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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2004 THE NEW TANNER 21 Chudleigh motion passes House Halton MPP Ted Chudle- igh's motion calling for a program to extend permanent funding for en- vironmental land purchases in Ontario was supported by MPPs from all three par- ties and successfully passed the Ontario Legislature last Thursday, October 28. The motion is not bind- ing on the government but the support for it indicates future legislation could be forth coming. "I'm calling on MPPs of every political stripe to sup- port this motion, to reach out to the future, and help ensure environmentally sensitive and significant lands are purchased for public use by generations of Ontarians yet to be born," said Chudleigh. "Our ser- vice to Ontarians will be judges by the legacy we leave them. Let us leave them a commitment to en- vironmental protection. Let us leave them public access to Ontario's finest and most beautiful open spaces." In the last several years there has been a patch- work of programs used to finance purchases of environmentally signifi- cant land. These programs include: The Natural Ar- eas Protection Program (NAPP), the Ontario Parks Legacy Program (OPL), the Community Conservancy Program (CCP) and the Eastern Habitat Joint Ven- ture (EHJV). The current Ecological Land Acquisition Program (ELAP) was conceived as an enhancement to existing land acquisition programs in keeping with the goals of Ontario's Living Legacy, a comprehensive natural her- itage program announced in November, 2000. ELAP has been used in those areas where approved provincial plans already exist. ELAP has been extended from its expected end date of March Ted Chudleigh 31, 2004 only to cover cur- rent projects underway in the Rouge River Valley and Workplace Symposium Fifty-two representatives from Halton workplaces joined Regional Councillor Rick Craven and Halton Medical Of- ficer of Health, Dr. Bob Nosal at the 'Practical Solutions for Your Workplace' symposium hosted by the Halton Region Health Department. 'Practical Solutions for Your Workplace' is to provide workplace decision-makers, human resource profession- als and occupational health practitioners, the opportunity to learn about the benefits that workplace health programs can bring to employees and their organizations. "The investment employers make in workplace health programs not only benefits their organization, but is an investment in their employees and in the Halton commu- nity," said Councillor Rick Craven. Dr. John Yardley, Director of Brock University's Workplace Health Research Unit delivered the keynote presentation which, identified the need to align human resource management with business goals and objectives. Dr. Yardley also provided solutions for improving human resource management, which has been shown to lead to an improvement in productivity in the workplace: the Lynde Marsh. "The Government of On- tario needs to demonstrate a commitment to public ownership of these lands," said Mr. Chudleigh. "By making these purchases through partner organiza- tions we ensure the land is managed properly, ac- quisition plans are in place for future purchases, and roles and responsibilities of those involved are clearly spelt out." "T fully expect that while this program needs to be made permanent, it should be reviewed at various intervals at several levels, including funding, part- nership arrangements, and property acquisition plans and priorities." Jean Williams, Chair of Conservation Halton, one of seven Conservation Authorities that manage 70% of the parks along the Niagara Escarpment sup- ported the motion. "It will be difficult if not impossible to acquire new properties without the help of the Province. Con- servation Halton strongly supports Chudleigh's mo- tion that a land acquisition program be introduced to ensure that these sensitive lands can be purchased to fulfill the objectives of the Niagara Escarpment Plan," Ms. Williams said. a SUNSET SPLENDOR: A crisp winter night and a bright full moon create magnificent sunsets like this one. Danielle Mclsaac photo Smoke ALARMS: The Perfect Gift