Page 14 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 95

14 Issue #95 December 2020 www.sportsenergynews.com

A Season of Snow at Note from Our Provincial Representative

Big Ben Ski Centre Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry MPP

Interview

By By Victoria Klassen
with
uring the off-season, a capital
Dproject to upgrade the snow- MPP Jim MacDonell
making equipment at Big Ben Ski
Centre was completed. Big Ben relies his past month saw record cases of COVID-19,
heavily on artificial snow to ensure Photo Submitted Tmeeting experts’ predictions of a potentially more
that there is an adequate snow base potent, second wave surge during the fall. Despite this new
to cover the slope. The improvements influx, our region has been largely successful in avoiding a
include a new pump and piping holidays. The Big Ben Ski Centre severe outbreak that would overwhelm our health system.
system, the purchase of a new snow operators are working with the Eastern Thanks to the actions and the ongoing commitment of Ontarians, our province
gun, and a retrofit to the existing snow Ontario Health Unit to establish a continues to have the lowest rate of active COVID-19 cases among all provinces
gun. list of COVID-19 protocols. Some outside Atlantic Canada – at 89 cases per 100,000. This rate compares to Quebec
“These upgrades will enable staff anticipated changes will be a shift to at 128, BC at 165, Alberta at 305, and Manitoba at 634. In fact, we are the lowest
to operate two snow guns at the same only private lessons being offered and per capita jurisdiction in North America. Our LTC homes also have the lowest per
time, which should allow us to build restrictions around use of the lodge. capita number of active cases in Canada. We can continue this level of success
the base of snow quicker, thus making The pandemic has decreased many by social distancing, wearing a mask, frequent hand washing, and testing when
symptomatic and isolated when feeling unwell. To view the most up-to-date, local
the hill ready for public use sooner. exercise and recreation options, and measures, please visit www.EOHU.ca.
Also, with the increased snow- opportunities for travelling, which
While we stave off the pandemic, the province is making every effort to provide
making capacity, staff will be able is heightened by the cold weather. influenza vaccination doses to anyone who requests it. With the unprecedented
to build a thicker snow base which Fawthrop encourages people to early rush, there were initial delays in meeting demand. With orders required in
will help us weather any warm spells safely get outside this winter and December of the previous year, we contacted manufacturers worldwide and other
in the winter,” said James Fawthrop, take advantage of the local outdoor jurisdictions across the country to secure any spare stocks. We successfully secured
Manager of Recreation and Facilities recreation options available. over a million additional doses, and the Eastern Ontario Health Unit is in the midst
at the City of Cornwall. Interested skiers and snowboarders of its annual Flu vaccination program. Details can be found at https://eohu.ca/en/
If the weather cooperates, Fawthrop can check the Big Ben Ski Centre’s my-health/flu-season-is-near-now-s-the-time-to-get-your-flu-shot.
said he hopes to see Big Ben open Facebook page for updates about the I have received concerns over class sizes in the province, but despite record-level
sometime over the Christmas ski season. funding of over $1.3 billion for school supports, there are not enough qualified

teachers available. While our government revoked Regulation 274, which forced
principals to hire teachers based exclusively on seniority, there are still challenges to
hiring. We have been negotiating for months with the teacher’s unions (through the
Ontario Teachers’ Federation) for a one-year suspension of regulations restricting
the hiring of retired teachers, which school board leaders (like principals) have
been asking for. Despite considerable delay from the Ontario Teachers’ Federation,
we finally reached an agreement earlier this month to allow boards to continue
employing a retired teacher for 95 days without a monetary penalty. I don’t want to
take away from the hard work being done by our front-line teachers and education
workers, but we need cooperation from their representatives. The situation is so
dire that some boards have been hiring parents to supervise students in classrooms.
On November 5, I was happy to see Finance Minister Rod Phillips’s 2021
budget and hear him identify our plan to address the pandemic’s serious health and
economic impacts. Ontario’s Action Plan: Protect, Support, Recover sets out $45
billion over three years. I am confident it will help protect people’s health, provide
essential programs, and tax measures to offset the virus’s impact and ensure that
Ontario’s long-term economic recovery is robust and far-reaching. I invite you to
look through the budget here: https://budget.ontario.ca/2020/index.html.
Two of the many areas of improvement the government focuses on are increasing
the number of long-term care beds and better broadband connectivity. I was happy
to confirm the government’s plan to invest $25,726,912 to build a total of 152 new
beds and upgrade an additional 392 beds at Heartwood and Parisien Manor in
Cornwall, Woodland Villa in Long Sault, and Dundas Manor in Winchester. This
pandemic has exposed the need for critical broadband infrastructure. Our budget is
increasing funding to improve and expand broadband and cellular access by almost
four-times, to nearly $1 billion. Advanced broadband networks will be essential for
a robust recovery and this province’s future, including remote and rural areas, such
as Eastern Ontario.
As always, remember to stay safe and protect yourself and your loved ones.
Regards,
Jim McDonell
MPP for Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry