• Protecting Water and Farmland in Simcoe County

New player on political scene

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Jun 13th, 2010
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By Kate Harries WaterWatch May 2 2010
The new player on the Simcoe County political scene is AWARE.
AWARE stands for Action Watch Affecting Residents Everywhere. The name represents the need for citizens to be involved in local government snd understand what decisions are being taken on their behalf.
It was adopted by a meeting of about 100 people who gathered in Bradford Saturday to discuss the need for change at the municipal and county level in October’s election.
The meeting was the second ‘Spring into Action’ meeting – the first was held in March in Barrie – and represents a joining of forces of people from across Simcoe County in the face of a culture of secrecy and a disregard for the environment among municipal politicians.
AWARE will be an umbrella group supporting the efforts of concerned citizens at the municipal level to find new candidates who work for open, accountable government, protection of our water and air, and sustainable living in Simcoe County. It will support those few presently elected councillors who already represent those values.
AWARE will work with local groups in each municipality to evaluate and endorse candidates. Further organizational details will be presented to the next meeting in Essa Township in June (details to be announced ASAP).
Saturday’s meeting kicked off with an update on the county’s waste strategy from guest speaker Gord McKay, a Midland councillor, chair of Zero Waste Simcoe and vice-chair of the county’s waste strategy steering committee.
The latest version of the strategy is being presented at consultation sessions in Thornton, Midhurst and Coldwater next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. 
Among those who put forward ideas for the election were Civi Jacobsen of the newly formed Oro-Medonte Citizens’ Alliance, Katharine Parsons of Global Environmental Action Group and Nick Rolfe of Environmental Defence Fund.
Sandy Agnew, a councillor in Oro-Medonte, told the group of Simcoe County’s decision to review the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority and the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority and urged everyone to attend the next meeting of the county’s conservation authority review sub-committee on Thursday May 6, 9 a.m. at the administration building in Midhurst.
Cindy Hillard from Severn Township spoke about a proposed solar farm and her concerns about the province’s Green Energy Act, that took approvals away from municipal government and local residents they represent. She said solar panels belong on rooftops, not in areas where they take the place of food production and wildlife habitat.
The meeting concluded with a presentation by Letty McNeil of the Site 41 group on how to build community teams and groups. Click here to download a copy of her presentation. 

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