Delegations to North Simcoe councils from anti-globalist group KICLEI have begun meeting with local municipalities and asking them to cease involvement with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities as well as the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program.
Both townships of Tiny and Tay heard from delegates representing the group, presenting similarly worded requests with township-specific tailoring at council meetings.
Tiny Township heard from resident Glenna Ritchie in mid-November, while Tay Township received a deputation from residents Taudie McLeaming and Gerald Auger at month’s end.
For both delegations, KICLEI supporters attended the council chambers in Tiny and Tay; KICLEI flyers were distributed to those seated.
Not to be confused with KICLEI, the original ICLEI (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, established 1990), also known as Local Governments for Sustainability, focused on networking local and regional governments around the world to commit to sustainable development.
North Simcoe councils received an update on Simcoe County and Sustainable Severn Sound municipal climate action plans in April of this year through heavily detailed, data-filled deputations from the Severn Sound Environmental Association.
The core of KICLEI originated with Peterborough resident Maggie Braun, described as a ‘Canadian activist’ during a promotional notice that appeared for a Tiny Township pig roast in September as a gathering of the Ontario Landowners Association.
Also appearing with Braun at the pig roast were People’s Party of Canada representative Stephen Makk speaking on freedom and survival, and Tiny Township Coun. David Brunelle on land-use planning. Information booths were set up by political communication company iMatr, anti-vaccination and antisemitic publication Druthers, the Midland Community Hub and Civis4Reform.
Ritchie, McLeaming and Auger were also in attendance at the September gathering, as was Tiny protest organizer Karen Zulynik.
Brunelle had attended a ‘Finding Our Voice’ town hall in June where he encouraged citizens to become involved in local councils and committees; that meeting also included anti-globalist concerns and was attended by former Ontario Party candidate Auger as well as others sporting ‘Make Canada Great Again’ and ‘Action4Canada’ hats.
In attendance during the November deputations were Makk at both, and Auger and Zulynik at the Tiny delegation. No councillors made a declaration of pecuniary interest during either delegation.
The KICLEI requests noted that financial burdens of municipalities addressing climate change through PCP were costly; withdrawing from the program would allow a local focus for environmental stewardship.
In Tiny, the delegation was received for information, and could be addressed at an upcoming regular meeting of council.
At Tay, Coun. Paul Raymond clarified to the organization that while North Simcoe and surrounding municipalities became PCP member municipalities through the Local Climate Change Action Plan of the Sustainable Severn Sound project in 2018 (through the Severn Sound Environmental Association), what appeared on the KICLEI website was a list of ‘participating municipalities’ across Ontario which he implied could be mistaken as KICLEI participants if taken out of context – of which Tay, Tiny, Midland, Penetanguishene, and the townships of Severn, Georgian Bay, Oro-Medonte, and Springwater were not KICLEI members.
Tay council also received the deputation, with Mayor Ted Walker informing MidlandToday after the meeting that he noted McLeaming and Auger as Tay residents but “didn’t recognize anyone (else) that I could say for sure came from Tay Township."
He added that research on the topic would need to be done with members of the SSEA, with a future decision which would address justified reasons and associated costs.
“I think they (SSEA) do a little more on environment than they (KICLEI) may have realized,” said Walker. “I attended a seminar on climate prevention the other day that the SSEA had, which really had nothing to do with the watershed.
“We don’t have electric vehicles; we have done upgrades with lighting (and similar items),” added Walker. “We think we’re pretty green as far as that goes.”
