Back to HomeEditorial - June 11, 2009 County GovernanceEditorial by Jeff Green

It is welcome news that Frontenac County Council is going to consider governance once again at their meeting next week.

After county council rejected a consultant’s plan for a new structure at their last meeting, they really had no process to follow and the lingering sense that the council was going to walk away from the issue threatened to create even more disenchantment among members of township councils towards the county.

Three local townships have endorsed one plan, and it is incumbent on county council to take that seriously - to either accept it or put forward something similar enough to have a decent chance of being accepted by the township councils.

Now that the idea of changing the composition of county council has been put to the township councils and been heartily endorsed, if county council fails to act they will make relations between the county and the townships worse than they have ever been. Those relations, on the staff as well as the politician level, are pretty poor already.

There is one more reason that county council should act: their current four-member structure does not conform to the Municipal Act.

Section 218 1 of the Ontario Municipal Act (2001), under the heading of “Composition of an Upper Tier Council” reads:

1. There shall be a minimum of 5 members, one of whom shall be the head of council.

County council has a choice: make a change or risk the embarrassment of being taken to the Ontario Municipal Board by one its own members.

North Frontenac, perhaps? 

Back to HomeFeature Article - June 11, 2009 Surprise Funding for New Sydenham Library Proposalby Wilma Kenny

Almost a week after most other project grants had been announced, South Frontenac learned at noon Tuesday that their application for funding for a new library and fully centralized municipal offices had been approved. Under the Communities component of the Building Canada and Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, the Provincial and the Federal governments will each contribute $726, 667, for a total of almost $1.5 million.

If the Township Council agrees to go ahead with the project as recommended by their library committee, they will contribute a matching third, which could come from the $1.3 million set aside in reserve for upgrades to the municipal buildings.

Sydenham library is by far the most heavily used branch outside Kingston: and at 0.18 sq. ft. per capita of local library space, South Frontenac is far below the recommended guideline of 0.5 sq. ft. per capita, and the KFPL system-wide average of 0.56. Building a new library would have the additional advantage of freeing up space in the present building for more township office space, so the treasury offices could be relocated from Keeley Road to join the other municipal offices.

A Sydenham Library Redevelopment Committee has been working with architects Shoalts and Zabeck to determine feasibility of the site, and develop a budget for the proposed project: it will now have to go to Council for approval to continue. Councilors Fillion and Robinson both expressed their disapproval of the project.

The grant application for the Sydenham Library was done under the auspices of Frontenac County, as was the South Frontenac ambulance application. Including these two projects, South Frontenac alone received in excess of $4 million in federal and provincial grants over the past week.

(Editor’s note – In this era of full disclosure, we might as well reveal that our intrepid South Frontenac Council reporter, Wilma Kenny, is also a member of the Kingston Frontenac Library Board. Not only that, but when Wilma was assigned to take a photo of Scott Reid presenting a check for $2.36 million on Saturday afternoon, she took the opportunity to ask him whether there was any funding program for the new library, which was the only project applied for in Frontenac County that had not received funding. We might never know if it made any difference, but 72 hours later the money arrived - JG

Back to HomeFeature Article - May 7, 2009 South Frontenac Township Council  By Wilma Kenny

South Frontenac passed their 2009 budget with little discussion.

Councilor John Fillion said that when he moved at a previous meeting to lower Storrington's budget by $80,000, in order to bring down the tax rate in that district, he had not intended the money to come out of the reserve fund. Councilors Ron Vandewal and David Hahn said that they had understood Fillion's intent was to use reserve monies. Vandewal noted there was nowhere else to get the money without cutting programs.

The tax increase for the township as a whole will be 1.382%, with the district breakdown as follows: Bedford 1.906%, Loughborough 1.554%, Portland 0.979%, and Storrington, .841%.

DOG POUND SERVICES: Council renewed their agreement with the Kingston Humane Society for provision of pound services to the township, with the fee per dog raised from $35 to $45. The fee is only paid by the township if the dog is not claimed by its owner. The previous agreement has been in effect unchanged since 1999. CAO Burns noted that this agreement was much more economical than the township trying to establish its own pound.

BEAR CREEK CULVERT: This is an old box timber culvert on the Perth Road which is badly in need of replacement. Works Manager Mark Segsworth noted there had been lot of interest on the part of contractors, and three final bids. He recommended the tender be awarded to Gordon Barr Construction for a total of $478,794.

The road will be surface treated this fall, given time to settle, then fully surfaced next year, as "there's 12 feet of muck to the bottom," said Segsworth.

Councilor Ron Vandewal asked whether, due to uncertainties, there might be a need for contingency funds. Segsworth agreed that the job will be challenging, but added that jobs like this don't usually have contingencies in their budgets.

SURFACE TREATMENT TENDER: The surface treatment tender for approved roads was awarded to Smiths Construction for $975,389. There was discussion of the high price of asphalt, and Councillor Vandewal

asked whether the works manager thought it might be worthwhile for the township to purchase the equipment to do their own road surfacing. Segsworth agreed that it could be done, but there were a number of issues related to staffing and budgeting that would have to be considered in detail first.

MUNICIPAL BUILDING ACCESSIBILITY: Human Resources and Skills Canada has announced grants of 100% funding, up to $50,000, to improve accessibility to municipal buildings. The grants have a one-week window between their announcement and their closing dates. Building Official Alan Revill has put together a proposal for installing automatic opening doors in the municipal building in Sydenham, at Princess Anne Building in Hartington, at Sunbury Centre (library entrance), and at Keeley Road, the treasury office & works garage, along with some ramp modifications. If approved, this will help the township meet the provincial accessibility requirements, which come into effect in 2010.

A NEW RECORD? Council concluded their business in 47 minutes: there was no “in camera” session.

Back to HomeFeature Article - April 16, 2009

Notes on Municipal Budgets

Central Frontenac BudgetNorth Frontenac Budget

Note on budgetsBy Jeff Green

Municipal councils throughout the region have been struggling with their 2009 budgets over the past few weeks, with most of them nearing completion of the process.

Evaluating municipal budgets is difficult because there are a number of factors that contribute to the ultimate result for ratepayers: a tax bill that either goes down, or most often, goes up.

Tax bills are made up of three charges, which are all added together. The first charge, making up 22%, is for education taxes. The province collects this money, and it is set to collect the same amount in 2009 as it did in 2008. The second charge, making up 21% of the total, is for county taxes. Frontenac County has raised municipal taxes by 2.9% this year.

So, when township councils began to work on their own budget, which makes up 57% of residential tax bills, there was already a slight increase in the number of dollars they would be taking from ratepayers.

Municipal councils have very little in the way of fiscal leeway to work with. Unlike federal and provincial governments, they cannot run deficits, and there are new regulations each year from the provincial government that must be dealt with - regulations that cost money to live up to. And then there are rising fuel and other costs, as well as increased expectations from ratepayers.

On the other hand, local municipalities have the benefit of very limited real growth in their tax base. For example, the treasurer in Central Frontenac estimated that tax assessment increases that are due to growth in the township totals about 1% this year.

In the end, municipal councils have found it difficult this year to keep the increase in the levy they end up charging to ratepayers under the standard 3% inflationary increase.

In our reporting on budget debates this year we have focused on the levy to ratepayers, which in the case of North Frontenac has risen by $265,000, or 7.7%. On average, North Frontenac ratepayers will pay 7.7% more for local services, in addition to an increase in what they pay for county services.

There is an added factor in municipal taxes that has nothing to do with the decisions that councils make, but affects how much people end up paying in a big way, and that is municipal assessment. Every property owner in Ontario received an assessment notice in October, and it determines our share in paying for the overall municipal budget.

The increase varies from property owner to property owner, but the general trend is for waterfront property to rise more than non-waterfront properties, so if you are reading this while overlooking a field you will likely see a moderate or no tax increase this year, but if you are looking out on the lake, you could be facing a much larger increase.

The impact of property assessment is so great on the amount people pay that it dwarfs that of the levy increase.

Take North Frontenac Township as an example. Education taxes, which have been frozen on a province-wide basis, will go up for most North Frontenac residents because the average property assessment in North Frontenac has gone up by more than the provincial average - 7% more. The county levy is up by 2.9%, as mentioned, and the municipal levy is up by 7.7%

So, for people whose property assessment stayed the same, taxes will go down, but for most people taxes will go up, and for some, taxes will go up a lot.

Back to HomeFeature Article - April 23, 2009 Addington Highlands CouncilBy Jeff Green

No major tax increase in the cards for Addington Highlands

Addington Highlands Council has not completed deliberating over the 2009 budget, but Treasurer Jack Pauhl brought some draft numbers to a Council meeting on Monday Night in Denbigh.

At that point, the levy to ratepayers for local taxes stood at $205,000 below last years’ levy.

“The major reason is that we’ve received about $400,000 more in our OMPF funding this year,” said Jack Pauhl.

Ontario Municipal Partnership Funding (OMPF) comes from the Provincial government and is intended to partially compensate municipalities for the cost of running services that were downloaded to them from the Province ten years ago, including policing and social service costs.

The township budgeting process is not complete, however, in the in camera meeting that followed the meeting on Monday night there were potential property purchases being discussed that could swallow up some or all of the $205,000 levy decrease.

County taxes in Lennox and Addington, which make up 21% of the municipal tax bill for Addington Highlands residents, rose by 3.8% this year.

Once the dust settles, the total amount of taxes paid collectively by all of the ratepayers in Addington Highlands will likely be about the same as last year, but how those costs will be distributed among individual property owners will change.

As the result of property reassessment late in 2008, the average Addington Highlands property received an increase in value of 10.34% to be applied to 2009 taxes. (Property values actually went up about 40% on average, but the increase is being phased in over four years.)

The upshot is that Addington Highlands ratepayers whose property values are up less than 10.34% will likely pay less tax this year than they did last year, and properties that went up more than 10.34% will pay more than they paid last year.

The trend is for waterfront properties, which have jumped in value over the past ten years, to shoulder a higher and higher share of the municipal tax burden.

Asking for infrastructure grants – Addington Highlands Council decided that when it comes to federal infrastructure grants, there is no sense in being shy. They approved requests for $1.5 million for a rebuild of the Matawatchan Road, $125,000 for the Denbigh garage, and $500,000 for the Northbrook Fire Hall from the recently announced Infrastructure Stimulus Fund. They also applied to the BUILD Canada fund for the Matawatchan Road rebuild.

If successful, there will be local costs to match the federal portion to be taken from township reserve funds, which will need to be replenished.

Back to HomeFeature Article - February 5, 2009 Frontenac County CouncilBy Jeff Green

County levy increase stands at 4% as budget nears completion.

At the first of two scheduled budget meetings, members of Frontenac County Council worked their way through a portion of the 2009 County budget, which would entail a 4% increase in the County portion of municipal taxes if passed in its current form.

Of that increase, roughly half is due to increased operating costs at the County. The rest comes from a projected decrease in interest earnings from County investments due to a collapse in the global investment climate.

Council deferred debate on the matter of non-union salaries, which at this point are slated to rise by 3% in 2009.

In a report prepared by County staff, the non-unionised pay rates in nearby Counties were listed. Four of them have approved their budgets for 2009, and three of them have approved 3% raises, and the fourth has approved a 2% raise.

County Councillors also deferred discussion of their own salaries until the non-unionised pay rates are finalised.

The budget includes the purchase of a Simulator for the Frontenac Land Ambulance Service. The new piece of equipment will allow paramedics to prepare for the kinds of emergencies that come about rarely in the normal operation of their duties, but require specialised skills. The cost to County ratepayers for the Simulator ($40,000) will be covered by a reserve fund and will not affect the 2009 budget.

The Fairmount Home budget, includes a hefty increase in cost, 13% or $95,000 to County taxpayers.

Mayor Jim Vanden Hoek asked Fairmount Home Administrator Julie Shilllington whether any of the recommendations from a recent study of the long term care facility had been implemented and were reflected in the budget.

Shillington said she would have something for County Council on that in March, but this will only be reflected in future years' budgets.

Final budget meeting will take place on February 11.

Pine Meadow left out again

It was a shortened version of a debate they held last year, with the same result.

On January 28th the four Frontenac County Mayors considered a request from North Frontenac Mayor Ron Maguire to support a renovation project at the Pine Meadow Nursing Home in Northbrook.

The request was for $250,000 over ten years towards the project, which is the same amount that the County of Lennox and Addington (L&A) committed in 2008. Although Pine Meadow is located in L&A, a report last year showed that 60% of its clientele come from Frontenac County.

“This is a very sensitive issue in the north half of Frontenac County,” Maguire said. It is hurtful that residents from NF are throwing a lot of taxpayers money at Fairmont Home, which serves the south part of Frontenac well, and the city of Kingston and others. It seems to me it is only fair, symbolic and fair, that the people who live in the north half of the county are taken seriously and supported by the county, I would like to show that symbolic commitment by including $25,000 per year for 10 years. It is the cost of a photocopier.”

Frontenac Island Mayor Jim Vanden Hoek said he “thinks it is fair to have a discussion in the Frontenacs about support for assisted living but in a broader context than just looking at supporting another long term care facility.”

Warden Janet Gutowski, who supported Ron Maguire's request last year, said “my thinking is along the lines of Mayor Vanden Hoek. “$250,000 is a substantial amount of money.”

Fairmont Home, which is owned by Frontenac County, receives municipal support from the County and the City of Kingston.

The draft 2009 Frontenac County budget includes a contribution of $820,000 in property tax dollars to the Fairmount Home.

A study of the operations of Fairmont Home, completed late last year, praised the level of care at the facility but questioned the high cost of running it.

By provincial regulation, Ontario municipalities are required to own or support at least one municipally run long term care facility. Municipal homes are funded through standardised provincial grants, patient fees, and municipal dollars.

Pine Meadow Home is a non-municipal home. It is owned and operated by Land O'Lakes Community Services, a not-for profit charitable corporation, and is funded entirely through standardised provincial grants and patient fees.

Neither facility is located within the boundaries of Frontenac County.

CF budget balloons: staff asked to take some of the air out

Central Frontenac Council invited staff from its various departments and representatives from its recreation committees to bring forward their wish lists to the 2010 budget process, and they have spent a number of meetings having the wish lists explained to them.

At the end of their Committee of the Whole meeting late on Tuesday afternoon, March 23, the cozy atmosphere of the 2010 budget process took a decided turn when Treasurer Judy Gray presented Council with a preliminary breakdown of where the budget stands.

In 2009, the township collected $4.378 million from Central Frontenac ratepayers for their own operations, and as it stood on Tuesday afternoon, they were poised to levy $5.935 million from those same ratepayers in 2010, an increase of almost $1.6 million, or 35.6%.

Recognising that this kind of increase was not going to fly, Township CAO John Duchene said he had already talked to Judy Gray and Public works Manager Mike Richardson about the numbers “and we do feel we can find some significant savings. We may have to approach things a little differently in order to do this. I will be approaching other department heads in the coming days. We will get information to you about where we are in advance of our budget meeting on April 13.”

Duchene also pointed out that at least one of the factors leading to the shortfall was a decrease of $200,000 in a transfer from the Province of Ontario to the township under the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund.

Councilor Gary Smith, who was chairing the Committee of the Whole meeting when the budget discussion was taking place, asked Council if there was a number they would like staff to be working towards.

After consideration Council decided to ask staff to find savings or alternative revenue sources (presumably by taking money from township reserve funds) to cut the tax levy increase by over $1 million from the current budget.

Even if the township can find these savings, Central Frontenac ratepayers will still be faced with an increase of about 11.5% in the taxes they pay for local services.

However, the township portion of the overall municipal tax bill is about 50%, with education and county taxes making up the other 50%. The levies for both education and county taxes are not going up this year, so the overall impact of an 11.5% increase in township taxes would be around a 6% increase on the overall municipal levy.

But $1 million must still be found to make that happen.

Councilor Norm Guntensperger warned against cutting the budget too much. “Personally I hear more from people when we don’t deliver the services they want, particularly when it comes to roads. I don’t think we should be increasing what we do, but I don’t want to see any cuts to the services we do offer,” he said.

Nonetheless, Guntensperger did support the call for a $1 million cut to the levy.

As Tuesday’s Committee of the Whole meeting was about to adjourn, Councilor Frances Smith said, “I just want to point out that I find this a painful way to do budgeting. Asking everyone to come up with wish lists and then asking them to cut them back, and then having to cut them back ourselves just makes it that much harder. It would be better in the future for us to set some targets in advance, and to work from there.” 

 

 

Cataraqui Trail Success Story

Councilor Del Stowe and Pat McNamee made a brief presentation acknowledging the 10th anniversary of the 108 km Cataraqui Trail, which follows an abandoned CNR track from Strathcona (near Napanee) to Smiths Falls. They described the trail as a highly successful project. It is used year-round by hikers, cyclists, horseback riders, skiers and snowmobile riders. It has become a part of the Sydenham triathlon, and will be the site of a bike and hike event on September 25 and a cavalcade of colour wagon ride on October 14. There are plans to develop a rest area near Harrowsmith where the trail meets the K&P trail going north from Kingston. Del Stowe acknowledged the many contributions of volunteers, committees, clubs and municipalities in clearing brush, maintaining and repairing culverts and bridges, spreading gravel, and putting up signs and fences. He noted that 40% of the trail passes through South Frontenac, and thanked the township and its roads department for their ongoing support.

Septic Pollution Reduction Committee

Council agreed to accept the committee’s recommendation to run the septic re-inspection project for 2010 at a cost of $13,000 and at a target level of 100 to 200 inspections. This year’s subject lakes will be: Cronk Lake, Little John’s Sister Lake, Fourteen Island Lake, and the islands in Bob’s and Devil lakes.

Land for High School Expansion

Recently, the Limestone District School Board has approached the county to purchase the property at the corner of Mill Street and Rutledge Road, as part of the planned expansion of Sydenham High School. The county bought this land in 1975, but because it had not been intended for road widening, it was not transferred to the township at amalgamation along with the rest of the county roads system. The county will sell the property to the school board, but only with South Frontenac’s permission. Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth has met with the board officials, and reported that the building design is not completed, but the board has agreed to respect the township’s site plan control process in addition to the usual building permit requirements. Deputy Mayor Vandewal said he thought a site plan would be important, to ensure good sightlines were maintained at a dangerous corner.

Councilor Hicks suggested it should be more than a verbal agreement. Council added an amendment requiring a site plan agreement, then approved the sale.

Municipal Bridge Infrastructure Data Collection

Public Works Manager Segsworth recommended the township apply for the provincially available $5,000 matching funding to help finance the (provincially required) collection of data on the condition of municipal bridge structures. Council agreed.

CAO One-Year Performance Review

Deputy Mayor Vandewal said he was developing a small survey to collect input from staff, which would be taken into account when Council prepared the CAO’s performance review. Councilor Bill Robinson objected strenuously: “Why all this BS? This is a whole new procedure, we’ve never done it before… it brings in a lot of back and forth, and people who shouldn’t be in it.” Mayor Gary Davison defended the process, saying that the staff and department heads, who work daily with the CAO, are best equipped to comment on strengths and weaknesses. Council would still have the final say. Councilors Alan McPhail and David Hahn agreed. Councilor Robinson remained opposed to the change.

(Councilor Fillion was absent from the meeting.)

 

In April, Ken Hook, manager of the Land o’Lakes Tourist Association, wrote a letter to council about waste pickup, canteen roof repairs and periodic inspection of the Northbrook Skate Park. Council agreed with Hook that the skate park should be inspected regularly for dangerous things such as broken glass, etc., but had difficulty deciding whom it could delegate to do the work. The matter was left with Roads Superintendent Royce Rosenblath, who will report back to council with a recommendation.The township’s application for a subsidy to complete a Municipal DataWorks project has been approved. The township will receive 50% of expenditures up to $5000, for a maximum of $2500. The project is a bridge inspection and roads needs study, and Jewell Engineering has quoted $8000 for the study. Council discussed getting another quote, but it was felt that since Jewell Engineering already is familiar with the township’s bridges and roads, as it has completed many such projects for the township, another company would be more expensive as it would have to start from scratch. Council appointed Jewell Engineering to carry out the DataWorks project.

Some landowners on the un-maintained portion of Clark Line Road approached Deputy Reeve Helen Yanch to ask for a load of gravel and the installation of a culvert. Royce Rosenblath reminded council that the same request was brought to council last year but was refused.Yanch asked how much it would cost to fulfill the request and Rosenblath estimated it would be about $500. The other councilors brought up the objection that acceding to this request would set a precedent for other un-maintained roads. Yanch said that for her the main consideration was that the landowners should have access to their properties, and she brought forward a motion to provide the culvert and gravel for the Clark Line landowners. However, none of the other councilors would second the motion so it was dropped.Council then continued to discuss the township’s lack of a policy for its many un-maintained roads, and decided to ask the engineers who will be doing the roads needs study for a recommendation.It was also suggested that the township could do spot improvements under an agreement for a fee.Royce Rosenblath also said that the township does have used culverts and could give the landowners one that is in good shape. Yanch said that would “show them that we are trying to do what we can.”

The 2010 tax by-law was adopted.

A by-law to authorize voting by telephone/internet for the upcoming municipal elections was deferred to the next meeting as Clerk Jack Pauhl said he is still waiting for an agreement to arrive. 

Editorial by Jeff Green

Just over two years ago, on April 24, 2008, to be exact, the Frontenac News published an article about a cigarette store. The store was selling bags of 200 tax- and duty-free cigarettes for a fraction of the commercial price. The Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation had opened the store on Highway 7, across from Silver Lake Provincial Park.

The article quoted Shabot Obaadjiwan Chief Doreen Davis as saying that she had met with federal and provincial authorities in January of 2008, and they had no problem with the store being open.

In the same article, RCMP spokesperson Walter Veenstra denied that the meeting had ever taken place, and said, “No one can sell cigarettes in contravention of the excise act. The rules are the same for everyone, even on reserves”. However, Veenstra also said the RCMP was not likely to investigate the smoke shop to find out if taxes were being paid. “The rules are the same, as I said; however, it’s not the mandate of the RCMP to do inspections of stores. Most of our activities deal with the transportation of cigarettes.”

Two years later the cigarette shop at Silver Lake is still open, and a second one, just west of Arden, has also been opened. The Shabot Obaadjiwan also have their offices at that second location.

At the corner of Highway 7 and Road 38 there are two service centers. Both are owned by people who do not claim any Aboriginal heritage and both sell brand name cigarettes at the market price.

If bags of tax-free cigarettes were being sold at either of those stores, the owners would face legal consequences. Of that there can be no doubt.

Everyone knows that there is a double standard at play here. Everyone knows that the law is not being applied in the same way. The general attitude is to ignore it and carry on as if it isn’t happening, even though we all know it contravenes one of the basic tenets of our society, equality before the law.

I do not want to linger on the cigarette issue here, but I should point out that the Algonquins make an argument in support of their decision to sell cut-rate cigarettes. They say that federal and provincial governments are happy to make a profit by taxing cigarette sales throughout the country, so why shouldn’t Algonquins make a profit within Algonquin territory?

Doreen Davis is also a key player in the Algonquin Land Claim process, and the opening of the cigarette stores, in addition to generating revenue, amounted to an assertion of her own community’s rights within the context of that land claim.

It is by no means far-fetched to surmise that the federal and provincial governments are turning a blind eye to the cigarette stores because they do not want to jeopardize the land claim.

In this context, in addition to persistent concerns about hunting and fishing rules, under which Algonquin and non-Algonquins are subject to different sets of rules, the public has every reason to be concerned about what is or is not being negotiated at the land claim table.

There are lots of issues to be explored when discussing any land claim, and this one has some particular issues of its own, particularly because of the sheer amount of land that is encompassed by the claim and because of the inclusion of off-reserve communities that exist outside of the Canadian Indian Act.

These communities are not physical communities, like villages or towns; they are more akin to ethnic communities.

But the exploration of these complex issues is being carried out only by a select few, and the general public can only guess about what is being discussed.

Everyone who is at the negotiation table must adhere to a confidentiality agreement, which is similar to the kind of agreements for media blackouts that occur during labour contract negotiations. But labour contracts negotiations take hours or days to resolve, while land claims take years and years.

Even though information about the negotiations is scarce, there are more and more indications that after 20 years the land claim process is finally on track to produce an agreement in principle within the next year.

Negotiators for the federal and provincial governments have now been holding more frequent meetings with municipal officials and with stakeholder groups such as tourist association and hunting group representatives to apprise them of the progress that has been made during negotiations.

But the public is not invited to these meetings, and people who attend these meetings are asked not to share information with the public by talking to the press.

A meeting will be occurring next Monday that is particularly troubling.

Councilors from all four Frontenac County townships have been invited to receive an update from federal and provincial negotiators. This meeting is being called a private information session, and it was organized by county staff on behalf of the land claim negotiators.

According to Frontenac County Chief Administrative Officer Liz Savill there will be no action taken by the County or any of the townships at the meeting. According the Ontario Municipal Act, however, elected municipal officials are not supposed to meet in private except to discuss specific legal or property matters. There has been no announcement, not even a notice on a township or county website, about this information session.

It might be a quibble, but in my view this meeting places an unfair burden on municipal councilors. How can they represent voters if they cannot share information with those same voters?

Just because next Monday’s meeting will be private, it would be wrong to assume that municipal politicians will be brought up to speed about the meat of the negotiations. They may receive some information that is not available to the public, but not likely any details. I have talked, off the record, to people who have attended some of the other meetings, and they said that not much of substance was revealed.

I believe these meetings have only been closed to the public because of the collective obsession with controlling information that has characterized the current federal and provincial governments, but that might just be my own paranoid view.

To be clear, I support the Algonquin Land Claim in principle. I see the resolution as perhaps the best last hope that Algonquin culture and knowledge can be salvaged for future generations in eastern Ontario, and I think it will bring economic benefits to the region. Opportunity to make a land claim work should be seriously explored by everyone involved.

But there is a serious concern that people at the table could come up with deals that confer benefits, in terms of hunting rights, commercial advantages and other areas, in ways that would be objectionable and perhaps unfair to the general public. There are concerns that it will create different rights for different people, as is the case with the cigarette stores.

Instead of fostering reconciliation the land claim could create divisions in our communities, and the secrecy that has surrounded the process thus far will not make it any easier to sell the eventual deal to the general public.

It is worth noting that several Algonquin communities are opposed to the land claim process, on a variety of grounds, and one of those is the closed nature of the process.

For the record, all public information about the state of the negotiations is posted at aboriginalaffairs.gov.on.ca/english/negotiate/algonquin/algonquin.asp. It’s probably easier to find by using Google. Just put Algonquin Land Claim in the search bar. It’s the first site that comes up.