Morning Coffee – By Aaron Hall
Weather forecast for Tuesday, January 16, 2018
Today – Cloudy with 60 percent chance of flurries. Wind southwest 20 km/h gusting to 40. High minus 7.
Tonight – Mainly cloudy. 40 percent chance of flurries this evening. Wind southwest 20 km/h becoming light this evening. Low minus 11.
Donation for SCRCA Water Quality Monitoring Program
On Monday, Plains Midstream Canada donated $3,500 to the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority (SCRCA) to offer support to its Water Quality Monitoring Program.
The Biology Department at the SCRCA studies and reports on the water quality of streams and rivers in the watershed through this program.
“We monitor surface water quality by regularly measuring water chemistry and studying aquatic organisms at monitoring stations throughout our region,” stated Erin Carroll, Manager of Biology for the SCRCA, in a press release.
“The data we collect and analyse allows us to track changes to water quality and helps us to prioritize areas in need of action.”
Nigel Trim, District Manager for Plains Midstream Canada, said they are happy to support the program.
“As part of our commitment to be an environmentally responsible operator beyond our day-to-day business, we are proud to support organizations like the SCRCA that have missions to protect and conserve the environment,” Trim stated.
Steve Arnold, Chair of the SCRCA, said they are pleased to partner with Plains Midstream Canada.
“These funds will be a great help in our efforts to strive for healthy watersheds,” Arnold stated.
About St. Clair Region Conservation Authority
The St. Clair Region Conservation Authority is located in southwestern Ontario and includes the Sydenham River watershed and smaller watersheds draining directly into southern Lake Huron, the St. Clair River and northeastern Lake St. Clair. The Conservation Authority implements programs to reduce the risk to life and property from flooding and erosion; water and land stewardship; forestry; wildlife habitat creation, conservation education, and outdoor recreation. For more information, visit our website at www.scrca.on.ca.
About Plains Midstream Canada
Plains Midstream Canada (PMC) is an industry leading transportation and midstream provider. We specialize in transportation, storage, processing and marketing solutions for crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). PMC links petroleum producers with refiners and other customers via pipeline, truck and rail transportation. PMC is an indirect subsidiary of Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (Plains All American.) Plains All American is a publicly traded master limited partnership headquartered in Houston, Texas. Its common units are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PAA”.
Builders’ support Children’s Treatment Centre
The Chatham-Kent Home Builders’ Association recently presented the Children’s Treatment Centre Foundation of Chatham-Kent with a cheque fo $4,200 in support of their Butterfly Building Campaign.
The CKHBA is local non-profit professional organization comprised of builders, renovators, developers, manufacturers, government, utilities and financial institutions, and is directly involved in 80% of all new construction in our community.
Every year, the CKHBA hosts their Annual Christmas Party, with all proceeds benefiting local organizations.
“The CKHBA is proud to support deserving organizations in Chatham-Kent like the Children’s Treatment Centre,” stated Dave Depencier, President of the Chatham-Kent Home Builders’ Association.
“It was an easy decision to support the Butterfly Building Campaign, helping the children in Chatham-Kent reach their full potential.”
The Children’s Treatment Centre and Foundation are thrilled that the Chatham-Kent Home Builders’ Association decided to support the Butterfly Building Campaign.
Since opening the current facility 30 years ago, the Children’s Treatment Centre’s caseload has grown 1204% from originally serving 237 clients in 1984 to serving over 3,091 clients today.
The CTC-CK currently serves 1 in 9 children and youth in Chatham-Kent, and the caseload is expected to grow another 43% by 2019.
“The Butterfly Building Campaign is working to raise $6M in support of building a larger, state-of-the-art Children’s Treatment Centre that will better accommodate the growing caseload,” stated Mike Genge, Executive Director of the Children’s Treatment Centre Foundation.
“The support from CKHBA is part of a $10,000 commitment that the Foundation will see over the next few years.”
Transit connection grants available in Ontario
The Province of Ontario is making it easier and more convenient for people to get where they need to go by improving transportation services within and between communities across southwestern Ontario.
Steven Del Duca, Minister of Transportation, was joined by Kathryn McGarry, MPP for Cambridge, in Cambridge on Monday to announce the new Community Transportation Grant Program.
Provincial officials say the program will make it more convenient for seniors, students, persons with disabilities and others to access essential services in their communities, connect with other transportation services, and travel between cities and towns. The program helps municipalities, Indigenous communities and other organizations in southwestern Ontario and throughout the province provide more travel options for people, particularly in areas that underserved or not served by public transit or intercommunity bus.
“Our government is committed to building stronger communities in southwestern Ontario by making transportation more convenient and better connected,” Del Duca stated in a press release.
“The Community Transportation Grant Program will help more people in rural and remote areas across the province get to and from their appointments, access important services and maintain an active and independent lifestyle. Adding service and investing in innovation, including high speed rail, is part of our long-term plan for a connected and prosperous southwestern Ontario.”
Provincial officials say up to $30 million in grants over five years is currently available for municipalities to partner with community organizations such as health and community agencies, transit agencies, school-bus operators and private transit operators, to coordinate local transportation services and provide more rides to more destinations.
An additional $10 million will be available to Indigenous communities, Indigenous-led organizations and not-for-profit organizations starting in summer 2018.
The deadline to apply is February 28, 2018.
Funding will support projects to help meet local transportation demands or deliver long-distance intercommunity passenger service in areas that are currently underserved.
The new Community Transportation Grant Program builds on a successful pilot project that provided nearly $3 million in funding for 22 municipalities since 2015.
In the first year of the pilot project, more than 28,000 people used the new services to make more than 105,000 trips.
New schools and child care spaces in Ontario
Ontario is supporting families in communities across the province, with new schools, additions and renovations that will create better, modern learning environments and more licensed child care spaces.
Mitzie Hunter, Minister of Education, and Indira Naidoo-Harris, Minister Responsible for Early Years and Child Care, were joined by Laura Albanese, MPP for York South-Weston, at Dennis Avenue Community School in Toronto this week to announce funding for 39 brand new schools and 40 major renovations and additions in communities across Ontario.
“Ontario is committed to building learning environments that support student achievement and well-being,” Hunter stated in a press release.
“That’s why we continue to invest in new, renovated, and expanded schools so that every student can learn and grow in a space that enables them to reach their full potential.”
Provincial officials say these projects will also include a total of 157 new child care rooms with more than 2,700 licensed child care spaces for children aged 0-4, helping more families access safe and affordable child care closer to home.
“Schools are a natural fit for licensed child care spaces,” Naidoo-Harris stated in a press release.
“They provide families with access to safe, high-quality care in a convenient setting, and offer young children the opportunity to transition into full-day kindergarten in a familiar environment. These new spaces will give our youngest learners a strong start in life, and make a real difference in the lives of many Ontario families.”
In 2018, Ontario is investing $784 million in 79 new and renovated schools. This investment will also create more than 2,700 new licensed child care spaces for children aged 0-4.
Ontario is providing $10.8 million to help build a new school building for Dennis Avenue Community School, and $4.5 million for a four-room addition at the nearby George Syme Community School. Each project will include five new child care rooms with space for 88 children.
Report: Canada is on track to be a global leader in auto sector
The automotive industry is one of Canada’s largest manufacturing sectors and is the largest export industry, employing over 530,000 Canadians directly and indirectly.
In order to continue supporting this key sector of the economy, the Government of Canada welcomed insights and recommendations from Ray Tanguay in his role as Automotive Advisor to the governments of Canada and Ontario.
Tanguay presented his report’s findings on Monday to the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and the Honourable Brad Duguid, Ontario Minister of Economic Development and Growth, at the annual meeting of the Canadian Automotive Partnership Council, in Detroit, Michigan.
In Drive to Win, Tanguay offers his perspective on the Canadian automotive sector and proposes actions to help ensure that Canada can benefit from a larger piece of overall investments in the sector.
Tanguay calls for continued investments in technologies and infrastructure to help validate new innovations, as well as continuing to invest in workplace training, apprenticeships, co-operative programs and the development of technology clusters.
Canada’s investments in the automotive sector align with the Innovation and Skills Plan, the government’s multi-year strategy to create well-paying jobs for the middle class. Through this plan, the government is fostering economic growth and middle-class job creation as well as providing Canadians with the skills they need to succeed.
“I want to thank Mr. Tanguay for the work he has done in engaging stakeholders and leveraging their insights,” Bains stated in a press release.
“As the automotive sector undergoes massive change with emerging and disruptive technologies, I am pleased to see that Mr. Tanguay’s report recognizes that Canada has taken the right steps to position itself as a location of choice for the design and development of the car of the future.”
For every single job at an assembly line, six more are created in other sectors of the economy.
Canada’s automotive industry produces more than 2.4 million vehicles every year. This translates into one car being manufactured every 13 seconds.
The automotive industry contributes $19 billion to Canada’s gross domestic product.
World news
The Cranberries’ lead singer Dolores O’Riordan has died
Several people injured after Belgium building collapse
Don’t boil lobsters alive as they feel pain says new study
This firefighter caught a child thrown from a flaming balcony
Dozens killed in clashes near Libya’s Mitiga airport in Tripoli
An 11-year-old Toronto girl alleges a man tried to cut off her hijab
If you have a suggestion, story idea, column idea, or if you want to say hello… drop me an e-mail at aaron@sydenhamcurrent.ca.
