New "Share the Road" signs, a new crosswalk, sidewalks, road repair and resurfacing.

It is the time of year when road construction across PEI is coming to an end. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Minister Ron MacKinley and the Department of Transportation and Public Works for all the great work completed in the district of Stratford-Kinock this past season. I have received many phone calls, emails etc. from pleased residents about all of the improvements made to our community’s roads, sidewalks and bike lanes.

The “Share the Road” signs are a first for PEI and I want to thank TPW Deputy Mnister, Steve MacLean for his dedication to safety for cyclists in Stratford and on PEI.

As well, a big thank you for the long-awaited crosswalk between the CGI building and the the Stratford Pharmacy and Robins Donuts. This new crosswalk has already helped solved the safety issue on this very busy section of the Stratford Rd.

Wider shoulders were also constructed to help make it safer for cyclists and pedestrians. The section of the Keppoch Road by Pondside Park now has a better lane for cyclists, on both sides, thanks to the foresight of Alan Aitken of TPW in adjusting the lines enough to help create a small shoulder, where before there was no shoulder at all.

Queens County Supervisor, Malclom MacKenzie and the crews at TPW… THANK YOU! Stratford is a much safer place to drive, ride, walk and play.

Every little bit counts.

Bob, Cynthia and Jan

'Thriller' dancers at the Market

Detail of the maquette of the statue of the Famous Five, which depicts their reaction on hearing of the judgement of the Privy Council in Great Britain declaring women ‘persons’, and eligible to sit in the Senate. Courtesy of the Famous 5 Foundation, Calgary, Alberta. Photo by Mark Mennie.

The larger than life bronzes, sculpted by Barbara Paterson of Edmonton, and donated to the Government of Canada by the Famous 5 Foundation (www.famous5.org), honour Emily Murphy, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney, Irene Parlby and Nellie McClung. The work depicts them as they might have appeared on hearing the news of the Privy Council’s ruling. Standing behind an empty chair, Emily Murphy, with a triumphant gesture beckons to visitors, men and women equally, to have a place at this celebration of a new day for women in Canada.

An empty chair adds an interactive feature to the monument that invites passers-by to join the group. The newspaper with the headline “Women are Persons” that Nellie McClung is holding reflects some of the actual headlines of newspapers of the day.

THE FAMOUS FIVE: WHO THEY WERE (from left to right on the picture, source: National Archives of Canada)

Nellie L. McClung (1873-1951), novelist, journalist, suffragette and temperance worker. She was a member of the Alberta legislature, the only woman on the Dominion War Council, and the first woman on the CBC Board of Governors.

Irene Parlby (1868-1965), suffragette and politician. She was elected president of the women’s branch of the United Farmers of Alberta in 1916 and became a member of the Alberta legislature in 1921. She was still a member of Parliament at the time of the Persons Case.

Emily G. Murphy (1868-1933), instigator of the Persons Case, writer, and first woman magistrate in the British Empire. She pioneered married women’s rights, was National President of the Canadian Women’s Press Club 1913-1920, vice-president of the National Council of Women and first president of the Federated Women’s Institutes of Canada. [In 1916, Judge Emily Murphy had sentenced a bootlegger but his attorney challenged her ruling on the grounds that she was not a "person" and occupied her office legally (see Neal, 2006, p. 130)]

Henrietta Muir Edwards, (1849-1931), journalist, suffragist and organizer, fought for equal rights for wives, mothers’ allowances and women’s rights. She started the Working Girls’ Association in Montréal in 1875, a forerunner of the YWCA. Later, while living in Alberta, she compiled two works on Alberta and federal laws affecting women and children.

Louise McKinney (1868-1931), politician and temperance campaigner. She was president of the Dominion Women’s Christian Union and elected to the Alberta legislature in 1917 as representative of the non-partisan league.

Officials display drawings of the new Glen Stewart Elementary School. Work on the school has started. From left: Gerard Greenan, minister of Education and Early Childhood Development; Pat Campbell, Glen Stewart principal; Bob Clow, Eastern School District Board chair; and area MLA Cynthia Dunsford. Submitted photo

TERESA WRIGHT
The Guardian

Bulldozers and construction crews are busy hauling mounds of red Island dirt from the field next to Glen Stewart now that construction of a new elementary school for Stratford is underway.
Cabinet approved the new school in June as part of the recommendations in the Eastern School District’s controversial School Organization Plan.
That report proposed closure of 11 of the district’s 43 schools, eight of which were approved for closure by government in June.
Unlike most schools in the province, Glen Stewart’s student population has been climbing steadily. As a result, the school has been bursting at the seams for years.
The school’s capacity is 600, but there are currently 647 students attending the school, not counting teachers and other staff.
The new 54,000-square-foot facility being built will relieve this overpopulation by taking all the students and staff in Grades 4-6 and housing them in their own separate school.
After enduring years of overcrowding, this new school is happily embraced by parents and teachers at Glen Stewart.
“Before this, I was hearing quite a bit of concern from parents and different groups that had formed to try and make the government more aware of the problems at Glen Stewart,” said Stratford MLA Cynthia Dunsford.
“People have been very excited in anticipation of the start of construction and now people are happy it’s finally underway.”
Glen Stewart principal Pat Campbell said one of the biggest challenges her staff has faced in the last several years has been in trying to find enough teaching space in the overpopulated school.
“We have 34 homerooms this year, so that space has been exhausted,” she said.
“This decision to build a new school is an exciting one for the town of Stratford, a growing community, and one that we need to be proactive in looking ahead about so that we have educational facilities that meet the needs of the community.”
The new school will have capacity for 420 students. It will be a standalone school, complete with a gymnasium and its own resource and staff rooms. It’s being built using the design of the West Royalty Elementary School, costing government an estimated $8.7 million.
That cost was not contained in the province’s five-year capital budget, but Education Minister Gerard Greenan said the money has nonetheless been found.
“Because of our government’s decision to move kindergarten into the public school system, we had to make special allowances for some new construction.”
The money is not, however, coming out of the Education and Early Childhood Development’s budget, he added.
“Requests for that money went through the provincial treasury and treasury approved it,” Greenan said. “It’s special (warrant) — it does not exist in our current budget.”
Watching the construction crews hard at work on the future site of the new school, Campbell couldn’t contain her excitement. Crews only began working on the project last week, and already the basic layout of where the school will stand is taking shape on the grounds.
“It’s unbelievable — just last week we looked out on the field and now it’s starting to happen,” she said.
“This is something that we’ve dreamed about.”
Construction is set to be complete for the 2010 school year.

Reading the article on the CBC website today about the elm tress at Province House has led me to acknowledge (what I think is) a great idea. Someone suggested this:

Why not have have a wood carver carve a bust of one of the Fathers of Confederation as they did in Truro when some of their trees died?
These carvings would then have some significance and could be preserved for a few more years.

To expand on this idea, one or more ‘Island’ wood carvers could be commissioned to do the work.

Opening Ceremonies, Summerside

Originally uploaded by cynthia dunsford

Summerside was alive and rockin’ on Saturday, August 15th for the 2009 Canada Games opening ceremonies. Premier Robert Ghiz, Governor General Michaëlle Jean, and the Prime Minister welcomed over 4500 athletes, coaches and managers to PEI for a what our Premier promised to be the ‘best Canada Games ever’!

Meaghan Blanchard, The Grass Mountain Hobos, The College of Piping, Confederation Centre Young Company, Two Hours Traffic and many others showed off an incredible variety of Island talent and fired up the athletes to their feet!

Good luck to all Island athletes and especially the great athletes from Stratford! More to come….

David McGuinty was on PEI recently hosting a roundtable meeting on the environment. Topics covered included: agricultural sustainability; watersheds; wind energy; biomass and other alternative energy sources; the state of nuclear energy in Canada; transportation.

If you can’t depend on warm, sunny weather for Summer, you can always depend on a strawberry social showing up.

Here’s hoping for some good weather for August.

Celebrate Canada Day in Stratford at Tea Hill Provincial Park!

1:30 pm – 4:00 pm

Music by Kendall Docherty
Mr. Magic
Face Painting
Crafts
Inflatable bouncies
Doll carriage parade
Hot dogs
Strawberries and ice cream

Stratford, PE (June 24, 2008) — Cynthia Dunsford, MLA for District 6 Stratford-Kinlock, said she is pleased with Government’s decision to accept the Eastern School District’s recommendation to build a new school in Stratford. The School District trustees met last week and voted in favour of recommending that a new school be built next to Glen Stewart Elementary.

The recent provincial enrolment study indicated that student populations at Glen Stewart are expected to rise over the coming years, particularly as kindergarten moves into the school system in 2010. Premier Robert Ghiz recently announced that Government has accepted the recommendation to build a new grades four to six facility in Stratford at a cost of approximately $8.7 million. The existing school will house kindergarten to grade 3 classes.

“I was pleased to learn that the Trustees had recommended that steps be taken to address the growth that Glen Stewart has seen and will continue to see”, said Ms. Dunsford, “and I am thrilled that Government has accepted the School District’s recommendation. Since being elected, I have communicated to my colleagues in Cabinet the concerns of a large number of my constituents who are supportive of a new school in Stratford. I believe that this decision will serve the children of Stratford extremely well into the future.”

In addition to approving new construction in Stratford, Government also approved recommendations for an expansion to Westwood Primary School in Cornwall, and approved in principle a new early childhood to grade 12 school in Souris. Construction on Glen Stewart and Westwood will begin immediately, while planning on the new facility in Souris will commence shortly.

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For more information contact:
Government Members’ Office, 368-4330

Hazel Gallant
Government Members’ Office
368-4341 (o)
368-4348 (fax)
hggallant@gov.pe.ca