23 January 2007
grassroots action
For those who may have missed the Waterloo 10 Jan 07 hearing of the Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform, there's still time to submit your ideas to the Assembly. Go to www.citizensassembly.gov.on.ca to read some of the 1,400 submissions archived there and then submit your own. The deadline for grassroots input into the referendum on changes to Ontario's electoral system is 15 May 2007.
You will have a chance to vote in the referendum on electoral changes during the 2007 fall provincial election. The upcoming referendum will require 60% approval + 50% ballots cast in 64 ridings by Ontario electors.
Why a referendum? The current government has come to the conclusion that our current first-past post system “isn’t working.” Local journalist Michael Truscello has outlined a list of symptoms for us:
i. ”If you’re not voting for the winner, your vote simply doesn’t count”;
ii. many voters “use their vote to keep someone else from winning” thus “voting out of fear” or strategic voting;
iii. “In our winner-takes-all system, anyone who votes for the loser in a provincial riding is essentially
wasting his or her vote because that vote does not receive any representation in the eventual
government. .. The governments we elect are therefore not representative of public opinion, and
often reward phony majorities. For example, in the last 2003 ON provincial election: 29,000 votes = Lib MP, 65,000 = Conservative, 127,000 votes = NDP*;
iv. Low voter turnout ensures that minority views will not be represented;
v. Phony majorities i.e. governments that receive less than half of the popular vote eg 03 ON election,
Liberals with 47% vote = 70% of seats.
Is there a better alternative? Truscello suggests Ontario consider a mixed member proportional model? His argument is based on the following democratic principle: "We need a form of proportional representation in this province. We should want all votes to count as equal, and we should demand that if a government sits as a majority it actually has a majority of votes.” (2)
Are there any merits in Truscello's demands and the arguments he has used to support them? Do you have any other ideas worth mentioning to the Citizen's Assembly? Do you want to learn more? Help is one mouse-click to
www.citizensassembly.gov.on.ca .
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.--Gandhi
Never doubt
that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. --Margaret Mead
that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. --Margaret Mead
* Rambling Rose has not factchecked Truscello's assertion and statistics here and must confess she would not know how to. She has posted Truscello's arguments here to encourage thought and discussion to arrive at a more meaningful, relevant democratic process.
Photos of wetland grasses and flowers in the lower Nith watershed copyright to Sandamara Images 2006.
Sources: (1) Melinda Dalton, Electoral Changes could help democracy,” The Record 11 Jan 07; (2) Michael Truscello, have your say to make voting fair, Echo 28 Dec 06 online at http://www.echoweekly.com/
Labels: politics
22 January 2007
the winds of change
po
There's a saying that a week can be a lifetime in politics -- or something like that. Well, this past week was one of those. Accompanying all that white ice and snow that have now blanketed the region, there's a lot of springtime green promises to woo the hearts and minds of Canadian voters.
The new leader of Her Majesty's Official Opposition, Stephane Dion took his message of sustainable development to the oil and gas industry in Calgary : "I will be the best partner (Alberta) ever saw from Ottawa if I become prime minister, because I am committed to help Albertans have sustainable development. If we succeed in making Fort McMurray sustainable, we will succeed everywhere in the world, because we will export our new technologies, our know-how, and we will make megatonnes of money with it.” (1) He emphasized his message with a striking metaphor: “I’m not there to kill growth, I’m there to make growth sustainable. I don’t want to kill the milk cow but I want to make sure the milk will still be good and there for our grandchildren." (2)
Within one week, the federal blue Tory government announced $2 billion worth of environmentally green packages i.e. incentives to develop renewable energy sources and grants to homeowners to retrofit homes to make them more energy efficient. Rather exciting that the opposition has become the agent of change for the current minority government. However, none of the Harper government's announcements have dealt with the Fort McMurray -Alberta oil sands production environmental issue.
Strip mining of Alberta’s oil sands in the Peace-Athabaska delta threatens water supply of Saskatchewan and NWT (quality and quantity). Currenlty 359,000,000 cubic metres of water are being used per year. In order to extract 1 cubic metre of synthetic crude oil 4.5 cu m water are required. The water becomes heavily polluted during the extraction process. Only 10% is returned to river, the remainder is stored
in huge storage ponds that are among the largest man-made structures in the world. The Sage
Foundation and World Wildlife Fund recommend a moratorium on further oilsands projects & note the oil
sands will be exhausted by 2050. (3)
So, who is this 21st century Daniel who so fearlessly would face down the Alberta oil and gas head honchos and tell them, "elect me and I will help you clean up your act?" During the televised leadership convention, RR jotted others' observations down: Stephane Dion is an intellectual, by training a political scientist; he is said to be politically fearless and personally driven. Upon becoming leader, he warned the Liberal caucus they were 1) to listen and pay attention; 2) they would have two minutes to speak with a prepared speech and no rambling will be allowed.
Paul Wells, the Maclean's journalist, tells us that "it was Dion's unshakeable faith in Canadian federalism and his skill in defending it that won him a phone call from Prime Minister Jean Chretien after the 1995 Quebec referendum." Wells notes that Dion has developed a reputation for "clarity, conviction, fearlessness and a bottomless capacity for annoying his adversaries." (4)
Wells records Dion speaking about himself: "There are also myths I have to work on.....That I'm a cold person, or I have no charisma, or I don't know how to speak English. Or that I couldn't deliver in the rest of the country. So I have to give people a chance to see me. And because expectations are sometimes very low, it gives good results.....I may have some political skills. But I don't have the skill that consists of being comfortable with texts written by others. I have to write for myself." (4)
Dion's thoughts on Stephen Harper, his opponent in the upcoming federal election? "You can't underestimate him. Absolutely not...He admires George Bush a bit the way I admired Jean Belliveau when I was five. It's nonsensical how completely he copies him in everything--in the style, in the speeches on Iraq, in the way he muzzles his ministers,in the way he manages the press like a president-- he wants to be president." (4)
Gentle reader, get set as we have an interesting year ahead of us: spring federal elections followed by provincial elections in October. The Harper government is slated to unveil the federal budget on 20 March 2007. Dion has already indicated that this minority government should fall if it doesn’t get enough support. Will Harper meet Dion's requirements for a balanced budget that Dion has already spelled out? According to Dion,“...the best way for Canada to succeed is to have a good mix of tax cuts, social programs, debt reduction. Fiscal discipline, a lot of investment for the knowledge economy and the sustainable economy.” (5)
Local columnist Geoffrey Stevens does not agree with RR as per today's column: "It is an election no one wants. And that is really the key. The public does not want an election, and the politicians have no justification for causing one. In this climate, any party that precipitates an unwanted and unnecessary election could expect to pay the price at the polls. My guess? No election this spring or fall. Spring 2008 feels about right." (6)
Silliness? Maybe, maybe not. Up in Peace River country in northern Alberta, folks at this time of year amuse themselves by placing bets as to the exact date when the frozen Peace River will break up. Next federal election? March 20th add a week for the House to vote and another six weeks for the campaign?
Photos of trilliums in Wilmot Township woodlot copyright to Sandamara Images 2006.
Sources: (1) CP, "Dion wants to be Alberta's best friend," The Record, 12 Jan 07; (2)CP, Dion says green plan won’t hurt Alberta,” The Record 9 Jan 07; (3)CP report on UN Nairobi 06 conference, "Oil sands’ water use unsustainable UN says," The Record 14 Nov 06; (4) Paul Wells, Right Side Up (2006), pp.276-279; (5)CP, "Dion says green plan won’t hurt Alberta,” The Record 9 Jan 07; (6) Geoffrey Stevens," All this talk of a spring election is so much silliness," The Record 22 Jan 07.
There's a saying that a week can be a lifetime in politics -- or something like that. Well, this past week was one of those. Accompanying all that white ice and snow that have now blanketed the region, there's a lot of springtime green promises to woo the hearts and minds of Canadian voters.
The new leader of Her Majesty's Official Opposition, Stephane Dion took his message of sustainable development to the oil and gas industry in Calgary : "I will be the best partner (Alberta) ever saw from Ottawa if I become prime minister, because I am committed to help Albertans have sustainable development. If we succeed in making Fort McMurray sustainable, we will succeed everywhere in the world, because we will export our new technologies, our know-how, and we will make megatonnes of money with it.” (1) He emphasized his message with a striking metaphor: “I’m not there to kill growth, I’m there to make growth sustainable. I don’t want to kill the milk cow but I want to make sure the milk will still be good and there for our grandchildren." (2)
Within one week, the federal blue Tory government announced $2 billion worth of environmentally green packages i.e. incentives to develop renewable energy sources and grants to homeowners to retrofit homes to make them more energy efficient. Rather exciting that the opposition has become the agent of change for the current minority government. However, none of the Harper government's announcements have dealt with the Fort McMurray -Alberta oil sands production environmental issue.
Strip mining of Alberta’s oil sands in the Peace-Athabaska delta threatens water supply of Saskatchewan and NWT (quality and quantity). Currenlty 359,000,000 cubic metres of water are being used per year. In order to extract 1 cubic metre of synthetic crude oil 4.5 cu m water are required. The water becomes heavily polluted during the extraction process. Only 10% is returned to river, the remainder is stored
in huge storage ponds that are among the largest man-made structures in the world. The Sage
Foundation and World Wildlife Fund recommend a moratorium on further oilsands projects & note the oil
sands will be exhausted by 2050. (3)
So, who is this 21st century Daniel who so fearlessly would face down the Alberta oil and gas head honchos and tell them, "elect me and I will help you clean up your act?" During the televised leadership convention, RR jotted others' observations down: Stephane Dion is an intellectual, by training a political scientist; he is said to be politically fearless and personally driven. Upon becoming leader, he warned the Liberal caucus they were 1) to listen and pay attention; 2) they would have two minutes to speak with a prepared speech and no rambling will be allowed.
Paul Wells, the Maclean's journalist, tells us that "it was Dion's unshakeable faith in Canadian federalism and his skill in defending it that won him a phone call from Prime Minister Jean Chretien after the 1995 Quebec referendum." Wells notes that Dion has developed a reputation for "clarity, conviction, fearlessness and a bottomless capacity for annoying his adversaries." (4)
Wells records Dion speaking about himself: "There are also myths I have to work on.....That I'm a cold person, or I have no charisma, or I don't know how to speak English. Or that I couldn't deliver in the rest of the country. So I have to give people a chance to see me. And because expectations are sometimes very low, it gives good results.....I may have some political skills. But I don't have the skill that consists of being comfortable with texts written by others. I have to write for myself." (4)
Dion's thoughts on Stephen Harper, his opponent in the upcoming federal election? "You can't underestimate him. Absolutely not...He admires George Bush a bit the way I admired Jean Belliveau when I was five. It's nonsensical how completely he copies him in everything--in the style, in the speeches on Iraq, in the way he muzzles his ministers,in the way he manages the press like a president-- he wants to be president." (4)
Gentle reader, get set as we have an interesting year ahead of us: spring federal elections followed by provincial elections in October. The Harper government is slated to unveil the federal budget on 20 March 2007. Dion has already indicated that this minority government should fall if it doesn’t get enough support. Will Harper meet Dion's requirements for a balanced budget that Dion has already spelled out? According to Dion,“...the best way for Canada to succeed is to have a good mix of tax cuts, social programs, debt reduction. Fiscal discipline, a lot of investment for the knowledge economy and the sustainable economy.” (5)
Local columnist Geoffrey Stevens does not agree with RR as per today's column: "It is an election no one wants. And that is really the key. The public does not want an election, and the politicians have no justification for causing one. In this climate, any party that precipitates an unwanted and unnecessary election could expect to pay the price at the polls. My guess? No election this spring or fall. Spring 2008 feels about right." (6)
Silliness? Maybe, maybe not. Up in Peace River country in northern Alberta, folks at this time of year amuse themselves by placing bets as to the exact date when the frozen Peace River will break up. Next federal election? March 20th add a week for the House to vote and another six weeks for the campaign?
Photos of trilliums in Wilmot Township woodlot copyright to Sandamara Images 2006.
Sources: (1) CP, "Dion wants to be Alberta's best friend," The Record, 12 Jan 07; (2)CP, Dion says green plan won’t hurt Alberta,” The Record 9 Jan 07; (3)CP report on UN Nairobi 06 conference, "Oil sands’ water use unsustainable UN says," The Record 14 Nov 06; (4) Paul Wells, Right Side Up (2006), pp.276-279; (5)CP, "Dion says green plan won’t hurt Alberta,” The Record 9 Jan 07; (6) Geoffrey Stevens," All this talk of a spring election is so much silliness," The Record 22 Jan 07.
Labels: oil and gas, politics
20 January 2007
beaver tails -- only in Ottawa? what a pity
Gentle reader, the following sweet pause has been shamelessly cut and pasted for your enjoyment -- but the theft attributed to the authors listed in sources for you to explore as well.
"A beaver's tail is flat (about 30 cm. long) and covered with scales . The beaver uses the tail to steer when swimming or for balance when sitting on land . If an enemy is near, the beaver slaps its tail on the water to warn other beavers. The tail is not used to plaster mud on dams or lodges." (1)
"The tail of Canada's largest and most symbolic rodent, Castor canadensis, is edible, in a dish called beavertail beans, for example, in which the tail is cut off and blistered over a fire until the skin loosens. After the skin is removed, the tail flesh is boiled in a large pot of beans. But beaver tail also came to be applied to a recipe for quick-baked dough, especially in early 19th-century places where people might camp for one night and where there was no frying pan. The dough, with or without one of the "risings" was shaped into a long, narrow, flat loaf, vaguely resembling a beaver's tail, stuck on one or more sticks and baked over an open fire...
One particular form of this "bread," adapted from a recipe in Renfrew County in Ontario, has become very popular at Winterlude, Ottawa's annual cold weather festival. Indeed Pam and Grant Hooker's Beavertails are the culinary hit of every winter carnival in Canada's capital city. The Hookers adapted an old family recipe, from a grandmother who lived near Medicine Hat, based on a German dish called Küchl or Kökle ‘little cake.’ To make Hooker's Beavertails, a swatch of sweet, whole wheat pastry dough is put through a roller and stretched out to a vaguely beavertail-like shape, then it is fried for a minute or two in hot vegetable oil. The fried dough is then painted with melted butter and various savoury toppings are applied. Among the Hooker's best-selling Beavertails are those bedecked with cinnamon and sugar."
Recipe to make Beaver tails at home:
INGREDIENTS
* 1/2 cup warm water
* 5 teaspoons dry yeast
* pinch of sugar
* 1 cup warm milk
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 eggs
* 1/3 cup oil
* 4 1/4 - 5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
* Oil for frying
* Granulated sugar for dusting
* Touch of cinnamon
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the yeast, warm water and pinch of sugar.
Allow to stand a couple of minutes to allow yeast to swell or dissolve. Stir in remaining sugar, milk, vanilla, eggs, oil, salt, and most of flour to make soft dough.
Knead 5-8 minutes (by hand or with a dough hook), adding flour as needed to form a firm, smooth, elastic dough.
Place in a greased bowl. Place bowl in a plastic bag and seal. (If not using right away, you can refrigerate the dough at this point). Let rise in a covered, lightly greased bowl; about 30-40 minutes.
Gently deflate dough. (If dough is coming out of the refrigerator, allow to warm up for about 40 minutes before
proceeding).
Pinch off a golf ball-sized piece of dough. Roll out into an oval and let rest, covered with a tea towel, while you are
preparing the remaining dough. Heat about 4 inches of oil in fryer (a wok works best, but you can use a Dutch oven or whatever you usually use for frying). Temperature of the oil should be about 385 F. I toss in a tiny bit of dough and see if it sizzles and swells immediately. If it does, the oil temperature is where it should be.
Add the beaver tails to the hot oil, about 1-2 at a time. BUT.....before you do, stretch the ovals into a tail - thinning them out and enlarging them as you do.
Turn once to fry until the undersides are deep brown. Lift beaver tails out with tongs and drain on paper towels.
Fill a large bowl with a few cups of white sugar. Toss beaver tails in sugar (with a little cinnamon if you wish) and shake off excess. This recipe makes many Beaver tails. They are also delicious with a smear of jam or apple pie filling.
You can also eat it with a maple butter cream or something on - it is delicious! (3)
Too much work? Can't go to Ottawa for Winterlude? This summer then drive over to: Beaver Tails Pastries,63 Metcalfe Elora ON, N0B 1S0 Phone: 519-846-9407
Sources: (1)http://www.saskschools.ca/~gregory/animals/bvr1.html
(2)http://www.billcasselman.com/canadian_food_words/cfw_five.htm
(3)http://www.eatacrosscanada.com/archive/2006/11/24/beaver_tails.php
Labels: history
the cynical civic beaver
"The beaver,which has come to represent Canada as the eagle does the United States and the lion Britain, is a flat-tailed, slow-witted, toothy rodent known to bite off its own testicles or to stand under its own falling trees." -- June Callwood (1)
Asked “On what occasion do you lie?,”
Sidney Poitier replied:
First, let me disarm that loaded question.
I know how easy it is for one to stay well within moral, ethical, and legal bounds
through the skillful use of words–-
and to thereby spin, sidestep, circumvent, or bend a truth completely out of shape.
To that extent, we are all liars on numerous occasions.” (2)
Sidney Poitier replied:
First, let me disarm that loaded question.
I know how easy it is for one to stay well within moral, ethical, and legal bounds
through the skillful use of words–-
and to thereby spin, sidestep, circumvent, or bend a truth completely out of shape.
To that extent, we are all liars on numerous occasions.” (2)
Gentle reader, shall we pause to consider one word--cynical-- that has slipped into common currency of late-- so much so that its shiny silver edges of precise usage are in danger of being worn thin from overuse? But first, we need to go back to last spring-- approximately six months before the 2007 municipal elections.
At that time, Kitchener Council rolled back a projected 1.6% property tax increase in order to garner headlines trumpeting Council's thrifty stewardship of the 2006 municipal budget delivered with 0% tax increase as the City coffers then showed a $3,300,000 surplus. Councils chose to rebate 1.6% or $1,300,000 to the taxpayers-- approximately $14 per average household. How did Council justify such an a rash act of generosity with our tax dollars? Officially, we were told this one-time rebate was "To thank taxpayers, especially for their support of [EDIF]."
Fast forward now to setting the 2007 Kitchener municipal budget. Taxpayers have been told they must now pay back last summer's free gift (of their own hard-earned money) in full. Why? Per news report, “city staff and councillors now say it was indeed a one-time reduction, which must be accounted for under the rules of municipal accounting.”(3)
Public response has been quick and outraged. Herewith a sampling:
a)"No one outside city hall believes this is anything but a blatant cash grab and politics played in the
most cynical fashion." (4)
b) "The City of Kitchener's plan to tack the 1.65 per cent tax break from 2006 onto the 2007 tax
bill...is clearly one of the most cynical moves by Mayor Carl Zehr and his adherents on council to
get votes by not only using the public money but getting the taxpayer to pay twice." (5)
c) “If the politicians on Kitchener council...want to know why people become cynical, all they have to do is
look at the city’s tax rates.” (6)
Three different sentences each using the word cynical to describe an attitude. In examples a) and b) it is the Mayor and Council's actions that are cynical; in example c) it is Kitchener citizens who have become cynical. Begs the question, "Who really is cynical in this instance?"
A few mouseclicks to www.dictionary.com provides the following definitions for cynical, adj.
1) like or characteristic of a cynic; distrusting or disparaging the motives of others; cf. example c) above --the citizens lose trust in their council;
2) showing contempt for accepted standards of honesty or morality by one's actions, esp. by actions that exploit the scruples of others; cf. examples a) and b) above i.e. Council is cynical cf. "The apparent need to recoup the money is too self-serving to be dismissed as a coincidence...I think that’s a pretty arrogant position for anyone to take. It was never indicated to anyone that we would have to pay that back.”-- Orville Thacker (7)
3) believing or showing the belief that people are motivated chiefly by base or selfish concerns; skeptical of the motives of others: a cynical dismissal of the politician's promise to reform the campaign finance system.-- example c) the citizens are cynical;
4) Selfishly or callously calculating: showed a cynical disregard for the safety of his troops in his efforts to advance his reputation. -- matches a) and b) the Council is cynical cf. "Redgwell said city council voted for the tax freeze just so they would look good in the municipal elections that were held in November." (8)
“I want a relationship based on trust. Not “trust me.” (10)
Guess both uses of the word cynical apply here: This Council acted cynically in staging the one-time rebate with the result that its citizens have become cynical towards their Council. However, it is these very same citizens who accepted the bribe and re-elected this Council. Was the Kitchener electorate stunned by the Walmart effect? you know the one in the current ad campaign---a woman walking through a museum freezes up as she studies a cash receipt with the words "price rollback."
"It's a stupid, stupid thing," Gazzola said of the move to liken the tax freeze to a one-time rebate. He called the 2006 tax freeze an election ploy, and the proposal to reverse it this year a clawback." (9)-- Rather ironical (sad) that this Council sworn to uphold the civic virtues exemplified by the industrious beaver should have inadvertently bitten off its own testicles and that Kitchener taxpayers find themselves standing under their own falling tree.**
"I've been struck by how hungry we all are for a different kind of politics.''
--Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (11)
Sources: (1) Callwood quoted in Footprint travel guide: Western Canada Handbook; (2)Proust questionnaire, Vanity Fair Feb 07 issue, available online at www.vanityfair.com ; (3)T Pender, “Tax cut was ’rebate,’ city says, The Record 15 Jan 07; (4) "Kitchener tax grab is a disgrace, " The Record editorial 18 Jan 07; (5) Bill Kowalchuk, "Council is cynical," letter to editor, The Record 20 Jan 07; (6) (7) Editorial,"A taxing proposal," The Record 11 Jan 07; (8) & (9) & (12) T Pender," Public sick of tax increases," The Record 18 Jan 07; (10)Charles Schwab ad copy in VF Feb 07 issue www.vanityfair.com ; (11)Associated Presss, "Obama jumps into the race," The Record 17 Jan 07.--Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (11)
** In the same week we learn that Mayor Zehr and Councillor Vrabanovic appeared at the Kitchener Market on 15 January explain (spin cycle kicks in) last year’s tax cut or rebate. Specifically, “Vrabanovic spent more than four hours at the market talking about the next budget.” (12)
Photo of beaver sculpture in RR's collection. The beaver is inscribed "A Wolf original. Handmade in Canada by Wolf Sculptures" and was presented to RR in recognition of her passion for all things Canadian some time ago. To date RR has not been asked to return this thank you gift to the donors.
Photo of beaver sculpture in RR's collection. The beaver is inscribed "A Wolf original. Handmade in Canada by Wolf Sculptures" and was presented to RR in recognition of her passion for all things Canadian some time ago. To date RR has not been asked to return this thank you gift to the donors.
Labels: politics
18 January 2007
the busy civic beaver
Ah gentle reader, this blog has taken its time to come into focus.Initially the blog was intended to provide an overview of a dizzying whirl of public consultations on a wide variety of issues and to exhort you, gentle reader, and the writer, to just show and make your voice heard. Last week, the fully engaged civic beaver was seen speaking up at City of Kitchener 2007 budget consultations (20 civic beavers present), urging reform of Ontario's electoral process before the Citizen's Assembly on electoral reform (90 civic beavers attended), or seeking participant status at the OMB hearing into the contested ESL designations of the Laurel Creek headwaters and Bechtel-Blair watershed natural areas**.
Rambling Rose, however, must confess that she chose to be AWOL from all of these but can recommend the following as worthwhile and enjoyable: the Robert Altman movie, A Prairie Home Companion; ditto Trudeau II Maverick in the Making; Wayne Johnston's novel The Custodian of Paradise (sequel to The Colony of Unrequited Dreams); and Paul Wells' analysis of the fall of Paul Martin and the rise of Stephen Harper in Right Side Up.
The humble beaver became newsworthy last fall when officials at University of Waterloo chose to kill these pesky pests (in their opinion) who were munching on campus trees. The ensuing public outcry warranted a full opinion page in the local rag as well as the observation that the 400 or so letters to the editor on the beaver issue far exceeded the number of letters devoted to the 2006 municipal campaign. A truly Canadian response?
For starters, let's go back to the beginning:
"It was the humble beaver that really allowed the colony [British North America] to survive and expand. In Europe, top hats were all the rage, and the best felt for their fabrication came from the soft underpelt of the beaver. Since the best fur came from the coldest regions, pursuit of the beaver led directly to the colonization of the north and west of this vast new continent. At first, native trappers brought furs to trade with the French, but Champlain shrewdly began sending men to live among his native allies, learn their language and customs, and become familiar with the geography. As well as bridging a gap between the cultures, he wanted these coureurs de bois, runners of the woods, to help him chart the Interior." (1)
About anno 1900, the town of Berlin's (now City of Kitchener) Board of Trade started marketing itself as Busy Berlin and by 1916, Berlin's municipal council adopted the beaver as its official symbol on the town's crest. The busy beaver is still officially the city's crest but has been replaced visually by the truncated 1924 clock tower in most City of Kitchener documents. There is even a 24 pp. manual on the City of Kitchener website instructing staff on how, when, and where each symbol i.e. beaver or clock tower is to be used! For some nostalgic reason, Rambling Rose periodically misses the original crest on City vehicles urging its citizens "to keep Kitchener clean."
"Why did Berlin and Kitchener create such inviting tax havens for incoming factories?
Why the prideful slogan of‘Busy Berlin’?
How does its connotation compare with Guelph’s ‘The Royal City’ or Galt’s ‘City of Churches’?
Do these phrases suggest different mentalities, different ways of feeling,
sometimes deeper than the history that is merely written?” (2)
* google this phrase "busy berlin" to access the entire text available online.Why the prideful slogan of‘Busy Berlin’?
How does its connotation compare with Guelph’s ‘The Royal City’ or Galt’s ‘City of Churches’?
Do these phrases suggest different mentalities, different ways of feeling,
sometimes deeper than the history that is merely written?” (2)
** personal e-mail received: "9 Parties, their lawyers and counsel, 10 Participants, Regional Staff, City Staff, Media, and Observers there were plenty of people present both days"
Photos: City of Kitchener 1924 City Hall demolished in 1973 and dedication to workmen now in the public domain and available online. Remaining photos copyright to Sandamara Images 1998-2006: 1) photo of stuffed beaver to be seen at Kirkland Lake mining museum; 2) photo of 1924 Clock Tower in Victoria Park set against the post-modern TD-CT building on King Street; and 3) photo of deep blue (yes--blue) snow taken in Moosonee, ON winter 1998-99; 4) photo of Kitchener crest artifact from thre 1924-1973 City Hall now embedded in a wall at the Duke Street entrance.
Sources: (1) Footprint Western Canada Handbook, p. 441; (2) Gerald Noonan, "The Local Mentality, A history beyond words,” WHS 1949.
Labels: Berlin/Kitchener history, history
03 January 2007
in praise of older buildings
Photos provide a visual stroll through Kitchener's Civic Centre neighbourhood that dates back to Berlin's rapid growth and prosperity as a major industrial centre in southwestern Ontario. The current Jan/Feb 07 Your Kitchener newsletter put the spotlight on this particular neighbourhood thus: Civic Centre Neighbourhood Subject of Heritage Conversation [sic] District Study and hence this particular blog. A rather expensive conversation indeed as approximately $70,000 taxpayer dollars have been allocated to the "preparation of a Heritage District Conservation [ sic] Plan to prepare the policies and guidelines need to conserve and enhance the heritage attributes of the district."
Shall we then chat (converse) about saving (conserving) older* buildings?According to Carlos Ventin, one of Canada's leading heritage restoration experts, "Creative developers can prosper using heritage buildings; a no-brainer solution is to demolish** and rebuild." (1)
Herewith a list of some of the tangible benefits to conserving our older buildings:
1. 22% lower construction costs because you already have walls, a roof, and floors;
2. zoning will allow older buildings to be more intensely used than new buildings i.e. more apartments can be packed into them;
3. older buildings i.e. pre-1940 building stockare frequently are more energy-efficient than new ones which maximize natural sources of lighting and ventilation; many were built for consideration of site, environment, and climate; and older buildings often have thick walls, deep porches, and mature landscaping to regulate the temperature of the building. (2)
“Consideration of the energy inherent in materials and construction show that
a ‘typical’ Victorian house contains energy equivalent to 15,000 litres of petrol
-– enough to send a car round the earth five times
or half way the distance to the moon.” (3)
a ‘typical’ Victorian house contains energy equivalent to 15,000 litres of petrol
-– enough to send a car round the earth five times
or half way the distance to the moon.” (3)
4. Older buildings represent embodied energy i.e. “the total energy that can be attributed to bringing it into its existing state” and require fewer resources to upgrade and restore than would demolition and redevelopment or greenfield construction. From an environmental perspective, it makes good green common sense to reuse these buildings or materials. (2)
Canada is one of the largest per capita producers of waste on Earth.
Construction and demolition waste is
major component of waste stream to landfills @ 10-33% or 20% .(2)
Construction and demolition waste is
major component of waste stream to landfills @ 10-33% or 20% .(2)
"The loss of the Forsyth Building and Riverdale hospital squander significant public investment and
set a terrible example for the private sector. All demolitions create waste; according to statistics
from Heritage Canada, demolition accounts for 35% of Ontario’s landfill."(4)
set a terrible example for the private sector. All demolitions create waste; according to statistics
from Heritage Canada, demolition accounts for 35% of Ontario’s landfill."(4)
* To appeal to a developer, any old building just won't do-- the building has to have two things: 1) heritage i.e. a) an architectural style; b) represent a certain period in the city's history; c) be associated with a famous person; and 2) parking as you need parking to rent a building out. "it's very easy to build a cement building, but very hard to restore heritage."--Shmuel Farhi, London ON developer (1)
** landmarks not landfills petition to be found here: http://www.heritagecanada.org/petition_form.cfmThe economic Value of the Historic Environment’ in Heritage Counts, 2003; http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/heritagecounts/; (4) Built Heritage Newsletter 2006.
Sources: (1) "Making Heritage Pay," 1 March 2005 from website: www.skilledtrades.ca; (2) Heritage Canada Foundation, Exploring the Connection between Built and Natural Heritage, by Cynthia Gunn (2001) available at this link: www.heritagecanada.com
(3)
Labels: built heritage
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