Integrity Commissioner

 

Mayor Bryan Paterson says he’ll introduce a motion at next Tuesday’s city council meeting to hire an integrity commissioner to review the actions of Councillor Adam Candon.  He says Candon will second the motion because he welcomes the chance to settle the question of whether he had a conflict of interest in voting in favour of the Capitol Condo.  Candon is a real estate agent and one of his websites had posted information about the development.  It was removed when the conflict issue was raised.  He told city council before the vote he was assured by legal counsel he had no conflict.  Council then voted 7-6 in favour of IN8 Developments 15 storey condominium in downtown Kingston.

 

New Ferries – Wolfe and Amherst

 

The province has taken another step towards making new ferries for Wolfe and Amherst Island a reality.  A request for qualifications from interested contractors was issued yesterday.  Companies have six weeks to reply and up to five will be selected to submit a request for proposals.  Contracts to build the ferries will be awarded by the end of this coming spring.

The new Wolfe Island ferry would hold 75 cars and is expected to be in service by 2020.

The new $20 million Amherst Island ferry would carry 40 cars and is expected to be in service by 2019.

 

Alternative Energy – Projects Cancelled

 

Major wind and solar projects in Ontario are on hold after the Ontario government announced it is cancelling one-thousand megawatts of future renewable energy contracts.

Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault says the power wasn’t needed right now and the cancellation will save up to 3.8-billion dollars — or about $2.45 on monthly consumer and business electricity bills.

 

Newser – New Network

 

Queen’s University is hosting a major announcement of a new research network based at the university this morning.  While it’s not saying exactly what the research will be…people attending a news conference will get a show and tell on a cancerous tumour in a human organ and visit the tumour bank at Kingston General Hospital where tumours are stored for further study.

 

OPP – Seatbelt Campaign

 

The OPP is calling on drivers and passengers to help make the fall seatbelt campaign a success.  The campaign gets underway today.    The O-P-P say 347 people have been killed while not wearing seatbelts in collisions they investigated over the past five years.   The force says not wearing a seat belt is a game changer when it comes to the chances of surviving a crash and reducing the severity of injuries.

 

Ontario Funding – Health Services

 

The Ontario government is handing out over a quarter of a million dollars to three community health service providers in Kingston to make improvements to their facilities.

Providence Care is receiving $111,400.

Addiction and Mental Health Services will make accessibility improvements with $83,000…and…Hotel Dieu Hospital will use $75,000 to replace the roof at the Detoxification Centre.

 

United Way

 

The United Way campaign in Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington has crossed the $800,000 mark midway through the 3rd week of the campaign.

The total yesterday was just over $801,000…23% of the $3,451,000 goal.

Mayor Bryan Paterson will kick of the city’s official campaign with the Mayor’s Annual BBQ in City Park from 11am to 1pm.

RMC kicked off its 2016 campaign over breakfast this morning in the Cadet dining hall.

 

 

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