[GREN-Exec] GREN Greenbelt Expansion Submission DUE AT 5 TODAY

Mon Apr 19 23:40:55 EDT 2021

Hi Greg,

Glad to hear that you made it through the chicken meeting.  I can imagine that it could be trying and frustrating.

I ended up making numerous edits to the Greenbelt submission, breaking it more into point forms, editing out a bunch of stuff, updating the logo and signoff, dividing it onto more pages to make it more readable and submitting it just prior to the midnight deadline.  I have attached a copy of it below.  It remains to be seen if the Ford government will even read these - particularly as their popularity plummets and the province freefalls into even more self-induced pandemic crisis.  At least we tried.

Thanks for all the feedback, edits and suggestions.  I will keep you posted on next steps and anything that I learn.

Cheers,
Kevin.

-------------------------------------

Kevin Thomason

1115 Cedar Grove Road
Waterloo, Ontario Canada  N2J 3Z4

Phone: (519) 888-0519
Mobile Phone/WhatsApp: (519) 240-1648
Twitter: @kthomason
E-mail: kevinthomason at mac.com

-----------------------------------------

> On Apr 19, 2021, at 9:10 PM, Greg Michalenko <gcmichalenko at uwaterloo.ca> wrote:
> 
> You guys have it easy.  I was a delegation tonight at a zoomed Waterloo council meeting considering allowing urban chickens. It wore me out - the worry, the minute tensions and apprehensions, the compulsion to heavily regulate....Then there was the apocalyptic vegan who felt that keeping quiet hens but banning noisy roosters was a form or moral wickedness against the natural order of nature. Tempests in a teapot have nothing on a bunch of councillors worrying about chickens.  But the motion finally passed after 3 hours to allow them.
> - Greg
> 
> 
> From: Executive <executive-bounces at gren.ca> on behalf of Kevin Thomason <kevinthomason at mac.com>
> Sent: Monday, April 19, 2021 5:30 PM
> To: Mr. John Jackson
> Cc: GREN Executive
> Subject: Re: [GREN-Exec] GREN Greenbelt Expansion Submission DUE AT 5 TODAY
>  
> Hi John,
> 
> No worries.  I’ve been swamped or I would have gotten it to you several days in advance rather than one day in advance.  Good feedback.  I have been reworking things based on Greg’s feedback too.  We actually have until midnight tonight to get something in so I will simplify things and see what I can come up with.  
> 
> Cheers,
> Kevin.
> 
> -------------------------------------
> 
> Kevin Thomason
> 
> 1115 Cedar Grove Road
> Waterloo, Ontario Canada  N2J 3Z4
> 
> Phone: (519) 888-0519
> Mobile Phone/WhatsApp: (519) 240-1648
> Twitter: @kthomason
> E-mail: kevinthomason at mac.com <mailto:kevinthomason at mac.com>
> 
> -----------------------------------------
> 
>> On Apr 19, 2021, at 1:51 PM, John Jackson <jjackson at web.ca <mailto:jjackson at web.ca>> wrote:
>> 
>> Kevin
>> 
>> Sorry about it being this late getting back to you for something due at 5 today. I didn't get a chance to read until an hour ago. The latter part of April my mind is only on my class marking and commenting on their major research papers and keeping on top of the final exams.
>> 
>> Anyway, I just read it and don't feel satisfied with it. We have already signed onto the group submission that you sent out this morning.
>> 
>> So I think that this submission should be focused down to our major point, which is the answer to question 5 where you talk of the need to revise the Greenbelt plans to encourage municipalities to exceed the requirements in the Greenbelt. The way it now stands, that gets lost because it is buried so far down in the letter.
>> 
>> Being as we are part of the full joint submission, I think we should just keep our separate letter short and sweet with our main point, which you now have under question 5. and with a sentence saying that we endorse the joint commission.
>> 
>> Also, the letter you sent us looks like an old letter because it has our old logo and because my signature at the end is followed by "past-president" which doesn't make us look very functional.
>> 
>> John
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ------------------------------
>> John Jackson
>> 17 Major Street
>> Kitchener N2H 4R1
>> 519-744-7503
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> On Apr 18, 2021, at 10:19 PM, Kevin Thomason <kevinthomason at mac.com <mailto:kevinthomason at mac.com>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hi GREN Executive,
>>> 
>>> Please find attached a draft submission for the Provincial Greenbelt consultation.  It is heavily based on recommended submissions/answers to the provincial questions provided by the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance, Ontario Nature, the Guelph Greenbelt  West Coalition, and the Ontario Headwaters Institute.  I have also leveraged previous GREN submissions in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
>>> 
>>> John, you had signed previous submissions as Chair, so I have listed you as Past-Chair for this one.  If you are uncomfortable with this I can submit it under my own name and Vice-Chair title, or we can remove any particular person and submit it simply under the GREN banner.
>>> 
>>> Please look it over and let me know any feedback, thoughts, omissions, concerns, ideas, etc.  The deadline for submission is tomorrow (Monday) at 11:59pm and I hope to get it submitted before the end of the work day at 5:00pm.
>>> 
>>> Cheers,
>>> Kevin.
>>> 
>>> <GREN Provincial Grow the Greenbelt Consultation v1.docx>
>>> 
>>> -------------------------------------
>>> 
>>> Kevin Thomason
>>> 
>>> 1115 Cedar Grove Road
>>> Waterloo, Ontario Canada  N2J 3Z4
>>> 
>>> Phone: (519) 888-0519
>>> Mobile Phone/WhatsApp: (519) 240-1648
>>> Twitter: @kthomason
>>> E-mail: kevinthomason at mac.com <mailto:kevinthomason at mac.com>
>>> 
>>> -----------------------------------------
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Executive mailing list
>>> Executive at gren.ca <mailto:Executive at gren.ca>
>>> http://gren.ca/mailman/listinfo/executive_gren.ca <http://gren.ca/mailman/listinfo/executive_gren.ca>
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