Hortons appeal hearing cancelled

Tim Hortons appears close to reaching an agreement in its appeal against air emission rules imposed by the Ministry of the Environment for a new Ancaster coffee roasting facility.
A negotiated settlement could help Tim Hortons open its $30 million facility in the Ancaster Business Park later this fall.
Evangeline Berlie, case manager for the province’s environmental review tribunal, said a preliminary hearing slated for Monday has been cancelled. Berlie said counsel for the appellant, Fruition Manufacturing Limited, a Tim Hortons subsidiary, is close to reaching a settlement with the ministry of the environment.
A teleconference between the company and the ministry was slated for this week.
Tim Hortons launched an appeal against the ministry air emission restrictions earlier this year, arguing the conditions were excessively onerous. Tim Hortons has been pursuing mediation with the ministry over the last several months in an attempt to avoid a lengthy hearing process.

Hunting problem over. Or is it?

Ward 12 Councillor Lloyd Ferguson is also confident that hunting has ceased at the conservation area. At a fundraiser last night he noted that 'no hunting' sings are posted at Iroquoia Heights and violators can be prosecuted under the city's bylaw which prohobits hunting in an urban area.
Illegal hunting can be reported to police or to the Ministry of Natural Resources enforcement hotline at 1-877-TIPS-MNR.

But personally, I know First Nations treaty rights are a slippery slope. We've seen how governments and law enforcement have backed away from First Nations issues, in fear of the broad-reaching political ramifications.

In related news, it's clear there is a problem with overpopulation of deer at Iroquoia Heights. CAO Steve Miazga is still weighing the conservation area's options, which could include a cull or a relocation of deer. An areial census of the conservation area in January showed 102 deer. An ideal number is 12 or fewer.

No charges in Conservation area hunting probe

Iroquoia Heights Conservation Area has reopened to the public after Hamilton Conservation Authority staff received assurances from Six Nations officials that deer hunting has ceased at the urban park.
“As a result, it’s our understanding that hunting has stopped in the area,” said Steve Miazga, chief administrative officer for the HCA.
Claims of illegal deer hunting earlier this month prompted the closure of the conservation area for more than a week. Miazga said conservation authority staff began investigating after deer remains were found at the park in early November. Miazga said bow hunting was reported on Nov. 6 and Nov. 10. Deer entrails were found scattered in various locations.
“Some of the entrails have been spotted by myself and staff but we don’t know who the hunters are,” Miazga said.
Ontario’s natural resources minister said no charges will be laid after the ministry received reports of illegal deer hunting in the conservation area.
“We take this very seriously,” Donna Cansfield said. “This is a violation of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act.”
Cansfield said ministry investigators lacked sufficient evidence to pursue charges. The ministry has since completed its investigation.
Conservation authority officials have met with representatives from the Six Nations Confederacy and band council.
Leroy Hill, secretary for the Haudenosaunee Six Nations Confederacy Council, said the Nanfan Treaty of 1701 includes perpetual hunting rights for Six Nations people in Southwestern Ontario. But he could not confirm whether Six Nations hunters were invoking their treaty rights to hunt in the conservation area.
“That’s not my file,” Hill said. “I’m not authorized to speak to that.”
Hill directed questions to Chester Gibson, a wildlife representative appointed by the Confederacy council. Gibson was not immediately available for comment.
Mr. Miazga said Six Nations residents have been conducting a chronic wasting disease study on deer, but the study does not include killing the animals. According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, chronic wasting, a progressive, fatal disease of the nervous system, has been reported only in Saskatchewan in elk this year.
The Confederacy council is the traditional government of Six Nations, although the council was stripped of its formal governing authority by the federal Indian Act of 1924.
Cansfield said illegal hunting can be reported to the ministry’s enforcement hotline at 1-877-TIPS-MNR.
Any discussion on First Nations treaty rights should be directed to provincial Aboriginal Affairs minister Brad Duguid, Cansfield said.
“Our perspective is we consider this a private land,” Cansfield said. “I’m not going to comment on treaty rights.”
The conservation area is located off Old Mohawk Road, north of the Lincoln Alexander Parkway between Highway 403 and Scenic Drive.
Hamilton Police Superintendent Ken Bond said police received reports of hunting on Nov. 2 and Nov. 9. Bond said anyone who witnesses hunting can also contact police. If police confirm the names of people hunting illegally, they will forward the information to the Ministry of Natural Resources. It’s up to ministry staff to lay charges under the Fish and Wildlife Control Act for trespass to property for the purposes of hunting, Bond said.
“It’s in an urban-based park, so it’s not a good idea to be hunting there,” Bond said.