New trails map, flooding threat, reducing poverty in Canada

Morning Coffee – By Aaron Hall

Weather forecast for Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Today – Periods of rain ending late this morning then mainly cloudy. Fog patches dissipating this morning. Wind becoming northwest 20 km/h gusting to 40 this morning. Temperature falling to zero this afternoon.

Tonight – Cloudy. Wind north 20 km/h becoming light this evening. Low minus 2.

Flood warning in effect, McKeough Dam in operation

A flood warning is in effect and the McKeough Dam is in operation to stop flooding in Wallaceburg.

The St. Clair Region Conservation Authority (SCRCA) says water levels on the Sydenham River and its tributaries continue to climb quickly, as a result of rain combined with continuing snow melt.

For more on this story, click here.

Flooding threat across Southwestern Ontario

Interactive municipal trail map lauded by group

An interactive map highlighting the nearly 60 local trails in Chatham-Kent is expected to be a major factor in their increased use, according to Dianne Flook, Chair of the Chatham-Kent Trails Council.

“It’s an amazing achievement,” Flook said of the map which can be found on the Chatham-Kent municipal website here https://www.chatham-kent.ca/parks-recreation/communityparks/trails

The site features a map with pins designating each trail’s location as well as photos and information detailing the length of trail, its characteristics and features.

“We’ve come a long way and this tool will take us even farther,” Flook said. “We have printed trail maps in the past and they’ve been snapped up as soon as they were available. This way, people can call them up on their phones when they are out and about.”

Flook had high praise for municipal employees Genevieve Champagne and Jeff Bray of Community Attraction and Leisure Services and Mike Smith of Information Technology Services for their efforts.

“This never would have been possible without their untold hours of dedication and technical expertise,” she said. “The truly responded to a real need in our community.”

With 91 kilometers of municipal, conservation area and provincial park trails in the community, Flook said there is a wide variety to choose from.

Flook said her committee is comprised of volunteers from across Chatham-Kent and plans to update the page with cycling and water trails as well as more walking and hiking trails as they are developed. The group also has its own website at http://chathamkenttrails.ca

“We’re looking at making this a healthier, more active community,” she said. “If we give people healthy options, they will make healthy choices.”

What Canadians had to say about reducing poverty

As a whole, Canada remains among the best places in the world in which to live. However, too many Canadians live in poverty. This is why the Government made a commitment to develop a Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy that would set targets to reduce poverty in Canada and measure and publicly report on progress.

In February 2017, Employment and Social Development Canada launched a consultation process to inform the development of a Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy.

Although Canada’s economy continues to show signs of strength, job creation and growth, we heard that many Canadians are still struggling to make ends meet and satisfy basic needs. Essential things, such as providing for the needs of one’s children or taking care of one’s health, are simply out of reach for some people.

Many participants told us that stable and quality jobs can be hard to find in some communities and regions, whether they are entering the labour market for the first time or re-entering. Canadians also made it clear that poverty is about more than simply not having enough income—it can also be about discrimination in all its forms, the challenges of physical or mental illness and working hard to reach and stay in the middle class. We also heard some Canadians find paying for a place to live challenging, and that Canada needs better and more affordable housing.

We reached out to individuals for whom we knew there were existing challenges, namely vulnerable seniors, youth, women, the LGBTQ2 community, visible minorities, newcomers, persons with disabilities, single parents and unattached individuals aged 45 to 64. We heard that the Poverty Reduction Strategy should acknowledge the challenges faced by these groups and contain policies and/or supports specifically targeted for them.

Many First Nations, Inuit and MĂ©tis participants told us that colonialism, racism and inter-generational trauma have made poverty worse in their communities and for their people in towns and cities across Canada. We heard that we need to rebuild or restore nation-to-nation relationships to help ensure a better future, through reconciliation and greater recognition of First Nations, Inuit and MĂ©tis governments, and by working together in practical ways to help overcome challenges and barriers.

We heard that many Canadians are not accessing the government programs and services that are available to them, either due to lack of awareness of their eligibility or obstacles encountered during application processes.

Consultation participants also shared with us their vision for the Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy, indicating that the Government should set ambitious and measurable targets.

The analysis conducted for the drafting of this report has informed the initial stages of the development of the Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy and will continue to do so as we work towards the release of the Strategy.

Read more, here.

World news

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.

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