To bee or not to bee - council says not to bee
Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Council decided on Monday not to take part in the Bee City Canada program.
In July, Anne Kern of the Uxbridge Horticultural Society made a case for Uxbridge to become an official Bee City in a deputation to council on Monday. At that time, a resolution was drawn up adopting the program, but Mayor Dave Barton suggested holding it off to allow consultation with local farmers and for staff to examine the proposal.
In a joint report to council on Monday, Courtney Clarke, director of public works, and Hilary Williams, chief bylaw officer, recommended that Uxbridge pass up on the Bee City designation. They said that although township staff support the intent of the Bee City Canada resolution drafted in July, the commitments outlined in the program would require "significant resources, staff capacity and dedicated funding."
The report went on to say the Township already works to protect pollinators, including using mostly native trees, shrubs and groundcover species in planting programs; reducing pesticide use on municipal lands; supporting habitats with naturalized areas and community tree plantings and working in partnership with conservation authorities.
Saeid Sadeghidoughanlouei, directly in front of lectern, became a Canadian citizen in July at a low-key ceremony, so was welcomed to Uxbridge and Canada in grander style during Monday’s council meeting. Submitted photo
Mayor Dave Barton said taking part in the Bee City Canada program would take a "huge" amount of staff resources.
Also during Monday’s meeting, council decided that the Township’s information page in the Uxbridge Cosmos will be reduced from its current full-page format to a half-page, starting in November. Council made the decision when accepting the recommendations contained in a report by clerk Debbie Leroux.
The report also recommended that Township Bylaw 2007-223 be updated to amend the definition of the word “published.” The current bylaw states that township notices should be: “published in a newspaper that, in the opinion of the Clerk, has such circulation within the Township of Uxbridge as to provide reasonable notice.” Leroux said that should be changed to read: “published in a manner that, in the opinion of the Clerk, has such circulation within the Township of Uxbridge as to provide reasonable notice”.
Another recommendation said the Township should ask the Minister of Red Tape Reduction that provincial legislation “be updated to support more modern and transparent methods for disseminating municipal information that is consistent across all municipalities.”
Finally, at the beginning of the council meeting, long-time Uxbridge resident Cathy Christoff introduced Saeid Sadeghidoughanlouei, a newcomer to Uxbridge who recently received his Canadian citizenship.
Backed by about a dozen supporters waving Canadian flags, Christoff explained how Sadeghidoughanlouei, who is gay, escaped to Turkey from his homeland, Iran, where he would have been persecuted for his sexual orientation. Sadeghidoughanlouei then came to Canada. Christoff also told council that this event was a surprise for Sadeghidoughanlouei.
Christoff said that she felt recognizing the new Canadian would somewhat make up for what she said she considers is a diminished ceremony now held for new citizens taking the oath.