REGION VIOLATING WATER AGREEMENT
6
PAGE The Wilmot-Tavistock Gazette
LOCAL CURLERS WIN AT OFSAA
18
PAGE Thursday, April 2, 2026
1
The Wilmot-Tavistock Gazette Serving New Hamburg, Tavistock, Baden, Wellesley, New Dundee, St. Agatha, Shakespeare, Petersburg, Hickson, Punkeydoodle’s Corner and area
“SPRING”
A lovely reminder of how beautiful change can be! SINCE 1895
Unit 1-175 Waterloo St., New Hamburg ON N3A 1S3 519-662-2731 wilmotwellesleyrc.ca
THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2026
FREE
Wilmot approves shared sustainability manager position with Wellesley
Wellesley council likely to approve position at its April 14 meeting
GALEN SIMMONS Regional Editor
(GARY WEST PHOTO)
Sprucewood Tack Shop owners Dennis and Heather Ropp, who founded the business in 1987 on their farm on Sebastopol Road (Line 29), are joined by their son and daughter-in-law, Nathan and Sarah Ropp, and their children Paisley, seven, and twins Lillian and Lochlin, five along with staff and East Zorra-Tavistock Mayor Phil Schaefer at the grand opening and ribbon cutting for the company’s new store and warehouse at the corner of Woodstock and William streets in Tavistock. Full story and more photos on page 14.
Ontario tables big spending budget
Local reaction mainly positive LEE GRIFFI Gazette Reporter
Ontario’s finance minister tabled the 2026 provincial budget last week, and reaction from a pair of area Conservative MPPs has been positive. The 231-page document lays out plans for a record $226 billion in program
spending while projecting a deficit that is expected to reach $13.8 billion this year, up from the $7.8 billion projected last year. Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Mike Harris called the spending budget a safety net for Ontarians. “When you look at what’s happening with the U.S., trade, tariffs and jobs, it’s to make sure we are bolstering the
manufacturing sector, jobs in the trades and housing – all of the things that employ a lot of people, especially in our area here – to be able to make sure if the economic slowdown continues and if we still have a president in the United States who is hellbent on making life difficult for Canadians, that we’re there to support Continued on page 2
The townships of Wilmot and Wellesley are moving forward with plans to jointly fund a 12-month municipal sustainability manager position, aimed at advancing local climate action initiatives and reducing greenhouse-gas emissions across both municipalities. Wilmot council approved the shared position at its March 23 meeting, while Wellesley council voted unanimously in favour of the proposal during its committee of the whole meeting March 24. Final approval in Wellesley is expected at the township’s April 14 council meeting. “There are excellent ideas out there for reducing emissions if we choose to embrace those initiatives,” said Betsey Daub, a St. Agatha resident, a representative from Green Development Standards Waterloo Region and one of two delegates who spoke in favour of the joint sustainability manager position at Wilmot council’s March 23 meeting. “If Wilmot is to come close to fulfilling its 50 (per-cent emissions reduction) by (2030) Continued on page 3