Fall update: October 2017

As the end of October approaches, we are still awaiting contact from the Study Team re a meeting.  

They did contact us , the text of their letter is below. Emphasis is mine.

From: Jamieson, Brenda
Date: Fri, Sep 22, 2017 at 8:15 AM
Subject: RE: Study Update Meeting.
To: Agriculture Business Community

Good Morning Sharon,

Further to your July letter which we received via email on July 17, 2017, we look forward to meeting with ABC this fall to provide a study update and discuss the Recommended Plan Refinements which were made following PIC #6 in response to feedback received through the consultation process and further development of the preliminary design.  Please note the intent of the meeting is to provide an overview of the refinements to facilitate your review.

I’ll contact you in mid-October to schedule an appropriate meeting date for late October / early November.  If you have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Regards,

Brenda

Brenda Jamieson, P.Eng.

AECOM

Hwy Update Sepyember 2107

Update: 

The Agriculture Business Community (ABC) has been busy meeting with local politicians and communicating our concerns to the Study Team via MPP Randy Pettapiece. The Study Team did contact us asking for a meeting in July which we have consistently told them was an inappropriate time for the Agriculture community. Below is the text of our letter to them in response.

Brenda Jamieson, P. Eng.
Senior Vice President
Canada Transportation Business Unit Lead

AECOM
300 Water Street
Whitby, Ontario L1N 9J2,

Dear Ms. Jamieson:

We appreciate the request to meet. As you know this time of year is difficult. This is the busiest time in our business cycle. We have asked you in the past for more appropriate times to meet. We are disappointed that the meeting dates suggested are completely unrealistic. 

This four year abandonment of the study shows complete disregard for the value we place on community involvement in our future. It does not inspire confidence in this process.
To provide you with effective commentary we need time to review the recent report, meet and prepare a response. Otherwise, a meeting would make a mockery of the public consultation process. 

Since this is such an important issue to the agriculture businesses and rural areas affected, we feel strongly that meeting dates into the fall are more appropriate. The end of October is the soonest agriculture will be in a position to meet.

We urge you to consider this seriously. We feel strongly that the process we were all supposed to follow has been abrogated by the Study Team’s failure to follow through sooner. Your lack of response until now, to the many official comments and concerns, from the last Public Information Centre is not conducive to any meaningful process.
 
Yours truly:
Sharon Weitzel per

Agriculture Business Community of Perth East, Perth South and Wilmot West

Cc: Randy Pettapiece, MPP Perth-Wellington

The MTO and Hwy 7 & 8 is back-2017

Earlier this year the MTO team showed up at Perth County Council, Perth East Council and the other municipalities impacted,  with another edition of  the EA study on Hwy 7 & 8. The presentation can be viewed  from the Perth East Agenda for March 7th, pg. 47  at:http://www.pertheast.ca/uploads/5/Doc_636241390472190879.pdf

 Perth East has responded officially to the presented material. Details of their concerns are outlined in the document below.  Attached is a letter from the Project team with their responses and everyone should read that material carefully.

8 2 1 CAO -MTO - March 7 2017 Delegation by hwy7and8 on Scribd

Letters to the MTO

On November 15, 2013, the Agriculture Business Community filed its Volume 9 Report.  It contains the concerns continually raised by the agriculture and rural community over the course of the Environmental Assessment.

As part of our intent to keep everyone as informed as possible ABC also supplies copies of its material to our  MPP and rural municipalities.  On Dec 3, 2013, we received a copy of a letter submitted by Randy Pettapiece MPP to the Minister of Transportation, the Hon. Glen Murray,MPP.

See it below.

Pettapiece Letter to MTO by hwy7and8

A resolution about the EA process goes provincial

In November 2013, the Perth Federation of Agriculture ratified the submission of a resolution about the Environmental Assessment process to the Annual meeting of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

On the floor of the annual meeting it was sucessful in being carried with a significant majority from the floor.

This important resolution will now go before the Board of the OFA and work on implementing a successful outcome for agriculture can begin.

Perth Federation Of Agriculture EA Resolution by hwy7and8

ABC submits a Response to PIC6

On November 15,2013 the Agriculture Business Community (ABC) submitted its response to PIC 6.  Entitled Volume 9, it is available below and on our website under its own page for anyone interested  to view, copy or download.

It is short, direct and to the point, and lists a variety of concerns that have been problems from the inception of this Environmental Assessment (EA).

ABC has distributed this document to all the affected municipalities for their information.

Volume 9 Final by hwy7and8

New Letters to the Editor

The letter below was submitted to the Stratford Beacon Herald in response to an article entitled: Farmers best served by South route, published on July 25th. 

The letter  was subsequently published.

LTEAug2013 by hwy7and8