Migrate Port Hope. Naturally.

10/25/2024

“&” PORT HOPE, it was quite a night for Northumberland County, specifically non-rostered patients (people without a family doctor). What does this mean to the nearly 10,000 residents who don't have a family doctor? It means that there is help.

At the beginning of her term, our Mayor, Olena Hankivsky, worked to establish a Walk-in Clinic to address the many who have yet to find a Family Doctor. While this team indicated that the Walk-in is not the perfect solution, so many can and will be helped through this service.

With the cooperation of a generous “community,” last evening marked the Clinic's grand opening at 99 Toronto Road on the second floor of the Community Health Centre. So many have made this possible, including intergovernmental cooperation and support, the Port Hope District Healthcare Foundation, Port Hope Rotary, and Loyalist College, all on hand at last evening's reception.

The best news? They're open for business. Thank you, Mayor Hankivsky, for your vision and tenacity – WE HAVE A WALK-IN CLINIC.

09/30/2024

“&” Something quite extraordinary has been proposed for our beloved Ganaraska River. This is within the International Truth and Reconciliation collaboration efforts across our county.

The concept is to apply for and grant our river Legal Personhood—this process allows the river to have the same legal rights as a person.

This idea may become critically important in light of climate change and conservation efforts. Think freshwater allocation, fishery conservation, pollution, industrial encroachment, etc. Please let your local council know of your support for this proposal.

CBC recently released a Documentary, “I am the Magpie River”, screened Sunday at the Capital Theatre. This enlightening film provides a comprehensive understanding of Legal Personhood and its connection to Truth and Reconciliation efforts.

The documentary is airing on the Nature of Things and can be streamed through CBC Gem.

https://youtu.be/A4zAfXot2U8

I AM THE MAGPIE RIVER is a documentary airing on The Nature of Things on CBC and CBC Gem on Thursday February 1st at 9.00 pm. Susan has worked on this projec...

07/23/2024

Please don’t miss the “Y Drive” — ride share info session this Thursday. What an incredible service.

Today, for instance, my car broke down and I certainly could have used Y Drive to get home.

Reportedly better than Taxi service.

“Y Drive” ride share starts this August serving Ward 2 and Ward 1. Come and hear all about it.

Interested in hearing more about Y Drive? Learn about the local ride share service coming to Port Hope in August and how you can be a driver!

Drop by the information session Thursday July 25th between 4-7pm at The Beamish House, 27 John St.

06/06/2024

Have you voted in the Ward 2 by-election? Today is the last day.

05/28/2024

“&” A decade of local representation experience, a law degree, and living the farm life matter when representing Ward 2 Port Hope in the upcoming by-election.

Only a few Municipality of Port Hope residents—notably those running for the Ward 2 council vacancy — have realized how critical council representation will be in the coming years. This is no fault of their own; the news has, arguably, not been widely publicized.

Recently, the Provincial Government removed the upfront development costs for housing expansion by developers. This doesn’t mean developers don’t pay; it simply means they don’t pay immediately. So what?

This means that the Municipality is responsible for these development costs until developers sell their properties and then pay them. So what?

This means that we, the taxpayers, will pay a higher tax levy to cover these development fees. Yikes!

Further, what few know, and I assume few of the candidates for the upcoming by-election realize, is that the Provincial Government is mandating the expansion of urbanization across our County. So what?

The “so what” carries with it a mandate to expand that urbanization by 4,500 (approx) homes. Some of this urbanization will occur on annexed agricultural land. The County of Northumberland is responsible for where this expansion will occur. Port Hope only gets one vote (seven County Council Mayors).

Guess where the County proposes to locate this urbanization? Guess how much the other Municipal Governments will contribute to this expansion.

It will “take a village” to counter this expansion. Still, it requires astute and experienced leadership to steer residents in the right direction so our landowners are not saddled with another tax escalation.

I have read on social media that experience is unnecessary and that a degree is not required to serve on our Municipal council. While this may be true, this is not the time to vote someone into the position when there is a decidedly clear choice.

Louise Ferrie-Blecher, with her law degree, her support for agricultural lands, and her proven track record for preserving rural lands and life, not to mention her years on Municipal Council and serving on the Committee of Adjustment for six years, is the type of leadership both Ward 1 and Ward 2 require to navigate these new Provincial and County pressures.

Whoever you support, please vote. I highly recommend that you vote for Louise Ferrie-Blecher.



Ward2Louise.ca

04/25/2024

There is a candidate running for the open seat in Ward 2. Louise Elect Louise Ferrie-Blecher for Port Hope Ward 2 Councillor, that has a proven track record for representing all of Port Hope.

Please support Louise. If you wish a sign DM me.

I've been fighting for a clean, healthy environment for Ward 2 for a long time - and I will continue to if elected as your Ward 2 Councillor.

Below is from a Northumberland Today news report from
Thursday, November 15, 2012 - which was two years before I became a Ward 2 Councillor from 2014-2018.

====== Nov 15, 2023 new report =====

Port Hope Council at this week’s Committee of the Whole meeting received a fact sheet on the Renewable Energy Management proposal to build and operate a low-temperature gasification plant at Wesleyville to convert waste into clean energy.

According to Louise Ferrie-Blecher of Port Hope Residents 4 Managing Waste Responsibly, the information is only what the Pickering-based corporation wants Council to know. Her group, formed in response to the prospective project, wants the public to know there is another side to that particular story.

The project is one council presentation and two open houses down the road, and the environmental assessment (EA) the Ministry of the Environment requires is under way.

Ferrie-Blecher was interviewed Thursday before a public information meeting her group organized with the aim of urging citizens to ask Council to delay all rezoning and other decisions at least until that the EA is complete (likely in April).

To come to the municipality with a proposal before the EA is completed, to her, is like trying to sell a pig in a poke. Meanwhile, the group is working on its other goal: to inform the public.

“All the information we have received so far has come from REM. We wanted to get people to understand there are a lot of concerns,” Ferrie-Blecher said.

“This is untested, unproved technology,” she said. “How is this going to affect our community? Port Hope is trying to rebrand itself and get past the toxic waste stigma. Now we are going to become the garbage dump of Ontario, with trucks bringing hundreds of thousands of tons of garbage into Port Hope. How does this match the vision of the rural paradise our town wants to portray?
“It’s obviously about taxes and jobs, not about dealing with the waste in Port Hope,” Ferrie-Blecher concluded.

“Council thinks it will be great for taxes and people having jobs but, from what we are hearing from industry people, the job numbers are not going to be there. Are we selling our town out for the sake of a couple of jobs? Is this the best way to bring people into our town?”

No ENTECH plant has been built in North America, Ferrie-Blecher stated. And REM has never even built one such plant.

“The ENTECH technology has been used in other countries, but not North America. We don’t know what the environmental standards of those countries are.”

“How are we going to be certain they are seeing anything other than what REM wants them to see? Will they have an opportunity to speak to the ministry of the environment and see if they have concerns over soil and ambient-air testing comparisons to North America? Will they be meeting with citizens’ groups to discuss the impact? I don’t think REM is going to show them that.”

REM won’t talk about emissions, saying it depends on the kind of waste they’re processing. This is important to clarify in advance, she insisted.

“Is it commercial waste, municipal waste, medical waste? The plant in Poland only processes medical waste.

“When you burn something, it doesn’t disappear. It becomes dioxins and mercury that get into the air and into the ash that is floating over your neighbourhoods.

“They talk about environmentally acceptable standards, but those are set by politicians, not necessarily what the medical professionals say.

“Seventy-five doctors protested against building an incinerator in Durham,” she pointed out. It was built anyway, she added – so it there the potential of an unseemly competition for garbage if the Wesleyville project is a go?

Brant County entertained a similar proposal from REM, which was defeated. “The mayor actually said, ‘No, we don’t want to be the guinea pig for this. Go away until you can figure it out somewhere else.’”

“Our impetus was to provide an opportunity to educate the public about the concerns with incineration,” she said, citing the potential for particulates floating over Port Hope and spreading into Cobourg and Eastern Northumberland.

“We are going to have to deal with the issue of long-term effects which are not conducive to what we want for our community.

“We don’t want to flavour this with fear-mongering but, at the end of the day, do our children 20 or 30 years from now want to clean this place up the same way we are cleaning up the other waste?”

Ferrie-Blecher is urging citizens who share these concerns to contact council, and anyone wanting more information can e-mail PortHope4MWR

====end of news report ===

03/04/2024

“&” A vacant council seat in Port Hope’s Ward 2 needs to be filled — what our Mayor says:

03/04/2024

WARD 2 Port Hope residents

PUBLIC STATEMENT

– I support the Municipality’s striking a selection committee to review and recommend replacing our former Ward 2 councillor. We accept that the final decision rests with a vote from Port Hope’s Municipal Council.
– I wish for representatives from Ward 2 to be permitted to field questions of applicants/candidates to aid in selecting an informed councillor.
– I believe this approach promotes transparency and inclusivity and proves to be more cost-effective than opting for a by-election and allows the council to fill the seat quickly.

03/02/2024

I would appreciate it (assuming that you agree) if you could let others know and post the following:

Dear fellow resident of Port Hope’s Ward 2,

A COUNCILLOR SEAT, REPRESENTING WARD 2 IN PORT HOPE, REMAINS OPEN — AS CONCERNED CITIZENS WE NEED TO FILL IT. If you agree, please share with others.

Former Ward 2 Municipal representative, Chris Collins, has moved on to take the position as the Justice of the Peace for the Ontario Court of Justice.

There are several ways our Municipality can legally fill the seat.

1. Conduct a by-election
2. Appoint a runner-up from the recent election.
3. Have interested residents apply for the position (similar to a job application) and propose a suitable candidate through committee review.

Elections have been the norm when it comes to seating prospective candidates; however, the costs of holding a by-election are significant and would inevitably be passed along to the taxpayer. (Port Hope staff by—election estimate – $25,000).

This process would take approximately 6 – 7 months, leaving reduced representation of Ward 2 for an extended period.

We maintain that a selected councillor:
– be a resident of Port Hope’s Ward 2
– have a vision that reflects the needs and desires of Ward 2 residents
– is a motivated, forward thinker representing all of Ward 2.

PUBLIC STATEMENT
As members of this vibrant community, we are compelled to address the vacant position of Municipal Councillor and work to expedite the filling of the vacant Ward 2 Councillor seat.

By agreeing to the following public statement, you can ensure our voices are heard and considered in the selection process for our new Ward 2 Municipal representative.

TO DO THIS INFORM PORT HOPE’S CLERK OF THE FOLLOWING

– I support the Municipality’s striking a selection committee to review and recommend replacing our former Ward 2 councillor. We accept that the final decision rests with a vote from Port Hope’s Municipal Council.
– I wish for representatives from Ward 2 to be permitted to field questions of applicants/candidates to aid in selecting an informed councillor.
– I believe this approach promotes transparency and inclusivity and proves to be more cost-effective than opting for a by-election and allows the council to fill the seat quickly.

By involving residents in this selection process for a Ward 2 Municipal Councillor, we can ensure that our community’s values, concerns, and aspirations are adequately represented. This approach fosters a sense of ownership and accountability, knowing that our input directly contributes to the decision-making process.

Therefore, I urge the municipal authorities to prioritize the establishment of such a hiring committee to select the new Ward 2 representative.

Let's work together to ensure that our community continues to thrive under the guidance of a councillor who reflects our collective interests and aspirations.

PLEASE INFORM [email protected] if you agree to the above by March 4th.



Concerned residents of Ward 2

02/17/2024

“&” your garden dreams surface today, at Northumberland Master Gardener’s first “Seedy Saturday” open to the public. This seed exchange will help with anyone’s winter blahs and awaken any ground hog tempting an early spring.

Master Gardener’s are on hand to help you adopt a green thumb or enhance your knowledge while a selection of like-minded vendors are on hand with all sorts of seed — floral and vegetable.

Garden clubs welcome.

Enjoy