Mike Farwell

I feel badly for Kitchener today. That poor city — the largest municipality among the four townships and three cities in this region — feels as though it is not getting the recognition it deserves. According to the most recent news release from City Hall, motorists on the 401 can pass the poor city right by and not even know it lies just off the highway. Kitchener, according to the news release, should not be hidden from view.

And so city council has hatched a plan; a plan that will seek — you guessed it — public input, on just the right design for a new highway sign that will sit alongside the 401 and let all those busy motorists know that we are here. I suppose it might even entice them to stop and pay us a little visit. But by trying to guide motorists into our fair city council is once again showing that it…is misguided.

I’ve said it before but, since the message is clearly not getting through, I’ll say it again. We elect our leaders to lead, and with leadership comes decision-making. So make some decisions already. Talk about the design options at a council meeting one night and pick the one you think represents us best. We elected you to represent us so, presumably, we trust you. No matter the design that is ultimately chosen people will complain about it. Because that’s what we do. It will be too simple for some and too flashy for others and no amount of public consultation beforehand will mute the critics after the fact.

But it would seem that this time around council is misguided in more ways than one. For it’s not just public consultation working against it this time, it’s geography. What council seems to be unwilling to admit is that you really can’t get from the highway to here. At least not without knowing where you’re going, anyway. There are eight 401 exits through the region — six for Cambridge and two for Kitchener. If you take one of those six exits for Cambridge you’ll end up in the city itself, on Hespeler or Townline Road, even King Street. Take an exit for Kitchener, and call me later for directions.

I’ve tried to guide enough people from the 401 to the heart of downtown Kitchener to know what of I speak. Tell someone to get off the 401 at Kitchener and the exit looks a lot more like Cambridge. But don’t take King Street to Cambridge. You want to get to it in Kitchener. And not that King Street, but the next one, over the Grand River Bridge and at the end of Highway 8. No, not 7-8. Just 8. If they’re still with you at this point, you’ve got a very good friend.

If Kitchener is looking for someone to consult with, forget the public. It should be the province. Heck, we have our own minister in Kitchener-Centre MPP John Milloy. See if he can bend an ear or two in the transportation ministry and get us a highway interchange of our very own. Until then, Kitchener’s highway sign may as well be a map. And if it does have words, it may as well say ‘Thanks for passing by…again. Enjoy your visit to Cambridge.

With the Kitchener Rangers opening training camp yesterday, I suppose it was only fitting that I got back to hockey as well. In my case, though, the layoff was much longer than a couple of months. It was more like a couple of years as my increasingly busy schedule conspired to keep me from the regular weekly game I used to enjoy with friends.

It was funny how, despite all that time away from the rink, it didn’t take long for the instincts to kick back in. In fact, I’d say they were there from the first shift. The problem was that while I knew what to do — or at least what I wanted to do — on each play, executing it was a different story. My timing was off, my passes were missing the mark, and I was, quite frankly, slower.

Don’t get me wrong; I was never a great player. But I can now understand better than ever how skills deteriorate when you don’t use them for awhile. Not to mention how cruel Father Time can really be.

By all accounts next week will not just mark back to school time for us, it will also mark the time we learn when we will head back to the polls for a federal election. The third, I might add, in just over four years. But such is the case in a minority Parliament and, really, it’s time for something to be done in Ottawa.

The Conservative government, in power now for a little less than three years, has delivered admirably on many counts. I would take issue with its so-called Accountability Act because we did watch Liberal David Emerson abandon his Vancouver constituents just days after being voted into office in 2006, lured by a plumb cabinet post with the new Conservative regime. And we also heard much talk of a fixed election date and its value, only to see the government that fixed the date go about orchestrating its own demise a full year before the date arrived. But Mr. Harper’s government did lay out a rather simple agenda and did its best to follow through, including the presentation of a tough on crime bill and a slash of the GST. What’s most interesting to me, though, is how this rather effective minority government has just not been able to distance itself in the polls from an Opposition party that appears to be in disarray.

It’s been said that the only polls that matter are those on election day, but this is also most often said by the leader who does not like what the polls are saying. And if I was Prime Minister Harper, I would be concerned by the current numbers. Despite an Opposition leader that has not yet seemed to warm to the Canadian public and despite a key policy announcement in the Green Shift that has been criticized more than applauded, the Liberals are keeping this a neck and neck race in the polls. Mr. Harper would not be threatening to call this election if he did not think he could win, and win a majority at that.

In the other rans category, we’ve also seen polls showing the NDP slipping, losing most of their support to the Greens. A party, I might add, that will likely still not be invited to the table for the federal debate. But will the party earn its first federal seat? And will we elect a majority rather than a minority this time around?

How closely the current polls reflect the final numbers remains to be seen but we are being given the chance, on a number of levels, to change the face of Canadian politics for the next four years. Or less.

I listened with interest this morning as my friend and colleague Jeff Allan interviewed Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan. Minister Duncan was busy patting his government on the back for its 1.1-billion dollar announcement for Ontario infrastructure projects. And I’m not knocking the announcement — it’s not exactly chump change. Of course, neither was the other major infrastructure announcement, made about a month ago in London. That announcement was worth a combined 6.2-billion dollars, 3.1-billion each from the federal and provincial governments. And again, it was earmarked for infrastructure. So in the latter stages of this summer we, as a province, have been promised no fewer than 4.2-billion dollars from various levels of government to help repair crumbling roads and bridges, and maybe even give a boost to subsidized housing projects. But hang on a second.

Do you recall the claim of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities last year, the claim that suggested this country was staring down an infrastructure deficit of 123-billion dollars? Again, the 4.2-billion dollars earmarked for Ontario infrastructure is a substantial amount. But posed next to the suggested deficit, it’s not even the tiniest drop in the bucket. So what are we left to make of it all?

Firstly, we should not be fooled by Dwight Duncan. He loved every minute of his airtime today to talk about the provincial Liberals’ big announcement. But before we get carried away, don’t you think we ought to wait for the cheque? At least 45-million dollars is supposed to land here in Waterloo region. I promise to believe it when I see it.

The second thing is to take the claims of the FCM with a grain of salt. 123-billion is a huge number and it is meant to shock and draw attention to the cause of Canada’s crumbling infrastructure. I do not dispute the need to make substantial repairs to infrastructure of all sorts, in all Canadian communities. But I do dispute the price tag. The truth, as is so often the case, lies somewhere in the middle.

The famous movie line exclaimed, “Show me the money!” If not showing it, the provincial and federal governments are at least waving it in front of our faces. The key now is waiting to see what they do with it. I, for one, will not be holding my breath.

A nationwide outbreak of listeriosis has now been linked to one local death, as public health officials have confirmed that a resident of Waterloo Region has died after testing positive for the same strain of the disease that has been found in 17 confirmed cases across Canada. And while the version of listeriosis that has claimed this local life is very similar to the strain that is connected to a tainted meat recall, no direct link is yet being made. The local death is the third in Ontario and the province’s acting Chief Medical Officer of Health says more cases are likely coming because listeriosis has an average incubation period of three weeks. In other words, despite the recall of 23 products from Maple Leaf Foods, the worst may not yet be behind us.

There are a couple of things we need to know about this. First is that it was the Canadian Food Inspection Agency that identified the listeria bacteria at a Maple Leaf Foods meat plant in Toronto. And second this agency, which acts as a body independent of the food industry and reports to the Ministry of Agriculture, could be turning some of its powers back to the producers themselves. According to a leaked document, the federal government is considering a plan that would transfer food inspection powers from government to industry. In other words, the industry would begin to police itself. And that’s a terrible idea.

The Tories tell us that they want industries to play a greater role in inspecting their own products, and have more of an oversight role within the plant itself. But even with this most recent outbreak notwithstanding, isn’t that sort of like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse? University of Guelph professor Ann Clark, who has testified before the agriculture committee, said industry’s main goal is to make money — not provide a public health service such as food inspection that has historically fallen to governments. And so in the interests of making that money, when business is slow, isn’t the inspection process a place where industry could cut corners to save a few bucks? If you don’t think it is, ask yourself this. In these tough economic times, why would the federal government be thinking about turning some food inspections back on industry? To save a few bucks of its own. Why should we expect industry to act any differently?

I’m not a fan of governments that use tragedy as a platform to play politics. But it might be good that we’re talking about this today. This proposal has still not been approved, so there is no certainty that it will move forward. And it gives all of us, including our federal M-P’s, the time for some sober second thought. Let’s not allow dollars and cents to get in the way of something as important as food safety inspections. How much worse could this outbreak have been had the Food Inspection Agency not found it when it did? If the government is looking for ways to trim fat, I’m sure any number of us has a few suggestions as to where it can begin.

I meant to update this space yesterday, my first day back from holidays, but time simply did not allow. Funny, though, how a week away can feel so long. I guess that means it was time well spent.I started my week away up at the cottage in Port Elgin. I had not visited in years (I had decided long ago I was just too busy for such things) and I realize now what a mistake that was. Nothing says relaxation like being steps away from the water.

I ended the week in New York City, taking in a game at fabled Yankee Stadium. As a bit of a baseball nut, this was akin to a pilgrimage for me. And one that had to be taken this year, what with the new stadium opening in the spring of 2009. According to the big countdown board in centre field, I saw one of the final 19 games in The House That Ruth Built. Not too shabby. And despite what you may have heard, New Yorkers are a fine group of people. They were, to a person, much friendlier than I had anticipated and there really wasn’t a time I felt unsafe, including while walking back to my hotel in Queens after the game, at 2 AM. I’d take the trip again in a heartbeat.

It’s good to be back, though. We’ve got Canada’s medal woes to worry about here at home (or have we stopped worrying now?), not to mention a possible ban on bottled water that comes before regional council again in a few short weeks. The city of Kitchener is looking at ways to generate new interest in its struggling downtown market, a windmill debate rages in Waterloo, and Cambridge has the first Gold standard City Hall in the country. In other words, lots to talk about. Let’s get started catching up. I’ll bring the coffee.

I just wanted to say thanks to all of you who took the time to call and e-mail over the past couple of weeks as I filled in on the Gary Doyle Show. I love getting the chance to fill-in on our talk shows and the interaction with you makes it all the more fun for me.

When I grow up, I hope to be just like Gary…and on vacation for most of the summer! I’m taking a week for myself next week as Gary’s journey to parts unknown continues for another week still (how many is that now, Gary? I’ve lost track.). In our absence, we leave you with the delightful (and incomparable) Susan Cook-Scheerer. I trust you will enjoy one another’s company.

I’ll rejoin you August 18th on the Afternoon News with Kate Stockmann. Until then…

Do you remember that classic song by Kermit the Frog, “It’s Not Easy Being Green?” Far be it from me to argue with a muppet but the famous amphibian may have had it all wrong. In fact, all around Waterloo Region the signs are saying that being green may be pretty easy indeed.

To wit, the new City Hall in Cambridge, designated this week as the first city hall in the country to achieve GOLD certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — or LEED — from the Canada Green Building Council. The new building incorporates a number of environmentally-friendly features, such as motion sensors to reduce the use of artificial lighting, a living wall that helps circulate clean air throughout the building and a green roof, just to name a few.

In Kitchener, the new Hanson Avenue Arena and Recreational Complex will be built to LEED Gold while in Waterloo, Mayor Brenda Halloran promised in her state of the city address this year that Waterloo would pursue LEED Silver for every new municipal building bigger than 500 square metres.

But I think that’s where the easy part ends. For while it’s one thing to talk the green talk, if you will, it’s entirely another to walk the green walk. To wit, in Waterloo, where the design for a new east side fire station came forward – aiming for LEED Silver — and was promptly sent back to the drawing board because going green, it would seem, has its price. And The Bay in Waterloo will now appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board after city staff shot down the store’s request to erect wind towers. It seems the city’s concerns for aesthetics and pedestrian safety trump its concern for the environment.

In Kitchener, while there seems to be a willingness to meet the price for going green on Hanson Avenue, there’s also a movement afoot to build a new downtown parking structure that will simply attract more cars to the core but do nothing to improve transit to the centre of the city. And even Cambridge, while patting itself on the back for its new city hall, has joined other municipalities in banning environmentally-friendly e-bikes from its sidewalks and trails. There is simply more to being green than building — or promising to build — environmentally-friendly buildings. More cost, yes, but also more effort and perhaps a little more creative thinking.

Maybe Kermit needs to update his classic tune to “It’s Not Inexpensive Being Green.” Although research does tell us that the up front costs of going green can be recouped through less expensive operational costs down the road, in some cases even tipping the project into a favourable financial position. In other words, you get more back than you put in up front. Don’t we owe it to ourselves to make the investment?

In light of recent events, Greyhound Canada has pulled a new ad campaign. The promotion, which included posters and ads in handbooks at universities, aimed to remind people that the stress of commuting could be reduced by taking the bus. In what seemed clever at the start of the campaign, the posters promoted the slogan “There’s a reason you’ve never heard of bus rage.” Greyhound is doing the proper — and sensitive — thing by pulling the ads. But the online petition to beef up security at Greyhound terminals, now 600 signatures strong, is entirely misguided.

Drunk drivers are responsible for an average of four deaths in Canada every year, yet we still take to our cars and hit the road in record numbers. There were 594 murders reported in Canada last year, but we still walk the streets. We walk those same streets, every day, despite the number of pedestrians who get hit by cars. I recall a time in the summer of 2006 where as many as eight pedestrians here in Waterloo Region were struck in a two week period, some of them fatally. Lightning kills ten people in Canada every year, yet we still go out in the rain. In all of my 30+ years on this planet, I have heard of one beheading aboard a bus. One.

In no way am I trying to make light of this senseless tragedy. But if you think this is a story about bus safety, you’re not thinking at all.

It was 1963 when my favourite songwriter penned the lyrics to a classic tune. Bob Dylan wrote ”The line it is drawn, the curse it is cast; the slow one now, will later be fast. As the present now will later be past, the order is rapidly fadin’. And the first one now will later be last, for the times they are a-changin’.” And so the changes continue.

Last week, in the wake of a 286-million dollar federal government buyout for tobacco farmers, a spokesperson said the deal signalled “the beginning of the end of a way of life for generations of tobacco farm families.” At the same time, we’re watching General Motors attempt to buy out the contracts of 2600 workers at a truck plant in Oshawa, and we’ve heard countless auto workers talk about how their industry is not one they’d recommend to their kids. The times they are a-changin’ indeed.

It seems to me that in each of these cases, we are bearing witness to the end of an era. We may not be in the final generation of tobacco farmers or auto workers but the writing appears to be rather clearly etched on the wall. How many future generations can there be? In my own experience, I know that blacksmiths at one time practiced a trade that was in great demand. But I cannot claim to have known a blacksmith personally, nor am I able to trace my ancestry to the time when the Farwell family was heavily involved in the trade. How many more generations will it be before we’re talking in the same tones about tobacco farmers and auto workers, considering them relics of a bygone era?

It’s been said that the only thing constant in life is change. But that doesn’t mean we can’t mourn the inevitability of it from time to time.