Residents Request Audit of Pickering Council Expenses
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The Pickering Auf Wiedersehen, sucka. Protest The farce The GTI Mk V. Pre-tuned in Deutschland. The original hot hatch is here, and it’s spec’d for FREE FALL at Sklar is with them ‘08 with a turbocharged 200 hp 2.0-litre engine, FAMILY FESTIVAL sport suspension, a DSG Employees say they Doctor troubles with Tiptronic® and ‘08 Pickering Museum Village paddle shifting. GTI Sunday, October 5 are owed back pay at Herongate Pickering Volkswagen Inc. 905.683.8401 503 Kingston Rd. Pickering cityofpickering.com/museum NEWS/3 ENTERTAINMENT/23 Sales Hotline: 905-420-9700 www.pvw.com ✦ 36 PAGES ✦ Pressrun 52,400 ✦ Optional delivery $6/Newsstand $1 ✦ FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2008 Get local 24/7 newsdurhamregion.com SPRINTING IN PICKERING FOR TERRY Residents request audit of Pickering council expenses Mayor has no concerns ance without providing documentation; with ministry coming in conference and dinner allowances are generous, where members often stay in to look over the books lavish hotels; and, expenses in compari- son to similar municipalities are exces- sive. By Kristen Calis Mr. Brenner said while the petitioners [email protected] recognize Council members may not use their full budgeted allotment each year, PICKERING — About 100 Pickering taxpayers are still responsible. residents have signed a petition to have “Whether it’s used or not each year tax- the Minister of Municipal Affairs and payers still pay for what is in the budget,” Housing investigate councillor’s expens- he said. es. The ministry’s manager of local gov- The Municipal Affairs Act requires a ernment, Central region, Tom Gutfreund, minimum of 50 ratepayers to sign a peti- confirmed in an interview that the min- tion in order for the minister, Jim Watson, istry has received the petition. Similar to investigate the financial affairs of a petitions occur across the province, he municipality. said, but are quite rare. In this case unsettled residents, with “What we do right now is gather the the help of community activist Maurice facts and then we report to the minister,” Brenner, filed the request. The petition he said, adding whether an audit takes asks that the Minister conduct an audit place is up to Mr. Watson. on all salaries, expenses and allowances Mr. Gutfreund’s staff met with the peti- paid to the mayor and councillors be- tioners and will next meet with the City. tween 2003 and 2008. Mr. Brenner was on He hasn’t actually looked at the expenses Council up until 2006. himself yet. “The ratepayers of the City of Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan was unaware of the have become increasingly disturbed by petition until the News Advertiser in- what we believe has become a “culture formed his office. He said he understands of entitlement” by the elected officials of there is a degree of concern among the the City of Pickering,” the petition said. public and welcomes the ministry look- Specific reasons for requesting the ing at Pickering. On a personal level, he’s audit include: Mayor and councillors confident his expenses will check out if Photo by Adrien Veczan receive expenses for costs in homes, in- an audit takes place since his expenses PICKERING — Joal Meeker, front left, and Jeremy Marinelli took part in the Terry Fox Run held cluding additional external clerical sup- are quite low each year, “which are fully Thursday at Our Lady of the Bay Catholic School. port and out-of-country costs (although documented beyond the requirement of they have access to full-time assistants at City Hall); members receive a car allow- ✦ See Minister, Page 4 SHARE $ /MO. 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Long distance and roaming charges (including foreign taxes) may apply outside your local area. Upon early termination, price adjustment charges apply. Subject to change without notice; not combinable with other offers. Taxes extra. Other conditions apply. (1) Applies to long distance calls made from and to Canada, in Bell Mobility and its partners’ coverage area. (2) Simultaneous use of airtime. (3) With new activation on a 3-yr. contract term. Applies to airtime for calls in your local calling area. (4) With upgrade or new simultaneous activations of a new phone of equal or greater value than the free phone on a 3-yr. contract term on a Share plan consisting of a prime and at least one additional member (max. of 5 members on the same account). A/P PAGE 2 THE NEWS ADVERTISER, September 26, 2008 durhamregion.com Featuring the #1 Selling Sealy Posturepedic Pocketcoil in Canada! Conveniently located in Your Neighbourhood! + Any New Queen or King Iridescent FINAL Sleep Set. WEEKEND! 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Interest may accrue for the final 25 days prior to the promotions due date but will be waived if the payment is made in full by the due date. See in store or refer to your Brick Card Account Holder Agreement for full details. Product may vary by location. We reserve the right to limit quantities by store and per purchase. +This offer cannot be combined with any other discount or free gift purchase, sale, or other promotion, unless otherwise specified. Effective August 29th - September 30th, 2008, unless otherwise indicated. See in store for complete details. durhamregion.com THE NEWS ADVERTISER, September 26, 2008 PAGE 3 A/P Laid-off Sklar employees hit the streets Company says closure result for Sklar-Peppler involving a public a result of high cost record from proceeding on Nov. 29, 2006. Gary Lifman of A. Farber and Parners Inc. of manufacturing was the appointed practitioner at the time. Mr. Lifman said the company submitted a proposal that was approved by creditors and By Melissa Mancini the court. The company was never declared [email protected] bankrupt. There were no records of bank- ruptcy proceedings since 2006. A statement AJAX — Former employees of Sklar- from Sklar said that’s because the company Peppler Furniture Corporation took to the is not bankrupt. streets to protest recent action by a company Mr. Dowcett said it is the union’s belief they say has left 174 jobless and without pay that there are still people working inside the owed to them. Ajax location who are not union employees The protesters held signs that said “Don’t but are doing the jobs union employees buy Sklar furniture” and handed out neon used to perform. orange flyers telling the public why they A statement on behalf of Sklar, distributed were marching in front of the Sklar factory by lawyer Adriana Carnevale, said Sklar is outlet store on Bayly Street in Ajax. The store still manufacturing goods and selling prod- is right next to the manufacturing facility. ucts throughout North America. “These last few months have been hell “Sklar-Peppler Furniture Corporation has for me,” said worker Chris Pinsent, who Ron Pietroniro/ News Advertiser photo closed its operations in Ajax, Ontario, as a Erik Jensen, a member of the United Steelworkers Local 7175, joins in a protest against furniture has been laid off since June 12. “It’s been a result of the high costs of manufacturing manufacturer Sklar. A total of 174 Sklar employees were laid off in June with no compensation or struggle to keep up with my mortgage.” benefits, even though they have a contract that runs until February 2009. goods in Canada and the changing cur- The father of three had been with the rency,” the statement said. “Employees and company for 30 years when he was let go. customers have been informed for months The company still owes him a week’s pay, said. ployees agreeing to accept more conces- that manufacturing could not be maintained vacation pay and severance, he said. A statement from Sklar sent by Gerry sions,” the statement from the Steelworkers in Canada.” Worse still, his record of employment Modjeski said “all our current suppliers con- said.