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03 February 2007 TO; ALL ONTARIO ARES DEC’S, EC’S & AEC’s RE: PROPOSED REALIGNMENT OF THE ONTARIO DISTRICTS As Section Manager for Ontario I have been waiting to hear from EMO before any announcement about the new proposed restructuring and realignment of the Ontario ARES districts. I have just received confirmation that EMO has finalized their restructuring. I apologize to all members of ARES for not having something out to you sooner however I did not want to make any uninformed statements. I can appreciate your concern and understand your frustration in not being advised of the progress but I want it to be known as yet no official changes have taken place within the ARES structure. A few new appointments have been made within the province under the direction of Bob Gammon SEC for Ontario using the new districts names and this was discussed with the ARES leaders in that area before announcements were made. In retrospect I now realize that this should have been shared with all ARES members province wide which I will accept full blame. Let me fill you in on a bit of what has been happening from the provincial section management level. Last October both I and VPFS Bob Cooke met with top officials at Emergency Management Ontario and one of the topics was the restructuring of EMO and the districts within the province. This was the first prelim stages of discussion and nothing was finalized by EMO. It was discussed at that time that to make our working relationship with field personnel and CEMC’s across the province that ARES should consider to follow suit. However realizing the problems and boundaries that this can cause brought me some concern. This has all been taken into account and no final decisions have been made as of yet because I wanted feedback from ARES members so that you also would have input into the changes. Most of the information circulated so far is not etched in stone and is just speculation by some ARES members. The maps are just guidelines so that DEC and EC’s can start discussions. Both Bob Gammon and I plan to discuss with each district with the DEC’s and EC’s before any official change has been made. As Section Manager for Ontario part of my duties and responsibilities is to oversee and check the status of ARES within the field services division. The concerns of each ARES member are taken seriously. I realize all the hard work you have been doing in each of your Districts across the province. It is not my intention to change any programs or plans you already have in place. However each of you being an ARES official you can understand why it makes sense to rename some of the districts to align with EMO. Changes were made within EMO for a reason one was to streamline some of the responsibilities of EMO field officers. Geography was another reason and to work within municipalities that had already established working relationships on all levels of emergency response. ARES has formed a stronger new relationship with EMO and finally ARES is viewed as a professional organization that can provide great assistance to the province of Ontario. I have had long discussions with Mr. Tom Kontra Deputy Chief of EMO and he has given us their full support to the ARES Program. I have been working hard on your behalf behind the scenes to establish this relationship and the new letter of understanding (LOU) is almost drafted with many of your suggestions and ready for signing with them. So with field officers changing within EMO and with our DEC’s & EC’s working with them closely around the province it makes sense to have the same mutual reference as all official organizations like police, ambulance, and fire are all going to be using the new EMO alignment within the province for planning. As some of you may know I am a senior officer with the Ontario Provincial Police and having been involved with professional organizations in emergency planning I am sure you can understand why it is important for the progress of ARES to continue that we as a whole consider following suit with EMO. I also realize that in some areas of the province this proposed change can become a nightmare while others area’s the transition will be smooth with no more than a name change. Now having said that I want to assure you that before any official change is made, I invite and welcome your input and comments. I WILL NOT make any changes without first discussing how each member feels should it be brought to my attention. This is where I need the DEC’s to step forward discuss with your EC’s the new proposed changes and how this will effect your areas with the least disruption to any programs or plans you already have established. I realize that your areas have done extensive work as I do read all your reports. I am also aware of the geography issues and distances that these new districts entail. It may not work in some areas and things may have to stay as status quo. However please keep in mind that if you are working in an emergency situation with EMO and other emergency officials they will be using the references of the new EMO restructure. If your ARES group pass traffic to other areas on behalf of your municipality and you are not aware of this by using the old system this will only cause confusion. I am sure by now you have seen the new proposed district changes and the new names and the merging of some counties in new districts. What I am only suggesting is the EC’s territory remains the same with the reporting to one or two DEC’s if needed. At the DEC level this needs to be discussed and through your SEC Bob Gammon either areas will merge or you will find lesser responsibility for shorter distances. Change is never easy I realize this however if ARES wants to remain strong we must follow the suit of the professional organizations. I know Bob and I are available for calls to discuss this matter with you and again we are open to any suggestions as I don’t know your area you are the only ones that can advise if it will work or not. So if the proposed change is not responded to I will assume it is ok with you as a DEC and all your EC’s. Bob and I are not mind readers so you need to contact us so we are kept in the loop. Here in a nutshell are the proposed district changes OLD DISTRICT NEW DISTRICT Ottawa
becomes
Capital / Seaway
Proposed New ARES Areas Included in the New Districts (this is only proposed and up for discussion) Southern Ontario CAPITAL
SEAWAY
LOYALIST
SEVERN
GTA
LAKES
BRUCE
GOLDEN HORSESHOE
TECUMSEH
ST. CLAIR
Northern Ontario MAGNETAWAN
KILLARNEY
ALBANY
AMETHYST
Now as you can see by the changes some of the old districts merge with one, two or three new districts. Both Bob Gammon and I are open to any changes with appointments. In most cases DEC will have less responsibility area or may wish to merge looking after more than one district. It may be needed to create a new DEC position. In any case we need to see what works for you as the bottom line is that we do not wish to disrupt the hard work already accomplished with your local area programs, plans and or repeater networks. As your Section Manager I see this as very challenging and have probably have created some heartache for some of you, which is why I am asking for your input. As I have heard some comments from ARES members in the province I am dictating what changes will take place this is far from the truth for those who know me. I am always open to suggestions and one thing I have realized is that I can not do this alone. ARES is strong we have grown and yes we have lost good people too as is the case in any organization. The bottom line is that we are volunteers (yes me included) we are doing this because we care and I know personally by the reports you submit and the check-ins on the nets of the hard work you are doing out there. I will say from RAC and Section Management your efforts do not go unnoticed and you are appreciated for the work you do even though you may not hear it often enough. I ask for your patience while Bob Gammon and I work out the final details as it is an extremely large province and please don’t forget we are volunteers too that also have many personal commitments. I assure you we are working on the program and need your input. Once it has been collected a formulated plan will be drafted and as most things we may never reach a full agreement across this province as I also realize that some areas will be much more difficult to divide than others. Let’s work together to make Ontario ARES a program that is strong respected and something to be proud of. Again I thank each of you for your continued support and for your service to the ARES organization under the Radio Amateurs of Canada. I look forward to hearing from you and then working with you and your volunteers in developing an agreed decision on behalf of your area and district. Yours in Amateur Radio Service 73
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