-calling and insults. The moderators have removed all such comments. Sorry folks, but our attempts to let everything through continues to backfire.

Posted in Community, Community Input, Town Committees | 34 Comments »

The Elephant in the Budget

Posted by auroracitizen on March 8, 2011

Recently on several blogs in the Town of Aurora, there have been controversial posts about the recent history of the Church Street School, which currently houses the Aurora Cultural Centre.  The ACC is now governed by a board that operates at arm’s length from the Town, but receives Town funding through an agreement that ends next year.

The Church Street School used to be the home of a museum operated by the Aurora Historical Society.  When the building was renovated, it appeared that there would be a Town of Aurora commitment to include a new museum.  Now there is lots of storage of artifacts, but no real museum.

Lots of folks love the Aurora Cultural Centre and want it to continue to be funded.  Lots of other folks want to fund a museum dedicated to Aurora’s history.  Some folks want both.  A few want neither.

Would you prefer to have this new cultural centre supported by your taxes, or would you prefer to respect the heritage of the past?

Would you prefer to have an unelected committee tell you what’s worth watching and doing, or have the funding oversight remain with Council?

Would you like to spend your hard-earned tax dollars housing bits and pieces of antiquity or focus on the future cultural opportunities within our community.

Or are you somewhere in between?  If you are, what does that mean for the Town budget?

Have your say here on this blog.  What should happen in the future?

Posted in Budget, Community, Community Input | 60 Comments »

New Procedural Bylaw Being Discussed

Posted by auroracitizen on March 6, 2011

In Councillor Ballard’s blog he discusses the new procedural bylaw currently under discussion. Possibly this is the type of unbiased reporting that some readers of this blog are looking for.

He  identifies concern with a number of key areas (comments are from his blog);

  1. Limit who can delegate before Council,
  2. Remove the requirement of a delegate’s need to give advance notice, (Council will have no advance knowledge of why a delegate is speaking at a General Council meeting and, therefore, may not be well informed to ask questions, discus the matter intelligently, and be unable to make an informed decision),
  3. Not allow delegates to speak at a Council meeting (which is broadcast on Cable), and only allow delegates to speak at Council’s General Committee meeting (which is not broadcast via Cable),
  4. Drastically shorten a Councillor’s ability to speak to an item from 30 minutes to five minutes. Complex issues may not be fully explored by Councillors before decisions are made,
  5. Only allow residents, not businesses, to speak at Open Forum even though businesses are taxpayers, too.

There seems to be a fundamental flaw in his whole argument — and that is the seeming lack of understanding of the difference between a General Committee (GC) meeting and a Council meeting.

A Council meeting is too late to be gathering information. That is the purpose of committee meetings. That is where delegates should come forward and present various sides of the argument — where and when Councillors have the opportunity to ask questions. Then, Councillors have a week for “sober second thought”, plus the ability to check facts, dig deeper and come to the formal Council meeting ready to debate the issues based on their research. There is no move afoot to limit who can delegate to Council — just to have the delegate appear at a time and place where their information can best be received and considered.

Imagine arriving at a meeting where you are expected to make a decision and only then start to ask questions. That is the whole issue with the ongoing practice by Councillor Gaertner with her questions — she seems more interested in performing for the TV audience versus getting the facts for decision-making. Everyone else has done their research, asked their questions and are ready to debate the merits of various points of view before arriving at the Council meeting. Councillor Gaertner seems to be a week behind.

It is also a key reason why last term reports and decisions were either deferred or sent back to staff so often. It reflected the facts that too many Councillors were arriving without their research completed and ill-prepared to make a decision.

Insisting that the GC meeting be used as the information gathering session and that Councillors arrive at the Council meeting ready and prepared to publicly debate the issue –televised for all to see — make sense. What benefit is gained by having delegates speak at a meeting that is on TV. We are more interested in hearing what our elected Councillors have to say than listening to the biased, self-interested pleas of every special interest group that comes before Council. We want to hear how our elected representatives view the topic — which we hope will be debated on merits they have researched and in the best interest of the entire community — not just the special interest group.

Further, if meetings were shorter, more people might tune in and find out what is going on in town.

Also, has anyone ever heard of a Councillor in Aurora ever speaking for 30 minutes on a single issue at one time? If you can’t make your point in 5 minutes — may be you need to figure out what you want to say before you start talking.

The real basis for his discussion seems to be based on someone representing “the opposition”. This may be standard operating procedure at the Provincial and Federal levels — but many Canadians are finding the “if it’s your idea, it must be wrong” philosophy behind the party system to be a poor use of time and resources. At the municipal level we hope for a more collaborative debate — versus the confrontational environment that Councillors Ballard and Gaertner seem to be striving for.

On another note, if Council demanded that a delegate could only speak if they provided advance notice — Councillor Ballard would probably have said that was limiting input because of the requirement for advance notice. Sometimes you just can’t win for trying — but that’s just our bias 🙂

Posted in Community Input, Town Council | 18 Comments »

The Importance of Policy

Posted by auroracitizen on March 4, 2011

The recent debate about whether to support or not support the Aurora Jazz Festival reminds us of a couple posts we published back in 2009 — The Role of Council and 2008 — Council Versus Staff Roles.

If Council had a clear policy about how our dollars should be spent for promotional support, there would not even be a discussion at the Council table.

This is the same situation we have recently seen with the pool policy — or lack thereof.

For example, there is an ice user policy and a field user policy. These were developed by Council — with input from all user groups —  and are now implemented by staff without political interference.

It would be safe to assume that no user group is completely satisfied — but they seem to be all equally disappointed but treat equally fairly. Which is probably the best case scenario when the demand exceeds the available resources.

This Council needs to defer any decision on promotional support until a policy is in place (again with stakeholder input) and then let staff do their job — implement Council policies.

Then we won’t have user groups appearing before Council appealing for funds and Council making one-off decisions on an ad hoc basis.

Posted in Town Council | 9 Comments »

The Importance of Words

Posted by auroracitizen on March 4, 2011

Councillor Ballard has again demonstrated what his game is — as announced in his welcome to Council intro speech.

In his blog he has taken umbrage with Councillor Buck’s use of the word “niggardly” and insinuated that it was an inappropriate word to use because some people might feel it is too close to another word.

It sounds too much like a racial slur.

To be clear, Councillor Ballard acknowledges that the word was used absolutely appropriately, both in context and in use. Nor does he imply that Councillor Buck used it with ulterior motive.

We offer no opinion on whether it is appropriate to use or not use this word. That is for each of you to decide.

Our question is what value has Councillor Ballard offered to the community as a whole by his blog posting? Does his behaviour move the business of the corporation forward?

If his intention was noble — which would be for Councillor Buck not to use the word in the future in Council meetings — because he found it insensitive, then would not the best course have been to simply mention it in conversation? A simple request from one colleague to another.

But no — instead he has chosen to try to create another Council drama around its use by posting a comment online. One can only assume this was to try to drive a further wedge into Council and create more of the dysfunction that voters tried to rid the Council of by electing virtually a new slate.

Maybe he felt that Councillor Buck would not respond favourably to his “suggestion”, but given this and previous behaviour — one might understand why.

Our view is that since the beginning of the term, Councillors Ballard and Gaertner have made it their mission to try to derail the business of the town for their own agenda. Which to many observers appears to be a thinly veiled attempt to create dysfunction on this Council — possibly to create the impression that it was not tied to the previous Mayor (whom they have loyally supported through thick and thin).

Instead, what they are doing is proving that those associated with the previous regime continue to conduct business in a manner that the community resoundingly rejected.

Councillors Ballard and Gaertner — it’s time to accept that your team lost the election in convincing fashion. Move on — the community has rejected your style of politics and wants a Council that is willing and able to work together — similar to Councils previous to last term. They want a return to politics where our representatives put their personal agendas aside and work for the benefit of those that elected them.

Goodness knows, we have enough issues to address without these constant attempts to simply try to embarrass your colleagues.

It’s time to put aside the bad blood and get down to working together. It’s time to demonstrate some leadership.

Posted in Integrity, Leadership, Town Council | 46 Comments »

Guest Post: Is Technology Stifling Our Children?

Posted by auroracitizen on February 28, 2011

In honour of Family Day and in recognition of our responsibility to our children, let me turn your focus 180 degrees from Aurora’s political circus to a more serious topic.

Last month we got a thank-you note from our 15 year-old granddaughter on behalf of her brother and herself, expressing appreciation for the Christmas gifts they had received. This young lady is extremely bright, gifted and a really nice kid, for a teenager.

What was particularly striking about her note, and the envelope in which it arrived, was the fact that it was printed in her hand, and not very well at that.

On the next occasion that one of us spoke to her mother, my wife asked a simple question: “Does Mary (name changed) know how to write?”

The answer curled my wife’s ear. “You don’t have to know how to write anymore! Nowadays everyone has a laptop or a Blackberry – writing is history.” This from our elder daughter who had started her university career with a journalism career in mind.

Our younger daughter, who is an elementary school teacher in a town north of here, came down on her sister’s side. “We don’t bother with mechanics any more, rather teaching children to be well-rounded, something their parents no longer do.”

Kicking into the conversation a couple of days later was our son-in-law, above daughter’s husband, a swing elementary school teacher. Everyone that he came into contact with in his school not only wrote, but did so beautifully. It seemed to be a competitive thing and reflected a certain degree of pride in the accomplishment. Possibly because of a different mind-set in some cultures.

Into the mail this past Friday were a couple of books on cursive writing and a kit on calligraphy. We might get a blast for meddling. I really hope not.

Today’s young generation is swamped with technology, a lot of it very positive. But social networking on the Internet strikes me as an extremely dangerous alternative to getting out and playing with kids in your neighbourhood, seeing and talking face to face with real people.

Posted in Discussion Topic, Guest Post, Leadership, Uncategorized | 22 Comments »

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