‘a negative for the community’ - news media canada · alex migdal, mercury staff alex migdal,...
TRANSCRIPT
U of G research confirms benefits of dog walking— local, A3
July 23, 2014 . Serving Guelph and Wellington County . 95 cents + tax ($1.00) . guelphmercury.com
Canada A6Classified B9Comics B3Cryptoquote B9
Editorials A8Life B1Horoscopes B2Lottery results A2
Obituaries B11Scoreboard B4Sports B5Sudoku B9
A LOOK ATTOMORROW’S
WEATHERFULL FORECAST, PAGE A2 H: 23 L: 11
Wednesday
GUELPH — The municipal tran-sit lockout is adversely affectingdevelopmentally disabled Com-munity Living clients working atARC Industries or living in grouphomes.
“At this point, we’re aware ofabout up to 50 people who are im-pacted on a daily basis. Why I’msaying up to is some people havetaken vacation this week,” Com-munity Living of Guelph Welling-ton executive director Bob Butellasaid Tuesday. His not-for-profitagency assists about 420 clients inGuelph and area, including almost150 full- and part-time employeesat Guelph-based ARC industries, arehabilitative employment train-ing and support centre.
Clients, he said, are taking al-ternative means of getting around,notably bicycles. Others are rely-ing on family members to helpthem get by.
Community Living is also help-ing with some carpooling for thosein group homes. Monday, he said,one client took a taxi, but foundthat expensive.
“We’re working with the peoplewe support. We’re working withtheir families, with our employ-ees, just to try to find alternatives.”
The agency looked into whatthe Ontario Disability SupportProgram could offer, but found itshelp is limited to those needing toget to medical appointments.Guelph City Hall’s mobility ser-vice, he added, is providing busingfor people with pre-booked medi-cal appointments, which was ar-ranged by the municipality.
The city locked out its bus driv-ers Monday after unionizedGuelph Transit workers rejected atentative contract agreement onSunday. There’s no indication yetwhen talks may resume in the la-bour dispute.
“Like everyone else, we’re hop-ing for resolution fairly quickly,”Butella said.
The latest information on thecity’s evolving bus situation is on-line at www.guelph.ca/living/get-ting-around/bus.
ARC Industriesworkers amongthose impactedby lockoutVik Kirsch, Mercury staff
Cricket club prepares for weekend matchup
TONY SAXON, MERCURY STAFF
Jothi Brar takes a swing at a bowled ball during a recent practice at the Inverhaugh Cricket Club just west of Elora. The club will be hosting a clubfrom Florida Saturday and Sunday. For more information go to the club’s website at www.inverhaugh.com.
GUELPH — The financial implications of thetransit shutdown are difficult to predict orcalculate in the early stages, Guelph’s CAOindicated on Tuesday, the second day of thelockout of 205 transit workers.
Ann Pappert said public transit is linkedinto several other city services, programs andfacilities, and the costs or savings to publiccoffers from a transit shutdown are not easy toestimate. As of now, there is no way of accu-rately knowing at what impact the lockout
will have. Workers were locked out Monday. The city announced a lockout of Amalgam-
ated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1189 on July12, a move that was to have taken effect onMonday, July 14. The two sides in the disputegot back to bargaining and averted the stop-page.
But Local 1189 members voted down thetentative agreement a week later and the lock-out was put back in effect.
Pappert said it is too soon to tell what thefinancial implications of the transit shut-
down will be. Some estimates can be made onthings such as bus pass refunds, but even thatis guesswork at this point.
Pappert said it is estimated that at this timeof year there are about 7,000 daily bus riders.The vast majority, she said, likely hold buspasses. If all of those people make good on thecity’s offer to refund 50 per cent of the cost ofall July bus passes that would represent a$76,000 payout for the city, she said. Passes forUniversity of Guelph students are a separatepart of the equation, she added.
‘A negative for the community’But impact of Guelph Transit lockout on city budget difficult to measure: CAO Rob O’Flanagan, Mercury staff
‰ SEE LOCKOUT ON PAGE A4
GUELPH — In three months, fin-gers crossed, Kat Walters andMatthew Davey will move intotheir brand new home.
Their custom space, whichthey’ve tirelessly designed overthe past few months and are juststarting to build, will comeequipped with two loft-style bed-rooms, solar panels, a compostingtoilet and stairs that house a wa-ter tank.
Oh, and walking from one endof the house to another will takeall of five steps.
Walters and Davey are down-sizing to the extreme with their“tiny house” on wheels.
Not tiny as in quaint cottage orthrifty studio. Tiny as in watchyour head when you walk in. Tinyas in you might touch both wallswith your hands outstretched. Ti-ny as in how could anyone live likethis?
We’re talking 15-square-me-
tres tiny. But for a princely sum of
$20,000, using mostly reclaimedmaterial, the two will enjoy a cosyroof over their head.
And the Guelph couple consid-ers the planned eight-by-20-footspace, which appears smallerthan most living rooms, a big up-grade.
Earlier this year, they spentmonths criss-crossing Canada
and the United States in a six-by-nine-foot cadet trailer. A fewweeks in, cold weather in Texasforced them to lodge in a hotel.
It was then, while browsing theinternet, Walters stumbled on avideo of a tiny house.
“I fell in love right away,” shesays.
That love has led to about 900hours of work, Walters estimates.
A tiny, perfect homeIt’s cosy, it’s cheap, and it’s portableAlex Migdal, Mercury staff
ALEX MIGDAL, MERCURY STAFF
Matthew Davey works on his tiny house on wheels Monday afternoon.
‰ SEE HOME ON PAGE A4
GUELPH — How important is ahealthy, sustainable food systemto local residents?
That’s what local food activ-ists will be asking as they surveythe public at festivals, games andother gatherings, beginning atthis week’s Hillside Festival inGuelph.
They’ll be asked how impor-tant it is to them that sustainablefood production methods be sup-ported and encouraged.
Proponent Phil Mount saidthe Guelph-Wellington FoodRound Table initiative is the log-ical next step after the creation ofthe Guelph-Wellington FoodCharter, which city council en-dorsed in December 2011.
The food charter boasts six
key pillars “on how we thinkGuelph-Wellington should be de-veloping their food system,” saidMount, a food activist and WilfridLaurier University researcher.
“Basically, they’re philosophi-cal principles of how we thinkGuelph-Wellington should be de-veloping their food system. Weneed to turn those principles intosolid things that people can un-derstand and people can act on.”
The six pillars focus on vari-ous aspects of desirable food pro-duction and consumption.
They zero in on health, publiceducation, sustainable economicdevelopment, the environment,culture and social justice. The lo-cal food charter says its goal is “tobuild a vibrant, sustainable,food-secure community.”
To Mount, creating a foodstrategy has a variety of benefits.“Many of the pieces that havebeen identified over time as is-sues that are important in ourfood system that need to be ad-dressed remain issues,” he said.
Activists want to know:How can Guelph improveits local food system?
‰ SEE FOOD ON PAGE A3
Public will besurveyed at eventsin coming weeks Mercury staff
local Guelph Mercury z Wednesday, July 23, 2014 z A4
Brenda Whiteside, U of G asso-ciate vice-president (student af-fairs), said there are just 335 full-time undergraduates enrolled dur-ing the summer, and many othergraduate students accessing cam-pus at this time to conduct labora-tory work and other research.
“Our student governments of-fer the bus pass and they have beenworking with the city regarding arefund,” she said in an email. “Weare also working to find mecha-nisms to help people share rides.Hopefully this will help those whoneed to get to campus.”
While it may be true that thecity will not be paying the salariesof 205 employees during the lock-out, there is no way yet of tellinghow a reduction of public transitmight impact other city facilitiessuch as recreation centres or pro-grams offered at libraries wherecitizens pay for city services. If rid-ers can’t get to these facilities, mu-nicipal coffers will take a negativehit, Pappert suggested.
“The offset is always there forrevenue,” Pappert said. “We’rejust starting to look at trying to de-termine what effect the work stop-page might have on the city budget.
Off the top, I think my first re-sponse would be this is a negativefor the community from an eco-nomic perspective.”
She said while the city may besaving in salaries, it is losing mon-ey in revenue from bus passes andfees. Short-, medium- and long-term lockout scenarios are beinglooked at in an effort to gauge thefinancial impact. The cost of man-aging the lockout — expenditureson such things as security at cityfacilities — is not possible to esti-mate at this early stage.
“It is really early to try to landhow much this is going to cost thecity,” Pappert said. “It is still to bedetermined. We want to be trans-parent about this, but it is just re-ally early to try to give a fair an-swer.”
Guelph taxi companies appearto be seeing a net benefit in the firstdays of the lockout. Representa-tives from both Canadian Cab andGuelph Taxi said Tuesday therehas been a spike in the demand forcab rides, although that demandhas levelled out.
Karen Bertrand, a dispatcherwith Guelph Taxi, said Mondaywas a particularly busy day as citi-zens scrambled to find transporta-
tion alternatives. Jesse Mendoza, a cab owner and
secretary treasurer with CanadianCab, said demand has been strongin the mornings and late after-noons as people call cabs for ridesto and from work.
Pappert said the city is unclearat this point what Local 1189 mem-bers are looking for.
“I think where we’re at is an is-sue of clarity — trying to get a veryclear understanding from themembership and executive of ATUas to what is still outstanding,” shesaid, adding the list brought by theunion to the bargaining table hasshifted.
“When the agreement camethrough, we were much more opti-mistic because it was somethingthat was absolutely hammeredout,” she said, adding that the out-standing issues now are “a movingtarget again.”
Moving forward will requirefurther clarity from the union onwhat needs to be addressed.
Attempts to arrange an inter-view with Local 1189 president An-drew Cleary Tuesday were not suc-cessful.
Too early to measure impact
ROB O’FLANAGAN, MERCURY STAFF
About 30 locked-out Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1189, members picketed in front of Guelph City Hall onCarden Street Tuesday morning. Members voted down a tentative contract.
‰ LOCKOUT FROM PAGE A1
Now she sits cross-leggedamong piles of wooden planksMonday afternoon.
It’s only day three of buildingand she’s already run into someflooring problems. The subfloor,she says, is crucial to protectingthe trailer from moisture, ro-dents and insects.
Nearby, a flatbed trailer sitsbetween a garage and a shed. Da-vey says securing the wood struc-ture to the flatbed will prove mostchallenging.
Remarkably, the couple saysthey’re improvising the con-struction. They draw on basic de-sign principles, but their plansconstantly change and most oftheir guidance comes from the in-ternet.
They still aren’t sure howthey’ll weather proof the house,since most tiny homes don’t haveto deal with frigid temperatures.
Such compact spaces, alsoknown as accessory dwellingunits, are used to balmier localeslike Portland, Ore., where theystarted springing up about 10years ago. They reportedly nowmake up one in 10 new homes inthat city.
Walters understands the ap-peal. “Something about being in asmall space feels safe to me,” shesays.
“I can open up my door and theworld’s right there, instead of
having a big apartment or a bighouse where I’m always hiding init. … It forces me to want to beoutside and explore.”
Davey has owned two houses.He says he spent the majority ofhis time maintaining them andworking to afford them. “For me,the smaller the space, the morefree time I have. And I think that’smore important for me.”
But the close quarters begs thequestion: How can the two standeach other?
Walters flashes a knowingsmile. “We are incredibly com-patible,” she says.
“A lot of people must commentthat it must test our relation-ship,” Davey notes. But the cou-ple says the tiny space forcesthem to quickly resolve issues.
And it’s not just a two-manmission. The two are chroniclingtheir progress on an online blog.
A penchant for green valueshas also drawn them to Guelphafter moving five times in the past2½ years. But if they do growtired, they’re only one drive awayfrom their next adventure.
“We can pull into a place andbe there for six months and if wefeel it’s not the greatest neigh-bourhood, it means we just cantake our home with us,” Walterssays. “There’s a freedom to hav-ing our home on wheels.”
Big houses made them feelentrapped in many ways
ALEX MIGDAL, MERCURY STAFF
Kat Walters measures some of the reclaimed wood she salvaged for herhouse. She and Matthew Davey like the looks of Guelph and might stay.
‰ HOME FROM PAGE A1
������ ����� ����� ������� �����
�������� ���� � ��������� ��
��� ���� ��� �� ��� � ����� ����
DON’T LET YOUR
VEHICLE LEASE
CHAIN YOU DOWN.
BUST OUT.
LeaseBusters.com is the largest vehicle leasemarketplace in Canada – we’ll unlock you fromyour vehicle lease commitment... save time,early termination fees and penalties.
Call now for a free consultation 1-888-357-2678
or visit us at www.LeaseBusters.com
R0012807717
FERGUS — The Malaysian airline tragedy inUkraine hit home for members of the HighlandRugby Club Friday when it was learned a for-mer teammate was one of the victims.
Richard Mayne, 20, spent a summer playingfor the Fergus-based club in 2012 as part of an
ongoing exchange program between Highlandand the Market Bosworth Rugby Club just out-side Leicester, England.
Mayne was 18 when he spent eight weeksbilleting with various families in the Fergusarea, experiencing a new culture and playingfor the Highland club for the summer.
“I can’t tell you how much it’s impacted a lot
of our players. I’ve been talking to them duringthe day and it’s hit them hard,” Highland Rugbypresident Joe Bowley said Friday.
Bowley got a message from Mayne’s parentsletting him know that their son was killed whenMalaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down onThursday, killing all 298 people on board.
Rugby club mourns Flight 17 victim
Richard Mayne was on flight MH17.
Richard Mayne spent a summer playing rugby in Fergus on exchange programTony Saxon, Mercury staff
‰ SEE MAYNE ON PAGE A5
Network TV finally embracing diversity withnew slate of shows this fall — life, D1
Changing lineupSamantha Whitworth found out the hard way shepicked the wrong wedding planner — local, A3
Bride’s nightmare
SaturdayJuly 19, 2014 . Serving Guelph and Wellington County . $1.90 + tax ( $2.00 ) . weekend edition
On the web: Golfer Lucas Kim breaks course record during Mandarin Tour event. Go to Videos at guelphmercury.com
Canada A6Classified E5Comics C7Cryptoquote E7
Editorials A8Faith D9Here C1Horoscopes D6
Life D1Lottery results A2Obituaries E8Occasions D10
Scoreboard B5Sports B1Sudoku E7Travel C10
TOMORROW’S WEATHERFULL FORECAST, PAGE A2
H: 25 L: 15
GUELPH — Some mornings, Dr. Anna Issakoff-Meller makes herself a light serving of eggs, avocadoand salsa.
Other mornings, if she’s feeling more carnivo-rous, the Guelph family doctor rips into a juicy steak.
Issakoff-Meller argues both are healthier alterna-tives to sugary cereals, gluttonous breads and deceit-ful muffins.
All those options are loaded with carbohydrates,an energy source for the body that, in excess, is cata-pulting the country into an obesity and diabetes epi-demic, she says.
“We are giving the wrong message to people,”Issakoff-Meller says. “We’ve been brainwashed intothinking that fat is bad and carbs are OK.”
As of 2011-12, Statistics Canada reports that 36.3per cent of Guelph adult residents are overweightand 15.9 per cent are obese.
Issakoff-Meller points to the glossy-paged culprit.
Colourful drawings of bread, rice and pasta streakacross the front page of Canada’s Food Guide.
Six years ago, Issakoff-Meller would have be-lieved its suggested intake of six to eight servings ofcarbs per day for the average adult.
But then she stumbled on a revelatory read: GoodCalories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Contro-versial Diet of Health by Gary Taubes.
“When I got to the carbohydrate chapter, Ithought, ‘Oh God,’ and read it twice and took goodnotes,” she recalls.
“I realized I had been duped. I had just believedwhen I went through school. I never thought.”
Nowadays, Issakoff-Meller goes against thegrain, so to speak. She urges her patients to avoidbreads, pastas, grains, baked goods, sugars, potatoesand even fruits higher in carbs (such as bananas andfruit juice). She boldly proclaims that fat is yourfriend. It can be found in meat, fish, seafood, eggs,nuts, oils and dairy products.
Local doctor goes against the grain with low-carb diet
ALEX MIGDAL, MERCURY STAFF
Anna Issakoff-Meller is a Guelph family doctor who has denounced Canada’s Food Guide and advocates for people to cut carbs from their diets.
Alex Migdal, Mercury staff
‰ SEE CARBS ON PAGE A2
A familyphysician boldly
proclaimsthat fat can
actually be yourfriend
GUELPH — If you’ve got kidsheading to school in September,now is a good time to make suretheir immunizations are up-to-date.
And now is also a good timeto make sure you’ve reported allimmunizations to Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health,the agency that ensures allschool-aged children have theirshots or that their parents havesigned a waiver stating they’vechosen not to immunize.
As of July 1, three more im-munizations have been added tothe list of diseases childrenneed to be immunized against— whooping cough, chickenpoxand meningococcal disease.Children are still required to bevaccinated against tetanus,diphtheria, polio, mumps, mea-sles and rubella.
“What’s different now is thelegislation has given publichealth some teeth,” said RitaSethi, director of communityhealth. “We monitor the recordsand make sure they’re gettingtheir shots. This gives us the op-portunity to look more fully at achild’s record.”
Sethi said schools will askfor immunization records whenyou register your child. She saidpublic health will assess the re-cords at seven years of age, so ifrecords are incomplete, you’llbe hearing from them.
They also administer hepati-tis B and HPV vaccines to stu-dents in Grade 7. Fifteen-year-old students need a booster shotand at age 17, public health willreassess records again.
“Once they turn 18 they arenot part of our assessment,”Sethi said. “Adults need a boost-er shot every 10 years afterthat.”
Children who haven’t beenvaccinated derive some protec-tion if children around themhave been. If an outbreak oc-curs, public health needs toknow who has had their shotsand who is at risk.
Threediseasesadded tostudentvaccineschedule Public health to look more fully at child’s recordJoanne Shuttleworth,Mercury staff
‰ SEE VACCINE ON PAGE A3
GUELPH — With his parents infailing health, the head of the re-gional agency that co-ordinateshome care is taking early retire-ment so he can relocate to Chat-ham and take on the role of careprovider.
Waterloo Wellington Commu-nity Care Access Centre chief ex-ecutive Gordon Milak is leaving in
September.The 55-year-old executive has
been in the job slightly more thana year.
“It’s not a small irony,” he saidFriday about making a career inthe home care sector of the healthsystem and finding himself re-sponsible for looking after thehome care of his parents.
He said he hasn’t made the de-cision to leave lightly.
He’s planning to leave the agen-cy around mid-September, thoughan exact date hasn’t been set.
The CCAC board is creating asearch committee to find Milak’sreplacement.
The agency noted among hisaccomplishments were the agen-cy’s “exemplary standing” ac-creditation, management restruc-turing, introduction of “person-centred care,” and stronger rela-
tions within the regional healthintegration network.
Milak’s previous experienceguiding home and communitycare included being senior direc-tor for the CCAC in London, afterjoining that agency in 2007. Beforethat, he was executive director forthe Victorian Order of Nurses inMiddlesex Elgin.
Community care access chief leaving post to care for aging parentsVik Kirsch, Mercury staff
UW grad was aboard downed plane — A5 Who shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17? — B8
local
Main Switchboard519-822-4310 or call toll-free acrossCanada: 866-871-9868
Missed papersand subscriptionsIf you haven’t received your newspaper by 5p.m. daily and 9 a.m. Saturday please callCirculation at 519-822-7771Circulation Fax 519-822-7459Phone hours:Monday-Friday: 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.Saturday: 7 a.m. to noon Leave a message after hours.
Office hours:Monday-Friday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
How much (Single copy)Monday to Friday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1.00 Saturday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2.00
(Carrier home delivery)Monthly by carrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $17.00 1 Year (Prepaid) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $187.95 6 Months (Prepaid) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $98.09 3 Months (Prepaid) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $49.05 *Easy Pay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15.35*Debited to your bank account or credit card monthly! (tubes are available if no mail box)
(Convenient motor delivery)1 Year (Prepaid) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $203.15 *Easy Pay .......... $17.35 MONTHLY ALL PRICES INCLUDE 5% TAX
Breaking news Newsroom: 519-823-6060 Who we are:Managing Editor: Phil Andrews 823-6050 City Editor: Brian Williams 823-6051
Other info: Editorial Fax:767-1681Photo reprints: 823-6005Editorial Email: [email protected]: www.guelphmercury.com
Advertising Advertising dept.: 519-822-4310General manager: David Kruse 823-6040 Advertising: 823-6010 Advertising Fax: 822-4272 Classified: 1-800-263-6480 Classified Fax: 822-1338 Circulation: Peter Hill 823-6035 Pre-Press: Paul McKeon 823-6025Administration Fax: 822-7459
AdministrationGeneral manager: David Kruse 823-6040email: [email protected]
Lottery results (evening draws)Yesterday’s unofficial winning numbers: Pick 2: 9 7Pick 3: 3 2 2Pick 4: 0 8 7 7Keno: 8, 18, 20, 25, 28, 30, 33, 36, 39, 40, 41, 42,44, 48, 51, 52, 53, 54, 65, 69 Encore: 1077899Poker: 10-H, 3-S, 10-D, 5-S, 4-HLotto Max: 1, 3, 16, 33, 34, 40, 42, Bonus 2
Ontario Press CouncilThe council considers specific, unsatisfiedcomplaints about the conduct of the press.
Complaints should go to:l The Ontario Press Council
2 Carlton St., Suite 1706Toronto, Ont., M5B 1J3
l [email protected] l fax 416-340-8724
Who to call
Getting it right Our accuracypledge Nothing is more impor-tant to us than accuracy.We always strive to
ensure the information we provide is factual andcorrect. But sometimes we make mistakes, andwhen we do, we will correct them promptly andprominently. If you see a factual error, pleasecontact the newsroom at 519-823-6060 or byemail at [email protected].
Guelph Mercury z Saturday, July 19, 2014 z A2
ShowersH: 25 L: 15
Partly cloudyH: 26 L: 16
SunnyH: 30 L: 20
ShowersH: 29 L: 17
TOMORROW MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY
CANADA TODAY
CalgaryCharlottetnEdmontonFrederictonHalifaxIqaluitMontrealOttawaQuebec C.ReginaSaskatoonSt John’s
tshowers 25/12sunny 25/16tstorms 20/13sunny 28/15sunny 26/15showers 12/8sunny 28/20m.sunny 26/17sunny 27/17tshowers 28/16showers 25/14p.cloudy 18/11
AmsterdamBeijingBerlinBrusselsHong KongHonoluluJerusalemKievLas VegasLisbonLondonLos Angeles
showers 24/18p.cloudy 36/25cloudy 33/19tstorms 28/18p.cloudy 33/28tshowers 29/24sunny 28/18tshowers 31/16sunny 38/28sunny 29/16cloudy 25/15sunny 25/19
AcapulcoBarbadosBermudaHavanaSan Juan
p.cloudy 35/27p.cloudy 31/24sunny 30/24p.cloudy 35/23cloudy 29/27
WORLD TOMORROW
RESORTS TOMORROW
ALMANAC
Normal High 26.7°Normal Low 15.1°Record High 33.2°/1991Record Low 7.9°/1979PrecipitationToday's Normals 3.7mm
©The Weather Network 2014
TorontoVancouverVictoriaWhitehorseWinnipegYellowknife
showers 23/18showers 21/15showers 21/14showers 19/11p.cloudy 25/19p.cloudy 21/14
MadridMexicoMiamiMoscowNew DelhiParisRomeSeoulSingaporeStockholmSydneyTel AvivTokyo
sunny 27/15p.cloudy 23/10tstorms 30/26sunny 27/12cloudy 37/24tstorms 26/16p.cloudy 34/16p.cloudy 31/20p.cloudy 34/28p.cloudy 27/10p.cloudy 15/11sunny 31/24tstorms 30/22
ACROSS THE REGION
Toronto25/17
NiagaraFalls24/18
Collingwood21/16
Goderich22/18
Sarnia25/17
Windsor26/19
London25/16
Guelph25/15
Hamilton25/16
Toronto25/17
NiagaraFalls24/18
Collingwood21/16
Goderich22/18
Sarnia25/17
Windsor26/19
London25/16
Guelph25/15
Hamilton25/16
It was good to talk to sculptorTim Schmalz about public artlast week. He put some radical
notions in my head, and got methinking.
My feelings about art are lacedwith a toxic mix of hope, disillu-sionment, fun and frustration. Ihave an overarching sense thatart is generally failing to do whatit should do — move, challenge,enlighten, and uplift.
Much of what is out there in theart world strikes me as impotent,constrained by dull imitation.
I’m aware that much of thisthinking springs from my ownimpotence and imitation as anartist, but also from having beenaround the block of the art scene afew times.
“Today, artwork can bespectacular,” Schmalz said. “Itcan rival all the other artwork ofall the other periods of history.But it is the responsibility of thecities and of the artists to think ofthe big picture, the bigger philo-sophical ideas initially, and thenwhat they are going to have ismore epic artwork.”
Big, epic ideas generate big,epic art, he said, and there is hard-ly enough of that kind of thinggoing around, despite all the newmaterials and technologies at theartist’s disposal.
Schmalz’s ideas aren’t so rad-ical when looked at from the per-spective of historical art. His work
is, after all, influenced by thegreat artists and ideas of the Re-naissance, and that era was allabout the epic. But in today’sstrange and disjointed art world,Schmalz’s ideas have a certaindaring ring to them.
“The problem with our societyis we are all too timid to actuallythink about the big, epic ideas,because, oh no, we might offendsomeone,” he added.
Schmalz lives in St. Jacobs,where he has a studio. He hasanother studio in China. His workis commissioned internationally,much of it based in Christianthemes. You will not see his monu-mental pieces in the public artgalleries in this country. His artwould be considered too over-wrought with heavy-handed reli-giosity to fit with the thematiccorrectitude that contemporaryart currently considers relevant.
Nevertheless, Schmalz’s workhas some punch, and is very pop-ular among a general public farremoved from the art elite.
I first learned about the artistduring my years as a reporter inSudbury. In the early 2000s I re-
ported on a long and difficultcampaign to have a mining monu-ment prominently installed inthat city’s Bell Park, the gemamong the community’s manylakeside parks.
Schmalz’s National MiningMonument went up just over 10years ago, and to my knowledgestill draws thousands of curiousonlookers each year.
Even in the planning stages,the sculpture caused controversybecause of its proposed location,and for aesthetic reasons. Noteveryone in the city’s artistic andenvironmental circles believedenvironmentally destructivenickel mining should be com-memorated by a sculpture thatascribed a kind of heroism tomineral extraction.
The two-sided, five-metre-highbronze sculpture is a kind ofhorseshoe shape with a pair ofhuge hands at the bottom reach-ing into the earth. There is anelaborate array of hundreds ofhighly realistic miners sweepingdown both arms of the piece at aprogressively larger scale. Theseare tough, sinewy working men,armed with picks, jackhammers,chisels and shovels. They areworking deep underground.
At the top of the sculpture, onthe surface and wedged between aseries of smokestacks on one sideand a mining headframe on theother, rests the sprawling city that
mining built. I remember being a touch
skeptical of the piece myself whenit first surfaced as the sculpture ofchoice for the monument. Itseemed old fashioned, neoclas-sical, a touch garish and not veryhip. I was under the influence of amore late-modernist aesthetic,and thought things should besomewhat looser, less blatant, andmore esoteric.
But when I first saw it in theflesh at its unveiling, I was bowledover, or rather my aesthetic preju-dices were. The amount of skill,effort and craft that went into itsmaking was impressive. Theartist has an uncommon level ofOld World artistry.
That Old World level of skilland craft tends to be missing in somuch in contemporary art, andlately I find that very disappoint-ing. When it does appear, it canhave a potent impact.
Tim Schmalz: brave and epic art
Rob O’Flanagan is a Mercury staff writer. HisFree Form column appears Saturdays. He canbe reached [email protected]
ROBO’FLANAGANfree form
PHILANDREWSreader reportWILL RETURN
Fruits and vegetables, as always, come high-ly recommended (although it’s best to limitfruit to one serving per day).
And now Issakoff-Meller is championingthe cause across Guelph, especially to thosesuffering from obesity. She says the city is start-ing to catch on.
The Guelph Family Health Team, whichserves 110,000 patients, has started runningfive-week low-carb eating groups. The pilotgroup wrapped up in early May with 18 pa-tients.
“The first one was a test of change. If we builtit, would people come?” says Ross Kirkconnell,the team’s executive director.
A group of physicians, dieticians and nurs-es, led by Issakoff-Meller, coached people oneasing into the diet over several weeks.
“People come in with all kinds of questions.Like, I have a family, how can I do this withkids? Or how do I get my spouse interestedwhen they don’t like vegetables?” Kirkconnellsays.
Patients each week reported on their prog-ress and shared their struggles. Kirkconnellsays the majority stuck it out.
“People were saying, ‘I’m surprised at howmuch better I feel so quickly,’ ” he says. “Aware-ness is starting to happen.”
Issakoff-Meller is also hoping to promoteher cause through small businesses. She wantsGuelph restaurants to identify low-carb itemson their menus and grocery merchants to sellsimilar products.
She’s convinced some so far. The Bookshelffeatures “Dr. Anna’s Picks” at the front of thestore, a set of hand-picked titles on low-carbdiets.
Barb Minnett, co-owner of The Bookshelf,says she wants to help raise awareness on sen-sible eating. She notes her own grandson isdiabetic.
“I commend (Issakoff-Meller),” Minnettsaid.
“Obesity is a big problem and so is diabetes.Anything that doctors can do to spread theworld about healthy living is important.”
But some critics call the low-carb diet a fadthat lacks scientific basis.
Research suggests its adherers may loseweight quickly, but mainly because they’reconsuming less food and calories. And depriv-ing your body of carbohydrates could leave youwith reduced energy and put you at risk fornutrient deficiencies.
While Issakoff-Meller denounces Canada’sFood Guide, Lisa Needham, a public health nu-tritionist with Wellington-Dufferin-GuelphPublic Health, says it offers flexible guidelinesto keep the average population healthy.
“It’s a strong document that is formed understrong evidence,” she says.
She says the guide allows people to deter-mine their needs for energy, vitamins and nu-
trients, while establishing an eating patternbased on their age and gender.
Most troubling for low-carb critics is thediet’s lack of fibre and abundance of saturatedfats and cholesterol.
“In general, (fibre) does have lots of roles inchronic health prevention and digestivehealth,” Needham says.
But Issakoff-Meller says researchers havedismissed myths about fibre shortage and sug-gests people try the diet themselves.
She gradually started using the low-carb di-et on diabetics six years ago and says she got“phenomenally great” results.
Cameron Youngs can attest to that. He wasin his mid-40s in 2008 when his blood sugar roseto prediabetic levels. Much of his diet includedsodas and burgers.
“My father had actually died in the ’60s ofdiabetes that led to heart and kidney failure,”he says.
“Anna was very straight up with me on that.She said if I didn’t something about it, I would
be following in his steps.” Youngs says he “instantly” started losing
weight once he ate low-carb. He gradually rein-troduced carbs into his diet once he dropped 30pounds.
Indeed, people may find the low-carb diettough to endure for the long run due to thelimited food choices.
Youngs suggests following the diet in moder-ation. For breakfast, he typically eats plainwhite yogurt mixed with fruit and nuts. Home-made broccoli soup usually makes up lunch,while supper consists of plain chicken and sal-ad.
But if he’s at a restaurant, he won’t kill him-self over sneaking in some mouth-wateringfries.
“I remember back when I was harsh on my-self right before going on vacation to DisneyWorld,” Youngs says, laughing. “Anna said,‘Cam, you’ve got to have fun.’ ”
Diabetics report ‘phenomenally great’ results ‰ CARBS FROM PAGE A1
The Guelph Mercurypublished a series of articleson my business. Now everyoneknows how great we are!
Call 519-823-6040 or email us [email protected] today to find out more about our amazing ContentMarketing Packages.
Each year we help over 50,000 businesses connect with local consumers.
Health Check™
food choices and
reducing trans fats.
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHENYOU PUT YOUR HEART INTO IT.™
www.heartandstroke.ca
Editor’s note: The followingprofile is part of an ongoing se-ries produced by Ed Butts exam-ining the story and war story be-hind individuals named as FirstWorld War dead on the Guelphcenotaph in commemoration ofthe 100th anniversary of the startof the war this year.
GUELPH — At the time theFirst World War broke out in1914, most of the medals thatwere awarded to soldiers of theBritish Empire were only for
commissioned officers. By 1916,after many months of hardfighting in some of the blood-iest battles the world had everseen, the British High Com-mand decided that it was neces-sary to acknowledge acts of va-lour performed by soldiers ofall ranks.
This was important not onlyfor the individuals who were tobe honoured, but also for the
general morale of the troops.Among the new decorationswas the Military Medal, whichwas instituted by King GeorgeV. This medal was awarded toWarrant Officers, Non-Com-missioned Officers, and men oflower ranks for individual orassociated acts of bravery ormeritorious conduct in the faceof the enemy.
MERCURY NEWS SERVICES FILE PHOTO
A figure at the Vimy Memorial in France represents Canada mourning her fallen sons. John Coker of Eramosa Township was buriedin France and his name was inscribed on the memorial.
A crack shot and thirst for adventure led to Vimy
Ed Butts, Special to the Mercury
‰ SEE COKER ON PAGE A4
Rockwood soldier John Coker was among the first Canadian recipients of the Military Medal
Military Medal
LYNN BROUGHTON, SPECIAL TO THE MERCURY
Sue Richards loved Guelph. She died on Saturday.
GUELPH — Those closest to her called herthe empress of concept and vision inGuelph. Her radical perspective and artis-tic thrust altered this city’s genetic makeup,emboldening its counterculture and har-nessing its creativity.
Sue Richards was unapologetically inlove with Guelph and gifted its many trea-sures we cherish today.
Her contributions were so rich that sheattracted a faithful legion of supportersdubbed “Team Sue,” who backed her finan-cially and emotionally when she was diag-
nosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2007.They were the ones who stood by her sidewhen she passed away Saturday at 56.
Richards sowed the seeds in the mid ’80sfor a musical gathering barely bigger than apicnic. But through her careful nourish-ment as executive director and artistic di-rector, the name Hillside gradually and in-evitably inscribed itself into the city’s lex-icon. The festival mirrored her identity, ahive of raw talent and unbridled energy.
“You could almost look up Guelph andcommunity in the dictionary and see herpicture,” said musician James Gordon.
Artistic pioneer Sue Richards leavesGuelph with rich cultural legacyAlex Migdal, Mercury staff
‰ SEE RICHARDS ON PAGE A3
— sports, B5
August 6, 2014 . Serving Guelph and Wellington County . 95 cents + tax ($1.00) . guelphmercury.com
Canada A6Classified B8Comics B2Cryptoquote B8
Editorials A8Life B1Horoscopes B3Lottery results A2
Obituaries B10Scoreboard B4Sports B5Sudoku B8
A LOOK ATTOMORROW’S
WEATHERFULL FORECAST, PAGE A2 H: 23 L: 11
Wednesday
KILT OPTIONAL.FUN MANDATORY.
Scotland… without the airfare
August 8, 9 & 10, 2014fergusscottishfestival.com1 866 871 9442
GUELPH — Guelph Transit bus service isexpected to resume on Friday after GuelphCity council and members of the Amalgam-
ated Transit Union Local 1190 voted Tuesdayto ratify a tentative agreement reached lastweek.
“While we expect to restore transit ser-vice in our community by Friday, this isn’t a
celebration,” Guelph Mayor Karen Far-bridge states in a press release issuedaround 8 p.m. Tuesday. “Guelph’s transit rid-ers and, in particular, the working poor haveendured a tremendous hardship throughout
this disruption. Tomorrow the hard workcontinues as we work to repair the relation-ship between city administration and ourtransit employees.”
City buses to roll again FridayCity council, union approve deal for 6.8 per cent over four years; free bus use until end of day Aug. 15Joanne Shuttleworth, Mercury staff
‰ SEE DIFFICULT ON PAGE A3
GUELPH — The city’s plan-ning and building, engineeringand environment committee ap-proved a street plan on Tuesdaythat harkens back to Guelph’shistory.
The matter still has to go be-fore council for approval, butTuesday’s decision paves theway for a traffic circle sur-rounding pedestrian space inthe centre of the square with an-gled on street parking on Wynd-ham Street, wider sidewalksand bike lanes.
The plan has been manyyears in the making, said ToddSalter, general manager of plan-ning services, and has comeabout because the city is plan-ning to renew and replace infra-structure under the roadsdowntown to accommodategrowth. “That necessitates dis-cussion on how to put it backafterward,” Salter said.
David DeGroot, senior urbandesigner, presented conceptdrawings to the council com-mittee. These drawings havebeen presented to the public be-fore and have received endorse-ment from the downtown advi-sory committee, a citizen com-mittee of interested residentsand business owners.
Wyndham, Quebec, Douglasand Macdonell streets will be“flexible” streets that can easilybe closed to vehicles for eventslike parades and festivals. Butthe main attraction is a central‘island’ with trees, seating andspace to accommodate a multi-tude of functions, like concerts,food festivals, outdoor marketstalls or public art exhibits.
Historical photos showGuelph’s St. George’s Squareused to have St. George’sChurch in the centre with traf-fic flowing around it, and thenew concept for the square payshomage to that history.
St. George’s Square hasn’tseen any major improvementssince 1981, when a T-intersec-tion was installed.
“That really fragmented thespace and reduced flexibility,”DeGroot said.
City hallcommitteebackstrafficcircledowntown Concern raisedabout cost ofimprovements Joanne Shuttleworth,Mercury staff
‰ SEE SQUARE ON PAGE A3
Battle brews over turf at women’s World Cup
local Guelph Mercury z Wednesday, August 6, 2014 z A3
GUELPHCity reopens Market Squarefountain after repairsSplashers, rejoice! The MarketSquare fountain is shootingwater again after the city shutit down for repairs over thelong weekend. The city’s gen-eral manager Mario Petricevicsaid the fountain suffered aleak and was turned off mid-Sunday. “We just valved it offand we’ll do a repair in theoff-season,” he said Tuesday.The city called it a “roughweekend” for the fountain.Hundreds of families waded inthe water Saturday for theJohn Galt Day bash. Thesquare was largely emptyMonday afternoon, with only acouple families sitting by thedrained fountain.
GUELPHGuelph Police arrest seven fordrinking over long weekendGuelph Police arrested sevenmotorists over the holidayweekend for blowing over thelegal limit. Four of the motor-ists arrested are also facingcharges of impaired driving.In one instance Friday after-noon, a concerned citizencalled police about a femalethey saw exiting a vehicle. Thepolice spotted the car in aparking lot. When policeparked beside the car, thedriver reversed and struck themarked police vehicle. Thatsame day, police arrested a74-year-old man who failed aroadside breath sample duringa traffic stop on MacdonellStreet. The motorists are allscheduled to appear in courtbetween August and Septem-ber.
GUELPHSixth candidate entersGuelph mayoral raceA sixth candidate has official-ly stepped into the mayoralrace. Jason Blokhuis is thelatest candidate to register. Hiscampaign website, jasonfor-mayorofguelph.com, indicatesBlokhuis is an associate pro-fessor of social developmentstudies at the University ofWaterloo. He grew up in NorthWellington County, has trav-elled extensively around theworld, and has lived on DelhiStreet in Guelph since 2011. Hehas a PhD in EducationalThought and Policy from theUniversity of Rochester. Blok-huis sits on a number of cityhall committees, including thewell-being grants allocationpanel. On his website he de-scribes himself as a “pragmat-ic social liberal and a fiscalconservative,” who occupies amiddle ground between fellowcandidates Mayor Karen Far-bridge and Coun. Cam Guth-rie. “(M)y platform will appealto people who want a smaller,more efficient city govern-ment,” Blokhuis states.
GUELPHGuelph woman charged after pedestrian struckA Guelph driver is facing acharge after a pedestrian wasstruck in the south end of thecity on Monday. At approxi-mately 8 p.m., Guelph Policewere called to the intersectionof Edinburgh and Ironwoodroads for the report of a pedes-trian who was struck by avehicle. Police said the pedes-trian was a Guelph female, butthey did not release her age.The woman was taken toGuelph General Hospital byambulance. Officers have notreleased the status of her con-dition. A 19-year-old Guelphwoman was charged withfailing to yield to a pedestrian.
GUELPHWoodlawn Road bridge to be closed for two weeksThe bridge on Woodlawn Roadbetween Victoria Road andWoolwich Street is scheduledto be closed for two weeksstarting Monday. On Aug. 11at9 a.m., construction crews willget to work replacing thebridge deck. The bridge isexpected to reopen on Aug. 22at 6 p.m. Pedestrians will stillbe able to cross the bridgeduring the closure, but the cityis asking drivers and cycliststo avoid the area orfollow de-tours to make their wayaround using Speedvale Ave-nue. A city news release saideven emergency vehicles willbe following the designateddetour routes.
at a glance
Gordon served on Hillside’sfirst organizing committee withRichards and later recruited her ashis manager for nearly 15 years.
But it was Guelph that choseRichards, she would note, whenthe university accepted her ma-ture student application for under-graduate studies in psychology.
It marked the before and after inher life, severing the monotony ofworking at a grocery store bakeryin Shelburne for five years.
Waking up for her 5 a.m. shift asa doughnut fryer, she spent herdays flipping fritters and dodgingflying fat that inflicted third-de-gree burns
Guelph was her ticket out. In1981, she quit her job and packed upher Pinto. She hadn’t intended tostay. Yet graduation came and wentand still she remained. It was thenshe understood the city’s enduringinfluence.
“Guelph is a brilliant city to livein if you have a creative bone inyour body. There’s room for vast,innovative ideas,” she wrote in a2004 Mercury op-ed piece.
What differentiated her frommost is how she unleashed thoseideas in a relentless stream, evenwhen started to feel a slight tremorin the left side of her body in 2002.
It was that same year shelaunched the Breast of Canada cal-endar, which featured artisticblack-and-white photos of bare-breasted women with their facesobscured.
The calendar, loaded with infor-mation about breast health, provedremarkably empowering for itssubjects. Richards’ declininghealth in 2008 marked its prema-ture end.
Yet she was the master of rein-vention, as the Mercury pro-claimed in 2006. Her efforts as anactivist and entrepreneur meldedseamlessly into her artistry andwriting.
In the late ’90s, she initiated ArtJam, a community arts project thatespoused collaboration. “Paintwith nary a paint brush in sight,”its whimsical doctrine pro-claimed.
The project led to Richards’ rec-ognition in 2000 as a YMCA-YWCAWoman of Distinction for Arts andCulture.
She later launched My Meno-pause Blog in 2005 — dishing ad-vice on “how to punctuate life with-out a period.”
And in 2006 her Blog Guelph be-gan featuring links to local artistsand Guelph events.
“I could never believe how shecould look at something complete-ly different than how I would lookat it,” recalled singer-songwriterand longtime friend Tannis Slim-mon.
“It was just a really natural in-stinct for her to look at things insuch a different way than thenorm. Every little thing presenteditself as an opportunity to make artof some sort or to make somethinghumorous.”
Richards termed June “PicnicMonth,” which meant once a week,she and Slimmon would load a bas-ket and head outdoors.
And for Slimmon’s fiftiethbirthday, Richards armed herfriend with a birthday kit that in-cluded a crown and gloves, a way tochannel her love for disguise.
Even as the pain from the Par-kinson’s intensified, Richardscommandeered her treatment andher fate.
She made a public plea last yearon the internet for funds after shediscovered she was ineligible forgovernment social benefits. Sheprobed alternative treatments andposted online advertising a sparebedroom in exchange for help withchores.
“She didn’t want to be definedby her condition,” said LianneSprigg, who lived with Richardsover the last five years of her life.
“She was Sue, she was a freespirit. She wanted to be in controlof her own fate and of what she wasdoing.”
Richards also shared her grat-itude for every inch of nature. Shewas an avid canoeist and hiker whoslept in her backyard tent for daysin the summer.
It was only fitting, then, thatclose friends gathered Sunday tocommemorate her life at GuelphLake, her most cherished spot.
That day, her lawn chair stoodon the edge of the dock, facing thesetting sun and the rippling tides.
Richardswas namedwoman ofdistinction ‰ RICHARDS FROM PAGE A1
GUELPH — Gabrielle Foran now holds two worldrecords in the sport of joggling.
On Aug. 2, the 23-year-old University of Guelphstudent travelled to Purdue University to competein the 2014 International Joggling Championships.Joggling is a sport that involves juggling while run-ning.
Last year, she set a record for women running amile while juggling three balls. Her time was 5:58.This year she pushed that record by seven seconds,
running the same distance in 5:51.She also set a world record for the 800-metre,
running it in 2:41.Foran also won the 100-metre three-ball sprint,
completing it in 17.7 seconds and the 400-metrethree-ball race, joggling this distance in 1:16.
The International Joggling Championshipstakes place annually in different locations aroundthe United States. It is part of the International Jug-glers’ Association’s annual juggling festival.
Guelph joggler (andjogger) sets world records
CHRIS SETO, MERCURY STAFF
Gabrielle Foran juggles on the running trails at the Arboretum in Guelph last month. The 23-year-old set twoworld records for joggling on Aug. 2: in the women’s three-ball mile event and the 800 m three-ball event.
Mercury staff
“This has been a difficult pro-cess, but we’ve ended up in a bet-ter place,” ATU Local 1189 presi-dent Andrew Cleary states in thesame release. “We are looking for-ward to getting Guelph movingagain this week.”
Guelph Transit mechanics,drivers and mobility service em-ployees will report to workWednesday to road test 54 vehi-cles. The plan is to restore mobili-ty service by Thursday and reg-ular bus service by Friday.
As an added incentive to getresidents back on city buses, tran-sit service will be free for all usersuntil end of service on Aug. 15, therelease states. This will give rid-ers the chance to purchase Augustbus passes.
The contract includes wage in-creases of 6.8 per cent over fouryears. Hourly wages will increaseto $28.85 in 2017, from $26.49 in 2013when the contract expired.
The contract also reduces long-term disability payments from 75per cent of salary to 70 per cent ofsalary, the lieu time bank iscapped at 50 hours per calendar
year for all employees, and thereis no change to extended health ordental benefits.
The grievance resolution pro-cess has also been enhanced andthe contract includes a letter ofunderstanding regarding wash-rooms and a lunch room — sensi-tive issues for union members,who have said there is no lunch-room at Guelph Central Stationand only two washrooms for em-ployees.
Two offers that were previous-ly rejected by the union included6.4 per cent wage increases overfour years and protected allhealth and medical benefits andvacation entitlements.
The union overwhelmingly re-jected an offer on July 20 and thecity locked out transit workers onJuly 21. City buses have not beenrunning ever since.
‘A difficult process,’ says union‰ DIFFICULT FROM PAGE A1
TONY SAXON, MERCURY STAFF
Transit service will be free for all users until end of service on Aug. 15. Thiswill give riders the chance to purchase August bus passes.
“This concept reclaims that fragmented spaceand becomes an iconic destination,” DeGroot added.
DeGroot said the team has used the success ofMarket Square, outside city hall, as a jumping-offpoint for what St. George’s Square can become.
“This is about phasing in infrastructure and thegrowth of downtown,” he said. “Getting the detailsright will help create a transformational vision.”
Coun. Cam Guthrie balked at the cost, estimatedat $18.5 million, according to the report.
“Can you still create a sense of unity withouthaving to spend so much?” Guthrie asked. “Aren’tthere less expensive options?”
Salter said once the design approach is approved,staff can begin working on detailed designs. “That’swhen different materials and costs will be dis-
cussed,” he said.DeGroot said downtown business owners are
mostly concerned with the construction phase andwhat that may mean for business. “They appreciateon-street parking and diagonal parking adds 25 spac-es. That’s important to them.”
Guelph resident Steve Baldamus said he sur-veyed people in the square and got about 50 respons-es. Based on that, he said most residents want thesquare to stay the way it is.
There were six motions tied to this presentationand all six passed, although Guthrie voted againstthem all and Coun. Bob Bell voted against two — oneendorsing the vision and general design, and anoth-er to refer the project to the capital budget process.
Guthrie calls for less expensive options‰ SQUARE FROM PAGE A1
Four Hamilton teens had already met a simi-lar fate in November 1991 on a southboundstretch of Highway 6 near Morriston. The 17-year-old driver, Tony Arruda, had tried to passanother vehicle. Instead, he slammed into anorthbound pickup truck. The driver and histhree passengers, all aged 17 and 18, died instant-ly.
Arruda had been licensed for five months.McCaig, four months. Arruda had borrowed hismother’s car. So had McCaig. Arruda was in arush to get the car home on time. McCaig and histwo friends faced similar curfews.
In May 1992, the coroner launched a two-dayinquest investigating the collision. Expert wit-nesses were called to give evidence in favour of agraduated licensing system. Among those whotestified was Dr. Herb Simpson, the executivedirector of the Traffic Injury Research Founda-tion.
Graduated licensing, he explained, would al-low motorists to gain experience in low-risk situ-ations.
“I think it is a system that can have significantbenefits,” he told the jury. “The tragedy that wesee relentlessly occur on our highways is unfor-
givable.” Experts pointed to the similari-ties in crashes among young
drivers: the time and day of theaccident, the number of pas-
sengers and the lack of ex-perience.
The jury took note. Fol-lowing two days of testimo-
ny, it recommended the On-tario government implement
a system of graduated licens-ing.
Its suggestions included: a curfewfor new drivers from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Fridayand Saturday nights; limiting the number of pas-sengers; and restricting new drivers from driv-ing on roads with speed limits over 100 km/h.New motorists would incrementally developskills in defensive driving, hazard perceptionand decision-making.
But the legislation stalled. While Transporta-tion Minister Gilles Pouliot supported the sys-tem, he suggested it needed fine-tuning. Parentssuspected politicians were weary of backlashfrom young drivers.
“I don’t think they can make any rules to stoppeople from being reckless,” a Grade 11 Guelphstudent told The Mercury one week after thecrash.
“When you first get your licence and you haveyour car, you show off,” another student said.
“Even people who are 40 are reckless some-times,” a third chimed in.
So Peaire was left to plan a funeral for 300friends, classmates and family members. Hetook two weeks off work, which he spent in a fog,followed by two years of therapy.
“There’s nothing inside you. You have a body,but there’s nothing inside. It’s just hollow,”Peaire says. That emptiness gradually turnedinto “intense anger.”
“We’d warned (Jason) and we knew whatChris was like,” Peaire says, recalling how he’dseen McCaig drive recklessly before. The Peairefamily filed a lawsuit against McCaig’s familyand reached a settlement a year later.
A fourth mother was also reeling over thecrash. Louise Holland’s 15-year-old son, Glen,had insisted he join the three boys that night. Butshe refused and, for once, he listened.
“The death of his friends cut too close tohome,” she says. “I thought I have to do some-
thing. I don’t want another parent to have to gothrough this.”
The Guelph mother started collecting signa-tures around the city for a petition calling on thegovernment to implement graduated licensing.She sat at malls and outside Tim Hortons coffeeshops, and voiced her pleas through the media.
But her son grappled with teasing at school asclassmates chastised the petition.
“Back then, it was someone’s mom trying totake away their rights. But if I could save one life,anything negative about it was fine.”
Holland approached Peaire, who stronglysupported the legislation. He had read a reportthat showed accidents involving teenagers inNew Zealand dropped by 40 per cent after it be-came the first country to implement graduatinglicensing in 1987.
After securing several thousand signaturesover half a year, Holland presented the petition topoliticians.
Legislators were already facing mountingpressure, but Derek Fletcher, then Guelph’smember of provincial parliament, affirmed theNiska Road crash gave them that extra push. “Itcertainly reinforced (the government’s plans),”he told The Mercury that year.
“It wasn’t a revolution. It was evolutionary,”says Dan Mayhew, a senior vice-president at theTraffic Institute Research Foundation who hasstudied graduated licensing for 30 years.
“When these concepts were first being kickedaround in the 1980s, they thought we were insane,to some extent. How could you ever restrict peo-ple like this? But it comes as a balancing actbetween safety and mobility.”
On April 1, 1994, the Ontario government in-troduced the first graduated licensing system inNorth America. The two-step system ensurednew drivers would abide by strict restrictions,including a nightly curfew and a limit on pas-sengers, for at least 20 months before securing anunrestricted licence.
The Ontario Insurance Commission estimat-ed $34 million to $40 million in claim costs wouldbe saved annually and accident frequency for afirst-year driver would decrease by 10 to 20 percent.
“I was glad, because I thought now nobodyelse will hopefully ever have to go through this,”Holland says, noting her children went throughthe system. “My son ended up thanking me lateron.”
Peaire was happy with the legislation, butwishes it had restricted G1drivers to only havingpassengers who are family members.
His son was never able to take full advantageof his licence. Jason, he recalls, was conscien-tious in his driving, only using the car to get towork, always with permission. In the year beforehis death, the two had practised in parking lots.Jason had also completed driver’s education.
Peaire continues to drive down Niska Road.His family planted trees for a few years followingthe crash, but stopped after they were repeatedlydestroyed.
Peaire figured someone didn’t want a memo-rial at the site.
Today, an onslaught of road signs greet motor-ists as they manoeuvre toward the woodenbridge. One indicates the road turns slipperywhen wet.
Below the bridge runs Hanlon Creek, whosetrickling stream blends in with the rustlingleaves. It’s a site of untarnished beauty, invitingimpulse and freedom.
But the stillness is punctuated by the cease-less rumble of the bridge, of tire over wood, as ifthe earth itself is cracking.
Niska Road crash gave legislatorsextra push to change system‰ DRIVING FROM PAGE A1
they’re driving responsibly. Despite calls for improvement,
government officials, traffic expertsand parents unequivocally agree thatgraduated licensing has saved lives.
“We certainly have been support-ive of graduated licensing for manydecades and it’s something we contin-ue to support wholeheartedly,” May-hew said.
Ontario’s collision rate amongdrivers aged 16 to 19 dropped by 31 percent in 1995 compared to 1993, the yearbefore the province introduced legis-lation.
Between 2006 and 2010, the last fiveyears of available data, Ontario saw a58 per cent decline in the average fa-tality rate for drivers aged 16 to 19compared to the five years before theintroduction of graduated licensing.
And between 1991 and 2010, thenumber of drivers each year aged 16 to19 involved in collisions per 10,000 li-censed drivers fell by 57 per cent —despite a 50 per cent increase in thenumber of licensed young drivers.
At the same time, authorities con-tinue to crack down on drivers whofail to follow the system. About 44,000graduated licensing sanctions wereissued between August 2010 and July2013. About 17,000 of those stemmedfrom violating a novice condition,such as maintaining a zeroblood alcohol level.
Roughly 27,000sanctions camefrom convic-tions with fouror more de-merit points,such as follow-ing too closely,while 397 werefor court-orderedsuspensions.
The Ministry of Trans-portation has introduced enhance-ments to the system over the years. In2004, it limited the number of passen-gers a teen G2 driver can carry be-tween midnight and 5 a.m.
In 2007, it regulated the driver’seducation industry and, two yearslater, required driving schools to fol-low a ministry-approved curriculum.
And in 2010, it enforced a zeroblood alcohol level for all motoristsaged 21and under, along with escalat-ing sanctions for repeat violations ofgraduated licensing conditions.
A 1999 survey of 520 Ontario par-ents with teenagers in the programfound they “overwhelmingly” sup-ported graduated licensing and ap-proved of the individual restrictions.Mayhew, one of the survey’s co-au-thors, said that support continues to-day.
Rodger Peaire, whose 17-year-oldson, Jason, died in a 1993 crash inGuelph along with two of his friends,only wishes the system had comesooner.
Twenty-one years later, he stillstruggles to rationalize his son’sdeath. What if the driver, a newly li-censed 16-year-old, had been barredfrom carrying passengers? Would Ja-son have avoided the wreckage?
“I firmly believe, or at least I wouldreally like to believe, that had gradu-ated licensing been in place, that acci-dent never would have happened.”
The ministry said the extensionwas perceived to be “excessive” com-pared to other jurisdictions. It wasalso concerned about the potentialnegative impacts on teens, their fami-lies and new Canadians obtainingtheir licences.
The ministry said it is aware ofpast research that has raised con-cerns about time discounts.
“While there are currently noplans to increase the duration ofgraduated licensing, ministry staffcontinue to review research and ju-risdictional best practices,” the min-istry said in a written statement.
Dan Mayhew, senior vice-presi-dent with the Traffic Institute Re-search Foundation and one of thecountry’s leading experts on graduat-ing licensing, said time discounts arecontrary to graduated licensing prin-ciples, which are based on time in thesystem.
“I can understand there’s alwaystension between a need to maintainsafety and mobility,” he said. “But Iwould urge (the government) to re-think the value of a time discountfrom a safety perspective… I don’tthink it’s necessarily good policy toexpose novice drivers to greatercrash risks sooner than you have to.”
Mayhew pointed to British Colum-bia and New Zealand, which was thefirst country to implement graduatedlicensing in 1987, as jurisdictions thathave reshaped their policies.
The B.C. government allows driv-ers to take the advanced road test af-ter 18 months instead of 24 months ifthey complete an approved driver’straining course. In New Zealand,passing an approved advanced driv-ing course cuts students’ waitingtime from 18 months to 12 months.
In 2012, an internal Ontario Min-istry of Transportation assessmentconcluded teen G2 drivers who hadcompleted driver’s training were 12per cent less likely to be involved in afatal collision than a teen driver with-out training.
The ministry noted not all stu-dents will take advantage of the timediscount.
But driving instructors such asRaj Verma, who runs Verma DrivingSchool, prominently advertise thetime discount. Verma acknowledgedit draws students to his school.
“The day young drivers pass their(learner’s) exam, some parents call usand say, ‘My son or daughter wants tocome to your school and drive as soonas possible. Will your course reducetheir time period?’” he said.
Verma believes students should beafforded the time discount, since theycomplete 20 hours of classroom ses-sions, 10 hours of in-car training, aswell as 10 hours worth of homework.But he said the minimum 10-hour in-car training is not enough for newdrivers.
“In 10 hours, it’s very hard to getthem prepared to drive safely on theroad. The timeframe should bemore,” he said. “Sometimes we haveto tell students, ‘You’re not ready forthe road test yet.’”
The Ontario government recom-mends students gain 50 hours of su-pervised experience before attempt-ing the G2 road test. But there’s noway to guarantee that number, sincethe government doesn’t ask for certi-fication from a parent or supervisor.
Yukon, for instance, requiresproof of 50 hours of practice timethrough a signed declaration. In Swe-den, novices with 126 hours of super-vised driving experience are a 35 percent lower crash risk than those with40 hours.
“Drivers who have not built suffi-cient skill through practice will havedifficulty passing these tests,” theOntario Ministry said in a writtenresponse, noting drivers must sign adeclaration of highway driving expe-rience to complete the G2 exit test.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada,which backed the Traffic Institute Re-search Foundation’s 2005 report, hasalso lobbied for strengthening thecountry’s graduated licensing.
New motorists considering driv-er’s education are enticed with insur-ance discounts, on top of a 10 per centreduction for one year of ticket- andaccident-free G1experience.
Pete Karageorgos, the insurancebureau’s director of consumer and in-dustry relations in Ontario, saidsome insurers also offer discounts tostudents with strong academic re-sults.
“The philosophy behind that isthere’s likely a correlation betweenstudents who are focused on doingwell academically and recognize theresponsibility that they have behindthe wheel of a car,” he said.
Karageorgos noted insurers aregradually implementing usage-based, or telematics insurance, basedon a device that’s plugged in the vehi-cle and tracks factors such as dis-tanced travelled, time of day and ac-celeration speeds. Novice drivers, hesaid, may qualify for a discount if
Advocates push for elimination of time discounts‰ GRADUATED FROM PAGE A1
ALEX MIGDAL, MERCURY STAFF
Guelph driving instructor Raj Verma says he wants to see the Ministry of Transportation increase the minimum 10 hours of in-car training.
local Guelph Mercury z Saturday, August 16, 2014 z A3
Except for on duty service dogs,NO DOGS will be allowed inside the Ribfest gates.
There is����er thewhole
������Classic Car Show(Sat&Sun9am-4pm)
Delicious FoodBavarian Beer Tent
MarketplaceCommunity Camaraderie
��� ���
���The Rotary Club of Guelph Trilliumpresents their
-17thAnnual -Friday August 22nd -12noon-11pmSaturday August 23rd -11am-11pmSunday August 24th -11am-8pm
AUGUST 22, 23 & 24at
RIVERSIDE PARK
More Than Just RibsMore Than Just RibsLearn more about Ribfest at
www.ribfestguelph.com
R0012840475
Round zucchinis highlight open house— local, A4
Inventive gardenU of G student creates entertaining video
— here, C3
Making science fun
SaturdayAugust 16, 2014 . Serving Guelph and Wellington County . $1.90 + tax ( $2.00 ) . weekend edition
On the web: Visit our website for breaking news, updates, videos, blogs and more. Go to guelphmercury.com
Classified E6Comics C6Cryptoquote E5Editorials A6
Faith D6Here C1Horoscopes D4Life D1
Lottery results A2Obituaries E5Occasions D8Scoreboard B5
Sports B1Sudoku E5Travel C10World A5
TOMORROW’S WEATHERFULL FORECAST, PAGE A2
H: 24 L: 12
GUELPH — When the enginethrottles and the tires peel off theground, the driver is catapulted in-to a fleeting euphoria.
Four-thousand pounds of ma-chinery mock gravity. If landedjust right, the car will bounce, as ifshrugging it off, before regainingdirection. The driver, after all, isindestructible.
But sometimes ice coats theroad. Or sometimes the accelera-tor is slammed rather thanpressed. Or sometimes the roadcurves at an unexpected angle.
That’s when catching air, agame of thrill for many drivers,spirals into swerving headlightsand squealing rubber and a blind-ing end to the motion.
That’s when three boys losetheir life.
The speedometer clocked 140km/h when the 1988 Pontiac Bon-neville barrelled into a thicket of
trees off Niska Road on Feb. 6, 1993.It landed on its driver side, branch-es mangling the car’s body. The en-gine popped out. Debris fell likerain. Seconds before, the 16-year-old driver, Chris McCaig, speddown a sloping hill, which gaveway to a straight road that turnedinto a wooden-floored, single-lanebridge. It was a dark night, but the
road was clear of ice. The resultingwreckage dotted the road over thenext few hundred feet.
All three passengers wore seat-belts. McCaig, 16, was discoveredwith grievous injuries. The frontpassenger, Bill Wilson, 16, hadbeen flung to the back. JasonPeaire, 17, was found in the backseat with what only seemed like abloody nose.
Jason’s father, Rodger, wouldlater learn his son suffered multi-ple traumas. The sudden drop inspeed meant Jason’s body stoppedwhile his organs kept moving.
Nine months earlier, before aneighbour gave Rodger Peaire aride to the hospital to identify hisson’s body, and before officers po-litely told him his son had passed,and before Peaire deflected co-workers at The Mercury who won-dered why Jason hadn’t shown upfor his shift in the mailroom, a cor-oner’s jury met in Guelph.
That Night on Niska RoadHow the death of three Guelph teens helped change Ontario’s driving legislation
, TONY SAXON, MERCURY STAFF
Rodger Peaire stands at the spot on Niska Road where his son 17-year-old son, Jason, died along with two others in a 1993 car crash. The accident playedan important role in helping get graduated licensing established in Ontario.
Back then, it wassomeone’s momtrying to take awaytheir rights. But if Icould save one life,anything negativeabout it was fine. ”LOUISE HOLLANDGRADUATED LICENSINGADVOCATE
Alex Migdal, Mercury staff
‰ SEE DRIVING ON PAGE A3
GUELPH — Canada’s graduatedlicensing system has been herald-ed as the “gold standard” since On-tario became the first North Amer-ican jurisdiction in 1994 to intro-duce the legislation.
But 20 years later, the provincehas failed to adopt recommenda-tions experts say would lead to fur-ther safety benefits.
After passing a learner’s exam,new drivers must undergo two
stages: a G1 learning period thatrequires the supervision of a li-censed driver and, following a roadtest, an intermediate G2 stage thatrequires a zero blood alcohol level.Both terms last a minimum of 12months. But the government is-sues a four-month “time discount”to novice G1 drivers who completean approved driver’s educationcourse. When credited, a drivercan take the G2 road test in eightmonths instead of 12.
A 2005 report on graduated li-
censing by the Traffic Injury Re-search Foundation urged jurisdic-tions to eliminate time discounts.
“The practice of reducing thelength of time in the graduated li-censing program for successfullycompleting a driver educationcourse is questionable at best,”cautioned the report, which point-ed to similar research.
The collision risk for novicedrivers who receive the time dis-count increases 13-fold duringtheir first four months in the
G2 stage. Proposals presented to the Min-
istry of Transportation in 2009sought to increase the length oftime drivers are required to spendin G1 and G2 from a minimum of 12months to 18 months. G1 driverswould still be eligible for a six-month time discount.
But Transportation MinisterJim Bradley removed the proposalfrom the road safety bill in May2009.
Graduated licensing system saves lives, but experts want more Alex Migdal, Mercury staff
‰ SEE GRADUATED ON PAGE A3
Twenty years ago,the province
became the firstjurisdiction in
North America tointroduce a
graduatedlicensing system
GUELPH — William Sleethhad not yet read the documentin great detail on Friday, but onfirst blush he thinks the latestredevelopment plan for the for-mer W.C. Wood site on ArthurStreet has met the concerns ofthe Ward Residents’ Associa-tion, of which he is co-chair.
A report on 5 Arthur St.South including a proposed by-law amendment goes to the citycouncil on Aug. 25.
But because the city’sDowntown Secondary Planand its Natural Heritage Strat-egy policies were recently ap-proved by the Ontario Munici-pal Board and because thescope of changes requested bythe developer now fall underthe newly approved plans,many of the zoning changes areno longer necessary.
But there are a few, and theplan has changed slightly fromthe last public open house inMarch.
The property at 5 Arthur St.is bounded by Arthur Street tothe east, Cross Street to thesouth, the Speed River to thewest, and Elizabeth Street tothe north.
A CN track bisects the prop-erty at the north end.
According to the staff re-port, the developer, FusionHomes, is proposing 685 dwell-ing units on the site along withspace for commercial endea-vours. There will be pedestrianaccess to the Speed River at afew points and a public trail,called Riverwalk that will fol-low the river.
It will have two 14-storeyapartment buildings on thenorth and south ends of theproperty with commercialspace on the ground floor. Inthe centre of the property willbe three buildings 10 to 12 sto-reys high with apartments onthe upper floors and town-house units on the ground level.
The existing heritage build-ing will be preserved, possiblyused for residential and/orcommercial purposes.
Above-ground parkingstructures will be incorporat-ed into the highrises. As theproperty is on a flood plain, un-derground parking is not pos-sible except in a few areas.
Sleet said his group wasmost concerned about the riverside of the complex.
“We wanted to see livingunits that relate to the River-walk so there is no dead space,”Sleet said, adding that otherapartment buildings in Guelphthat back on to the river havetall walls that separate rivertrails from public view.
Developmentplans forW.C. Woodpropertymove aheadJoanne Shuttleworth,Mercury staff
‰ SEE PUBLIC ON PAGE A5