New library long overdue

(September 29) - I don’t know that Norman McLeod has read every book in the library, but you’d have a hard time beating him in a literary trivia contest. He quotes with ease from most of the books he has read. But from now on, if he wants to borrow a book he’ll have to queue up at the checkout counter just like the rest of us.

He is wrapping up a long and illustrious career in the public library game. Last week was his last as Guelph’s chief librarian, a job he held with distinction for 32 years. He’s not gone completely. He’ll keep his foot in the door of the new east end branch until it is properly opened. Other than that, he’ll take some well-deserved rest and recuperation.

Kerry Hannah, the head of children’s services, is now the acting chief librarian.

Heading up Guelph’s public library system is not a job for a dilettante. In its 126-year history, only four people have done it. I doubt we’ll find a fifth person who can give us three more decades of dedication. Our library system has grown so much. When I moved to Guelph in 1971, it occupied a six-year-old building. There were two meeting rooms in the basement that community groups could use. Not any more. Every square foot of the building is now taken over for library use.

When McLeod arrived in 1977, he joined a growing library in a growing city. Both are still expanding, but they are running out of room. In fact, the main library building ran out of room to grow a few years ago.

We need a new building. Be clear about that. We don’t want a new downtown branch. We need one. Desperately. The building on Norfolk Street was designed to hold 80,000 books. There are more than a quarter of a million in it now. It circulated 267,000 books in 1965. By the end of August, the library system as a whole circulated 1,234,586 items. At this rate it will be almost two million by the end of the year.

Debate about the need for a new library should have ended three years ago. There has been a steady commitment from most of our councillors. Capital forecasts in years gone by even had construction slated to start next year, in 2010. If we don’t pay attention, it could start receding further into the future.

It was sad to hear some of the things that were said last week. A couple of councillors speculated that the recent discovery of a $2.7-million cash flow crisis could derail the library redevelopment.

You can freeze the building, but you can’t freeze what goes on inside it. Holding back library growth is as futile an endeavour as was King Canute’s attempt to hold back the tide. It can’t be done. In Guelph, library use is a family value that helps cement our community.

The recession won’t last forever. When it’s over, the need for a new library will still be with us. If anything, it will be bigger. So will the cost of redevelopment.

It has been a privilege to sit next to Norm McLeod during meetings of the Public Library Board. I’ll miss his dry, sometimes sarcastic, humour.

I won’t miss his reading recommendations. I followed them a couple of times. He has a wide range of interests, but an internal magnet draws him ever backwards into the world of potboilers and bodice rippers.

Even those authors have fans who are entitled to a library with room to expand. It’s an important goal. Don’t let it drift away.

Cash flow woes impacting Guelph

(September 22) - It seems I am not the only person who thinks taxes have fallen too low. Last week, thousands of people in Toronto had a chance to vote against higher taxes but didn’t bother. Only about a third of the people who could vote in a provincial byelection bothered to do so. Of those, almost half chose to support the party that will bring us the Higher Sales Tax (HST).

Governments everywhere are starving for revenue. At the federal and provincial levels, they have no one to blame but themselves. Politicians have campaigned for several decades on promises to reduce taxes, their main source of revenue. They have always relied on the false wisdom that smaller government sets the entrepreneurial spirit free. Business will prosper and we’ll all be glad of it.

The exact opposite turned out to be the case. Smaller government brought us lower taxes. It also brought us globalization and deregulation. These latter two wonders brought a recession. The recession increased the need for government services. The need couldn’t be met because revenues are not there. We are trapped inside a vicious circle and there aren’t many ways out.

Guelph city council is grappling with the effects of the cash shortfall. The city bank account is about $2.7 million less than where it should be. This is the result of some catch-22 situations.

One is lower interest rates. Great if you are renewing your mortgage, but not so good if you need investment income.

Revenue from fines is also down. Some scofflaws are choosing to save money by not paying them. There’s another ironic thing about this. While the downtown urinals save the city from cleaning up unpleasant messes, they also eliminate lucrative fines. Every time one is used, a $240 ticket is flushed down the drain.

Another component of the cash flow problem related to the recession is an increased load on county social services. This could cost the city about $467,000. Where will the money come from?

The city is looking at some traditional solutions, such as renegotiating with suppliers or not filling staff vacancies.

What is not under consideration is taking another look at the free parking meters downtown. Giving away two free hours at every on-street parking spot was estimated, in 2007 when it started, to cost the city $685,000 a year. It could be a lot more than that. Every car that leaves a meter within the two-hour limit is replaced by another one that also parks free.

Before the city cuts any staff to recoup its $2.7-million shortage, it should report exactly how much money has not been fed into the parking meters.

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The police used one of their Tasers a week ago while taking a man into custody. That should concern us all by itself, but there is one thing even more troubling.

It is the remarks by Police Chief Rob Davis, as quoted in last Friday’s Mercury: “This case was a perfect example of what the Taser was designed for, Davis said, adding the weapon was used to immediately immobilize the man without discharging a firearm.”

They were arresting a man “under the Mental Health Act” in the hall of an apartment building. The high-volt jolt didn’t immobilize him. The police had to shout at him that if he didn’t stop moving they’d do it again.

Then our chief of police tells us that if they hadn’t had a Taser with them, they would have shot him? What a foolish thing to say.

The police clearly need fewer Tasers and more training.

From strange to weird to bizarre

(September 15) - The saga of the Hanlon Creek Business Park goes from strange to weird to bizarre. Construction has been put on hold until next spring because the city is committed to developing the site in the most environmentally responsible manner possible. They agreed they would not do any work on site during sensitive fish breeding seasons, and they are being true to their word.

They now have the strange task of proving a negative. They must prove there are no Jefferson salamanders in the creek beds and wetlands. If next spring rolls around and none have been found, opponents of the project will tell them to look again. You didn’t look everywhere, they will say. There could still be a stone left unturned somewhere out there. If there were no Jeffersons in the creek last October, they will say next April, there might be one now. Take another look.

It may be possible to prove a negative, if you have enough resources and the time needed to go back and make sure nothing changes. It would take more time than the city has available.

Other negatives are easier to prove. For example, you can easily show, beyond a shadow of a doubt, there are still no jobs in the Hanlon Creek Business Park. That’s because, after all the time spent searching for salamanders, there is still no business park.

Last week, things went from strange to weird. Some of the protesters went to the Drexler residence and delivered a message. They say they just wanted to pass the time of day in pleasant conversation and explain that the business owner, much like everyone else in Guelph, would have a happier life if the land didn’t get developed.

The police say Drexler felt threatened and intimidated by the visitors. It’s tough to get into the middle of a “yes you did, no I didn’t” argument that may or may not be settled in court. One thing is clear, though. The protesters were making sure Drexler knew they know where to find his family when they want to.

I’ve known people in the building trades. If you could get a PhD in machismo, they’d all be doctors. Meet them at a construction site, a negotiating table or on a golf course and they can be fearless. None would have got where they did if they went all weak in the knee when confronted by the people who camped out by Hanlon Creek. Going to their homes puts their families at risk, and that’s another story.

Imagine the outrage that would result if a construction worker went to a protester’s home for a similar “chat.”

By week’s end it went from weird to bizarre. A couple of the protesters who tried to tune up the Drexlers turned themselves in to the police and spoke to the press. Both came from out of town. One, Julian Ichim, turns out to have been the Marxist-Leninist candidate in various provincial and federal elections in Kitchener and, most recently, Stratford.

There are legitimate fringe parties with programs and platforms that deserve to be heard. The M-Lers are not among them. They built their organization on the backs of progressive groups, moving in to disrupt, dominate and destroy. For as long as I have known them, about 40 years, they have been at the centre of the loonie left. There is no reason to suppose they occupy any different ground today.

If Guelph’s environmental groups have been infiltrated by them, we should all be worried. Nothing good will come of it. The honest environmentalists who care about the business park should think twice about where, and with whom, they are going.

Where are all the candidates?

(September 08) - Suppose they called an election and nobody came. It sounds improbable, and couldn’t happen. Or could it? There doesn’t appear to be a lot of getting ready going on around town.

Michael Ignatieff, the Liberal leader, is starting to talk tough. He is threatening to stop propping up the Harper government. Does anyone believe him, after all the backing down he and his predecessor did? It appears as though none of the local political parties do.

Things are eerily quiet in the riding associations that will try to send Guelph MP Frank Valeriote back to his law practice. None even has a nomination meeting scheduled. None of the three major opposition candidates from last year’s election are running again. It is, when you think about it, quite astonishing that neither the Conservatives, the NDP nor the Greens have put someone forward to build name recognition and to position themselves as a credible challenger to Valeriote.

What we are going through now makes no sense to those who spend any time at all observing politics. We have been in a minority government situation since Oct. 14 of last year. In theory, the government could have fallen at any time since then. It would be a shock to the system if the Liberals nominated anyone but the incumbent Valeriote. Why don’t the other three have someone in place by now, building name recognition and support?

It is completely disingenuous for them all to say they are still fatigued from last year’s contest. We all remember the marathon byelection that turned into a general election at the last minute. Yes, it was a stretch. It placed a huge burden on everyone’s campaign resources. Out in the real world of politics, it shouldn’t take a year to recover.

A year ago, the local Conservatives wasted most of their energy fighting among themselves. That appears to be behind them now, but with Gloria Kovach pulling herself out of the mix, who do they have with any sort of plausibility? It would be a surprise to see Brent Barr step forward after the way the riding association humiliated him. We are more likely to see the two of them stepping forward for next year’s “nonpartisan” municipal election, one running for mayor and the other for council.

The NDP and the Greens have been playing their cards close to the vest over the past year. They each had an exceptional candidate in 2008. Neither wants to stand again, and both parties seem content to wait until the last moment to get someone in place.

The NDP has a search committee looking at available talent. They have a lot to look at. I’d like to see a candidate step forward from the labour movement. What with this recession and all, it would be good to hear someone speak out in defence of workers and their families.

There was a flurry of excitement a month or so ago when Elizabeth May announced she was considering Guelph as the next place to decline the opportunity to send her to Ottawa. Now she is looking at British Columbia instead. She hasn’t entirely given up on Guelph. She’s back in town on Thursday, speaking on campus. Guelph has lots of dedicated environmentalists who can carry the Green flag. One will step forward. You never know. One of the Hanlon Creek occupants might want to make change from inside the belly of the beast.

No matter how you look at it, we are in for a fascinating few weeks. Either Valeriote gets a free pass, or three good citizens will stand up and challenge him.

When unions win, we all win

(September 01) - It used to be that the Labour Day weekend was the last day before school started. It was a day of great anticipation. Young people everywhere looked forward to the opportunity to meet new teachers and set sail for the new horizons opened up by increased knowledge. Not anymore.

The elementary and secondary schools went back to work this morning. As summer’s last holiday rolls around next weekend, they will already have three days of school work in their backpacks. Then there’s a four-day weekend before putting pencils to paper for the long haul.

Maybe now that the back-to- school sales are over, we can have a clearer view of the other significant meaning of next Monday. It is a day to reflect on the contribution made to society by workers and their unions. It is a day to say thank you for all they have done and all they will do to make all of our lives better. You’ll find a lot of union members at Riverside Park on Labour Day, hosting the annual picnic. There is usually good corn, cheap hot dogs, fine music, lots of information about community groups, a couple of speeches and a load of fun for the whole family.

There is an old slogan that promoted unions as the people who brought you the weekend. It was true. They did that and more. Our parents and grandparents sacrificed much to fight for the 40-hour work week, pensions, sick pay, health and safety, and a lot more.

These benefits began as collective agreement provisions and quickly became part of our social fabric. Gains made by unions spread and became the standard for all workers. They are now being taken away. The recession is being used as a hammer to beat down organized labour.

I have said it before and I will say it again: when our unions are strong, our society is strong. When unions win, we all win. The corollary is also true. When unions lose, we all lose.

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) estimates that over half a million jobs have been lost in Canada this year. An Aug. 7 article in the Globe and Mail had it at 414,000. Either way, a lot of families are tightening their belts. Most of them live in Ontario. Many are in Guelph and used to work for Linamar. Last year at this time, the company announced large job cuts that hit machine operators and salaried professionals alike. They are still suffering. A couple of weeks ago the company announced losses of $48 million and a 40 per cent decline in sales.

Companies like Linamar don’t like to pass their profits down, but they love to share their losses.

The EI program doesn’t have enough money. Several years ago, when times were relatively good, the program generated a surplus of over $50 billion dollars. The Liberal government of the day diverted it into general revenue and used it to finance corporate tax cuts. Now that workers need it, the money is gone. Even though Ontario is bearing the brunt of the recession, workers here are treated more harshly than in other provinces. We have to put in more qualifying hours, and we receive fewer benefit weeks. It is a system that must be reformed and restored to its original purpose.

As we celebrate another Labour Day, spare a thought for the men and women who make the products and provide the services we all enjoy. Manufacturing workers are an endangered species these days. Who among us will speak out in their defence?

Other than their unions, I mean.