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Feature Article - December 20, 2007 Creating Central & North Frontenac Local Food Network By Carol PepperHave you been waiting for an opportunity to get involved with a Local Food Network? Do you grow food or create other essential products for sale in the Central and North Frontenac Townships area?
Please join us to explore this new project on Tuesday January 8 at 3:00 pm at the North Frontenac Telephone Office (in the lower level). Over the last few months there has been an initiative called "Engaging People in Building Inclusive Communities". At the last meeting of this group it was decided that the project we would consider undertaking is one that will connect our area in terms of finding out who the food producers are and where we can purchase a variety of local goods. The idea of creating a local directory of this kind would be very helpful to all the residents and visitors to our area. As you may know there is already a well organized initiative similar to this in the areas south and east of us. We need your help in accomplishing this.
As it turns out people all around the world are turning to local producers to gain control of their food supply, improve the quality of their food. Global Warming is upon us. The likelihood of getting the giants of industry to make significant changes to their mode of operation is slim to not at all. We are told that carbon monoxide emissions are fueling Global Warming. How are we to help in that respect? How are we to help in reducing emissions? Some have suggested that shopping locally would be part of the answer, along with all the fringe benefits this practice would promote (like good fresh food minus all the nastier aspects of food grown through typical agribusiness). The problem is not knowing who the producers are and where we can go to access their goods.
We are proposing to discover who these producers are and where we can go to access their goods. Ultimately local farmers’ markets would prosper and eventually be found in more communities to further reduce on distances travelled. At this point there is the suggestion that the directory could include quite a range of products. Now is the time. Join us to share ideas about this exciting project and the possibilities that it presents us.
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Editorial - December 20, 2007 Christmas: A rose by any name by Jule Koch BrisonFor the last few centuries, Christmas was the highlight of the year in Canada, and “Merry Christmas” so common a greeting that no one thought anything about it.
But then recently people started to clue into the fact that the root words of Christmas are “Christ” and “Mass”.
Well, what was a secular society to do? No one had any intention of getting rid of the holiday itself. Perhaps they could use an alternate greeting, one that would get the religion out of it and leave the fun and gain.
So they turned to “Happy Holidays”.
Sad to say, it’s close but no cigar. People haven’t been as fast to realize that the root words of “holiday” are “holy” and “day”. No one seems to have yet pointed out to the good government of Canada that when they instructed their employees to stop wishing people a “Merry Christmas” because of its religious meaning, they in fact told them to wish people “Happy Holy Days” instead.
Talk about out of the frying pan into the fire. Well then, perhaps people could use “Season’s Greetings”.
Of course, there are four of them: spring, summer, fall - and then there’s winter, with which we became more intimately re-acquainted last weekend than we’d like.
If any season were to elicit spontaneous, happy greetings, surely it would be spring. Those first balmy days of April bring smiles to everyone’s faces, even the grouchiest among us.
But it’s strange that no one says “Season’s Greetings” at the beginning of spring, summer, fall or winter. Come to think of it, no one says it at Easter, on Victoria Day, on Canada Day, at Halloween, or at Thanksgiving either.
So “Season’s Greetings” must refer to nothing else but the Christmas Season. The word “Christmas” is implicit in the greeting.
So there we have it.
Christmas by any other name is still as sweet.
To our advertisers, readers, and volunteers, without whom this paper would not exist, we give heartfelt thanks for all your support in 2007, and we wish everyone Merry Christmas, Happy Holy Days, and yes, (Christmas) Season’s Greetings.
And may 2008 be the best year ever for all of us.
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Christmas Edition - December 20, 2007 Survive the Holidays: Fire Safety Norman Mills,Fire Prevention Officer, North Frontenac TownshipWhile the holiday season can be one of the most festive times of the year, it also can be one of the deadliest. Already, eight people have died in fires in Ontario since November 1, 2007. The fact that these fires occurred in a number of cities across the province shows that fires can happen anywhere, at anytime. You need to be prepared to protect your family and home.
It's the law in Ontario to have working smoke alarms on every storey and outside all sleeping areas in your home. Installing and maintaining working smoke alarms can provide you with the early warning you need to escape a fire. Failure to comply with the smoke alarm law can result in a ticket for $235 or a fine of up to $100,000.
But the best way to protect your family and home from fire is to prevent one from starting in the first place. The most common causes of home fires during the holidays are candles and careless cooking- Alcohol is often a contributing factor.
Some key tips to prevent these fires:
Remember to always place lit candles out of reach of children and pets, where they can't be knocked over, and away from anything that can burn such as holiday decorations. Candles should be covered by glass chimneys and kept out of bedrooms. Always snuff out candles before leaving the room or going to bed.
The most common type of cooking fire is cooking left unattended on the stove. Make sure you always stay in the kitchen when cooking, especially when cooking with oil or at high temperatures. Keep a lid by the stove so that if a fire does start, you can slide the lid over the pot to extinguish the fire. Keep combustible materials like plastic spoons and tea towels away from the stove.
Many fire deaths are caused by people attempting to cook or smoke while under the influence of alcohol. Don't let this happen in your home. Keep a close eye on drinkers and install working smoke alarms on every storey of your home.
Fire and smoke spread so quickly you may have as little as 60 seconds to escape if a fire does start in your home. Make sure everyone in your home knows exactly what to do if the smoke alarms sound. Develop and practice a home fire escape plan with your entire family. Your escape plan should include who will help the very young, older adults or anyone else who may require assistance.
The North Frontenac Township Fire Department knows all too well how quickly celebrations can turn to tragedies when you forget to include fire safety in your holiday plans. Consider these simple tips to ensure your family has a safe and happy holiday.
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Feature Article - November 29, 2007Hillier Compains About Water Source Appointeesby Jeff Green
In a media release MPP Randy Hiller said he is “shocked” that the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) has snubbed two “democratically elected candidates” to the Mississippi Source Water Protection Committee.“The actions of the RVCA completely disregard the province’s and this country’s democratic process,” Hillier charged.
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) and the Ontario Farm Environment Coalition (OFEC) held their own election last August and chose two people, Merle Bowes and Terry Hale, both members of the Ontario Landowners Association.
However, according to Mark Burnham, the Chair of the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority, the election of members by an outside group, such as the OFA, is not, and has never been part of the selection process for the Source Water Protection Committee.
“Groups were invited to nominate people, and people were also invited to come forward themselves. We then went through a process to select the members of the committee. This was clear from the start,” Burnham told the News.
The selection process and the selection criteria are posted on the Mississippi-Rideau Source Protection Region website. Under the heading “How to apply to be a member”, applicants are asked to send in a resume, a covering letter, and to fill out a downloadable application form.
Two spots on the 15-member board were reserved for the agricultural sector, and only one of the two men chosen in the OFA’s election sent in the application form, according to Mark Burnham.
“Of five applicants for the two agriculture positions, three people were interviewed, including Terry Hale. In the end, the other two were chosen,” said Burnham
The agricultural representatives on the Source Water Protection Committee are Peter McLaren and Richard Fraser.
Editorial_07-46
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Editorial - November 22, 2007 Sustainability, Integration, Silos?Lets Call the Whole Thing Off. by Jeff GreenAt the recent food summit held at St. Lawrence College in Kingston, there was a lot of talk about sustainable agriculture. One of the presenters at a workshop took exception to the word sustainable. She described it as a word that is so broad that it doesn't mean anything, and she used an example. "What if someone described their marriage as 'sustainable'" she asked. “If all someone could say of a marriage is that it is sustainable, it probably isn't.”
Sustainable is used on both sides of many debates. Proponents of nuclear power argue it is a “sustainable” form of energy production because the power plants do not produce green house gas emissions. Opponents of nuclear power say it is “unsustainable” because of the amounts of greenhouse gases that are burned in building the plants, mining and processing uranium, etc.
We are being asked by the federal and provincial governments to develop sustainable communities, integrated sustainable communities. “Integrated”, I suppose, is meant to be the opposite of “isolated” – sustainable, as opposed to unsustainable. Our health care system requires a dose of integration as well, that's why we have a "Health Integration Network" in Ontario as opposed to a "Health Isolation Network"
The goal of community integration and of health integration is to make sure that people working in health care and local government don't get stuck in “silos”, at least that's what we have been told.
Some of us didn't know that people were stuck in “silos”, but that's only because the silos are not real, they are metaphorical silos. Silos refer to systems that don't look out around them, but are only concerned with their own internal workings. This could be a township that isn’t sufficiently integrated with neighbouring townships, or a doctor's office that doesn't work well with other doctors or the local hospital, a hospital that doesn't work with nursing homes, etc.
Silos don't integrate, and that makes them bad. Integration leads to sustainability, which is good.
With a Liberal government now entrenched in Toronto, anyone who depends on provincial funding for anything at all, certainly knows by now that they'd best get with the program and demonstrate their ability to integrate, or at least talk about integration. Otherwise they will likely have trouble sustaining funding from the province.
The funny thing is that some of the provincial ministries are prime examples of the “silo” mentality. In rural Ontario we often deal with the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Mines and Northern Development, the quasi-governmental Conservation Authorities and the Ontario Provincial Police. None of these ministries or agencies seem to be on speaking terms with each other, and the public often doesn’t know where the authority of one begins and another ends.
They are classic silo-like, non-integrated, unsustainable entities.
But in this part of the world they are the government. The people who came up with the “integration” and “sustainability” mantras are also the government. Maybe they should focus on cleaning their own house.
Letters_07-46
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Letters - November 22, 2007Letters
November1Sydenham Water Problem Continues, Bob ForbesOperation Christmas Child, Mary HowesSydenham Water Problem ContinuesOur local newspapers have done an excellent job of reporting the current problem of high levels of THMs (trihalomethanes) in the treated water from the controversial water plant in Sydenham. Both CAO Burns and a spokesperson from the MOE were reported as saying that the THM problem is associated with low water usage by the hamlet. This raises a number of questions that should be of concern to the residents of Sydenham.
If the organic matter in the lake water were removed effectively during the treatment process, then THM’s would not be forming regardless of how much water is or is not being used. So why not solve the problem at the source – in the water plant?
Is it reasonable to expect residents to use more water that doesn’t meet provincial standards as a means to compensate for an ineffective water treatment process?
Considering that 92% of the people lobbied against this water plant, is it reasonable to expect them now to be enthusiastic about using more water?
We paid almost $8 million, and continue to pay monthly costs, for a water plant that still can’t produce water that meets provincial standards. Who is being held accountable for this? Didn’t the consulting engineers design the plant for the quality of the lake water and its seasonal variations? What has gone so wrong? Has South Frontenac Township investigated this, and if so why haven’t they told the people? Surely the people of Sydenham will not have to pay additional costs to correct a brand new system.
Finally, after 16 months, the press informed the people of the THM problem, not the township. Lack of communication from the township seems to be an ongoing issue with this water system. Will our community have to continue to rely on the papers quoting Utilities Kingston or the Health Unit or the MOE to be informed about the quality of our water?
It now appears that the current THM problem is not a major crisis, but considering the consistent way issues with the water plant have been handled, we may still have one in our administration.
Bob Forbes, Sydenham
Operation Christmas ChildI wish to commend the staff of St. James Catholic School for involving their students in Operation Christmas Child. It is encouraging to know that one board is concerned that their students are involved with children in other parts of the world who are less fortunate than they are.
I was pleased to see the photograph on the front page of the News. Please give us more coverage of items concerning our young people on your front page.
I only saw one small picture of the Joe Goodfellow Run, which involved several hundred students from 14 schools.
Mary Howes
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Letters - November 15, 2007Letters
November1Rural Visions Dragon, Beth FreelandSmart Regulation, Lynn ShwadchuckRe: The Real Issues about Uranium Mining, Carole PepperTrue Patriot Love, Carol PealowRuaral Visions DragonSometimes staff working with seniors, the disabled, or low-income households feel unappreciated. Sometimes they question whether they really are making a difference or if anybody even notices what they do. And sometimes a community member comes forward and lets them know that the community is a better place because of them.
South Frontenac parade watchers in Sydenham on November 24 and Harrowsmith on December 1 will see the pictured Rural VISIONS Centre/CFCSC float. Pictured with the float is Dave Linton, long time volunteer with the agency, who took the lead on its creation and inspired staff with the following letter:
“I offer you an explanation of how you created your Christmas float. Upon several efforts of construction it finally came to me that this dragon should reflect your collective character as an organization. You deal with the personal dragons of citizens in need; example, dragons of apprehension, fear, poverty, etc. Personal dragons can be hurtful so I gave this dragon claws and teeth. Your organization is flexible and accommodating so this dragon has movement. You must maintain a sense of humour; thus, the humorous signs. Tremendous energy is required of you; thus the nostril of flames. You extend kindness and display passion for what you do; thus the rose. You balance your time between work, fundraising events and family (sometimes called “juggling”); the structure of the dragon is weighted and balanced. You have tenacity and fierce determination to maintain your organization as a viable entity in the community; thus the fierce overall look of this creature. There are surely times for each of you when the energy tank is running on empty and things are not going well; thus the eyes of the dragon looking upward searching for inspiration and answers. Lastly, you provide enlightenment and hope for many citizens; thus the candle and the quote which volunteers and staff surely believe: “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness”.
Dave Linton went further and suggested that staff dress as princesses. “If you dress up as royalty, that would be very appropriate. You are our communities’ loyal and royal family.”
Please join Mr. Linton and me in recognizing the incomparable difference that the Rural VISIONS Centre staff makes in South Frontenac Township.
Beth Freeland, CFCSC Executive Director,Rural VISIONS Centre
Smart RegulationI've been following your thorough coverage of the mine occupation. What seems to keep coming up is a sense of astonishment at the government's lack of interest in mediating between the corporation and the environmental and aboriginal groups. I've just read an article in November Walrus entitled "Hands Off: Is smart regulation dumb for Canada's wilderness areas?" The concept of smart regulation came out of Australia in 1998 and was first adopted by the Chrien Liberals. It "encourages interested groups – conservationists, corporations, and representatives of indigenous populations – to do the hard bargaining in the absence of parties with executive power and to then submit their resolutions to politicians." The authors highlight disputes over logging of the Great Bear and gas extraction in the Mackenzie region. "David Boyd, author of Unnatural Law: Rethinking Canadian Law and Policy, a 2003 scholarly critique of Canadian environmental laws, says that smart regulation offers politicians the means to turn environmental laws into dead letters." The article is wrapped up on this discouraging note: "But governments determined to promote northern industrialization are sticking with smart regulation strategies – and leaving wilderness initiatives in the hands of activist groups, First Nations, and resource companies, in the belief that this approach will expedite development."
What I take from this article is that if we think residents' responsibility in preventing the Frontenacs from becoming another Elliott Lake ends at the ballot box, we're dreaming.
Lynn Shwadchuck
Re: Real Issue is Mining Rights on Private LandsRichard Reid wrote in the November 8 issue about the concerns with regard to the staking of private land. There are very serious, but they are also just the beginning of the worries for our communities if uranium exploration and mining go ahead.
There was a talk last week in Carleton place given by Dr. Gordon Edwards of the Canadian Centre for Nuclear Responsibility. He is a well respected authority on the topic of uranium. Here’s a summary of what he had to say:
Uranium has many other products that are formed as it breaks down after being taken from the ground and exposed to air and water, both surface and underground. Radioactivity from waste piles, called “tailings” and radon gas which is released are linked to cancer and other serious or fatal diseases. It can take 15 to 20 years to show up. Children are especially at risk.
Contrary to what governments and mining companies may say, there is no safe level of exposure to radioactivity
Uranium exploration (most government and industry doesn’t say this) can be dangerous to the environment and our health if exploratory holes are drilled deep into the ground and left unfilled.
Uranium waste is radioactive for a very long time (Hundreds of thousands of years)
“Tailings” are stored under water, or clay, and are dammed to try to stop them from letting off these dangerous particles. Problem: dams fail. The mining company is long gone with its profits after 10 to 15 years, leaving this all behind. Can we leave this to the coming generations to maintain and pay for forever? How many people will get sick? How will we live when the land, air, and rivers are poisoned?
I suggest that we all learn as much as possible. Write to your elected representatives about it. For more information go to www.ccamu.ca .
Carol Pepper
Patriot LoveI spent every summer with my family north of Havelock, Ontario. My parents owned a small fishing camp. I loved the freedom of being at the lake. No phone, no television, just the beauty that is the Canadian wilderness. I couldn’t wait for the summer to come. I was born in New York State, but my heart belonged to Canada. After moving to Ohio as an adult, I vacationed every chance I could in the country I felt was home. The friendly people and amazing wilderness kept me wanting to make this land my own. After four long years of going through the process of immigration I moved to the land of my heart, Canada. Being a landed immigrant I was able to do everything that a Canadian citizen could do except vote and run in an election. I studied for a month wanting to learn all I could about Canada. I took the citizenship test and was sworn in as a new Canadian. The ceremony was touching and emotional. I am proud to be a Canadian.
I got a call from a friend in October. He asked if I wanted to work the upcoming election. Well, Andy had asked me before to be on a committee or two. So of course I asked what would I have to do? He said I would have to go to a training day and work the day of the election. I said, “Sure, put me down.” Thinking there had to be more to it than that.
October 10th came. I had my training under my belt and showed up bright and early to experience the day. Often throughout the day I thought…here I am, a new Canadian, sworn in May 17, 2007 and not only did I have the opportunity for the first time as a Canadian to vote but being able to work the election as well. What an honour, the right to vote is important to me. There were the expected bumps to start the day. Wanting to do a good job I was nervous. The others working the poll made things smooth out quickly. I had not met many of the others that worked that day. I wondered if they felt the same feelings as I did, the pride in being Canadian, the right and responsibility of each and every Canadian to vote.
People looking to be very young and those not so young came and went, each placing their vote. Some laughed, others did not but each wanted their voice to be heard. That’s why we were all there of course. I couldn’t help but think of those words I had read in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an election. I feel lucky to have this right, many in other countries do not.
Nearing the end of the day as the voters slowed, we started to prepare to close the poll. With five minutes to spare a man came in. He wasn’t sure if he had the proper documentation and said, “I know it’s late but I just want to vote. If you let me vote, I will sing O Canada.” It had been a long day, 13 hours to that point and I was getting tired. Laughingly I said I would love to hear that. We all went about closing our polling stations. The man was able to place his vote on time, stood up and began to sing O Canada. I stopped in my tracks, amazed, almost forgetting his promise to sing if he could only place his vote. I quickly stood up and began to sing along, as did every other person working the polling station that night. As tears welled up in my eyes, I thought what a privilege to be in the same room with these patriotic men and women.
I don’t know who that man is. Even if I saw him on the street I couldn’t pick him out. I want to say Thank you for making this already amazing milestone in my life (becoming a Canadian citizen, voting and working in my first election) even more memorable. It’s people like you, who just want to vote, that make Canada the great country it is. That is True Patriot Love in my eyes.
Carol Pealow
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Feature Article - November 15, 2007Local Food Summitby Roseanna Redmond
The culmination of theNational Farmers Union'syear-long initiative Food Down the Road: Toward a Sustainable Local Food System for Kingston and Countryside, offered a series of workshops at St. Lawrence College on Saturday November 3.The workshop Crude Awakening-Farming and Food in the Face of Peak Oil was presented by local Howe Island farmer and teacher Rick Munroe. He acknowledged that he does not teach the concept of " Peak Oil" in his elementary classes for fear of scaring his students. This admission stoked the curiosity of the audience, and the large crowd gave farmer Munroe their concentrated attention. Illustrated by a series of graphs and diagrams, Munroe's lecture laid out the stunning story of how one barrel of oil represents 25,000hours ofhuman labour (think horsepower). An oil peak means a point at which world stocks of oil begin to decline permanently and very rapidly, the point at which there is no more growth in production, and stocks start to plummet. This Peak is expected around the year 2010 (right around the corner), at which point the price of a barrel of oil will skyrocket. There is widespread acknowledgement (even by the U.S. defence department), that Hubbert's Peak will indeed be a reality in the verynear future. What does this mean for our food supply? We know thatsupermarket food here in Ontario has travelled on average 2000 miles to get to our plates, so how will we be able to feed ourselves if the price of transport becomes prohibitive? Many fertilizers and pesticides are derived from natural gas and petroleum, (used especially by corporate farming operations). This kind of farming will become obsolete when oil and gas are not readily available. According to Munroe, it behoves us to develop local small organic farms that do not depend heavily on petroleum products.
Another interesting workshopwas Who are Tomorrow's Farmers? Young local farmer Emily Dowling told of her adventures as a C.S.A. participant. Community Shared Agriculture is a new trend in smaller farm operations.Consumers pay up front for weekly food boxes at the start of the growing season, and they share in the risk of a possible poor harvest, or in the benefits of an abundant season with the farmer. Consumers can also share in work bees at harvest time and celebrations when crops are plentiful. During her first year of operation Dowling had many anxieties over possible crop failures, but in the end her season was a glowing success, and the support of her customers over some rough patches helped her to carry through. Her presentation was very moving and there were tears shed, on the podium and in the audience. Dowling's presentation was a graphic display of the very real story ofsmall-scale farming as a labour of love.
Saving Heirloom Seeds with Wolfe Island farmer Kathy Rothermal was a hands-on workshop, where the presenter distributed seeds for the participants to sort and share. We each brought home samples of heirloom seeds at the end of the day. Potentially these heirloom seeds could end up in thousands of gardensin summers to follow if all of the recipients plant, and harvest, and share as demonstrated. Ms. Rothermal carries on the tradition of the Heirloom Seed Sanctuary operated by Carol and Robert Mouck, who in collaboration with Kingston's Sisters of Providence have been developing a large cache of heirloom seeds for the benefit of humankind.Seed saving has been practised for over 10,000 years on this planet, yet in the last hundred years humanity has lost 75% of seed diversity.During the900-day siege of Leningrad, during the Second World War, even though thousands of people were dying of hunger, scientists protected the genetic pool of open-pollinated seeds. Seed saving is another labour of love, especially as practised by this remarkable group of philanthropists. Robert and Carol Mouck have managed to gather over 400 varieties of open-pollinated seed over 8 seasons of farming in Kingston. These varieties improve biodiversity and decrease the vulnerability of our food system. These seeds are adapted to our specific local climate, even as it changes, enhancing our success rates.
There are many people in our local area who are working very hard to provide us with a sustainable,healthy, local food system. They merit our support and our admiration for their incredible dedication and hard work. It was a great privilege to meet some of these courageous people at the Local Food Summit.
More information about local sustainable farming initiatives can be found at www.fooddowntheroad.ca
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Feature Article - November 8, 2007Local Food Summitby Jeff Green
At a local food summit held last weekend at St, Lawrence College, a group of food activists; farmers, food processors, academics, anti-poverty activists, and so-called eaters, met to take stock of where the burgeoning local food movement is, and where it is going.The summit featured a day of workshops on such themes as urban gardening, the future of farming, and more.
The workshop day was prefaced by a keynote speech the evening before by University of Toronto Professor Thomas Homer-Dixon, the author most recently of “The Upside of Down”. He set out the context for the summit in a talk about social systems in crisis, of which the food system is seen as a good example.
In putting Homer-Dixon's talk into context at the opening of the summit itself, David Hahn, who is one of the directors of local 316 of the National Farmer's Union, picked up on a comparison Homer-Dixon drew between different systems.
“Homer-Dixon talked about two kinds of transportation networks, highways and airports. The network of roads has thousands of what he called ‘nodes’, intersections where major highways meet, whereas there are a few major airports that are much larger nodes, where flights from all over the country intersect. This kind of system he described as brittle, because if something happens at a major airport in the United Sates, the flow of air traffic is affected throughout North America,”
An example of this kind of brittleness came up recently over infected spinach in California. The concentration of spinach production is so great in one region that when there was a problem, it impacted on the availability and price of spinach throughout the US and Canada. The solution to this situation, according to Hahnm, is the development of a decentralized food system, which is less vulnerable to disparate events around the world.
Two other speakers at the opening of the summit brought an activist perspective to the local food movement
Colleen Ross, the National Farmer's Union Women's President, gave an address that focused on food sovereignty, people’s ability to have control over what they eat, independent of the whims of a global food system that follows a corporate imperative. This is something she sees as a political struggle.
“The people at this summit should realize that what you are doing here is activism. It's a struggle, and you're part of that struggle. We can only have food sovereignty if we come together as communities. You are doing this now, bringing people together,” she said.
Debbie Field brought the perspective that comes from working for years on food issues in inner city Toronto. FoodShare has undertaken school nutrition programs, and has promoted urban agriculture in government housing projects, and a host of other initiatives over the past 25 years. Canada, in her view, is behind the United States in terms of food policy.
“At social policy level in Canada we are weak, there is nobody even to talk to. Food advocates usually start locally. Kingston needs to have a food charter, which is something Toronto has,” she said.
The Local Food Summit was an important event in “Food Down the Road”, a year long project of NFU local 316 aimed at developing a local food system in Kingston and environs. Among the accomplishments for the project are a web-based food directory, at foodowntheroad.ca, which is a convenient way for people to find locally produced food.
Although the project was funded until the end of this month, it only represents a beginning. A set of objectives is being developed, and this is what the Food Summit focused on in its final day. Fifty people worked together to provide input to a community food council, which is an ongoing group that will work on a draft food declaration and charter to be presented to the public, to farm organizations, and municipal councils.
One of the insights that David Hahn alluded to during the summit, was the fact that as the market for local food grows, the lack of local food production is more and more apparent.
There is a bit of hope on this front as well, however. Among the many people at the summit were some who are interested in getting involved in farming, and they were interested in the information being presented by those who have carved out a niche for themselves producing for local markets.
A group called Heifer International, which was founded in Arkansas and has its Canadian headquarters in Saskatchewan, is interested in a partnership in this region that will be aimed at helping people get involved in farming. This project would provide support for new farmers, including some financial support, but also a significant amount of mentoring.
Other ideas include working with St. Lawrence College to provide a portion of the food for the college from local sources.
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Feature Article - November 1, 2007Dillman Hunger Strike Reaches Day 24, with No End in Sightby Jeff Green
“I reserve the right to make a new decision every day.”
That’s how Donna Dillman describes her commitment to carry on a hunger strike to pressure the Ontario government towards calling an inquiry into the environmental impact of uranium mining.
When interviewed on Tuesday from her current home, the road allowance between Highway 509 and the Robertsville mine, Dillman said she continues to feel well, physically and spiritually, although she is prone to some dizziness when she moves suddenly, and her upper body strength is not what it normally is. Her blood pressure and pulse rate have remained constant throughout, and although she was finding it difficult adjusting to the cold about a week ago, the addition of wood stoves and other amenities have improved the situation.
She continues to subsist on a mixture of maple syrup, hot water, lemons, and cayenne pepper; to date she has gone through about 3 litres of syrup, and she also takes vegetable or fruit juice that people bring to her.
“People have been bringing an average of about 1 litre of juice each day,” she said, when interviewed from inside a trailer on the site. “But I’m not drinking any kinds of smoothies or anything like that, only liquids,” she added.
It is also important to Donna Dillman that she remain at Robertsville, rather than at her house near Lanark Village. It allows her to demonstrate her resolve at a location that has been a focal point for anti-uranium forces ever since members of the Shabot Obaadjiwaan and Ardoch Algonqun First Nations established an encampment behind the gate on June 28. The occupation effectively prevented a tenant of the mine, Frontenac Ventures Corporation, from carrying out a uranium exploration project on a 30,000-acre mining claim that is accessed from the site. A court injunction is now in place, which enjoins the First Nations to allow the company free and unfettered access to the site, and even though the First Nations have removed themselves from behind the gate, the Ardoch Algonquins still have a lock on the gate.
Negotiations aimed at setting up a mediation process continue to take place, although the issue of observing or monitoring the company’s activities on the exploration property during a 12-week mediation process remains outstanding.
Contempt of court hearings, stemming from the injunction, will start on November 14 if mediation is agreed to.
As the First Nations communities have been occupied with legal matters and mediation, the focal point at the site has shifted to Donna Dillman’s hunger strike, but she continues to receive support from the Algonquin communities.
“All along this has been a tremendous example of aboriginal and non-aboriginal peoples working together for a common cause, and that story has not been told,” Dillman said.
A few days into her hunger strike, Donna Dillman got the idea for a “Bring Grandma Home” campaign, and she began asking people to wear buttons and put up signs on their lawns with that message.
“To me it is more open-ended than a no-uranium sign. People know where they stand on that, but a “Bring Grandma Home” sign opens conversations, plus it has an emotional appeal. The fact is I’m not a camper, and I don’t like the cold, so I would like to go home.”
So, why is Donna Dillman living out in the cold, and not eating?
“I have made it clear that I don’t have a death wish, but I have said I have a death willingness, which is of concern to people who are close to me. There is a broader concern here; we have to look at what we are doing with this planet.”
She has decided to ask for an inquiry into uranium mining because an inquiry in Nova Scotia about 20 years ago led to a moratorium on uranium mining in the province that has persisted to this day. “My goal is for a moratorium in eastern Ontario, followed by a moratorium in the entire province, but an inquiry would be a start.”
Dillman has not heard anything from Premier McGuinty since starting her hunger strike, but her husband, author Mike Nickerson, told her that he met last week with Mr. McGuinty’s brother David, who is a federal MP.
“He told Mike that he has received a lot of letters about this, and his brother has received even more. So I am hopeful.”
Donna Dillman sits on the National Council of the Federal Green Party, and Party Leader Elizabeth May has expressed public support for her cause.
“Donna’s effort plays an important role in the campaign to end uranium mining and prospecting in Canada,” said Ms. May. “Her actions are indicative of the broad-based, community opposition to uranium extraction and the severe environmental and health effects posed by a uranium mine in Eastern Ontario.”
