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Vol. 75 · # 26 Wednesday, July 4, 2012 GST Included $1.35 Serving Kendal, Kirby, Leskard, Newcastle, Newtonville, Orono and Starkville since 1937 Oda resigns her seat Bev Oda announced on Tuesday that she is stepping down as the Member of Parliament for Durham as of July 21, 2012. In the news release issued by her office on Tuesday morning, Oda says it has been an honour to serve the constituents of the riding for the past eight years. "As the Minister for International Cooperation, I have had the opportunity to witness the hardships of the worlds' most vulnerable peoples and have witnessed the great compassion of Canadians for those in need." Oda gives no reason for her decision in the news release and she has not returned our call to her office. It had been widely rumoured that Prime Minister Stephen Harper would remove Oda from his cabinet in the next shuffle expected by the end of summer. In a statement released by Harper's office on Tuesday, the P.M. is quoted as saying, "Bev advised me two weeks ago that she had made the decision to stand down as the Member of Parliament for Durham." Harper praises Oda for the significant contribution she has made to her rid- A proud Canadian. Every year Newtonville's Wally Boughen creates a sign in his front yard expressing his national pride. Boughen is joined in the picture by six-year-old Mayne Green. ing, her province and her country since her election to Parliament in 2004. "Under Bev's guidance, Canada has led a significant initiative to save the lives of mothers, children and newborns in the developing world," Harper stated. "Bev has also promoted accountability and effectiveness for Canada's aid pro- grams and has championed high-profile efforts to respond to humanitarian tragedies in Haiti, Pakistan and the Horn of Africa," the PM states. Oda has managed to grab headlines during her time in office and her lavish spending of the public purse. Most recently she drew ire for upgrading from a five star London Hotel to the more luxurious Savoy Hotel while attending a conference on international immunization last June. She told the Orono Times that things got busy in the fall and she forgot to reimburse Canadian taxpayers for the upgrade. She was reminded when the Freedom of Information request for the expenses came to her office, and she paid back the $13,000 for the hotel upgrade, and still later she paid back the expenses for the limo she hired to take her back and forth between hotels. As Heritage Minister in 2006 Oda got tripped up for racking up nearly $5,500 in limo rides ODA see page 3 Clarington Finance Director floats re-investmnet plan Since the end of March this year, the municipality has been able to access the $10 million given to the municipality by the federal government for being the host community of a long term storage facility for their low level radio active waste dumped at Port Granby between 1955 and 1988. The terms of the agreement signed with the federal government in March 2001 stipulated that the principle remain in a trust fund to be invested by Clarington until the license for the new storage facility was approved and the ownership of the land for the facility was transferred to the federal government. Since March 30, 2012, when the government announced that the land transfer had taken place, the funds have been available to be released from the trust and used at Clarington's discretion. A report requested at the council meeting of March 1, 2010, making recommendations for the use of the money, was released last Monday by Clarington's Director of Finance, Nancy Taylor. When the $10 million was made available to the municipality in 2001 it was invested in Guaranteed Investment Certificates which have a spread of maturities ranging from May 2013 to December 2015. The interest generated from these investments, from 2002 to the present, was used to offset tax increases. It is being suggested that the $150,000 of interest generated in the first year, from the time of investment to 2002, be dedicated to future Port Granby initiatives such as enhancements to the current waste site after the federal government is finished with it. Taylor is also recommending that as in the past, the $250,000 generated in interest from the $10 million continue to be used to offset the tax levy. When interest rates increase, Taylor is recommending that any interest earnings in excess of $250,000 be used for road rehabilitation and construction. She is also recommending the principle amount be invested into three priority areas; as a long-term asset management strategic financing tool particularly for road construction and rehabilitaGranby see page 3