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Weekend Weather Thursday
H 28º L 16º
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
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Province puts brakes on school bus RFPs - at least for six months…
Friday
H 30º L 18º
Saturday
H 31º L 21º
Sunday
H 33º L 21º
As reported from Environment Canada www.weatheroffice.gc.ca Harrow AAFC
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By Sheila McBrayne Chatham-Kent Essex MPP Pat Hoy took local concerns about school bus contracts to Queen’s Park and has helped win a review of a possible new policy that local operators say could leave them on the side of the road. “We’re thrilled that the Minister has listened,” said Sharon Arthurs-Pepper of C.A. Bailey Limited. “We’ve been given a six-month moratorium and a task force is to look into what has happened so far… Hopefully they can learn from mistakes already made,” said Arthurs-Pepper.
Ontario is launching a task force to review the results of school transportation procurement pilots. In 2006 the Auditor General highlighted the need for the competitive procurement of goods and services in school boards. Small and medium school bus companies found themselves in a fight to keep their multi-generational family-run businesses alive after changes the provincial government made in the procurement system for student transportation. The new Request For Propoposal (RFP) process pits small and medium sized family companies against multi-national companies from across Ontario. MPP Hoy and the late MPP Bruce Crozier met with local school bus companies in the spring to hear their concerns and took those concerns to the Minister of Educaton. “We understand the important role operators play in providing safe, effective and efficient transportation to over 800,000 children each day in Ontario. We have listened to the concerns raised by bus operators about the school bus procurement process and we understand the unique needs of the school bus industry,” said Hoy. The task force will review the results of the pilots, including the effectiveness of anti-monopoly provisions and the experience of operators. The province will continue to work with operators to ensure that the process is fair and meets expectations of transparency, value for money and strong stewardship of taxpayer dollars. In addition, for the next six months school boards will not be required to move ahead with competitive procurement for (Continued on Page 2)
Kids Fishing Derby The 9th annual Southwest Outdoors Club Kids Fishing Derby attracted more than 270 participants to Wheatley Harbour in the extreme heat on Saturday morning, July 9. Luc Ribble is pictured here with his top prize carp, which measured in at 20 1/2 inches. The Kids Fishing Derby coincides with the provincial Family Fishing Week, which allows anyone to fish without a licence from July 2-9. Not a lot of fish were caught, but a lot of fun was had. In the 8 and under division was Jack Thomas with a 21 3/8 in sheepshead. The 9 to 12-year-old winners were (tie) Victoria Ashley with a sheepshead and Luc’s carp. The 13-year-old and up winner was Riley Gabriel with a 12 1/4 inch catfish. (Photo courtesy of Danielle Russell)
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