We are pleased to announce the appointments of Karren Wallace and John Gruetzner as our new Board Members.

Karren Wallace is our current Secretary and has finally agreed to sit on the NDACT Board. Welcome Karren!

• Karren was born and raised in Dufferin County on a potato and beef operation in Melancthon.   She was lucky enough to raise her three children, who are now great young adults, across the road from where she grew up.

• Her professional background is in law and government, having started her career as a law clerk working at firms in Shelburne and Collingwood.  She transitioned into municipal government which is a natural fit. After several years at various municipalities, including Mapleton, Grey Highlands, Shelburne and New Tecumseth she accepted a position with the provincial government as a Municipal Advisor at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. 

• Her portfolios included Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance Program, municipal election lead, $26 million Holland Marsh Drainage project, public speaking, education and training to elected officials and staff on various pieces of legislation impacting municipalities.

• In 2009 she became active in the mega quarry battle and some of the those first unorganized meetings were held at her kitchen table in Melancthon.  When NDACT was formed that January day in 2009, she worked behind the scenes in assisting NDACT with strategy, legislative research, contacts at the province, without violating confidentiality rules with her employer.

• In 2014 she accepted the nomination as the Green Party candidate for Dufferin-Caledon and increased the Green Party’s profile and increased the vote for the party to 16%. In late 2014 she returned to municipal government, and is now employed a the Clerk in the Township of Wellington North.  Her education is in law, municipal government and human resources.

John Gruetzner brings a wealth of business experience to our Board. Welcome John! His credentials follow:

• the principal and founder of Intercedent, a Canadian business and investment advisory firm founded in 1988 and focused on Asia

•  served as the head of the Canada China Business Council in Beijing.

•  worked for the National Broadcasting Corporation, De Laurentis Entertainment, and Filmline

• received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Toronto 

• was an Executive in Residence at the University of Manchester Business School

• one of the 24 founders of the China Policy Centre being formed in Ottawa.

• won a Medallion from the Governor General of Canada in recognition of his contribution to the bi-lateral relations between China and Canada. 

Cornerstone Standards Council is seeking feedback from community and environmental groups on potential revisions to its Responsible Aggregate Standard.

Join them for a two-hour discussion that will inform the future of aggregates management in Southern Ontario!

Pre-registration is required. Please contact Krista West at kwest@cornerstonestandards.ca for dates and times or to register.

Wednesday Feb. 1 (1-3 pm) Uxbridge

•     Uxbridge Arena – Small Boardroom

•     291 Brock Street West, Uxbridge

Wednesday Feb. 1 (7-9 pm) Caledon

•     Caledon East Community Centre – Lion's Den Meeting Room

•     6215 Old Church Road, Caledon East

Thursday Feb. 2 (6-8 pm) Brantford

•     3^rd Floor Group Study Room (go to the top floor and then straight ahead)

•     173 Colburn Street

Friday February 3 (1-3 pm) Burlington

•     Haber Community Room 1 East

•     2040 Timdoobie Drive, Burlington

Saturday  February 4 (1-3 pm) Owen Sound

•     Bayshore Community Centre Shoreroom #1

•     1900 3^rd Avenue East Owen Sound

For more details visit www.cornerstonestandards.ca

View poster.

The annual Water Docs Film Festival features another terrific line-up of documentaries about all things water. Watch a film, join a discussion and learn how to take action to protect this vital resource! Opening Night is March 22nd and the documentary Fractured Land will be the first film screened. Watch the trailer.

Full details.

For more information and to register: Ontario Farmland Forum

Ecologos Presents

Water Docs Film Festival 2014

When: March 21 - March 29, 2014

Where: Jackman Hall, Art Gallery of Ontario, McCaul St. @ Dundas St. W., Toronto

List of films: http://ecologos.ca/waterdocs/

Ticket sales: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/557968

.   Capitalizing on rising public concern about water and the growing popularity of documentary storytelling, it begins with a 24-hour celebration of water, to signify World Water Day with films about water and water issues.   This Festival will highlight both feature films and shorts about water and the schedule includes discussions with filmmakers and experts from the water community.   

Explore ways we can each change our actions to make a concrete difference.  www.waterdocs.ca.

Time: 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM

Location: Unversity of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario

Detailed Program:  http://ontariofarmlandtrust.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Ontario-Farmland-Trust-2014-Farmland-Forum-Program.pdf

Opening Remarks by Premier Kathleen Wynne

Registration and full details at: http://ontariofarmlandtrust.ca/get-involved/events/annual-farmland-forum/2014-farmland-forum/

NDACT Vice Chair, Shirley Boxem will be in attendance.

Presented by the Toronto Food Policy Council

A Local Food Hero Award is being given to NDACT chair, Carl Cosack, by the Toronto Food Policy Council!

Carl is being honoured for his hard work in promoting the protection of prime farmland and source water regions.

The presentation will take place Wednesday, February 12th at 2pm. Committee Room 4, Toronto City Hall. The meeting is open to the public.

The Fairlawn Neighbourhood Centre in North Toronto is hosting Fairlawnstock to spread the word about Food & Water First.

Food, music and a presentation by NDACT Chair Carl Cosack.

More details to come!

In support of our Food & Water First partners in Midhurst, we are spreading the news:

Margaret Atwood has issued a simple challenge:

Spread the word, get 5000 signatures on their petition and she will visit all they are to protect AND host a fundraiser in their nearby high school.

This is a GREAT opportunity for Midhurst, Springwater and the Minesing Wetlands to garner well-deserved recognition for their beauty and charm.  But, they can't do it without you.  Their petition sits roughly at 2000 people and has grown by roughly 150 per day since Ms. Atwood's involvement. They still need 3000 more signatures!

From their petition:

The Midhurst Secondar Plan proposes to turn a small, rural community of 3,500 people into a small city of almost 30,000! At stake are the local farms on rime agricultural land that will be sacrificed for development land (up to almost 1,900 acres).

Moreover, the health of a small local creek and the nearby, internationally significant Minesing Wetlands are threatened by 10.6 million litres of effluent that will be pumped in daily from the proposed sewage treatment facility. These wetlands contain fragile ecosystems and in some parts, rare or sensitive species of flora and fauna.  Based on what we stand to lose or destroy, failure to stop this massive over-development is NOT an option.

Click here to read more.

Please sign and share the petition. 

http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=c645cc192cabb153747cd0203&id=668b3011a6&e=59f5701035

http://www.stopspringwatersprawl.com/

Presented by: Farmland Preservation

A Food & Water First Partner

You are invited to:

A Breakfast at Haisai

Date: Feb. 26, 2014
Time: 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM
Location: Haisai Restaurant, 794079 County Rd. 124, Singhampton, ON

Flapjacks and coffee $15.00

Purpose: to discuss farmland preservation in the south Georgian Bay region

Carl Cosack, NDACT Chair, will present on Food & Water First’s goals and direction in 2014 and discuss how we can engage other municipalities to put Food &Water First on their agenda.

Please help spread the word and expand the discussion.

For more information, contact Joclyn at:  jbiggins@unitedwaygsc.ca