‘All about the money’
Dear Editor:
RE: Squeeze it through, Dec. 11.
Tom Szuba was spot on in his analysis of the Danby development. This massive industrial complex has been repackaged many times. It’s been called everything from the “Estill Innovation Centre” to a “prestige employment campus” (with no known affiliation to any educational institution).
A gym, daycare and walking trails do not make us overlook the massive 1,000,000 square-foot facility they wish to build here. That is the size of two Stone Road Malls! It includes a large distribution centre with 36 bays that will bring thousands of heavy trucks and vehicles to the area each day along our county roads. The developer is willing to pay to upgrade the roads but this does not remove the long-term maintenance costs to the taxpayers or address the serious safety concerns that come with all of this.
Szuba is correct: it’s all about the money. Danby is consolidating operations to this one location for cost savings. They paid a discounted price of $299,800 per acre when land already commercially zoned and available in the township and Guelph is selling for over $2 million per acre.
Puslinch residents know this is not for their benefit. The private wells, stormwater management and septic system about the size of a football field puts our water supply and the integrity of the Paris Galt Moraine at risk. We understand how this will negatively impact farmers, the environment and forever change the area.
Big business and sprawl are the antithesis of rural communities. However, both can exist harmoniously through responsible planning by placing industry in properly zoned areas and keeping livestock and residential areas separate.
Government has an obligation to ensure economic growth and prosperity for those they serve. They also have an equally important obligation to protect our drinking water, increase food security by preserving farmland and to protect us from pollution that intensifies the climate crisis.
It’s time for government to stop making decisions that only benefit the wealthy and connected and instead follow established planning strategies designed to support a thriving, desirable community.
Kristina Thompson,
Puslinch
Leave him alone
Dear Editor:
RE: “Not his fault,” Dec. 4.
I agree with Christy Doraty’s letter about Thomas King.
Everyone who delves into their family history is bound to find something that surprises and shocks them. “Who am I?” and “Where did I come from?” are the questions that drive every genealogist.
Unfortunately, Mr. King discovered facts that surprised everyone. However, these revelations should not negate his contribution to the arts. I have read many of his books, laughed out loud at his Dead Dog Cafe on CBC Radio One, and thoroughly enjoyed his portrayal of the elder Mohawk chief in the movie adaptation of the epic series Outlander.
I have even met Thomas King! A few years ago, our family was celebrating our grandson’s fourth birthday at The Cellar Restaurant in Elora. Mr. King was having lunch at a nearby table. He came over and wished our grandson a “Happy Birthday.”
Mr. King didn’t know our family, and I thought it was a very kind, impromptu gesture. He shook everyone’s hand around our table, and then went back and enjoyed his lunch.
To quote Christy Doraty, “Get over it, leave the poor man alone, and read one of his books.”
Kit Scott,
Fergus
Held hostage
Dear Editor:
I have read that the union representing the Air Transat pilots have borrowed bargaining strategies from their brothers and sisters in the postal union and are ready to launch a strike at the busiest and most profitable time of the year.
Who are they inconveniencing the most? Well, the airline, of course, who has not been profitable since 2018, and the paying customers!
When we buy a ticket, customers not only support the airline, but the pilots’ salaries as well. The union for the pilots says their bargaining has been unproductive. Yet, Air Transat says they have offered a wage increase of 59% over five years.
I have no problem with the pilots wanting an increase in their pay from a contract that is 10 years old. What I do have a problem with is when their actions hold the customer hostage.
Kirk Bradley,
Belwood
‘Climate hope’
Dear Editor:
Across Canada, governments are abandoning policies meant to protect people from escalating climate harms.
In Ontario, Premier Ford’s Bill 68 guts some of the last remaining climate policy we have, scrapping Ontario’s climate target, timeline and its obligation to report back on its progress to the public.
Federally, the new Carney-Alberta agreement delays a net-zero grid from 2035 to 2050, weakens methane rules, shelves the oil and gas emissions cap, and promises taxpayer money to an industry that’s already been making record profits.
These rollbacks don’t just harm climate progress – they threaten public trust. With every retreat, governments make it harder for Canadians to believe their leaders will protect them. It’s no wonder more and more young people – who stand to bear the brunt of an ever-worsening climate crisis – are turning to the courts as a last resort.
Last year, Ontario’s highest court ruled that government climate targets must comply with the Charter. The science was, in the words of the Court, “indisputable.” So is the need for action.
As grief hangs in the air of every home of a climate-concerned Canadian, I’m choosing to celebrate the bravery of the seven young Ontarians in the Mathur v. Ontario case, who are not letting up. Theirs are the new faces of climate hope in Canada.
Jessica Murray,
Guelph
Mad about market
Dear Editor:
Recently I was disappointed to discover the two-day Fergus Christmas Market at the Centre Wellington Community Sportsplex would not happen this year.
Apparently Centre Wellington Township is prioritizing recreation programming over vendor market hall rentals. It seems pickleball, fitness programs and other activities are more important.
The Fergus Christmas Market was a wonderful opportunity for small local businesses to sell their wares and for the public to purchase unusual and one-of-a-kind items. Shop local and buy Canadian is what many of us try to do.
The sportsplex is a wonderful facility and can hopefully, on occasion, accommodate other interests than sports. I hope the township will reconsider their recreation programming.
Helen Mills,
Fergus
The new ‘AI’
Dear Editor:
I knew all about AI when I was a seven year old in 1950. It was when the tall man, dressed in farm overalls, arrived in his van, parked it by the pig sties, then walked towards the dairy cattle carrying a bucket with a long syringe.
He went straight into the stalls, and pulled on a very long rubber glove and arm cover, then, without even speaking to the front end of the cow, lifted her tail, and, once again without speaking, used his rubbered arm to investigate the cow’s birth canal.
Our dairy man, Mr. Ryall, always spoke to the cows before milking and claimed that if you tickled their udders, you always got a little extra. He also played music to them, or sang gentle songs.
The man with the long glove did none of these things. Instead, after removing his arm, he filled the very long syringe, and inserted that into the same place, still with no apologies, then removed his glove and returned to his truck. He didn’t even say good-bye.
That was AI – artificial insemination – a convenient alternative to having a live bull on the property, which would, of course, have been much more fun for the cows. The present AI is much the same, only they give it a different name: artificial intelligence.
Today’s AI, also based on convenience, provides an easy solution for students who consider that they do not have time to do real research, and who have never learned the pleasure of delving into archives, feeding them information the system wishes to impart, accurate or otherwise. Frequently the latter.
Insemination of the mind? Even the most professionally developed systems have their weaknesses, and one piece of inaccurate information can be carried a long way down the pipeline, before the embarrassed individual has a chance to correct the mistake, which has been inseminating other minds with inaccuracies.
There are, I am told, more professional AI programs than Chat GPT, GPT-5 for instance, but apparently none can be completely relied upon for accuracy – and remember, these programs are not just created to be helpful. The ‘A’ stands for artificial to begin with.
Carol Williams,
Elora
Protection, joy, peace
Dear Editor:
We, as Christians living in Wellington County, wanted to say Happy Hannukah to the Jewish families living here too. God bless you as you celebrate how God, miraculously caused the light to keep burning in the temple for eight days, overcoming the darkness.
We as Christians, are celebrating Jesus’ birth bringing light to the world.
We are very sorry for those in Canada and other nations who have come against you. It grieves us, and we want you to know we celebrate the unity of God’s light!
We pray for protection, joy and peace over your homes and families.
Anne and Ian Jones,
Fergus
New betting options?
Dear Editor:
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG), and notably its Proline betting franchise, is experiencing stiff competition from other wagering sites.
To counteract the onslaught of alternative gambling venues, the OLG should jump into uncharted betting areas, allowing gambling pundits to bet a few bucks on the following topics:
– the construction of 35,000 affordable homes in Wellington County;
– beginning of the Highway 6 bypass in Morriston;
– tunnel under Highway 401;
– high-speed rail line from Toronto to Montreal;
– pipeline from Alberta to a port in B.C.;
– Leafs win the Stanley Cup;
– Justin Trudeau does not return to politics;
– grocery prices recede;
– U.S. tariffs on Canada are rescinded; and
– Ontario legislature sits for more than 51 days in a year.
Timelines for the above bets range from three to five years and in some cases, never. The OLG is open to any other ridiculous promises that are highly unlikely to materialize. The “take” from these wagers is expected to exceed $875,000,000.
Net proceeds, after administration, skills development, subcontractor appointments and land purchases in Wilmot will be approximately $27,000,000. Good luck!
Jim McClure,
Crieff
Supports basic income
Dear Editor:
Basic income is a policy that could save billions in taxpayer money, reduce poverty, boost our local economy, and help us handle widespread job automation.
Instead of spending billions to patch up the problems caused by poverty – such as higher healthcare and policing costs – basic income invests directly in people’s ability to meet their basic needs. A guaranteed income program could cost three to five per cent of total government spending, less than what we’re already spending on poverty.
When people have a reliable income, they spend more at local businesses. The Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis estimated that a national basic income could grow our economy by $80 nillion per year and create 600,000 full-time equivalent jobs, while lifting millions out of poverty.
Not only do progressive policymakers champion basic income, but prominent conservatives – such as former Canadian Senator Hugh Segal – have championed similar ideas for years. Nobel Prize–winning economist Milton Friedman proposed a negative income tax as an efficient way to tackle poverty.
Business leaders support basic income. They see first-hand the impact of automation on jobs and wages, while also understanding how basic income could foster entrepreneurship. Over 180 Canadian CEOs and business leaders representing over $1.5 billion in annual revenues have signed a letter supporting basic income.
With AI and automation already changing the job market, a basic income provides a safety net, giving workers room to train for new roles or start their own ventures. Many tech leaders, like Sam Altman (OpenAI) and Tobi Lutke (Shopify), support basic income because they recognize how quickly jobs are evolving.
People who get basic income continue to work. The PBO estimated that a guaranteed basic income would have a very low impact on hours worked – 0.6% or basically “a few hours per year”. During the Ontario Basic Income Pilot, one third of those who were working found higher paying work. In fact, basic income helps people secure stable employment, go back to school to retrain, and start new businesses.
Basic income isn’t about “handouts.” It’s about making our economy more efficient, stable and future-ready.
Barbara Schumacher,
Heidelberg
Successful parade
Dear Editor:
Another successful Rockwood Farmers’ Parade of Lights was held on Dec. 11.
Despite the frigid evening, the crowd of bundled up spectators was as big as ever. The farmer participants once again outdid themselves with their lit-up equipment!
The parade could not be a success without the help and support of Guelph/Eramosa Township.
The organizing committee would also like to thank: the Guelph/Eramosa, Erin and Hillsburgh fire departments; OPP; Drexler Construction and Sunbelt Rentals. For the first time in many years snow was needed to be cleared from the parking areas in the fields. A big thank you to the Ostrander, Sharman, Brander and Woodrill families for blowing snow.
As always the parade could not be possible without local farmers allowing the parade to use their fields. See you next year on Dec. 10.
Glenn Storey,
Rockwood Farmers’ Parade of Lights committee