I received the following notice of a meeting of "The Press Gallery" for this evening at the Coles building and I think I'll show up to watch some of the action as they try and "bounce" Mr. Pottie out... but some of these media people should take a few moments and breeze over this article http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/06/17/f-basen-news-20.html from CBC today before they start discounting “all the social media"... in Nova Scotia there is a daily web based newscaster All Nova Scotia http://www.allnovascotia.com/index.php that thousands of business people like myself subscribe to that is the most current provider of business and political news in Nova Scotia... hands down they are more on top of the news than any other media competitor in their market place... they report on the Nova Scotia Legislature and do a very good job but it strikes me that our local print and broadcasting media would probably "not allow them in" our Press Gallery because they don't work for a traditional newspaper, television or radio business.... I’m thinking some of these traditional media people may be looking for new jobs as the economy and advertising weakness plays havoc with their industry and they shouldn’t snub their noses at the electronic media as they may very well have to work in it someday.... I’ll even go a step further and predict that the Journal Pioneer will probably shut down operations in the next 12 months as they are currently just barely making target... younger people no longer read our print media, listen to the radio news or watch a TV news broadcast as they source their news with RRS feeds and Tweets through their computers, iPods, iPhones and other electronic devices.... and the Speaker of the House should open her eyes to this and “allow our social media access to our Legislature” if she ever expects our youth to get involved...
NOTICE OF MEETING
The Press Gallery of the Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly will be holding a meeting on Monday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. in the Pope Room of the Coles Building (Next to Province House.)
The purpose of the meeting will be to elect a new vice-president (broadcasting), as well as to address a decision of the executive to recommend to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly to remove the membership of Stephen Pate and NJN Network, pursuant to a motion in the Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly dated April 6, 1971.
Members of the Press Gallery of the Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly are urged to attend the meeting. Please note that membership is based on the Media Accreditation list for the 2009 spring sitting.
Only those on that list are eligible to vote. But the meeting itself is open to all members of the media and the public.
For more information, contact Wayne Thibodeau at (902) 629-6000, ext. 6043.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Be Careful What You Wish For....
We've all heard the old expression "be careful what you wish for" and that is exactly how I see this issue... Fortis may appear to be uncompassionate by times but it's been my experience that this company from the "top down" are a well run organization who have a sincere interest in delivering top notch service and reinvesting into capital infrastructure to keep our "lights on"... on the other hand my experience with Government running a business like the meat plants, fish plants, technology centres, golf courses, industrial parks, and I could go on and on.... while compassionate, not very financially rewarding for the stakeholders being us taxpayers and the thought of Government running our “utility” is the scariest thing I could ever imagine.... all I have to do is look at the windmills the Government own down East that sat idle for months this summer due to broken parts... and then think about the dedicated men and women at Fortis who prevail through unprecedented storms to see that every single Islander get their power back as quickly as possible when there are outages... I can only imagine what this Fortis critic would do if he called a Government run utility around 4:00 in the afternoon to inquire why his power was out and why the price had near doubled.... and a recording said "I'm sorry but we're on summer hours.." so as my Mom said “please be careful what you wish for”....
Turn Fortis into an election issue
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The Charlottetown Guardian
October 16, 2009
Another of our frequent power outages took place this week, continuing a wearyingly-familiar pattern of instability in the Fortis power grid. It is time our government held an inquiry into the state of our electrical service on the Island and strip Fortis of its monopoly. I have called and spoken to company officials who are unapologetic and seem utterly unconcerned with providing the uninterrupted service modern society demands. While no one expects to have no outages, it is time we saw an unbiased comparison between our province's stability of power with others. I asked a company official and he said he did not care how Fortis compared to other power providers. If I didn't like it (I was told) I could write to my MLA. I find that arrogant. Power should be a public utility owned by Islanders. As it is now, Fortis is unmotivated to improve its service. It is time they faced the loss of their monopoly in favour of a new public utility - Island Electric. I hope our politicians will act upon this and that it becomes an election issue.
Trevor Leclerc,
Charlottetown
Turn Fortis into an election issue
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The Charlottetown Guardian
October 16, 2009
Another of our frequent power outages took place this week, continuing a wearyingly-familiar pattern of instability in the Fortis power grid. It is time our government held an inquiry into the state of our electrical service on the Island and strip Fortis of its monopoly. I have called and spoken to company officials who are unapologetic and seem utterly unconcerned with providing the uninterrupted service modern society demands. While no one expects to have no outages, it is time we saw an unbiased comparison between our province's stability of power with others. I asked a company official and he said he did not care how Fortis compared to other power providers. If I didn't like it (I was told) I could write to my MLA. I find that arrogant. Power should be a public utility owned by Islanders. As it is now, Fortis is unmotivated to improve its service. It is time they faced the loss of their monopoly in favour of a new public utility - Island Electric. I hope our politicians will act upon this and that it becomes an election issue.
Trevor Leclerc,
Charlottetown
A New Set Of Doors.... but not much more...
It's interesting to hear these comments from Minister Bertram... "The Charlottetown Civic Centre is a legacy building and has become a landmark for Islanders" as most Charlottetown taxpayers just see the building as a financial draw on the City's budget and for the most part they don't really get a lot of personal use out of the building... I do agree that it is a bit of a "legacy" from the Canada Winter Games in 1991 and now less than 20 years later the property is pretty tired and still falling behind budget to the tune of about $500,000.00 a year... but to call this building a "landmark" (a building or other place that is of outstanding historical, aesthetic, or cultural importance, often declared as such and given a special status "landmark designation", or daining its preservation, by some authorizing organization) is really stretching it... most people believe it was poorly conceived because it was built by a "committee" and you don't have to go far to find "building users" who continue to have complaints about the building's design... usually a "legacy building" draws out a "naming sponsor" who will gladly donate a sizeable amount of money towards capital improvements to have their name attached to the building but that doesn't seem to be the case here... at one point Mayor Lee was considering a Major Renovation to the building to keep up with Basil but my guess is that won't be happening anytime soon..
Civic Centre to undergo renovations
The Guardian
The Charlottetown Civic Centre will undergo $184,000 in renovations the next few months, it was announced Friday.
The project includes the construction of a new dedicated entrance tothe Trade Centre, which will allow for multiple events to occur simultaneously and will also reduce heat loss from the exterior doors.
Also, a new event planning and staging area will be built to allow for the efficient production of the many events hosted by the Civic Centre.
The funding comes from an investment of nearly $77,280 under the Province’s Island Community Fund (ICF), a new provincially funded infrastructure program, and $60,720 from the Government of Canada’s Recreational Infrastructure Canada (RInC) Program, a key federal economic stimulus initiative under its Economic Action Plan.
The Civic Centre Management Inc. will provide the balance of $46,000. Carolyn Bertram, P.E.I. Minister of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour, on behalf of the Province of PEI, and Keith Ashfield, Minister of State (Atlantic Canada OpportunitiesAgency), made the announcement Friday in Charlottetown. “The Charlottetown Civic Centre is a legacy building and has become a landmark for Islanders,” said Bertram. “The province is pleased to provide funding to help sustain this sporting and trade facility and provide a more diverse atmosphere for hosting events in our capital region.” “Through our government’s Economic Action Plan, we continue to provide timely and targeted stimulus to communities across Canada,” said Ashfield.
“The Civic Centre has a history of bringing together families, friends and neighbours to learn new skills, exchange ideas, get fit and healthy, and have fun. This investment will allow the Civic Centre to better attract functions and events on a year-round basis.”
Civic Centre to undergo renovations
The Guardian
The Charlottetown Civic Centre will undergo $184,000 in renovations the next few months, it was announced Friday.
The project includes the construction of a new dedicated entrance tothe Trade Centre, which will allow for multiple events to occur simultaneously and will also reduce heat loss from the exterior doors.
Also, a new event planning and staging area will be built to allow for the efficient production of the many events hosted by the Civic Centre.
The funding comes from an investment of nearly $77,280 under the Province’s Island Community Fund (ICF), a new provincially funded infrastructure program, and $60,720 from the Government of Canada’s Recreational Infrastructure Canada (RInC) Program, a key federal economic stimulus initiative under its Economic Action Plan.
The Civic Centre Management Inc. will provide the balance of $46,000. Carolyn Bertram, P.E.I. Minister of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour, on behalf of the Province of PEI, and Keith Ashfield, Minister of State (Atlantic Canada OpportunitiesAgency), made the announcement Friday in Charlottetown. “The Charlottetown Civic Centre is a legacy building and has become a landmark for Islanders,” said Bertram. “The province is pleased to provide funding to help sustain this sporting and trade facility and provide a more diverse atmosphere for hosting events in our capital region.” “Through our government’s Economic Action Plan, we continue to provide timely and targeted stimulus to communities across Canada,” said Ashfield.
“The Civic Centre has a history of bringing together families, friends and neighbours to learn new skills, exchange ideas, get fit and healthy, and have fun. This investment will allow the Civic Centre to better attract functions and events on a year-round basis.”
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The Three Stooges... "classic"....
I doubt this will be the end of the road for the land the trailer park was on but I wish it was the end of the road for Councillors Tweel, Bernard and MacDonald for the foolishness that continues to come out of their mouths... I expected as much from Tweel and Bernard but I would have thought Councillor MacDonald would have had enough clues to stay away from this silliness and at the very least away from the other two... simply put MacEachern Holdings owned some land that was eligible under the current bylaws to be rezoned and when the original application was made and it met all the bylaws requirements it should have been approved then and there as a fundamental "right to build"..... but that didn't happen as the City turned it down originally (against the recommendations of City planning staff) and it wouldn't matter if IRAC was there or not as ultimately the Supreme Court would have struck down the City's decision and given MacEachern Holdings his "right to build" anyway (and that’s exactly what the City’s solicitor told Council)... and now the Mayor is trying to blame his leadership mistakes on IRAC so he's going to call the Province... what a joke... the Mayor and Council should be looking for developers with property to rezone that would allow manufactured housing (trailers) so that these and others like them would have a place to go... and maybe a call to Mr. MacEachern and offering the City’s apology for the past and support for his new development would be a good move as his new proposed development will bring new jobs, investment and a stronger tax base for the City of Charlottetown ... the City has to start to "welcome business development" and not chase it away...
End of road for trailer park
WAYNE THIBODEAU
The Guardian
Residents of the Idlewheels Trailer Park may have won over the hearts of Charlottetown city councillors, but it wasn’t enough to stop their eviction from the capital city trailer park. An order by the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC) forced councillors on Tuesday night to hand Ken MacEachern and his company, L & A MacEachern Holdings, the rezoning he long awaited. That rezoning had initially been rejected by city council but was later appealed to IRAC. The commission overturned the city’s decision. Now, Charlottetown city council is calling for a review of IRAC. But for Lana Baglole, a resident of Idlewheels, that review will come too late. She is the process of putting her trailer up for sale. Two trailers have already been moved, two others are for sale. There were 19 trailers in the park which need to be moved to make way for new apartment complexes. “It’s time for everybody to move on,” Baglole said, after hearing about council’s decision Tuesday night. Last month, the residents launched a further appeal in front of IRAC. A decision is expected at the end of October, but Baglole said she doesn’t expect much will change. Coun. David MacDonald launched a passionate 13-minute discussion about the future of IRAC, saying he has concerns for the residents of Idlewheels but also for the process that unfolded. He questions whether an unelected and unaccountable board should be able to overturn a decision by an elected city council. “We did what we were supposed to do,” said MacDonald. “We held our public meetings, we listened to the input (of residents) and at the end of the day we took a decision in good faith.” Coun. Mitchell Tweel called for a complete review of IRAC and its mandate. “The whole process was flawed in terms of the way IRAC has handled it,” said Tweel. “This is a classic case in point where you have unelected officials that are not elected by the people, that are not accountable to the people and are not responsible to the people.” But Coun. Kim Devine, who is the head of city planning, said while she has empathy for the people of the Idlewheels trailer park, she cautioned that the city was given a legal opinion that it must abide by the IRAC order. “While we have great compassion for what will happen to those residents, we have voted against this, we are on record as being opposed to this application for rezoning but as elected officials we are legally obligated to follow through on this rezoning order.” Coun. Rob Lantz added: “We have a legal opinion that we could be held, as a city council, in contempt of an order.” In an interview following the vote, Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee said he realizes council was forced into approving the rezoning, but he remains bothered by the decision. He said he will be contacting the provincial government immediately to ask that role of IRAC be reviewed. “In all the years I’ve been here at City Hall, this is the first time in my memory that I can recall that IRAC blatantly disregarded the position of the elected body and that really concerns me,” said Lee. “If IRAC says the city has followed its rules, it has followed provincial legislation, I don’t think IRAC should have the authority to override a decision of council. It’s as simple as that.” Despite the threat of legal action, three councillors voted against the rezoning including MacDonald, Tweel and Terry Bernard. The other seven voted for the rezoning. Baglole said it’s the end of the road for Idlewheels residents. If the IRAC appeal is unsuccessful, as she expects, the only other option is to appeal to the Supreme Court. “I can’t afford a lawyer. We can’t afford a lawyer.”
End of road for trailer park
WAYNE THIBODEAU
The Guardian
Residents of the Idlewheels Trailer Park may have won over the hearts of Charlottetown city councillors, but it wasn’t enough to stop their eviction from the capital city trailer park. An order by the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC) forced councillors on Tuesday night to hand Ken MacEachern and his company, L & A MacEachern Holdings, the rezoning he long awaited. That rezoning had initially been rejected by city council but was later appealed to IRAC. The commission overturned the city’s decision. Now, Charlottetown city council is calling for a review of IRAC. But for Lana Baglole, a resident of Idlewheels, that review will come too late. She is the process of putting her trailer up for sale. Two trailers have already been moved, two others are for sale. There were 19 trailers in the park which need to be moved to make way for new apartment complexes. “It’s time for everybody to move on,” Baglole said, after hearing about council’s decision Tuesday night. Last month, the residents launched a further appeal in front of IRAC. A decision is expected at the end of October, but Baglole said she doesn’t expect much will change. Coun. David MacDonald launched a passionate 13-minute discussion about the future of IRAC, saying he has concerns for the residents of Idlewheels but also for the process that unfolded. He questions whether an unelected and unaccountable board should be able to overturn a decision by an elected city council. “We did what we were supposed to do,” said MacDonald. “We held our public meetings, we listened to the input (of residents) and at the end of the day we took a decision in good faith.” Coun. Mitchell Tweel called for a complete review of IRAC and its mandate. “The whole process was flawed in terms of the way IRAC has handled it,” said Tweel. “This is a classic case in point where you have unelected officials that are not elected by the people, that are not accountable to the people and are not responsible to the people.” But Coun. Kim Devine, who is the head of city planning, said while she has empathy for the people of the Idlewheels trailer park, she cautioned that the city was given a legal opinion that it must abide by the IRAC order. “While we have great compassion for what will happen to those residents, we have voted against this, we are on record as being opposed to this application for rezoning but as elected officials we are legally obligated to follow through on this rezoning order.” Coun. Rob Lantz added: “We have a legal opinion that we could be held, as a city council, in contempt of an order.” In an interview following the vote, Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee said he realizes council was forced into approving the rezoning, but he remains bothered by the decision. He said he will be contacting the provincial government immediately to ask that role of IRAC be reviewed. “In all the years I’ve been here at City Hall, this is the first time in my memory that I can recall that IRAC blatantly disregarded the position of the elected body and that really concerns me,” said Lee. “If IRAC says the city has followed its rules, it has followed provincial legislation, I don’t think IRAC should have the authority to override a decision of council. It’s as simple as that.” Despite the threat of legal action, three councillors voted against the rezoning including MacDonald, Tweel and Terry Bernard. The other seven voted for the rezoning. Baglole said it’s the end of the road for Idlewheels residents. If the IRAC appeal is unsuccessful, as she expects, the only other option is to appeal to the Supreme Court. “I can’t afford a lawyer. We can’t afford a lawyer.”
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Charlie... can I join the "club".... OH! PLEASE....
This is just too funny... Charlie MacKay the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly has been chasing down the local media trying to get them to have a meeting to form some kind of PEI Press Gang so a "set of rules" can be established to prevent clowns like me from showing up at the Legislature as "media"... so a bunch of so called media got together at the Legislature (a little more official) last Tuesday to form an official "Press Gang" and at that meeting the Guardian's chief political reporter Wayne Thibodeau was elected "el-presidente", the Guardian's Teresa Wright as Vice-President and CBC's Brendan Elliot as Vice President.... and then Brendan Elliot nominated none other than Stephen "Pottie" Pate, a local infamous blogger, as Secretary of this famous crowd and all the others stood there stunned and I’m told were too afraid to oppose his acclamation. Apparently some of the CBC gang thought that it was much better to have him under the tent where they could watch him and make him abide by some rules as opposed to having him outside the tent "peeing in"... and the mere fact that he walked up the steps on his own might have swung the bleeding heart vote in his favour had they voted... no one seems to know who invited Mr. Pate to the meeting in the first place but I would have loved to have been in Gary MacDougall's office, the managing editor of the Guardian, when they told him "Pottie" was going to be the “recording secretary”... well the funny part is they all got home that night and had some second thoughts about it and the very next day something broke out amongst “most of the executive"... Brendan Elliot was under extreme pressure for putting Pate's name forward and he didn't "like the direction the rest of the Executive were going" so he decided to resign.... and Pottie is now "still standing” as a member of the official Press Gang... I called Wayne and he confirmed Brendan had resigned over something to do with Pottie's nomination.... Wayne or Brendan didn't know how Mr. Pottie had got invited in the first place... I left messages for Pat Martell who was at the meeting but he hasn’t responded... I spoke with Charlie and he sounded very “officially” shaken that he may not have his rules in place by the opening of the Legislature... but what I’d like to know is how Mr. Pottie and others got invited in the first place to this official “charter meeting” and I didn’t.... this is “too funny”....
From: Kathleen Casey [mailto:kmcasey@assembly.pe.ca]
Sent: Thursday, July 02, 2009 2:12 PM
To: Tim Banks
Cc: Charles MacKay; Robert VesseySubject:
Re: Media Access
Dear Mr. Banks,
Thank you for your request to be considered as accredited media at the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island. Policy respecting media accreditation at the Legislative Assembly is presently under review with the objective of establishing a clear media accreditation process well in advance of the commencement of the next scheduled sitting of the Assembly. Your views will be considered as the accreditation process is developed and your request for accreditation will, once that process has been established, be assessed. In the interim, should you wish to access any of the business of the Legislative Assembly, please see www.assembly.pe.ca where all video/audio proceedings of the House (archived and live when meeting) and all House documents are readily available.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Casey
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
From: Tim Banks
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 5:04 PM
To: kmcasey@assembly.pe.ca
Cc: Charles MacKay; Robert Vessey
Subject: Media Access
Dear Office of The Speaker of the House,
I am a social media blogger focusing on political and business events on Prince Edward Island for the last year and have a daily reading in the order of 2,000 viewers at www.timbanks.ca. I receive an income for advertising on my media which I donate to Island charities. I was disappointed on June 17th when the members of the Standing Committee on Community Affairs and Economic Development would not allow me to tape a public presentation unless I was an accredited member of the media. All members of the committee are fully aware of my media yet only Mr. Currie (voted in favour) understood the importance of our "new Social electronic media" in today's society and it's use by our younger generation who demand instant news. How are we ever going to get this generation of our youth involved in the issues surrounding them if we don't allow them in? I think it was very short sighted of Mr. Henderson and his other Committee members as they had a great opportunity to reach out to today's youth who are suspect of Government because their views are being shut out. We need our youth here and we have to involve them in our debate.
Although I believe the practice of accrediting journalists to the P.E.I. legislature may be an infringement of s.2 (b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms I would like to take the necessary steps to do so. I would also ask you to look at the following link http://bit.ly/G2EHs where I believe another member of the media CBC has affirmed my right to be accredited as a member of the media. I watched Mr. MacKay’s interview on CBC and he kind of implied that we should adopt the policy of some other Provinces and have the media association vote people in as accredited media. This is kind of ironic because that was what my presentation to the Standing Committee was about... a club like the PEI Gas Dealers Association objecting to more gas bars which in effect is we have too many fiefdoms here on PEI now and we don’t need any more like Mr. MacKay is suggesting. We need our politicians to open their minds to change.
As a member of the media my technical staff and I would require access to the video and audio feeds together with the ability to tape the standing committee meetings. We would require the same access as any other media source.
I hope you find this information sufficient to accredit me as a member of the media so I can reach out to today’s youth. The American writer A.J. Liebling once wrote that "freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one." In today’s world, everyone's a press owner.
Thank you,
Sincerely,
Tim Banks
www.timbanks.ca
From: Kathleen Casey [mailto:kmcasey@assembly.pe.ca]
Sent: Thursday, July 02, 2009 2:12 PM
To: Tim Banks
Cc: Charles MacKay; Robert VesseySubject:
Re: Media Access
Dear Mr. Banks,
Thank you for your request to be considered as accredited media at the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island. Policy respecting media accreditation at the Legislative Assembly is presently under review with the objective of establishing a clear media accreditation process well in advance of the commencement of the next scheduled sitting of the Assembly. Your views will be considered as the accreditation process is developed and your request for accreditation will, once that process has been established, be assessed. In the interim, should you wish to access any of the business of the Legislative Assembly, please see www.assembly.pe.ca where all video/audio proceedings of the House (archived and live when meeting) and all House documents are readily available.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Casey
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
From: Tim Banks
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 5:04 PM
To: kmcasey@assembly.pe.ca
Cc: Charles MacKay; Robert Vessey
Subject: Media Access
Dear Office of The Speaker of the House,
I am a social media blogger focusing on political and business events on Prince Edward Island for the last year and have a daily reading in the order of 2,000 viewers at www.timbanks.ca. I receive an income for advertising on my media which I donate to Island charities. I was disappointed on June 17th when the members of the Standing Committee on Community Affairs and Economic Development would not allow me to tape a public presentation unless I was an accredited member of the media. All members of the committee are fully aware of my media yet only Mr. Currie (voted in favour) understood the importance of our "new Social electronic media" in today's society and it's use by our younger generation who demand instant news. How are we ever going to get this generation of our youth involved in the issues surrounding them if we don't allow them in? I think it was very short sighted of Mr. Henderson and his other Committee members as they had a great opportunity to reach out to today's youth who are suspect of Government because their views are being shut out. We need our youth here and we have to involve them in our debate.
Although I believe the practice of accrediting journalists to the P.E.I. legislature may be an infringement of s.2 (b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms I would like to take the necessary steps to do so. I would also ask you to look at the following link http://bit.ly/G2EHs where I believe another member of the media CBC has affirmed my right to be accredited as a member of the media. I watched Mr. MacKay’s interview on CBC and he kind of implied that we should adopt the policy of some other Provinces and have the media association vote people in as accredited media. This is kind of ironic because that was what my presentation to the Standing Committee was about... a club like the PEI Gas Dealers Association objecting to more gas bars which in effect is we have too many fiefdoms here on PEI now and we don’t need any more like Mr. MacKay is suggesting. We need our politicians to open their minds to change.
As a member of the media my technical staff and I would require access to the video and audio feeds together with the ability to tape the standing committee meetings. We would require the same access as any other media source.
I hope you find this information sufficient to accredit me as a member of the media so I can reach out to today’s youth. The American writer A.J. Liebling once wrote that "freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one." In today’s world, everyone's a press owner.
Thank you,
Sincerely,
Tim Banks
www.timbanks.ca
Friday, October 9, 2009
Where's our "Business Enterprise"....
Today a reader sent in a very good question that probably should be asked by the local Chamber of Commerce's to Government... and that is “what Department in Government is representing our Business Community” which is truly the backbone of our Island economy... years ago on PEI farmers farmed and fishers fished and they pretty much stuck to their industry but nowadays dealing with all the regulations, banking requirements, marketing, and bureaucratic red tape they are really considered a business and require the same services other business people do... but here on PEI we don't have a Department of Business Enterprise but what we do have is a Department of Innovation and Advanced Learning (whatever that is) with a business division called "Innovation PEI”... but it's certainly nothing that portrays a "branding of small business" and I think the Government has it backwards... what would farmers do if Government changed the name of their department to the "Department of Carrots" with a division called "carrot farming" or what would the fishers say if Government rebranded the Department of Fisheries to the "Department of Mussels"... one of the first things they teach you in Business 101 is marketing and preserving your "brand" and I can't understand why our business Community is not up in arms with the "bastardization" of PEI's business brand... don't get me wrong I'm all for innovation and learning as a division of PEI Business Enterprise but during these economy times our small businesses need a place to go that "talks their language" and helps them through this crises.... I had lunch with Minister Campbell a couple of weeks ago and I gave him an earful on this issue and I'm hoping he'll see his way towards change....
From: Ritchie Simpson, The Mortgage Guy
Sent: Friday, October 09, 2009 7:49 AM
To: Tim Banks
Subject: New comment on Hot Tip... golf is in trouble.
Ritchie Simpson, The Mortgage Guy has left a new comment on your post "Hot Tip... golf is in trouble": "...or at least a Department that is experienced in business and understands how development works.." and what department would that be?
From: Ritchie Simpson, The Mortgage Guy
Sent: Friday, October 09, 2009 7:49 AM
To: Tim Banks
Subject: New comment on Hot Tip... golf is in trouble.
Ritchie Simpson, The Mortgage Guy has left a new comment on your post "Hot Tip... golf is in trouble": "...or at least a Department that is experienced in business and understands how development works.." and what department would that be?
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Hot Tip... golf is in trouble
Just yesterday Minister Campbell was talking about Government abandoning the practice of competing against private enterprise and in the very same article Minister Docherty is quoted as saying the golf courses are for sale but not until things get better... well here's a hot tip no business is going to get better if you continue to do nothing particularly the golf business... simply put the golf industry is a very competitive business and it should be run like one and the newer more successful courses are continuing to reinvest and develop people around them... take a look at Fox Creek in Dieppe where they are now sold out of phase II on the residential side of the development... in Halifax Glen Arbour is well on its way to be fully developed on the residential side... and if you visit Fox Harb'r near Wallace, NS you will see significant residential development as is the case with most high end golf course developments... and my argument is why hasn't the Province sold off our money losing courses to a private developer who would develop the neighbouring lands with a possible year round or seasonal golf community. What possibly could be wrong with 200 developed home sites lining some of the fairways of our Island courses and feeding back property taxes and other spin offs from the property owners. My guess is a lot of the potential buyers would be from off Island and they would great summer residents who in all likelihood would invite friends to their vacation homes and spending more money in our economy... A camper comes for a few days but a seasonal home owner comes for a life time and then passes it on to their family... someone close to Golf Links told me that the Government felt the 4 courses were worth $30,000,000.00 which in my view is a ridiculous figure on an asset that is costing over a $1,000,000.00 a year to operate especially when there is no expense allowance for the return on the original capital investment. Maybe the Government should pull the file from the Tourism Department and pass it over to the Department of Small Business (sorry we don't have one) or at least a Department that is experienced in business and understands how development works... and develop a plan to turn these properties around into a winning proposition...
Golf industry in trouble as economy worsens
Housing market’s collapse hampers development of new courses
Story By: David Sweet
Source: MSNBC
According to the National Golf Foundation, the number of new courses expected to open in the United States in 2008 is the smallest in 20 years. More courses are scheduled to close this year (nearly 100) than the 80 expected to open, though the closures have fallen since almost 150 were shut down two years ago. The golf construction boom of the 1990s – when about 2,500 new courses (mostly daily fee ones) were added to the 13,000 or so already extant in the U.S. – is not only over; it’s stuck in reverse.
The problems of the broad economy are bedeviling golf course construction. The housing market’s collapse has hampered development, since a number of golf projects these days are tied into on-site housing. Getting financing to build a new course is tougher than it has been in decades. Projects that were started this year have seen the bulldozers turned off until better times appear.
But in 2008, golf is in decline by many measures. Rounds are down, as is the sale of equipment. On the pro tour, television ratings fell once Tiger Woods left the scene with a damaged knee after the U.S. Open at San Diego’s Torrey Pines.
Though municipal courses are taking the brunt of the downturn (except perhaps Torrey Pines, which enjoyed $8 million in renovations before the Open), private courses are not immune to the pain. Take the case of Ravisloe Country Club in Homewood, Ill. After 107 years as a well-respected course, the 6,300-yard Donald Ross original was reported to have been put up for sale this fall with a price tag of $4.95 million. It is said only a few dozen members are left.
All in all, the golf course business was once as breathtaking as the ocean holes at Pebble Beach. These days, unfortunately, it’s looking more like Rodney Dangerfield’s wardrobe in “Caddyshack.”
Golf industry in trouble as economy worsens
Housing market’s collapse hampers development of new courses
Story By: David Sweet
Source: MSNBC
According to the National Golf Foundation, the number of new courses expected to open in the United States in 2008 is the smallest in 20 years. More courses are scheduled to close this year (nearly 100) than the 80 expected to open, though the closures have fallen since almost 150 were shut down two years ago. The golf construction boom of the 1990s – when about 2,500 new courses (mostly daily fee ones) were added to the 13,000 or so already extant in the U.S. – is not only over; it’s stuck in reverse.
The problems of the broad economy are bedeviling golf course construction. The housing market’s collapse has hampered development, since a number of golf projects these days are tied into on-site housing. Getting financing to build a new course is tougher than it has been in decades. Projects that were started this year have seen the bulldozers turned off until better times appear.
But in 2008, golf is in decline by many measures. Rounds are down, as is the sale of equipment. On the pro tour, television ratings fell once Tiger Woods left the scene with a damaged knee after the U.S. Open at San Diego’s Torrey Pines.
Though municipal courses are taking the brunt of the downturn (except perhaps Torrey Pines, which enjoyed $8 million in renovations before the Open), private courses are not immune to the pain. Take the case of Ravisloe Country Club in Homewood, Ill. After 107 years as a well-respected course, the 6,300-yard Donald Ross original was reported to have been put up for sale this fall with a price tag of $4.95 million. It is said only a few dozen members are left.
All in all, the golf course business was once as breathtaking as the ocean holes at Pebble Beach. These days, unfortunately, it’s looking more like Rodney Dangerfield’s wardrobe in “Caddyshack.”
Do the math... no tourists.....
You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure this one out.... yes the bridge was up 7.8 per cent in August but it was down 22% in July... so a few more people changed their vacations around the weather but the recurring theme is our Tourism numbers are continuing to fall on PEI... there is very little traffic from the United States and my guess is that Americans are vacationing in their own Country where it's cheaper and they have far better service levels.... some of it could be blamed on Passport issues but recently I vacationed in the New England States and it was very busy.... there didn't seem to be any significant signs of a poor tourism economy happening there so I don't think it's all just economy... maybe our Tourism Department should abandon these high flying schemes like "The Big Break" that cost taxpayers over a million dollars with very little return and focus more on strategy and promotion directed towards families as opposed to golfers.... it’s time to get out of the "golf business" and get into the "Tourism promotion"....
Bridge traffic up, ferry traffic down in August
The Guardian
Visitors arriving on the Island via the bridge is up 7.8 per cent in August, according to Tourism officials.
There was an 8.7 per cent increase in overnight stays due mainly to campers. Room nights sold was down by 6.7 per cent while site nights sold to campers was up 48 per cent.
The air traffic was up 4.5 per cent while the ferry traffic in August was down 4.4 per cent.
A large percentage of visitors to Prince Edward Island are Canadians. The majority of those visitors arrive from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. Visitors from out west were strong in August.
“A combination of nice weather, Canada Games, Old Home Week and other tourism related activities and events brought visitors to P.E.I. in August,” said Tourism Minister Valerie Docherty.
“Nationally, it’s been a challenging time for the tourism industry. As a department, we recognize that while some indicators are up, others are down, and we will continue to work on solutions with industry to address these variations.”
Bridge traffic up, ferry traffic down in August
The Guardian
Visitors arriving on the Island via the bridge is up 7.8 per cent in August, according to Tourism officials.
There was an 8.7 per cent increase in overnight stays due mainly to campers. Room nights sold was down by 6.7 per cent while site nights sold to campers was up 48 per cent.
The air traffic was up 4.5 per cent while the ferry traffic in August was down 4.4 per cent.
A large percentage of visitors to Prince Edward Island are Canadians. The majority of those visitors arrive from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. Visitors from out west were strong in August.
“A combination of nice weather, Canada Games, Old Home Week and other tourism related activities and events brought visitors to P.E.I. in August,” said Tourism Minister Valerie Docherty.
“Nationally, it’s been a challenging time for the tourism industry. As a department, we recognize that while some indicators are up, others are down, and we will continue to work on solutions with industry to address these variations.”
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Now That's A Mouth Full....
"We feel we don't need to be competing with the private sector." so you say... well there are about 20 Government boards that are competing with the private sector everyday and one of them Minister Campbell just bought a building last week from Kays Brothers using taxpayers money to do it... and you can bet when they go over budget renovating it and they can't find a tenant to pay market rate they'll do exactly what every other Government does in this situation which is lower the rent and screw all the neighbouring property owners... bottom line here is why didn't Government just wait until a private developer bought the building and let the private developer fixed it up.... it's easy to "talk the talk" but will Government "walk the walk" and it sounds like Minister Campbell is going to give it a shot so maybe the Premier should also hand him over the golf course files...
Province selling off business buildings
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
CBC News
The P.E.I. government is selling off four buildings it owns in industrial parks, saying it does not want to be in competition with private developers.
Three of the buildings are in Charlottetown's West Royalty Industrial Park — the North and South Malls and 88 Watts Drive — and the other is an industrial mall in Summerside.
"We feel we don't need to be competing with the private sector," Innovation Minister Allan Campbell said.
"It's part of allowing them to do their work and allowing them to grow and flourish in the province as well. It's part of the one-Island-community theme."
Campbell said the government expects to get $4.7 million from the sales, but that is not the impetus behind the decision to sell.
"That's not what it's all about. It's about getting out of competition with the private sector," he said.
Earlier this year the government took down the for-sale sign on four provincially owned golf courses. Tourism Minister Valerie Docherty said that is no contradiction. The province is not seeking a buyer for the courses because economic conditions are not right for a sale, but the government is still open to offers.
"Of course they're for sale," Docherty said.
"If the right buyer comes along with the price that's going to benefit taxpayers, we're always open to that."
Docherty expects government will eventually get the deal it is looking for when the economy improves.
While only four government buildings are on the block right now, Campbell said government is looking at other properties that could be put on the market as well, all in the name of not competing with the private sector.
Province selling off business buildings
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
CBC News
The P.E.I. government is selling off four buildings it owns in industrial parks, saying it does not want to be in competition with private developers.
Three of the buildings are in Charlottetown's West Royalty Industrial Park — the North and South Malls and 88 Watts Drive — and the other is an industrial mall in Summerside.
"We feel we don't need to be competing with the private sector," Innovation Minister Allan Campbell said.
"It's part of allowing them to do their work and allowing them to grow and flourish in the province as well. It's part of the one-Island-community theme."
Campbell said the government expects to get $4.7 million from the sales, but that is not the impetus behind the decision to sell.
"That's not what it's all about. It's about getting out of competition with the private sector," he said.
Earlier this year the government took down the for-sale sign on four provincially owned golf courses. Tourism Minister Valerie Docherty said that is no contradiction. The province is not seeking a buyer for the courses because economic conditions are not right for a sale, but the government is still open to offers.
"Of course they're for sale," Docherty said.
"If the right buyer comes along with the price that's going to benefit taxpayers, we're always open to that."
Docherty expects government will eventually get the deal it is looking for when the economy improves.
While only four government buildings are on the block right now, Campbell said government is looking at other properties that could be put on the market as well, all in the name of not competing with the private sector.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Paul... it's time to "hang up the skates"....
Back in his "hay day" Paul Martin was considered a very astute businessman turned political economic guru..... and to help booster his political image he use to head out to his farm in the Eastern Townships of Quebec and play "gentlemen farmer" on Sundays by driving his tractor around the fields and "thinking" about how great a Prime Minister he was going to be to us meagre voters... well somewhere in one of those fields the tractor hit a "bump" and went in the ditch and instead of getting back up on the tractor and finish cutting the hay Paul is now back in the media again trying to tell another Prime Minister how to do their job... well he must of "hit his head" when he fell off as he still thinks people are going to listen to him... and had Prime Minister Chretien listened to him when Mr. Martin wanted to allow our Canadian Banks to merge with the US Banks then our Country would be in the same poor economic conditions as the US... Paul it's time to "hang up the skates" and get back to the farming as you've done enough damage to the Liberal Party and we're trying to move on.... here's a reminder http://archives.cbc.ca/politics/prime_ministers/topics/2148-13114/
Paul Martin says Conservatives need 'clear exit strategy' for deficit
The Canadian Press
WATERLOO, Ont. — The Harper government has created a structural deficit and now needs to outline a clear exit strategy, says former prime minister and deficit-slayer Paul Martin. Martin, speaking to reporters after a speech to a global economic conference in Waterloo, Ont., on Sunday, said his government left behind a $13 billion surplus and the Conservatives whittled that down to nothing before the recession even hit. “That surplus was wiped out and more before a penny was spent on stimulus spending,” Martin said. If the surplus had been left untouched, there would have been enough money in Ottawa’s coffers to cover billions of dollars of stimulus spending without going into deficit, he added. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty recently updated his estimates for the deficit for this year, raising the number by more than $5 billion, to a projected $55.9 billion from $50.2 billion.Much of the deficit reflects higher government stimulus spending to fight the recession, lower corporate taxes as company profits fall and billions of dollars spent to bail out General Motors and Chrysler and save them from collapse this spring. Flaherty has promised to balance the books by the 2015-16 fiscal year by squeezing growth in public spending and relying on higher tax revenues from a growing economy. Flaherty has said he will not increase taxes or cut transfer payments to the provinces. However, employment insurance premiums are going up and some economists have predicted that taxes, user fees and other revenue generators will likely rise as well over the next several years to help fight the deficit. But Martin, who balanced the books as finance minister in the Jean Chretien Liberal government from 1993 to 2002, said Canadians deserve a clearer picture of what their government is going to do to eliminate the structural deficit it has created. “It’s not enough to say we will have a plan,” Martin said. “The government should have a plan now and it should lay it out in front of the Canadian people.” This doesn’t mean the government needs to start acting to eliminate the deficit immediately, Martin said. He said Canada — and governments around the world — need to wait until the time is right before they start to cut spending, but when that time comes, they should be prepared to react immediately. Martin is known for successfully eliminating the deficit when he was finance minister — a move that often resulted in unpopular decisions, such as cutting transfer payments to the provinces and reducing funding for universities. He said he didn’t enjoy doing what he did, but it was necessary at the time, and it will be necessary again. “The reason I just think it was such a terrible mistake for the government to go to a structural deficit is that you don’t want to do what we did in ’95 every 10 years. You don’t want to impose that on people,” Martin said. Earlier Sunday, Martin spoke at an international economic conference sponsored by a Canadian think tank founded by Jim Balsillie, co-chief executive of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. (TSX:RIM). He urged the G20 — newly approved to replace the G8 as the overseer of the global economy — to create an international body to co-ordinate regulation of financial systems around the world so the financial crisis does not re-occur. “If globalization is to work, we must recognize that national regulation cannot deal with the gaps in the global financial system, and furthermore we must recognize that the effectiveness of national regulation must be ensured by an international co-ordinating body, both for scope and competence,” Martin said in his speech at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. He added that enforcement of this international co-ordination must be mandatory, not voluntary, as some countries have suggested.
Paul Martin says Conservatives need 'clear exit strategy' for deficit
The Canadian Press
WATERLOO, Ont. — The Harper government has created a structural deficit and now needs to outline a clear exit strategy, says former prime minister and deficit-slayer Paul Martin. Martin, speaking to reporters after a speech to a global economic conference in Waterloo, Ont., on Sunday, said his government left behind a $13 billion surplus and the Conservatives whittled that down to nothing before the recession even hit. “That surplus was wiped out and more before a penny was spent on stimulus spending,” Martin said. If the surplus had been left untouched, there would have been enough money in Ottawa’s coffers to cover billions of dollars of stimulus spending without going into deficit, he added. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty recently updated his estimates for the deficit for this year, raising the number by more than $5 billion, to a projected $55.9 billion from $50.2 billion.Much of the deficit reflects higher government stimulus spending to fight the recession, lower corporate taxes as company profits fall and billions of dollars spent to bail out General Motors and Chrysler and save them from collapse this spring. Flaherty has promised to balance the books by the 2015-16 fiscal year by squeezing growth in public spending and relying on higher tax revenues from a growing economy. Flaherty has said he will not increase taxes or cut transfer payments to the provinces. However, employment insurance premiums are going up and some economists have predicted that taxes, user fees and other revenue generators will likely rise as well over the next several years to help fight the deficit. But Martin, who balanced the books as finance minister in the Jean Chretien Liberal government from 1993 to 2002, said Canadians deserve a clearer picture of what their government is going to do to eliminate the structural deficit it has created. “It’s not enough to say we will have a plan,” Martin said. “The government should have a plan now and it should lay it out in front of the Canadian people.” This doesn’t mean the government needs to start acting to eliminate the deficit immediately, Martin said. He said Canada — and governments around the world — need to wait until the time is right before they start to cut spending, but when that time comes, they should be prepared to react immediately. Martin is known for successfully eliminating the deficit when he was finance minister — a move that often resulted in unpopular decisions, such as cutting transfer payments to the provinces and reducing funding for universities. He said he didn’t enjoy doing what he did, but it was necessary at the time, and it will be necessary again. “The reason I just think it was such a terrible mistake for the government to go to a structural deficit is that you don’t want to do what we did in ’95 every 10 years. You don’t want to impose that on people,” Martin said. Earlier Sunday, Martin spoke at an international economic conference sponsored by a Canadian think tank founded by Jim Balsillie, co-chief executive of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. (TSX:RIM). He urged the G20 — newly approved to replace the G8 as the overseer of the global economy — to create an international body to co-ordinate regulation of financial systems around the world so the financial crisis does not re-occur. “If globalization is to work, we must recognize that national regulation cannot deal with the gaps in the global financial system, and furthermore we must recognize that the effectiveness of national regulation must be ensured by an international co-ordinating body, both for scope and competence,” Martin said in his speech at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. He added that enforcement of this international co-ordination must be mandatory, not voluntary, as some countries have suggested.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Strange Byline... or strange comments....
I'm sure there were some tongues waggling down on the 5th floor when they seen this news item as Government heads back to more Committee Meetings next week and this story will certainly fuel the fire by the opposition to call the deputies forward to talk about the PNP's... what's so strange about this story is there was no reporter taking credit for the interview which usually means that the person being interviewed usually calls it in but we don't know that is this case.... but why a federal Liberal MP would touch a Liberal Provincial issue is really strange particularly one that could involve questions directly related to his own family... I can remember back when the Ghiz Government was in opposition and they continued to "Demand" that Kent Scales the bureaucratic in charge of the Polar File show up before the hearings.... but when all was said and done with the release of the Polar Report there was no mention or blame put on Mr. Scales as in most cases these bureaucrats are directed by the Ministers and the Premier's office... and I suspect that will be the case in the PNP program and neither the former Binns government or the current government will ever come out lily white on any issue so why do we waste all this time talking about the past instead of looking towards the future...
Charlottetown MP backs calling deputies to provincial committee
EDITORIAL STAFF
The Guardian
A Liberal MP is siding with the Conservative opposition in P.E.I. and calling for the provincial public accounts committee to hear from deputy ministers. Charlottetown MP Shawn Murphy says as far as he knows the Prince Edward Island public accounts committee is the only public accounts committee in Canada that does not allow deputy ministers to appear. Murphy said it would be far more effective for the committee to hear from deputy ministers — a position Opposition Leader Olive Crane has been pushing for the past 10 months. When the province’s public accounts committee first began probing the controversial Provincial Nominee Program last fall, then-Innovation minister Richard Brown would not allow his program administrators and deputy ministers to appear and answer questions. This was in spite of the fact former Innovation deputy Brooke MacMillan was at the centre of much PNP controversy when it was uncovered he and his wife both benefitted from the program. Since then, the Liberal MLAs on the committee have repeatedly upheld the notion of only calling ministers of departments to appear before the committee. But with the PNP back on the agenda as public accounts delves into the 2009 auditor general’s report, which includes the auditor’s special investigation into the immigration program, Crane tried once again this week to pitch the idea of calling in deputies and senior bureaucrats. For the past three-and-a-half years, Murphy has been the chairman of the federal public accounts committee. He said the federal committee hears from deputy ministers and it is only on very rare occasions that a cabinet minister would be invited to appear. “The deputies are responsible for administration and that normally would be the focus of the public accounts committee,” said Murphy. “The ministers, individually and collectively in cabinet, are responsible for establishing policy, which normally would not be a concern to a Public Accounts Committee.” Murphy went on to say that the trouble with the present dispute before the provincial public accounts committee is that the Opposition’s new position is completely inconsistent with the policy held by Conservative members for 11 years prior to May 2007, when they insisted that only cabinet ministers would appear before the committee. “Given their long-held previous policy, the Opposition’s new position would be seen by most people as being hypocritical.” Murphy suggests that to get beyond this present dispute the provincial public accounts committee may wish to adopt a policy of calling deputy ministers to appear before the committee, which could come into effect at some point in the future, perhaps a year from now.
Charlottetown MP backs calling deputies to provincial committee
EDITORIAL STAFF
The Guardian
A Liberal MP is siding with the Conservative opposition in P.E.I. and calling for the provincial public accounts committee to hear from deputy ministers. Charlottetown MP Shawn Murphy says as far as he knows the Prince Edward Island public accounts committee is the only public accounts committee in Canada that does not allow deputy ministers to appear. Murphy said it would be far more effective for the committee to hear from deputy ministers — a position Opposition Leader Olive Crane has been pushing for the past 10 months. When the province’s public accounts committee first began probing the controversial Provincial Nominee Program last fall, then-Innovation minister Richard Brown would not allow his program administrators and deputy ministers to appear and answer questions. This was in spite of the fact former Innovation deputy Brooke MacMillan was at the centre of much PNP controversy when it was uncovered he and his wife both benefitted from the program. Since then, the Liberal MLAs on the committee have repeatedly upheld the notion of only calling ministers of departments to appear before the committee. But with the PNP back on the agenda as public accounts delves into the 2009 auditor general’s report, which includes the auditor’s special investigation into the immigration program, Crane tried once again this week to pitch the idea of calling in deputies and senior bureaucrats. For the past three-and-a-half years, Murphy has been the chairman of the federal public accounts committee. He said the federal committee hears from deputy ministers and it is only on very rare occasions that a cabinet minister would be invited to appear. “The deputies are responsible for administration and that normally would be the focus of the public accounts committee,” said Murphy. “The ministers, individually and collectively in cabinet, are responsible for establishing policy, which normally would not be a concern to a Public Accounts Committee.” Murphy went on to say that the trouble with the present dispute before the provincial public accounts committee is that the Opposition’s new position is completely inconsistent with the policy held by Conservative members for 11 years prior to May 2007, when they insisted that only cabinet ministers would appear before the committee. “Given their long-held previous policy, the Opposition’s new position would be seen by most people as being hypocritical.” Murphy suggests that to get beyond this present dispute the provincial public accounts committee may wish to adopt a policy of calling deputy ministers to appear before the committee, which could come into effect at some point in the future, perhaps a year from now.
Friday, October 2, 2009
It's Time To Stop The Bleeding....
Manulife Financial www.manulife.com says it is in negotiations with CGI Group www.cgi.com regarding the upcoming expiry of the $120 million outsourcing contract that was signed in the wake of the 2004 acquisition of Maritime Life. At that time 300 Maritime Life people were switched over to CGI in the aftermath of the deal that seen the demise of one of Halifax’s largest business institutions which had a head office payroll of 1,075 people. Manulife now have about 750 employees in Halifax while CGI has about 650 in Atlantic Canada most of whom are out of Halifax working on the Manulife account but there are over 100 people here on PEI working out of building in Stratford that the previous Binns Government built to suit CGI in 2006 which is still half empty. When big companies like this are in negotiations there is never any guarantees on what happens in the aftermath of such negotiations and let’s hope it does not impact CGI’s operations here on PEI. Now my guess is if you asked someone from CGI if there was going to be any aftermath on PEI they would say everything is alright but I can remember a few months ago when the local media called Starbucks after I said they were coming to Charlottetown and a trained Starbucks public relations person basically denied such. The big problem I see here is Government through CADC could be on the hook for another empty building in Stratford just like what is shaping up for the White Elephant the Binns Government built as the Atlantic Technology Centre that PEI taxpayers are now paying over a $1,000,000.00 a year to subsidize. Our Government spent over $26,000,000.00 to build the Tech Centre and today they got a recent “beefed up” appraisal at around $8,000,000.00 and I would bet my first child they couldn't get over $5,000,000.00 in today’s market so how’s that for Government being in the development business? Let’s all hope the negotiations with this US firm Manulife go well for CGI and jobs in Stratford get secured but in the meantime hopefully Government will get out of the property development business as they’re not very good at it. I understand the Ghiz Government has put their properties in the West Royalty Industrial Park up for sale which appears to be a good start at getting out of the business as most of their properties are "bleeding" red ink....
Thursday, October 1, 2009
My Guess Is Mr. Rowe Will Win This One....
For those of you who aren't aware Vector Aerospace has a significant operating division in Slemon Park http://www.aerospacepei.com/aerospacepei.com/companyprofiles.php?page=at that is run by a very capable former bureaucrat in Brian Thompson.... and if you have a look at the following story the Company is now “in play” a term used when someone is trying to take over the Company.... it will be very interesting to see what happens to this Company following what appears to be a "dust up" among shareholders.... my guess is that the response by Vector's Board to shun IMP's offer is not going to sit well with Kenneth Rowe who is IMP's owner ... in fact it's quite surprising that existing management wouldn't recognize IMP's strong ownership of over 37% of the Company and the proven capabilities of Mr. Rowe as a seasoned businessman who in my view will surely toss away any of those who get in his way as he'll probably ultimately get control... in any event I’m pretty sure Brian will survive and it might be a great opportunity for the Summerside operation to continue to grow as that is Mr. Rowe’s track record....
Vector Aerospace seeking alternatives to IMP Group offer
The Canadian Press
TORONTO — Vector Aerospace Corp. (TSX:RNO) said Tuesday a special committee of independent directors does not believe a move by its largest shareholder to increase its stake is in best interests of the company and is exploring alternatives. Vector said the move by IMP Group Ltd. to make an all-cash offer to acquire up to six million Vector shares would allow the private Halifax-based aerospace investment company to acquire control of the corporation and reduce liquidity for shareholders. The company also noted the floor price of $6.52 set out in the proposed offer is below the closing price of Vector’s shares on the 30 trading days preceding Sept. 25.Vector shares closed up 18 cents at $6.90 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday. IMP Group currently holds about a 37.3 per cent stake in Vector or about 14 million shares. Vector also announced Tuesday that it has signed a deal to raise $45 million in an issue of shares that will be used to repay debt and for general corporate purposes. The company said it has signed an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters led by TD Securities and Dundee Securities to sell 7.1 million shares at $6.35 per share. Vector has also granted the underwriters an over-allotment option to purchase up to an additional 1,065,000 shares. The company currently has about 38 million shares outstanding.Vector Aerospace has aviation repair and overhaul services in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Africa.
Vector Aerospace seeking alternatives to IMP Group offer
The Canadian Press
TORONTO — Vector Aerospace Corp. (TSX:RNO) said Tuesday a special committee of independent directors does not believe a move by its largest shareholder to increase its stake is in best interests of the company and is exploring alternatives. Vector said the move by IMP Group Ltd. to make an all-cash offer to acquire up to six million Vector shares would allow the private Halifax-based aerospace investment company to acquire control of the corporation and reduce liquidity for shareholders. The company also noted the floor price of $6.52 set out in the proposed offer is below the closing price of Vector’s shares on the 30 trading days preceding Sept. 25.Vector shares closed up 18 cents at $6.90 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday. IMP Group currently holds about a 37.3 per cent stake in Vector or about 14 million shares. Vector also announced Tuesday that it has signed a deal to raise $45 million in an issue of shares that will be used to repay debt and for general corporate purposes. The company said it has signed an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters led by TD Securities and Dundee Securities to sell 7.1 million shares at $6.35 per share. Vector has also granted the underwriters an over-allotment option to purchase up to an additional 1,065,000 shares. The company currently has about 38 million shares outstanding.Vector Aerospace has aviation repair and overhaul services in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Africa.
Big changes or just a teaser....
Well there was a lot of talk around today that we were heading for some major changes in Government but as you can see from the recent press release from Island Information Services there were only a few minor changes... but I'm fully expecting to see bigger changes by October 15th and I predict some of them will be in Cabinet duties...
October 1, 2009 For immediate release
Premier Announces Changes in Senior Management
Premier's Office
Premier Robert Ghiz announced the following changes to the senior management team of Government following Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.
• Wayne Hooper is retiring from the Government of Prince Edward Island and will be continuing to serve in a new capacity with the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
• Bob Morrison will be retiring from the Government of Prince Edward Island and will be taking up a new position with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
• Teresa Hennebery will be leaving her position as Assistant Deputy Minister of Health to take a secondment with the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
• Aubrey Cormier will be joining the Government of Prince Edward Island as Assistant Deputy Minister of Acadian and Francophone Affairs.
“The make-up of the senior management team will continue to evolve as we identify the leadership needed to advance our Government’s priorities,” said Premier Ghiz.
“To this end, I am looking forward to working with Aubrey Cormier is his new capacity in support of Acadian and francophone issues.
“I also want to thank Wayne Hooper, Bob Morrison and Teresa Hennebery for their significant service to the Government of Prince Edward Island and wish them well in their new endeavours,” Premier Ghiz said.
October 1, 2009 For immediate release
Premier Announces Changes in Senior Management
Premier's Office
Premier Robert Ghiz announced the following changes to the senior management team of Government following Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.
• Wayne Hooper is retiring from the Government of Prince Edward Island and will be continuing to serve in a new capacity with the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
• Bob Morrison will be retiring from the Government of Prince Edward Island and will be taking up a new position with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
• Teresa Hennebery will be leaving her position as Assistant Deputy Minister of Health to take a secondment with the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
• Aubrey Cormier will be joining the Government of Prince Edward Island as Assistant Deputy Minister of Acadian and Francophone Affairs.
“The make-up of the senior management team will continue to evolve as we identify the leadership needed to advance our Government’s priorities,” said Premier Ghiz.
“To this end, I am looking forward to working with Aubrey Cormier is his new capacity in support of Acadian and francophone issues.
“I also want to thank Wayne Hooper, Bob Morrison and Teresa Hennebery for their significant service to the Government of Prince Edward Island and wish them well in their new endeavours,” Premier Ghiz said.
Let's get this Museum underway....
When the new Ghiz Government took power one of the first things they did was cancel the Provincial Museum project in Murray River which I felt made a lot of sense as it would probably just sit out there in isolation... but it's been two years now and things have been fairly quiet on the location front other than some silly notion that it should go in the old Dominion Building and now an expression from Stratford that it should be on the their waterfront... while I personally think it should be near the most public entrance to Charlottetown and close to the University I really don't know.... but I think it would be wise of Government in the very near future to invite expressions of interest from Communities using a scoring system to award the location to the Community who puts forward the proposal with the "best merit" in meeting the PEI Museum’s mandate as opposed to just handing it out based on political favours.... the sooner we get this museum on track the better.... and I applaud Stratford's efforts in taking the initiative in getting this debate started but "moving a lagoon" to make way for it is financially out of the ball park.... here's a previous posting on the subject http://www.timbanks.ca/2008/12/silly-location-for-museum-and-expensive.html
Architect sparks excitement about bid for museum in Stratford
NIGEL ARMSTRONG
The Guardian
Passion and excitement swept through a meeting in Stratford Wednesday as the town pushes on with a bid to have a new P.E.I. museum on its waterfront. An informal committee of interested people, led by Stratford deputy mayor Sandy McMillan, has for the past few days been hosting one of the world’s most famous architects, Douglas Cardinal. He spoke at a public meeting attended by nearly 50 people at Stratford Town Hall Wednesday. Afterwards, the excitement was palpable. Edward Rice presented his enthusiasm for the project to area MLA Cynthia Dunsford and Mayor Kevin Jenkins. “All inclusiveness, the inspiration of a new building that is allowed to be free, to be formed, something new and imaginative, the site — which I think is ideal — somebody put all this together and that hasn’t happened in Charlottetown,” said Rice. Cardinal spoke of the need for strong, determined vision and commitment to make projects happen even when it seems unlikely. He persevered for many of his renowned, curving structures, be it the National Museum of the American Indian on the Washington Mall beside the Capitol, or a northern Canadian hospital combining aboriginal and western medicine. “It takes imagination, which everything starts with, your vision, your belief, and (Cardinal) brought that to us tonight,” said Rice. “Somebody somewhere in this group had the brains to put that together. They have a bid committee. Where are the rest of the few communities that could be interested? I see big players here and big dreamers too. “Remember Frank MacKinnon built Confederation Centre of the Arts on a dream, with not a . . . hope . . . of getting a dime to do that, and he and a few other people did it. Not that I agree with it.” Jordan Brown is the unofficial co-chair and sometime spokesperson for the Stratford museum bid committee. He lives in Frenchfort but was impressed with the idea of Stratford being home to a P.E.I. museum. He knows that the current town sewage lagoon will have to be moved if the museum is to occupy the open waterfront space south of the Hillsborough Bridge approaches. “From a provincial perspective it makes so much sense to have it there, it is almost nonsensical to think of it being any place else,” said Brown. He invited any interested Islander to contact him, McMillan or the Stratford town office to volunteer for the growing ad hoc museum committee. “Government right now has announced its intention to build this museum and is currently undertaking a study . . . to define the scope of the museum, where it would go, what kind of facility it would need, parking, etc.,” said Brown. “Like (Cardinal) said here tonight, we have stated our intention that we want it here, now we are enrolling the people to do that.” “The first step is to declare a very powerful intention,” said Cardinal in his address Wednesday. Then it must be nurtured, he said. “When you state your word, and you say it in a powerful way, the hardest thing is to keep your word because human beings have a whole bunch of agendas going on in their heads,” said Cardinal. “To bring a vision into reality, you keep your word, you keep your intentions pure which requires an unwavering commitment. You operate by commitment, rather than fear. “Fear keeps us powerless and small and collapse the power of our intention.”
Architect sparks excitement about bid for museum in Stratford
NIGEL ARMSTRONG
The Guardian
Passion and excitement swept through a meeting in Stratford Wednesday as the town pushes on with a bid to have a new P.E.I. museum on its waterfront. An informal committee of interested people, led by Stratford deputy mayor Sandy McMillan, has for the past few days been hosting one of the world’s most famous architects, Douglas Cardinal. He spoke at a public meeting attended by nearly 50 people at Stratford Town Hall Wednesday. Afterwards, the excitement was palpable. Edward Rice presented his enthusiasm for the project to area MLA Cynthia Dunsford and Mayor Kevin Jenkins. “All inclusiveness, the inspiration of a new building that is allowed to be free, to be formed, something new and imaginative, the site — which I think is ideal — somebody put all this together and that hasn’t happened in Charlottetown,” said Rice. Cardinal spoke of the need for strong, determined vision and commitment to make projects happen even when it seems unlikely. He persevered for many of his renowned, curving structures, be it the National Museum of the American Indian on the Washington Mall beside the Capitol, or a northern Canadian hospital combining aboriginal and western medicine. “It takes imagination, which everything starts with, your vision, your belief, and (Cardinal) brought that to us tonight,” said Rice. “Somebody somewhere in this group had the brains to put that together. They have a bid committee. Where are the rest of the few communities that could be interested? I see big players here and big dreamers too. “Remember Frank MacKinnon built Confederation Centre of the Arts on a dream, with not a . . . hope . . . of getting a dime to do that, and he and a few other people did it. Not that I agree with it.” Jordan Brown is the unofficial co-chair and sometime spokesperson for the Stratford museum bid committee. He lives in Frenchfort but was impressed with the idea of Stratford being home to a P.E.I. museum. He knows that the current town sewage lagoon will have to be moved if the museum is to occupy the open waterfront space south of the Hillsborough Bridge approaches. “From a provincial perspective it makes so much sense to have it there, it is almost nonsensical to think of it being any place else,” said Brown. He invited any interested Islander to contact him, McMillan or the Stratford town office to volunteer for the growing ad hoc museum committee. “Government right now has announced its intention to build this museum and is currently undertaking a study . . . to define the scope of the museum, where it would go, what kind of facility it would need, parking, etc.,” said Brown. “Like (Cardinal) said here tonight, we have stated our intention that we want it here, now we are enrolling the people to do that.” “The first step is to declare a very powerful intention,” said Cardinal in his address Wednesday. Then it must be nurtured, he said. “When you state your word, and you say it in a powerful way, the hardest thing is to keep your word because human beings have a whole bunch of agendas going on in their heads,” said Cardinal. “To bring a vision into reality, you keep your word, you keep your intentions pure which requires an unwavering commitment. You operate by commitment, rather than fear. “Fear keeps us powerless and small and collapse the power of our intention.”
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Where are our “Priorities”... don’t ask the City...
When I step back and watch how our City is administered I am sometimes amazed at how they come up with their "priorities" when it comes to getting the best bang out of our tax dollars.... and I could be off the mark here so I put together a little survey to the left of my blog which may give us all a sense of where our City "priorities" should be with respect to spending money on improving the traffic flow in our City.... so I've used the $1,500,000 improvement to Allen Street as a example.... so should we spend our tax dollars on improving the flow and appearance on University Ave or should we spend it at the "Action Corner" which may soon be the "Action Roundabout" if Clifford and Mitch get their way... Please take a moment to share your view as my guess is it will be significantly different than what the City are doing....
Friday, September 25, 2009
The Plot Gets Thicker....
If you take a look at the following two recent news articles published in Ireland it appears that things are getting even uglier for the Oran Group of Company to the point that the Bank who loaned them the money to buy the Waterfront Mall is in serious trouble as well... also see http://www.timbanks.ca/2009/08/hair-brain-idea-or-money-scam.html
Revenue moves to liquidate Oran Group companies
20 September 2009
By Ian Kehoe
The Post.ie Sunday Business News
The Revenue Commissioners www.revenue.ie/en/index.html have moved to liquidate two companies connected to the Oran Group, the property development business owned by Irish developer Richard Fitzgerald, in an effort to recover unpaid taxes. Petitions to wind up the two companies - Oran Properties and MDZ - were lodged in the High Court in recent days, and will be heard by the court next month. The Cork businessman, who has significant property interests in Ireland and Britain, controls both companies through a vehicle called Goldcairn Investments. Both companies based in the headquarters of the Oran Group on Grand Parade in Cork city. Fitzgerald was also a founding shareholder of the property firm Brendan Investments. The move by Revenue comes just weeks after Anglo Irish Bank, the nationalised lender, appointed receivers to two companies connected to Fitzgerald - Richard Finbarr’s Property Co, a property trading company, and the Waterfront Mall shopping centre in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Oran bought the mall in 2006 and subsequently announced plans for a major development on the site. Anglo’s security includes the Oran Group’s offices on Grand Parade, an apartment in the Castletroy area of Limerick, and shares in Wharfside Regeneration (Devon) Ltd. Fitzgerald has a number of other business interests. In May 2008, he sold his Scottish recycling firm to the Cork based Response Group in a deal that is reported to have valued the firm at more than €10 million.
State faces new Anglo cash call
20 September 2009
By David Clerkin, Markets Correspondent
The Post.ie Sunday Business News
The government will have to inject several billion euro in fresh capital into Anglo Irish Bank, following write-offs at the bank after its loans are transferred to Nama. Banking sources believe that Anglo will need a minimum of an additional €4 billion in fresh state capital to continue to operate once the loans are transferred and say this could rise to€6 billion or more due to further write-downs likely on loans not transferred to Nama. The government will seek ways to stagger the significant extra costs on the exchequer which it will incur in keeping Anglo operational. Senior sources say that closing the bank would incur a bigger cost by triggering the state guarantee on bank bonds and deposits. Figures provided by the Department of Finance last week revealed that Anglo would transfer loans with a book value of €28 billion to the National Asset Management Agency( Nama). The transfer is expected to involve a discount of between 33 per cent and 38 per cent on its book value, higher than the average of 30 per cent across all participating institutions announced by Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan last week. This could trigger losses on the loan portfolio of between €9 billion and €10.5 billion. These losses, coupled with further impairments on Anglo loans that will not be transferred to Nama, look set to erode Anglo’s capital base to such an extent that the government would be forced into a series of fresh capital injections. The government spent €3.8 billion earlier this year to repair Anglo’s balance sheet, based on reported loan losses of €4.9 billion and anticipated future losses of a further €2.6 billion. When the fresh capital injections likely to be needed over the next year are added to state funds already gone in, it looks set to push the total cost of bailing out the now nationalised bank to between €8 billion and €10 billion. The need to inject more funds into Anglo would place further strains on the exchequer’s finances, as the government, acting through the National Treasury Management Agency, would need to borrow the money, with little prospect of ever getting a return on it. The Department of Finance is likely to explore ways in which any payments necessary can be minimised and staggered, deferring the need for some of the capital requirement for a limited period. It also remains unclear what capital requirement the Central Bank will impose on Anglo.Among the mechanisms that will be examined are Anglo recognising further loan impairments over more than one accounting period. Unusually among Irish banks, Anglo’s financial yearend is September 30. This may give its board limited flexibility in determining the level of losses to be recognised in the current year, and in the subsequent period.
Revenue moves to liquidate Oran Group companies
20 September 2009
By Ian Kehoe
The Post.ie Sunday Business News
The Revenue Commissioners www.revenue.ie/en/index.html have moved to liquidate two companies connected to the Oran Group, the property development business owned by Irish developer Richard Fitzgerald, in an effort to recover unpaid taxes. Petitions to wind up the two companies - Oran Properties and MDZ - were lodged in the High Court in recent days, and will be heard by the court next month. The Cork businessman, who has significant property interests in Ireland and Britain, controls both companies through a vehicle called Goldcairn Investments. Both companies based in the headquarters of the Oran Group on Grand Parade in Cork city. Fitzgerald was also a founding shareholder of the property firm Brendan Investments. The move by Revenue comes just weeks after Anglo Irish Bank, the nationalised lender, appointed receivers to two companies connected to Fitzgerald - Richard Finbarr’s Property Co, a property trading company, and the Waterfront Mall shopping centre in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Oran bought the mall in 2006 and subsequently announced plans for a major development on the site. Anglo’s security includes the Oran Group’s offices on Grand Parade, an apartment in the Castletroy area of Limerick, and shares in Wharfside Regeneration (Devon) Ltd. Fitzgerald has a number of other business interests. In May 2008, he sold his Scottish recycling firm to the Cork based Response Group in a deal that is reported to have valued the firm at more than €10 million.
State faces new Anglo cash call
20 September 2009
By David Clerkin, Markets Correspondent
The Post.ie Sunday Business News
The government will have to inject several billion euro in fresh capital into Anglo Irish Bank, following write-offs at the bank after its loans are transferred to Nama. Banking sources believe that Anglo will need a minimum of an additional €4 billion in fresh state capital to continue to operate once the loans are transferred and say this could rise to€6 billion or more due to further write-downs likely on loans not transferred to Nama. The government will seek ways to stagger the significant extra costs on the exchequer which it will incur in keeping Anglo operational. Senior sources say that closing the bank would incur a bigger cost by triggering the state guarantee on bank bonds and deposits. Figures provided by the Department of Finance last week revealed that Anglo would transfer loans with a book value of €28 billion to the National Asset Management Agency( Nama). The transfer is expected to involve a discount of between 33 per cent and 38 per cent on its book value, higher than the average of 30 per cent across all participating institutions announced by Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan last week. This could trigger losses on the loan portfolio of between €9 billion and €10.5 billion. These losses, coupled with further impairments on Anglo loans that will not be transferred to Nama, look set to erode Anglo’s capital base to such an extent that the government would be forced into a series of fresh capital injections. The government spent €3.8 billion earlier this year to repair Anglo’s balance sheet, based on reported loan losses of €4.9 billion and anticipated future losses of a further €2.6 billion. When the fresh capital injections likely to be needed over the next year are added to state funds already gone in, it looks set to push the total cost of bailing out the now nationalised bank to between €8 billion and €10 billion. The need to inject more funds into Anglo would place further strains on the exchequer’s finances, as the government, acting through the National Treasury Management Agency, would need to borrow the money, with little prospect of ever getting a return on it. The Department of Finance is likely to explore ways in which any payments necessary can be minimised and staggered, deferring the need for some of the capital requirement for a limited period. It also remains unclear what capital requirement the Central Bank will impose on Anglo.Among the mechanisms that will be examined are Anglo recognising further loan impairments over more than one accounting period. Unusually among Irish banks, Anglo’s financial yearend is September 30. This may give its board limited flexibility in determining the level of losses to be recognised in the current year, and in the subsequent period.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
City Council Making More Music.....
Although I'm away on vacation I couldn't help scanning some of the local news and lo and behold I see Council is back making music to the ears of their law firm..... and costing us taxpayers more money on something they should be supporting not trying to stop....
"Send in the Clowns" is a song by Stephen Sondheim from the 1973 musical A Little Night Music.
The "clowns" in the title do not refer to circus clowns. Instead, they symbolize fools, as Sondheim explained in a 1990 interview:
“I get a lot of letters over the years asking what the title means and what the song's about; I never thought it would be in any way esoteric. I wanted to use theatrical imagery in the song, because she's an actress, but it's not supposed to be a 'circus'.... it's a theater reference meaning 'if the show isn't going well, let's send in the clowns'; in other words, 'let's do the jokes.' I always want to know, when I'm writing a song, what the end is going to be, so 'Send in the Clowns' didn't settle in until I got the notion, 'Don't bother, they're here' which means that 'We are the fools.'”
In a 2008 interview, Sondheim further clarified:
“As I think of it now, the song could have been called 'Send in the Fools.' I knew I was writing a song in which Desirée is saying, 'aren't we foolish' or 'aren't we fools'? Well, a synonym for fools is clowns, but 'Send in the Fools' doesn't have the same ring to it."
Maybe it might be time for someone to try a new version like "Throw out the Clowns"....
Charlottetown again refuses IRAC order
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
CBC News
The City of Charlottetown has again ignored an order from the Island Regulatory Appeals Commission to rezone a property to make way for apartment buildings.
'We have to decide whether we're going to compromise our values.'— Coun. David MacDonald
The land, owned by L&A MacEachern Holdings, is currently the site of the Idlewheels Trailer Park. L&A MacEachern wants to clear out the trailer park in favour of apartments, but council has twice voted down rezoning. The developer appealed to IRAC, and the commission overruled the city. That ruling was upheld on appeal in January.
Eviction notices have already been delivered to the 19 trailers in the Idlewheels Trailer Park.
City council was supposed to rubber stamp the IRAC order last week, but it did not.
"The fact of the matter is it is not necessary for us to pass a resolution to enact that order," Coun. David MacDonald told council.
"IRAC has the authority to do that themselves."
The provincial Planning Act states that if a council refuses to carry out an order from IRAC, the commission has the authority to implement the order.
MacDonald said it's about council staying true to its principles.
"Now we have to decide whether we're going to compromise our values by taking another decision tonight that disagrees with what we really think in the first place," he said.
MacDonald said council wants a legal opinion before it decides how to proceed. That legal opinion should be ready in October.
A spokesperson for IRAC wouldn't comment.
"Send in the Clowns" is a song by Stephen Sondheim from the 1973 musical A Little Night Music.
The "clowns" in the title do not refer to circus clowns. Instead, they symbolize fools, as Sondheim explained in a 1990 interview:
“I get a lot of letters over the years asking what the title means and what the song's about; I never thought it would be in any way esoteric. I wanted to use theatrical imagery in the song, because she's an actress, but it's not supposed to be a 'circus'.... it's a theater reference meaning 'if the show isn't going well, let's send in the clowns'; in other words, 'let's do the jokes.' I always want to know, when I'm writing a song, what the end is going to be, so 'Send in the Clowns' didn't settle in until I got the notion, 'Don't bother, they're here' which means that 'We are the fools.'”
In a 2008 interview, Sondheim further clarified:
“As I think of it now, the song could have been called 'Send in the Fools.' I knew I was writing a song in which Desirée is saying, 'aren't we foolish' or 'aren't we fools'? Well, a synonym for fools is clowns, but 'Send in the Fools' doesn't have the same ring to it."
Maybe it might be time for someone to try a new version like "Throw out the Clowns"....
Charlottetown again refuses IRAC order
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
CBC News
The City of Charlottetown has again ignored an order from the Island Regulatory Appeals Commission to rezone a property to make way for apartment buildings.
'We have to decide whether we're going to compromise our values.'— Coun. David MacDonald
The land, owned by L&A MacEachern Holdings, is currently the site of the Idlewheels Trailer Park. L&A MacEachern wants to clear out the trailer park in favour of apartments, but council has twice voted down rezoning. The developer appealed to IRAC, and the commission overruled the city. That ruling was upheld on appeal in January.
Eviction notices have already been delivered to the 19 trailers in the Idlewheels Trailer Park.
City council was supposed to rubber stamp the IRAC order last week, but it did not.
"The fact of the matter is it is not necessary for us to pass a resolution to enact that order," Coun. David MacDonald told council.
"IRAC has the authority to do that themselves."
The provincial Planning Act states that if a council refuses to carry out an order from IRAC, the commission has the authority to implement the order.
MacDonald said it's about council staying true to its principles.
"Now we have to decide whether we're going to compromise our values by taking another decision tonight that disagrees with what we really think in the first place," he said.
MacDonald said council wants a legal opinion before it decides how to proceed. That legal opinion should be ready in October.
A spokesperson for IRAC wouldn't comment.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
A Sign Of The Times.... only in Charlottetown..
Well here we go again... a good corporate citizen, Aliant who have a significant investment in Charlottetown and employ a lot people in Charlottetown wanted to erect a promotional sign on their building on Queen Street.... but the current signage bylaws which are silly at best wouldn't allow for the sign and the bylaws wouldn't allow for a variance... and the reason the bylaws won't allow for a variance is there were so many requests coming before Council that the Councillors decided they didn't want to deal with them anymore... so they redrafted the bylaw to "disallow" variances instead of redrafting the bylaws to allow signs that are in keeping with what businesses are looking for which would have solved the problem with too many variance requests... So Aliant ended up doing what hundreds of other Charlottetown businesses have done and just went ahead and installed the sign without a permit which the City has now asked them to remove... but Alaint have stuck to their guns and won't remove it so now the City is running down to their lawyers to rack up another bill for us taxpayers instead of trying to amend the bylaws to accommodate a well respected business... now the "don't get ahead gang" will be tickled pink to see the City defending their silly bylaws and they'll also be "aghast" at Aliant's stance but I'm hoping some Councillors will have the good sense to try and resolve this situation before it gets out of hand... and just maybe fixing the bylaws to suit business demands may be a good start...
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Where's PEI in the mix...
I noticed this press release put out by ACOA today and I skimmed through it to see where PEI fit in the picture and I was surprised that there was no mention of PEI's Bioscience Industry... but I'm sure we must have a delegation at this conference as the Government appears to be hanging their hat on a big Bioscience future. I think it's important to set up a yardstick to measure how we are doing on this job front and it certainly wouldn't hurt to have periodic reports as there doesn't seem to be a lot of activity as of yet. The Government has announced a new Bioscience Park at the Upton Farm site and they are proudly displaying their signage but there is still no activity. I realize every new venture takes time and involves risk but hopefully the business plan for this new Park is a little more sound that the outcome of the Atlantic Technology Centre... as just the other day the Tech Centre was showing rental space to Scotia McLeod an investment dealer which strikes me as being a far cry from who they should be renting space to...
ATLANTIC CANADA TO HOST INTERNATIONAL BIOSCIENCE DELEGATION
9 September 2009
Halifax, Nova Scotia
------------------------------------------------------------
The world's leading bioscience experts are coming to Atlantic Canada, and specifically to Nova Scotia between September 9 and 11, to forge strategic business and research alliances with their Atlantic Canada counterparts.
Nearly 50 international bioscience leaders will take part in a series of activities, hosted by each of the four Atlantic provinces throughout the month of September, including one-on-one business meetings, site tours, educational sessions and networking events.
The 2009 Pan-Atlantic Incoming BioPartnering Mission builds on the strong results of the inaugural visit by international companies and research organizations to Atlantic Canada in 2008. The incoming mission is funded by the provincial and federal governments through the Canada/Atlantic Provinces Agreement on International Business Development (IBDA).
"The Government of Canada is committed to the development of Atlantic Canada's bioscience industry," said the Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency). "Our investment in this business mission will help support the growth of this industry, which is important to Atlantic Canada's economy, by raising the sector's international profile, encouraging commercialization and attracting foreign investment."
"The bioscience industry provides a significant contribution to the Nova Scotia economy," said the Honourable Percy Paris, Minister of Economic and Rural Development. "The continued growth of the industry in Nova Scotia is a reflection of our hard-working and innovative people collaborating and building partnerships with companies worldwide."
Atlantic Canada's bioscience industry is a hotbed of innovation research and business opportunities, consisting of over 100 companies and employing thousands of Atlantic Canadians. The industry's sales, employment figures, and research and development (R&D) are forecast to increase significantly over the next five years.
As a result of last year's mission, during which 26 foreign companies traveled to Atlantic Canada, researchers from Memorial University in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador joined with St. John's-based Newfound Genomics, and Boston-based PGxHealth Ltd. to put Memorial's diagnostic test for a lethal heart condition within easy reach of doctors and patients. According to Dr. Wayne Gulliver of Newfound Genomics, the 2008 biopartnering mission served as a catalyst for bringing the parties together to complete this deal. "The biopartnering project gave us the opportunity to bring our partners from the United States to our location in Newfoundland to complete the details of our agreement. In turn, we were able to solidify our relationship and get our diagnostics test into the market much sooner than we had originally planned."
The 2009 incoming mission is being organized by BioAtlantech, the lead agency for New Brunswick's bio- industries, in partnership with its counterparts in the three other Atlantic Provinces. Creating awareness of Atlantic Canada's bioscience capabilities both nationally and internationally, finding outlets for innovative products and attracting investments to the region through R&D partnerships are important goals for these regional stakeholders.
The mission's events are designed to showcase Atlantic Canada's bioscience industry and to build focused international business and research partnerships. This collaboration can lead to new product development, licensing agreements for intellectual property, R&D projects and increased export sales for Atlantic Canada's bioscience companies and research organizations.
A total of $217,440 in funding for the inbound trade mission is being provided through the IBDA. The IBDA is a federal/provincial agreement between the Government of Canada (ACOA, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, and Industry Canada) and the four provincial governments in Atlantic Canada, and is designed to help Atlantic Canadian businesses enter, explore and succeed in international markets. The IBDA is the leading component of a pan-Atlantic effort to foster business relations, attract foreign investment and nurture technological co-operation.
ATLANTIC CANADA TO HOST INTERNATIONAL BIOSCIENCE DELEGATION
9 September 2009
Halifax, Nova Scotia
------------------------------------------------------------
The world's leading bioscience experts are coming to Atlantic Canada, and specifically to Nova Scotia between September 9 and 11, to forge strategic business and research alliances with their Atlantic Canada counterparts.
Nearly 50 international bioscience leaders will take part in a series of activities, hosted by each of the four Atlantic provinces throughout the month of September, including one-on-one business meetings, site tours, educational sessions and networking events.
The 2009 Pan-Atlantic Incoming BioPartnering Mission builds on the strong results of the inaugural visit by international companies and research organizations to Atlantic Canada in 2008. The incoming mission is funded by the provincial and federal governments through the Canada/Atlantic Provinces Agreement on International Business Development (IBDA).
"The Government of Canada is committed to the development of Atlantic Canada's bioscience industry," said the Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency). "Our investment in this business mission will help support the growth of this industry, which is important to Atlantic Canada's economy, by raising the sector's international profile, encouraging commercialization and attracting foreign investment."
"The bioscience industry provides a significant contribution to the Nova Scotia economy," said the Honourable Percy Paris, Minister of Economic and Rural Development. "The continued growth of the industry in Nova Scotia is a reflection of our hard-working and innovative people collaborating and building partnerships with companies worldwide."
Atlantic Canada's bioscience industry is a hotbed of innovation research and business opportunities, consisting of over 100 companies and employing thousands of Atlantic Canadians. The industry's sales, employment figures, and research and development (R&D) are forecast to increase significantly over the next five years.
As a result of last year's mission, during which 26 foreign companies traveled to Atlantic Canada, researchers from Memorial University in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador joined with St. John's-based Newfound Genomics, and Boston-based PGxHealth Ltd. to put Memorial's diagnostic test for a lethal heart condition within easy reach of doctors and patients. According to Dr. Wayne Gulliver of Newfound Genomics, the 2008 biopartnering mission served as a catalyst for bringing the parties together to complete this deal. "The biopartnering project gave us the opportunity to bring our partners from the United States to our location in Newfoundland to complete the details of our agreement. In turn, we were able to solidify our relationship and get our diagnostics test into the market much sooner than we had originally planned."
The 2009 incoming mission is being organized by BioAtlantech, the lead agency for New Brunswick's bio- industries, in partnership with its counterparts in the three other Atlantic Provinces. Creating awareness of Atlantic Canada's bioscience capabilities both nationally and internationally, finding outlets for innovative products and attracting investments to the region through R&D partnerships are important goals for these regional stakeholders.
The mission's events are designed to showcase Atlantic Canada's bioscience industry and to build focused international business and research partnerships. This collaboration can lead to new product development, licensing agreements for intellectual property, R&D projects and increased export sales for Atlantic Canada's bioscience companies and research organizations.
A total of $217,440 in funding for the inbound trade mission is being provided through the IBDA. The IBDA is a federal/provincial agreement between the Government of Canada (ACOA, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, and Industry Canada) and the four provincial governments in Atlantic Canada, and is designed to help Atlantic Canadian businesses enter, explore and succeed in international markets. The IBDA is the leading component of a pan-Atlantic effort to foster business relations, attract foreign investment and nurture technological co-operation.
"Changeup"... maybe it's a cabinet "term"...
In baseball the term "changeup" is commonly used when a good pitcher appears to be throwing a fast ball when in fact he is making a subtle change to his grip to slow the speed down and confuse the batter in order to force a strike... smart PEI Politicians us a similar tactic midway through their elected terms and make some subtle changes in their cabinet to give the voter the impression Government is listening and then re-elect them for another term... well we're halfway there now and if you have a look at the recent poll results on my blog it would appears that 74% of those surveyed think Ghiz should make some Cabinet changes.... with 71% thinking Docherty should go followed by Greenan at 58%... I suspect in Docherty's case some blame can be laid on the slump in the Tourism industry as a whole but I suspect her leadership on issues like the golf courses and the Morissette concert have also been suspect with the public... in Greenan's case I think it's unfortunate but Gerard just doesn't handle himself in the media that well and his absence from the school closure debate has turned voters off but I think he might survive... Doug Currie fared the best of all the Ministers with only 8% of those surveyed calling for change which is a testament to his strength of character and hard work... Ron MacKinley also scored well in the survey as he has applied a lot of "common sense" to his decisions and has taken good advice from his strong deputy Steve MacLean... so I doubt if we'll see any changes in Currie's or MacKinley's roles but you can be assured that the rest of the caucus are front and centre looking for something to happen... I expect Carolyn Bertram to take over Education and maybe some tweaking among Kathleen Casey, Neil LeClair and Greenan... I would say that Alan McIcaas and Cynthia Dunsford are clambering hard for a job but my guess is that Rob Vessey, Janice Sherry and Robert Henderson have a much better “political” chance to move up the ladder at this time... with Webster out on a health leave George may find this a great opportunity to step away from Cabinet which would be a loss but it could open up more opportunity for others... of course what I think and know about what is really going to happen with Cabinet is not worth a hill of beans but I can bet you John Jeffery is out there stirring up the pot trying to break a story.... so it’s really a wait a see game now... and in the meantime there will be a lot of talk around the kitchen table wondering if Premier Ghiz has the courage to throw out the “changeup”....
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
It's Nice Work If You Can Get It.....
There's an old Island expression related to getting a Government job and it goes something like this.. "It's nice work if you can get it" and if they can sell the Avondale Golf Course for $3.6 million then let's put our Provincial courses up for sale... according to Mr. MacEachern he has 20 people interested so I could only imagine the line up for PEI's finest but it appears we'll never know unless the Premier lives up to his commitment and puts the courses up for sale... just maybe there are some real investors looking to snap them up.... I still don't understand why Government is so bent on operating a private business and competing with private enterprise and all the while losing "our" shirts... It's time to develop an exit strategy for these courses and move on to promoting the rest of the industry... there's plenty of opportunity to put the sale proceeds back into heath care and education...
Avondale Golf Club owner puts it back on the market
NATHAN ROCHFORD
The Guardian
After initially going up for sale two years ago, the Avondale Golf Club has been re-listed for sale. Club owner Wendell MacEachern recently put the Vernon River course up for sale through Century 21, asking $3.6 million. The full-service course was initially put up for sale following the last provincial election, with MacEachern hoping he could market the course along with a number of other courses that had been put up for sale by the province. “I figured if the province was serious about selling their courses, (having) the best intermediate course on the Island, I thought there might have been an opportunity for me there,” MacEachern said. “That really was the method to my madness.” However, because of a passive marketing strategy the course never sold. Now two years later MacEachern is using a more aggressive approach and seeing serious results with some 20 interested buyers approaching him already. He said the course, which he’s invested serious money into fixing up over the years, is as marketable as it ever has been, adding for him, this is the perfect time to sell. “There’s no more need to spend a lot of money on infrastructure,” he said, adding while there are a number of reasons he’s selling, poor tourism numbers are the main one. “Owning a golf course is fun,” he said. “It’s a nice, clean industry, but you’re relying on government for promotion and we’ve been on a lull for tourism lately. Now is the right time for me because I can market it at a price that is reasonable.”
Avondale Golf Club owner puts it back on the market
NATHAN ROCHFORD
The Guardian
After initially going up for sale two years ago, the Avondale Golf Club has been re-listed for sale. Club owner Wendell MacEachern recently put the Vernon River course up for sale through Century 21, asking $3.6 million. The full-service course was initially put up for sale following the last provincial election, with MacEachern hoping he could market the course along with a number of other courses that had been put up for sale by the province. “I figured if the province was serious about selling their courses, (having) the best intermediate course on the Island, I thought there might have been an opportunity for me there,” MacEachern said. “That really was the method to my madness.” However, because of a passive marketing strategy the course never sold. Now two years later MacEachern is using a more aggressive approach and seeing serious results with some 20 interested buyers approaching him already. He said the course, which he’s invested serious money into fixing up over the years, is as marketable as it ever has been, adding for him, this is the perfect time to sell. “There’s no more need to spend a lot of money on infrastructure,” he said, adding while there are a number of reasons he’s selling, poor tourism numbers are the main one. “Owning a golf course is fun,” he said. “It’s a nice, clean industry, but you’re relying on government for promotion and we’ve been on a lull for tourism lately. Now is the right time for me because I can market it at a price that is reasonable.”
Mike Currie To Step Down... don't think so...
I'm sure the current member from Georgetown - St. Peters is as surprised as I am at this recent development... most potential party leaders need to put forward the perception of being able to win a safe seat before any delegates would take them seriously... and I wouldn't want to be the guy trying to wrestle this one away from Mr. Currie without his co-operation as I think Mike has some unfinished business in the House... maybe Mr. Llewelleyn knows something the rest of us don't as I can't even imagine how he would expect to make a serious run at the Tory leadership from Georgetown without some "deal" done with Mr. Currie to step down.... and I don't see that anytime soon.... I wonder why the media didn't ask Mr. Llewelleyn the obvious question of where he was expecting to run....
Llewellyn to run for P.E.I. PC leadership
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
CBC News
The former mayor of Georgetown is making a bid to lead the Progressive Conservative Party of P.E.I.
Peter Llewelleyn says he's received a lot of encouragement to run for the top Tory job at the party's leadership convention next fall and that he has a lot to offer the party.
"I've been a volunteer all my life, and I've been involved in business and trying to make the areas where I live a little better … and it's tough going trying to push these balls uphill," said Llewellyn.
"I think I bring a lot to it, and I think … I'd like to try kicking some of these balls downhill and get some things done. I think it's just time, and I believe that the Island is ready for, maybe, a politician like myself."
Llewellyn said he would make an excellent contrast to Premier Robert Ghiz.
Llewellyn to run for P.E.I. PC leadership
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
CBC News
The former mayor of Georgetown is making a bid to lead the Progressive Conservative Party of P.E.I.
Peter Llewelleyn says he's received a lot of encouragement to run for the top Tory job at the party's leadership convention next fall and that he has a lot to offer the party.
"I've been a volunteer all my life, and I've been involved in business and trying to make the areas where I live a little better … and it's tough going trying to push these balls uphill," said Llewellyn.
"I think I bring a lot to it, and I think … I'd like to try kicking some of these balls downhill and get some things done. I think it's just time, and I believe that the Island is ready for, maybe, a politician like myself."
Llewellyn said he would make an excellent contrast to Premier Robert Ghiz.
A Little Too Late... if you ask me...
Well if you ask me and they never do... I would have thought the spring would be better than the fall as it would give someone a much better opportunity to raise some money and at least put forward a 'game face" campaign as opposed to a fall "caretaker" approach... it’s a daunting task to expect someone to mount a competitive campaign with only a year to put a team together... if you look at the polls I don't think Olive has any traction especially with the party brass.... and I can't even imagine that Jim Bagnall would be serious about taking a run at it or any others from the former Binn's Team as the voters just wouldn't buy it... even as Party Leader Ballem couldn't knock Vessey out of his seat but this certainly could be an opportunity for the Tories to "engineer" a loss in order to have a caretaker in place that would step down after Ghiz wins his second term... it's my belief that the Tories need someone new who is "true blue" to unite the Party and the latter would rule David MacKenzie out as most see him as a red team player... the name I continue to hear is Mark Ledwell and it wouldn't surprise me if we see him appear out of nowhere next fall... I doubt if he could beat Ghiz the first time out but he's a capable guy and I expect the second time up he'd give the Liberals a big run for their money...
P.E.I. Tories set to pick leader in fall 2010
Thursday, September 3, 2009
CBC News
P.E.I.'s Tories are one step closer to picking a new permanent leader.
The Progressive Conservative party executive has decided the leadership convention will be held the third weekend in September 2010, CBC has been told by several sources.
Since last fall's annual meeting, Tories have been debating when to call a leadership convention — spring or fall of next year.
Some members argued it should be held as quickly as possible. Others wanted to wait until the fall, which would give the new leader a year to prepare for the next provincial election, set for October 2011.
The party is expected to formally announce the convention date in the next week or two.
Possible candidates
Interim leader Olive Crane is expected throw her hat in the ring when the leadership convention takes place.
Crane is said to have spent much of the summer travelling the Island, meeting with grassroots Tories and trying to form a power base there.
Montague MLA and Opposition house leader Jim Bagnall is said to be interested as is Jamie Ballem, a businessman who served as minister of both health and energy in the Progressive Conservative government of Pat Binns.
David MacKenzie, executive director of the Confederation Centre, has also been approached by the party to run as a candidate. He has a record of tight fiscal management and ability to leverage money from the federal government.
The party is also seeking a strong Prince County candidate. The name mentioned most often is Summerside lawyer Derek Key, whose father was Conservative leader in the mid-1970s.
P.E.I. Tories set to pick leader in fall 2010
Thursday, September 3, 2009
CBC News
P.E.I.'s Tories are one step closer to picking a new permanent leader.
The Progressive Conservative party executive has decided the leadership convention will be held the third weekend in September 2010, CBC has been told by several sources.
Since last fall's annual meeting, Tories have been debating when to call a leadership convention — spring or fall of next year.
Some members argued it should be held as quickly as possible. Others wanted to wait until the fall, which would give the new leader a year to prepare for the next provincial election, set for October 2011.
The party is expected to formally announce the convention date in the next week or two.
Possible candidates
Interim leader Olive Crane is expected throw her hat in the ring when the leadership convention takes place.
Crane is said to have spent much of the summer travelling the Island, meeting with grassroots Tories and trying to form a power base there.
Montague MLA and Opposition house leader Jim Bagnall is said to be interested as is Jamie Ballem, a businessman who served as minister of both health and energy in the Progressive Conservative government of Pat Binns.
David MacKenzie, executive director of the Confederation Centre, has also been approached by the party to run as a candidate. He has a record of tight fiscal management and ability to leverage money from the federal government.
The party is also seeking a strong Prince County candidate. The name mentioned most often is Summerside lawyer Derek Key, whose father was Conservative leader in the mid-1970s.
What Else Is He Going To Say...
I find it a bit hard to believe that the director of the Aquaculture Association just happens to be an "expert" in bacterial contamination. But I might believe the Association gets some of their operating budget from the Federal Government and they just might be singing the same tune.... but if you talk to local fishers, producers and exporters everyone there seems to think it was a little "overkill" and it certainly hurt the small guy in their pocketbooks... I think the next time they come across this type of situation there should be a reasonable closure protocol with sufficient notice laid out for everyone involved prior to hitting the panic button... and I'm pretty sure there were a few people "put on the carpet" over this one...
Shellfish harvest ban in Maritimes justified: expert
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
CBC News
High levels of fecal coliform bacteria found in waters in the Maritimes justify the recent ban on shellfish harvesting, says the executive director of the Aquaculture Association of Nova Scotia.
Water tests conducted by Environment Canada and the Canada Food Inspection Agency revealed "major pockets" of contaminated water around the region, Brian Muise said.
"The potential there to harm someone was real," he said.
The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans issued the temporary ban on Aug. 31 amid concerns of bacterial contamination from run-offs following two significant rainfalls — Hurricane Bill and post-tropical storm Danny.
Harvesting bivalves — oysters, mussels, clams and quahogs — within 1.6 kilometres of the shore of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and parts of New Brunswick was prohibited. DFO has since eased the ban in some areas.
Muise said he understands the frustration that harvesters and fish farmers are feeling.
"It would be easy to say that some areas … that didn't receive the heavy rainfall, might have been able to stay open," he said. "But if you look at other parts of Cape Breton, all down the western shore here, south coast — absolutely, it's valid."
Shellfish harvest ban in Maritimes justified: expert
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
CBC News
High levels of fecal coliform bacteria found in waters in the Maritimes justify the recent ban on shellfish harvesting, says the executive director of the Aquaculture Association of Nova Scotia.
Water tests conducted by Environment Canada and the Canada Food Inspection Agency revealed "major pockets" of contaminated water around the region, Brian Muise said.
"The potential there to harm someone was real," he said.
The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans issued the temporary ban on Aug. 31 amid concerns of bacterial contamination from run-offs following two significant rainfalls — Hurricane Bill and post-tropical storm Danny.
Harvesting bivalves — oysters, mussels, clams and quahogs — within 1.6 kilometres of the shore of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and parts of New Brunswick was prohibited. DFO has since eased the ban in some areas.
Muise said he understands the frustration that harvesters and fish farmers are feeling.
"It would be easy to say that some areas … that didn't receive the heavy rainfall, might have been able to stay open," he said. "But if you look at other parts of Cape Breton, all down the western shore here, south coast — absolutely, it's valid."
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Stratford's National Bird.... shoot 'em up.. I say
Surely when Stratford's Council get their Downtown Disney (remember the $200,000.00 study) underway they will find a special place on their "pier" for this fun loving "fish eater" the double-crested cormorant. In the meantime I know a lot of sport fisherman who would love to find a solution for getting rid of this menacing "trout poacher".... and I think I have one.... why not let our PEI "gun toting" conservation officers use them as target practice so when they come across a backhoe operator near a pond they won't "miss" him... and if the 20 or so conservation officers couldn't keep this "pest" at bay then I'm all for giving our "road flaggers" some guns as well... or as Environment Canada would say "there is a 60 % chance" that I'm pulling your leg..... but seriously let's get rid of "them"...
Smelly cormorants overtake old Hillsborough piers
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
CBC News
Wildlife officials say little can be done about the hundreds of cormorants that have taken over the old Hillsborough Bridge piers this summer.
The Charlottetown piers were home to a colony of terns, but the foul-smelling black double-crested cormorants have recently staked their claim.
"They're not a pretty bird. They're almost a pre-historic-looking bird," said Gerald MacDougall, the P.E.I. Environment Ministry's fish and wildlife section manager.
This is the first summer the colony has roosted permanently on the old piers.
Until now, the common tern — a smaller bird with smaller droppings — nested here.
In previous years, wildlife officials had tried to protect the terns by putting up wire fencing on the piers to keep out the cormorants. But the piers are slowly crumbling, making it unsafe to put up fences.
As well, there are fewer terns here and around the world, MacDougall said.
"If the terns were here, more than likely they would have prevented the cormorants from nesting here. They're very aggressive and they nest earlier than the cormorants," MacDougall said. "So, when the terns weren't here, the cormorants moved in, and seemed to have taken over."
A few years ago, officials allowed hunters to shoot cormorants on the Island.
But MacDougall said people kept shooting the wrong kind.
"People had trouble telling the difference between a double-crested cormorant and a great cormorant and our great cormorant took a huge hit the years that they had a hunting season on them," said MacDougall.
Meanwhile, Bruce Smith, president of the P.E.I. Wildlife Federation, is disappointed the measures to protect the terns on the bridge piers haven't worked.
The organization has set up a few fenced rafts further up the river to help the terns, but Smith said more rafts might have to be floated.
Smelly cormorants overtake old Hillsborough piers
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
CBC News
Wildlife officials say little can be done about the hundreds of cormorants that have taken over the old Hillsborough Bridge piers this summer.
The Charlottetown piers were home to a colony of terns, but the foul-smelling black double-crested cormorants have recently staked their claim.
"They're not a pretty bird. They're almost a pre-historic-looking bird," said Gerald MacDougall, the P.E.I. Environment Ministry's fish and wildlife section manager.
This is the first summer the colony has roosted permanently on the old piers.
Until now, the common tern — a smaller bird with smaller droppings — nested here.
In previous years, wildlife officials had tried to protect the terns by putting up wire fencing on the piers to keep out the cormorants. But the piers are slowly crumbling, making it unsafe to put up fences.
As well, there are fewer terns here and around the world, MacDougall said.
"If the terns were here, more than likely they would have prevented the cormorants from nesting here. They're very aggressive and they nest earlier than the cormorants," MacDougall said. "So, when the terns weren't here, the cormorants moved in, and seemed to have taken over."
A few years ago, officials allowed hunters to shoot cormorants on the Island.
But MacDougall said people kept shooting the wrong kind.
"People had trouble telling the difference between a double-crested cormorant and a great cormorant and our great cormorant took a huge hit the years that they had a hunting season on them," said MacDougall.
Meanwhile, Bruce Smith, president of the P.E.I. Wildlife Federation, is disappointed the measures to protect the terns on the bridge piers haven't worked.
The organization has set up a few fenced rafts further up the river to help the terns, but Smith said more rafts might have to be floated.
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