LITERATURE
Feb. 2001 - Flyer for FCB &
CRRA
To:
The Cawthra Ratepayers'
and
Residents' Association
(CRRA)
and the
FRIENDS
OF THE CAWTHRA BUSH
&
GREATER MISSISSAUGA
AREA (FCB)
Station B Box 1504
Mississauga Ontario L4Y 4G2 - donbar@arvotek.net
CAWTHRA BUSH IS DECLARED A
PROVINCIALLY SIGNIFICANT WETLANDS
COMPLEX
(as a result of community
activism)
&
THE JEFFERSON SALAMANDER IS
DECLARED A
FEDERALLY THREATENED
SPECIES
These are major wins
- but - they are not final victory
As the City of Mississauga
remain committed to the slow destruction of the Cawthra Bush's only
protection from development
- its environmental significance,
while dis-empowering taxpayers
who oppose City's plans in the process.
This one
page flyer can only briefly touch on the issues of the day and our recent
activities. If you would like more information then please fill out
the membership form at the end of this sheet, so you will receive our newsletter
and be a part of a very successful effort. As well as, other
community updates and notices of interest to the environmentally and democratically
minded.
GENERAL - UPDATE
Our fund raising - Sept. 30/00,
went very well and raised $ 150. The BBQ was very well organized
with three teams of volunteers that kept the event running smoothly.
The Data Base - to run our groups
on is coming along much better now that I am getting some help and it will
be the foundation of great growth in the first year of this millennium.
As it is over the 2,000 mark there is a need for volunteers to make calls
and to follow up on our mailings, calling persons to see if they are still
interested the Cawthra Bush issue and would like a mailing.
Are you an animal lover? -
There will be more information about the sorry state of affairs regarding
animal welfare in Mississauga, that will include examples both past and
present. Remember the Burnhamthorpe
Cat Shelter? A story worth re-discovering, with its unresolved
issues and the classic political methods used by the City.
WALLED
GARDEN ON THE CAWTHRA ESTATE - ALL BUT DESTROYED BY THE CITY
History
is repeating itself. Again the City of Mississauga tries to sneak
past Mississaugans its plan's that would have a destructive effect on the
Cawthra Bush's ecosystem and heritage, but again we were there to sound
the alarm that changed City plans. After all the promises that were
made to the public that the City would inform and involve the public in
its activities regarding the Cawthra Bush, we discover it was only a political
promise. The plan for "Demolition" of most of what remains of a unique
historical structure was put forward by the City's Heritage Coordinator,
Mark Warrack, to the City's Heritage Advisory Committee. This plan
makes no mention of how rare walled (English style kitchen) gardens are;
M. Warrack has told me there are no others in Mississauga and the number
in Ontario is unknown. This plan was added so late it didn't
show on the publicly posted agenda. I found it literally on the last
page of the 124-page-long General Committee agenda. There was not
enough time to mobilize a group effort, especially as the City choose the
Christmas season to launch its attack, still I did get a mailing out.
At the Dec. 13, City Council, five of us addressed this issue and changes
were made to City plans. At this meeting I made the public announcement
that the Jefferson salamander has just been Federally declared a threatened
species, City staff demonstrated no knowledge of this fact and couldn't
even answer the simple question
- Were their plans even legal?!
The often used and false reason
given, was safety concerns. Proof of this claim was asked for, but
the City's Heritage Coordinator has refused to provide it. Nor could
he explain why the small pile of bricks from the wall being knocked down
by vandals (it didn't fall down), was any more dangerous or a safety hazard
than the surrounding wild forest. Before the City showed up to smash
down our heritage site they received a formal request to not do so, but
to go the public about this to seek ways to make it safe without destroying
it. All ignored. The Mississauga ("Missing") News refused to
publish its story about this in time so Mississaugans could have expressed
their opposition (a democratic right), to City plans and it was only after
a letter of protest from our groups that the article was published.
More in newsletter.
THE
LAKEVIEW GENERATING STATION - IS IT SHORTENING OUR LIVES?
I attended
the Jan. 23/01 public information meeting held by Paul Szabo M.P. for Mississauga
South and participated in the questioning. It was very well attended,
some 400, and there were not a lot of believable answers to the serious
questions asked. The biggest one, when or if the Lakeview Generating
Station would be converted to nature gas, is still being considered.
There is a myth going around that building the Sithe, the planned new power
station, will somehow assist the phasing out of Lakeview, don't believe
it! The Sithe will only add greatly to our over-polluted air shed.
This new plant will not have to undergo an environmental assessment before
being built. Local doctors are using the term "Lakeview cough", when
treating young children with breathing problems. How much does our
government value our health over industry? Unknown. There are
groups who are opposing this, more in the next newsletter or my web-site.
St. Dominic Church's Social Justice Education Committee will be holding
a meeting, Feb. 27, 7pm, in the church hall, regarding the Lakeview
Generating Station and air quality in Mississauga South. The guest
speaker is Mr. Jack Gibbons of the Ontario Clean Air Alliance. Mar.
5, 7pm at City Hall there will be a Planning meeting regarding
the Sithe and it is hoped there will be a large turn out of Mississaugans
to express their concerns. For info you can call the City, Paulina
Mikicich 896-5752.
THE CITY OF MISSISSAUGA'S STEWARDSHIP
PROGRAM
The City
is mailing out forms regarding its new Stewardship program for the Cawthra
Bush, a program designed to force our groups out of the picture.
This group is under the control of City staff who are under the direct
political control, of the same politicians who set out to destroy the our
old-growth/wetlands urban forest and who don't care for our informed input!
There is evidence the City will be recruiting its own staff and friends.
This is an issue we must address as a strong group, so don't delay and
send in your membership NOW!
THE DEMOCRATIC REPORTER
The Democratic
Reporter is my personal newspaper aimed at presenting a revealing insight
into Mississauga politicians and the kind of politics they practice on
us. The politics have really heated up, as have the personal attacks
on me. This newspaper is founded separately from the CRRA & FCB,
so if you want a full issue you have subscribe separately for it, $ 10.
This newspaper will report the story more factually then the "Missing"
News and will print items that appear on my web-site. As I am a victim
of City attacks (one of many Mississaugans'), it is important for members
of the community to have the other side of the story, knowing the media
will not report it. You can decide if I am at risk from the City's
actions. The "Missing News" says I am "likely to go to his grave
trying." It is a common political method to public defame persons
who disagree with government with whatever will invoke a strong prejudicial
response, so Canadians will not stop to think that maybe they are being
misled. So if you want the straight goods on what our Mayor
and her staff do to a whistle blower who is too poor to buy justice, sign
up today.
Please ask friends and family
to sign up, it really matters.
Please note if there is a person
in your family who can come to meetings or other events during the day.
Please make sure the name
on the envelope is spelled correctly.
Please note who in your the
family is the most active member or to whom mail from us be addressed.
Memberships will be divided up between the FCB and the CRRA, by where you
live. There is not enough room to post a picture of the CRRA's area
of representation.
Membership is $ 10 - please make
all cheques to, The Friends of the Cawthra Bush.
_________________________________
NAME: (Please print)
___________________________________________________
ADDRESS & POSTAL
CODE
__________________________________________________________
PHONE # FAX #
and/or E-MAIL ADDRESS
PLEASE ADD COMMENTS (such as your
interest in this issue or how you can help):
Sincerely yours - Donald Barber,
President, FCB & Chair, CRRA
PLEEASSE
SIGN
OUR PETITION
It will make a difference!
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