Reader2023
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Heading north? EV charging stations now live in several towns
OrilliaMatters
6Taxes shouldn’t be subsidizing gas users either but here we are
8- Reader2023
City of Orillia has 87 employees on 2024 Sunshine List
OrilliaMatters 6If you want skilled workers to stay, you need to make the salary competitive
7- Reader2023
Women's shelter, turning people away, makes plea to city for funding
OrilliaMatters 10Except that some organizations like them are doing work that governments should be providing but aren’t
2- Reader2023
City of Orillia has 87 employees on 2024 Sunshine List
OrilliaMatters 2Yes
9- Reader2023
Heading north? EV charging stations now live in several towns
OrilliaMatters 3EVs will absolutely cause more wear and tear on the roads. That being said, the gas tax doesn’t cover anything close to the cost of roads and gas cars have other negative impacts like noise and air pollution
7- Reader2023
COLUMN: Provincial ban on 'road diets' would leave a sour taste
OrilliaMatters 4Gas taxes don’t come anywhere close to covering the cost of roads. So people who don’t own cars/drive are actually subsidizing drivers, not the other way around
4- Reader2023
City hits brakes on Colborne St. parking spots amid safety concerns
OrilliaMatters 4The intention wasn’t to increase parking revenue. The purpose of these new parking spots is to provide additional parking spaces as they start the Mississauga reconstruction (which will temporarily remove many spots at a time) and to be a passive traffic calming measure to reduce speeds
3- Reader2023
Campbell says councillors will have blood on their hands if someone gets hurt at Orillia park
OrilliaMatters 1Agreed! The space would be much better used if it was given back to park users. That covered seating area would actually be useful and the whole area could have more vendors for special events that happen in the park
6- Reader2023
Growing encampments prompt Ontario mayors to call for forced treatment
OrilliaMatters 5Forced treatment also doesn’t have any research that suggests it’s effective at helping addiction. It’s better to spend that money elsewhere where we know it’ll actually achieve something positive
1- Reader2023
Canada Post using 'upsetting' tactics amid strike: Orillia union rep
OrilliaMatters 6Privatization won’t help Canadians. Just look at how ‘efficient’ our grocery and telecommunications industries
- Reader2023
'Dangerous and perilous': Resident worried about new parking near busy downtown intersection
OrilliaMatters 3Totally agree Colin! Parked cars are passive traffic calming measures. These parking spots will also be needed once the Main Street reconstruction gets started
3- Reader2023
Paid waterfront parking, businesses in public facilities on horizon?
OrilliaMatters 6@lashlarue you realize that Fallis is arguing for free parking right?
- Reader2023
'I think we've failed our students,' says local trustee of below-average test scores
OrilliaMatters 5Moving past the fact that EQAO isn’t the best measure of academic achievement, there are so many things going on at schools that could be affecting them. Three things that I have noticed are behaviours, class complexity, and spec Ed support. Behaviours from students are significant all over the place. They can come from a messy home life, trauma, entitlement, etc. but it’s hard to learn when you can’t self-regulate and it affects the rest of the class. Classes can have students working at many grade levels. This is especially true in older grades. Depending on the topic, this can make it tricky to teach sometimes. Spec Ed support is nowhere close to where it needs to be for students who are behind or require more attention. We need more Educational Assistants (EAs) and special education resource teachers (SERTs).The simplest and probably most effective thing to improve score would be to reduce and cap class sizes but that costs money so they won’t do it.
- Reader2023
City hits brakes on Colborne St. parking spots amid safety concerns
OrilliaMatters 4Staff isn’t the issue. What’s probably going to happen is that they will spend time and money on a report that will say that parking is a good idea because it is an easy, inexpensive, and effective way to slow cars down. People don’t drive 60 km/h on Mississauga because it’s a narrower street, why wouldn’t it work one street over? So yes, as a tax payer, I am frustrated that the city will be spending more time and money on an unnecessary report
1- Reader2023
‘False flag': Cell phone ban a 'distraction' from chronic underfunding
OrilliaMatters 2Ontario has lower funding per student than New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, Quebec and Manitoba. There is a massive funding gap between what Ontario schools are getting and what they need. Decades of underfunding have led to schools in disrepair across the province, a lack of basic supplies, and a constant need to find new ways to reduce spending to maintain the current inadequate status quo. So yes, there is a lack of funding
3- Reader2023
City hits brakes on Colborne St. parking spots amid safety concerns
OrilliaMatters 4The point of adding these new spots is to provide additional parking spots as downtown construction starts and to slow cars down on a road that people regularly speed and get hurt. This is a cost effective way to do both
1- Reader2023
City, Sustainable Orillia to mark National Tree Day with free saplings
OrilliaMatters 4The initiative isn’t about replacing trees that burned down in forest fires around Canada. Trees provide local benefits like clean air, anesthetics and shade. It is a relatively inexpensive and very effective strategy to improve a city
- Reader2023
Council reverses decision, makes north ward 4-way stops permanent
OrilliaMatters 1Stop signs won’t really add any significant emissions. Distance driven is way more the issue
3- Reader2023
'Great change': Booze now available at local convenience stores
OrilliaMatters 4@Grouchy the $225 million goes to the private businesses that own the beer store, not the workers.Also, the LCBO made $2.5 billion in profit, not revenue. So the decision had nothing to do with paying workers good wages and had everything to do with an election promise (and likely preparing for an early provincial election).
- Reader2023
‘Nothing new’: Postal workers share mixed feelings on back to work order
OrilliaMatters 3The fact that the government ordered them back to work shows that people were being affected
1- Reader2023
