North Frontenac Council - April 11/13

Jeff Green | Apr 11, 2013

North Frontenac Council questions government’s commitment to fight contraband tobacco

Members of North Frontenac Council expressed support for the Ontario Convenience Stores Association's (OCSA) initiative to pressure the Ontario Government to enact amendments to the Tobacco Act that are designed to “eradicate contraband tobacco”.

But they are not convinced that the federal and provincial governments are really serious about the issue.

In a letter to Ontario municipalities, OCSA said the following:

“In its 2012 budget, the Ontario government introduced a variety of measures that will help eradicate contraband tobacco, including more power for law enforcement, tougher fines for violators, and working with other jurisdictions to eliminate this serious problem. These will be enforced through the Tobacco Tax Act and Bill 186.

We are asking for municipal governments and community leaders to take action by passing a supportive motion at their local councils. Specifically, we’re requesting the Mayor of a municipality to write a letter to the Ontario Minister of Finance in support of the Ontario Government’s anti-contraband commitments, in an effort to eliminate contraband tobacco.”

While North Frontenac Mayor Bud Clayton had no objection to sending a letter, he said, “There seems to be a real disconnect between the federal and provincial governments when it comes to contraband tobacco. They keep bumping it over between the OPP and the RCMP.”

“The smoke shops on Highway 7 continue to operate, so what is the story with that?” said Councilor Lonnie Watkins.

“It will continue until somebody does something about it,” said Mayor Clayton. “MPs and MPPs say that each letter represents 50 people’s opinions, so if 10 letters go out complaining about what is going on, they will start to take notice.”

According to a report provided by the OCSA to the municipalities, smoke shacks are a major concern in Ontario.

“Contraband cigarettes are typically manufactured in illegal facilities on First Nations reserves in both Canada and the US. These products are sold and distributed via 350 smoke shacks in Ontario and Quebec, which sell baggies of 200 contraband cigarettes for as little as $10 - $15 per baggie, putting local communities at risk,” said the report.

“Contraband products are not subject to all levels of taxation and can be purchased at a much lower cost to consumers than legal products, resulting in lost revenue from taxes. This adds up to millions of dollars annually that could be used towards alternative government spending, including municipal funding. It also results in less sales for convenience stores, ultimately leading to store closures,” the report concludes.

Votes lost – Council received a request from a resident from Gull Lake Estates Lane that the township assume responsibility for Kashwakamak Lake Lane. The resident said that over 100 shoreline property owners use the lane, and given the amount of tax revenue that township receives from those properties, minimal maintenance in the form of some “tree clearing and 20 loads of gravel” is warranted. The resident wrote that they will “not vote for you unless there is progress.”

In keeping with a long standing policy never to assume any financial responsibility for private lanes, Council unanimously rejected the request.

Raise for firefighters – Council accepted the recommendation from Fire Chief Steve Riddell that crew members who are called upon to work for longer than three hours on a call, a relatively rare event, be paid $18.12 for any hour over three hours. They had been receiving $12.50.

Ompah fire hall renovation task force - A three-member task force (Volunteer Project Manager Steve Sunderland, Councilor John Inglis, and CAO Cheryl Robson) has been given three months to hire a design consultant, prepare a final design and specifications for the building, prepare and submit tenders for construction, and award a tender for construction.

The task force is to have this accomplished by June 19. $180,000 has been budgeted to renovate the fire hall, incorporating the current Ompah Community Hall, which is located in the same building as the fire hall, as a training room/public space.