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the Herald Town Buyer Sunday December News at a Glance Sunday shopping issue still causing concern By LISA BOONSTOPPELPOT The Herald Reaction from Hills business owners to new Sunday shopping legislation which allows stores to be open on Sundays only in December is mixed ranging from outright negativity to eager ac ceptance I work six days a week and I like a common pause day says Bob Creasy ownermanager of in Georgetown The new NDP legislation called the Retail Business Establishments Statute Law Amendment Act or Bill was released Nov It states that the Bill reinforces the status of enumerated holidays as common pause days in Ontario But a provision in the Bill declares that all retailers are per mitted to open on Sundays in December prior to Christmas day This year those days are Dec 22 and businesses can open on those days with no restrictions According to the businesses have a choice whether or not to open but Mr Creasy feels he doesnt have a choice Im not opening this Sunday today but Ill be forced to open the other three Sundays because my competitors will be open he says As an independent businessman I cant allow other businesses to take away my business Hes not the only business owner who feels this wav Michael coowner of Home Hardware in Acton feels he will also be forced to open on the four Sun days cannot give into the com petition I have to follow the trend he says resignedly dont think there is a need for Sunday shopping People should have one day of rest from their businesses That sentiment is echoed by Gail Dodokin owner of John Boughton Jewellers in Georgetown We will not be open Sundays I believe people should have a day of rest Ron manager of in Georgetown is also displeased to be opening Sunday but hes against it because he believes its not fruitful financially I dont believe its beneficial to be open Sundays he says It only spreads buying out from six days to seven days Nevertheless his store will be open all four Sundays Not all business owners are against the legislation however Mike Manes ownermanager of IGA in Acton says hes happy to be opening on December Sundays I want to be open It gives people a chance to do their grocery shopping Sunday and leaves the rest of the week for their Christmas shopping he says I think its also good for the staff It gives them some extra spending money Tom owner of Canadian Tire in Georgetown is for Sunday shopping but against the govern ments way of handling the issue I believe its my right to open Sundays he says We are in the service sector and should provide service when the public demands it not when the government legislates it He added that he doesnt believe part of the governments mandate includes legislating when stores should or should not be open Legislate they have however Any store wishing to open on Sundays outside of December has to earn a tourist exemption which meets criteria established by the provin cial according to a press release on the act Violations of the act can earn business owners a minimum fine of for the first offence 2000 for a second offence and for a third and subsequent of fences i The act also includes amend ments to the Employment Stan dards Act One change states that retail workers now have the right to refuse any Sunday or holiday work assignment except for those workers in the hospitality industry Workers who have previously ac cepted such work assignments must give employers hours notice at their request An additional amendment in the Bill states that municipalities may enact bylaws that allow stores in tourism areas to open on holidays but that the areas must meet tourism exemption criteria established by the provincial gover nment For more information on the Retail Business Establishments Statute Law Amendment Act the government has set up a Common Pause Day Information Centre Hot Line at 3253390 or Newlyformed environmental group adopts ecosystem approach ByBENDLMMETT The Herald The newlyformed local en vironmental group Silver Creek Valley Environmental Association held its inaugural meeting last Wednesday at the Hills Cultural Centre in Georgetown and its platform appears to be on the cutting edge of environmental protection TO kickoff the groups first meeting Deborah Williams a spokesperson for the Royal Com mission on the Future of the Toron to Waterfront was the guest speaker The commissions primary man date is to advise the provincial and federal governments on how best to protect the environment of the Toronto Lake Ontario waterfront and the tributaries that feed into the lake Seniors community forum Easier access to information bet ter transportation services and a seniors recreation centre is whats needed in Halton Hills revealed seniors at the Seniors Community Forum put on by Georgetown District Memorial Hospital Tuesday Over 60 seniors turned up to discuss their concerns about health care recreation and transportation in Hills at the Halton Regional Police station in Georgetown Their concerns were taken down by committee members conducting a Georgetown Hospitals study on health and social service needs for seniors Tuesdays comments will make up the base of the study and be documented in an Action Report which will be used to administer to needed change in this area in Hills For the full story sec next Wed nesdays edition of the Hills Herald Deborah Williams Ms Williams told the audience of approximately people how the successful protection of the en vironment will necessitate an ecosystem approach whereby equal importance is attached to en vironmental economical and com munity interests during the plan ning process Until recently explained Ms Williams economic interests have taken priority over environmental protection Its this ecosystem approach to planning that the Silver Creek Valley Environmental Association supports said Ashley Hanson group spokesperson For instance just as Ms Williams said the ecosystem ap proach requires measuring the cumulative environmental impact development projects have on a surrounding area the group also advocates this approach to deter mine the appropriate amount of development that should occur in Georgetowns Silver Creek Valley Region is currently trying to determine if projects such as a trunk sewer and a major well should be located in Silver Creek to service future development growth in Georgetown West The Association wants the Region to consider the environmental im pact of each project in context of the whole instead of separately an idea Ms Williams said the com mission would support Although several Georgetown residents including Mr have been very vocal about the need to protect Silver Creek Valley for a long time Mr said a formal association has been formed so that more people can get in volved According to the associations in formation release a more for mal association that was open to all who share our concern with the en vironment would be a more ef fective way to harness the interests and considerable talents in the community Aside from ensuring the protec tion of Silver Creek Mr said the groups purpose is also to recognize and protect other significant environment features within Hills including recognized Environmentally Sen sitive Areas Black Creek the Credit River hazard lands wetlands groundwater recharge areas and woodlands To get the groups message across to the general public Mr told the audience social events centred on the environment such as cleanup days In which the public is invited to clear away the litter in areas along the Credit River watershed will be organized Based on a suggestion from some audience members the group will consider setting up neighborhood networks to collect data on whether or not peoples wells are going dry If the data showed some people were having trouble with their wells then this information would be given to the appropriate authorities in order to rectify the situation Commenting on the outcome of the first meeting Mr said peoples reaction seemed to be very positive Im encouraged Psychiatric services now available Georgetown Patients in need of psychiatirc services no longer have to travel to Milton now that the Regional Health Departments Nor th Mental Clinic has opened a suboffice in Hills The new office staffed parttime with nurse therapist Betty Macken zie and psychiatrist Dr Tony Marriott is located in the Bennett Health care facility in Georgetown Ms Mackenzie is in the office Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays while Dr Marriott is in attendance on Wednesdays Mae Vaivods Supervisor of the North Mental Health Clinic said Hills has never had an office due to shortage of staff and space It finally came together last year and we were able to open an office in Hills she said The office has been operating since this summer but wasnt officially opened until last month Ms Mackenzie said since the opening more and more patients have been making use of the local office The new office in Georgetown and North Mental Health Clinics other offices in Acton and Milton provide psychiatric services to people suffering from severe psychiatric mental illnesses she said Were not a family planning clinic and were not here for people who have mild anxieties This office is for people in need of a psychiatrist The clinics offer a range of ser vices including adult psychiatric services long term rehabilitative services child and adolescent ser vices geriatric psychiatric services and developmental con sultation One of the Mental Health Clinic psychiatrists will be at the new Georgetown office on a weekly basis to provide psychiatric con sultative services The psychiatrist will work with the nurse therapist to provide psychiatric assessment and treatment services All referrals as well as requests for further information should be directed to the main North Halton Mental Health Clinic office in Milton at Psychiatrist Dr Tony Marriott left and Nurse Therapist Betty Mackenzie right discuss their plans for the new North Mental Health Clinic office which opened recently at the Bennett Health Care Centre In Georgetown Herald photo New approach urged on landfill divergence must start focusing its at tention on the promotion of waste reduction and reuse if it is to divert per cent of its waste stream from landfills by the year Georgetown resident Oates told Regional Council Wed nesday Mr Oates is Hills representative on the Regions Joint MunicipalRegional Waste Management Committee The committee was established by Regional Council as a cooperative effort between four municipalities to promote the 3Rs- reduction reuse and recycle- in order to minimize dependency on landfill Speaking on behalf of the com mittee Mr told Regional councillors has been suc cessful in promoting recycling to the point where most residents and institutions in the community recycle a wide range of material through the bluebox program or depot system Therefore it is now time for the Region to use public education programs to encourage people and businesses to focus on waste reduc tion and reuse he said According to the committees just published mission statement it is time for both citizens and businesses within to move away from consuming resources and towards conserving them for future generations This new ap proach will not only reduce waste it will also extend the life of both renewable and nonrenewable resources Mr Lawson told Regional Coun cil the committee will- now take its mission statement to the people for public comment The public consultation process includes the following the mission statement will be circulated to area municipalities local ratepayer groups businesses and other in terested organizations committee members will make themselves available to speak to interest groups from Nov to Jan committee members will host two televised phonein workshops the first being held sometime during thisupcoming January The public comments will then be incorporated into an updated ver sion of the groups mission statement which will then form the basis of a report to be submitted to Regional Council for consideration in May or June