A tragic blow to the people of Walkerton is top of mind for many across this region and beyond this week, as the community reels from a May 23 automobile accident which claimed the life of a teacher and four students from Walkerton District Community School.
Community members have been supporting each other and the school population through these early days as the details of this heartbreaking loss become clear. A candlight vigil which brought hundreds together on May 25 is just one example of the solidarity on display.
The latest blow comes at a time when the community is observing the 25th anniversary of the E. coli disaster that killed seven residents and sickened 2,300 others in the spring of 2000. Then too, the community came together to heal and grow and the resilient local residents will no doubt muster the strength to support all those impacted and find their way through adversity once again.
Our hearts go out to the staff, students and parents of the school and the wider community as they work through difficult days ahead.
Bill 5 raises concerns
Ontario’s provincial government has introduced a sweeping new bill that aimed at protecting the economy from tariffs, a laudable goal.
However, like any such major legislation, Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act has its detractors.
Critics argue it will gut environmental protection, as the bill would give cabinet the authority to designate any location in Ontario a special economic zone, where the government can exempt companies or projects from complying with provincial laws or regulations.
Premier Doug Ford’s Conservative government’s stance is that the bill will make major infrastructure and resource extraction projects happen faster by reducing delays and eliminating duplication in the approval process. Again, a sound concept in principle.
Local councils and agencies have been analyzing the bill as it heads through the legislature on the road to anticipated passage, perhaps as soon as June 5 and are providing comments and concerns from a local perspective.
Hopefully provincial officials will heed their advice and ensure they are not, as is often this government’s wont, tossing babies out with bathwater.
Fallen Leafs
As a member or the long-suffering legion of Maple Leaf fans, I’m taking a seemingly unpopular position and not joining team “Blow it Up!”
Throughout the recent “Core Four” era which has featured regular season success, followed by playoff disappointment, many have criticized a strategy that has involved building a team around a group of superstars who suck up about half the available salary cap space. With the impending free agency of two members of that group, Mitch Marner and John Tavares, many see the latest playoff exit as a time to act by diverting the cash paid those players to other resources. Somehow though, I question the wisdom of dumping such prolific scorers for a handful of lesser lights at a lower tab. Players who register more than a point a game aren’t plentiful and are in fact largely absent from this year’s free agent class, except of course, for the aforementioned Leafs.
As someone who watched the team miss the playoff 10 out of 11 tries between 2006 and 2017, it’s hard get behind the idea of dismantling a team that gives itself at least a shot at the Stanley Cup by making it to the dance as a matter of course ever year.
Further argument against moving on from the Core Four group can be found in the reality the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, who bested the Leafs in seven, are one win away from sweeping the Carolina Hurricanes, another team good enough to have made it to the third round of the marathon playoff grind.
That’s my take, but I’m not an NHL general manager with my job hinging playoff advancement, so the personnel blow up seems likely to happen. Just hope the explosion doesn’t blow us all the way back to the Harold Ballard era.
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Patrick Raftis is the Editor at Midwestern Newspapers. He can be reached at editor@midwesternnewspapers.com
