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( i $ 43. ÊM ■/iV ^ 1 Clarington Community/7 No clowning around at Carnival Wheeis/lnsert Yaris fits Toyota to a T durhamregion.com ♦ Pressrun 24,150 ♦ Founded 1854 ♦ MARCH 15, 2006 ♦ 52 Pages ♦ Optional 3 Week Delivery $5/$1 Newsstand Preaching the culture of conservation Residents have rôle to play with electricity consumption BY JENNIFER STONE Staff Writer OSHAWA -- Residents are going to have to get used to living living in a culture of conservation in order to help deal with the shortage shortage of electricity the province is facing, says the Province's chief conservation officer. And like the so-called "Three R's - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" program first introduced in the 1970s,, it's something that's going to have to start at home, Peter Love told those gathered at a Durham Strategic Energy Alliance breakfast Tuesday. . The Three Rs "was very much a grassroots program. It wasn't hammered down from Queen's Park. It was done locally, and that's what energy conservation has to be," he said. Mr. Love was appointed to his position last year by the Province to head Ontario's Conservation Conservation Bureau, a division of the Ontario Power Authority Authority (OPA), which is to come up. with a plan to ensure Ontario's future electricity needs are met. As well as helping the government government meet its target to reduce peak electricity electricity demand growth - in Ontario by five per cent in 2007, the Conservation Conservation Bureau is also to develop provincewide conservation programs to help consumers save energy and save money; promote energy conservation conservation and the efficient use. of electricity; assess the technical, economic and market potential for conservation conservation in Ontario;, and report on Ontario's progress for meeting Peter Love targets and determine if more action is necessary. Right now, Ontario is facing a power crunch, Mr. Love reminded those gathered. "Twenty-five thousand megawatts megawatts of generation are going out of service service by 2025," he said, "We haven't built anything in a long time. We've got a lot of catchup to do," he said. But, at the same time as new generation sources are brought online, both conservation and demand management is necessary, necessary, he said. Use of Smart Meter technology, technology, which will reward users for using energy during off-peak hours, will help, said Mr. Love. "We also have sent the wrong signal to consumers with electricity electricity pricing which has been far too low," he said, noting pricing has also remained stable throughout the day, instead of fluctuating to reward off-peak hour usage. But, it's a balancing act, he said, Given Ontario's diverse economy, pricing electricity to. encourage conservation must be balanced to ensure industry isn't scared off, he noted. Another energy saver Mr. Love would like to see implemented would be a ban on T12 fluorescent fluorescent lights, often found in office buildings, in favour of more energy-efficient models. Use of energy-efficient windows windows should become the norm, he noted. There is also a need to look at appliance standards and building codes, to ensure the most efficient efficient standards possible are used and legislated. The Province has been urged to "take the initiative to be a leader ...in terms of codes and standards," said Mr. Love. 'vW-'-v Celia Klemenz/Metroland Durham Region Media Group at Clarington Beech Centre ÉOWMANVILLE - Sy Skinner sets up his shot as Dave Pim looks on. The men, along with Boyd Woolley, were playing snooker as they usually do each Tuesday at the Clarington Beech Centre.'. Centre.'. union votes yes to concession agreement GM Canada# Contract is conditional on product allocation BY IZABELAJAROSZYNSKI Staff Writer DURHAM - Unionized General General Motors workers in Oshawa voted yes to the contract changes changes negotiated by the Canadian Auto Workers Union (CAW) and management. Of the more than 11,000 eligible eligible voters, 8,400 cast a ballot. 11 Results show that 74 per cent of production members and 70 per cent of skilled trades workers voted to accept the changes that had been unanimously endorsed by the union executive. CAW Local.222 president , Chris Buckley said the vote represented a difficult choice for the membership. "This was in no way an easy decision," he said. "It was a very emotional event, Chris Buckley but I truly believe that we made the right decision in order to secure a future of producing producing cars here." Mr. Buckley says there will be no immediate changes at the plant as a result of the vote because the agreement is conditional upon new product allocation. It is expected that GM Canada will now take the agreement to the Board of Directors in Detroit in an attempt to secure Oshawa as the location of the Flexible Manufacturing Facility and the place for future product allocation. Should the deal be accepted, the Oshawa plant would get a make-over. It would no longer be the home of two separate car plants, but would house one large flex plant that would have the capability to produce a variety variety of different models at the same time.. Mr. Buckley says it is too early to tell how many people would be employed at this new plant, but says "it will be less than we have'today." He is hopeful, however, that much of the job loss can be absorbed through retirement. In the span of the current 3-year collective bargaining agreement, Mr. Buckley says 5,000 people are eligible for retirement. Of those, 650. have already signed up to accept the $70,000 early retirement pension incentive and he hopes a further 2,400 will do so by the end of 2007. Among the changes planned for the plant should the . Flex facility be implemented are a reduction in relief times, an outsourcing outsourcing of non-trades mainte-' nance workers, and the hiring See CAW, page 5 Gv ONTARIO'S • SERVICE • PARTS MON., WED., FRI. 7:30 am - 6:00 pm TUES. &THURS. « : 7:30 am - 8:00 pm SAT. ,. 9:00 am - 4:00 pm ACCREDITED TEST & REPAIR FACILITY WHITBY OSHAWA Honda 300 THICKSON RD. S. WHITBY If 1-866 IHII 240-6192 honda www.honde1.com i Aggregate company fined for operating without permits College strike drags on for second straight week WHITBY - A Bowmanville- arca aggregate company and its president have been fined $8,000 for operating a pit in Clarington while under suspension. Operating as Bowmanville Sand & Gravel, 761368 Ontario Inc. pleaded guilty to 11 charges of operating a pit without a licence and 1 was fined $5,500. President Barry Fenton, 52, pleaded guilty to five charges of operating a pit without a licence and was fined $2,500. Court heard that the company's company's licences were suspended because of non-compliance with conditions of the site plans under the Aggregate Resources Act. Charges were laid when the company was found operating the pit, at 4601 Bethesda Rd.,- between May and July 2005, Durham to release a tentative plan for students BY CRYSTAL CRIMI Staff Writer DURHAM - With a faculty strike entering its second week, Ontario's colleges are preparing plans to make up for lost student time. On March 14, the Association of Colleges of Applied Arts'and Technology of Ontario (ACAA- TO) announced community colleges colleges are working on strategies to ensure students will not lose their semester because of the strike. "I promise every student our plan will work," says Durham College President Gary Polonsky. Polonsky. On Tuesday morning, Mr. Polonsky said a tentative plan specifically for Durham will be released to students electronically electronically in the next day or two. He added the plan will not be finalized until after the strike is over and Durham College's management can consult with faculty on its implementation. "Management will not be teaching at Durham College," he said. "Our faculty are experts in the classroom and our managers managers respect tlnU fully." Debbie Ramins, vice-president See PRESSURE, page 5 r HWY. 12 n 5 ï ° / HP y NICHOLS E 401 u SjgjŒËS "fills 905436-2227 •Service 905-436-2228 Iddy* Point 905-436-2229 1728 Courtice Rd., HWY. #2 Courtice 905-436-2222 Toll Free 1-866-885-8822 roynicholimotors9gmcanada.com www.roynlcholsmotori.com See deeler for deUlls. 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