'It’s not fair': Tecumseh seniors irate with forced club relocation
'It’s not fair': Tecumseh seniors irate with forced club relocation
The Golden Age Club has four weeks to pack up their belongings and vacate a municipally-owned building.
“We were shocked,” club president Dara Pfiefer O’Connor told CTV News Tuesday. “We’re just getting back our members and we're finally comfortable and we're gonna lose the place. It’s not fair.”
For the last 50 years, the Golden Age Club (GAC) has offered senior citizens a place to go for everything from organized card leagues to healthy weight loss classes, even a meeting location for Alcoholics Anonymous.
“Everything we've got is in this building. We need this building. This is a members building for seniors,” said Pfiefer O’Connor.Members of the Golden Age Club pack a public meeting with Town of Tecumseh officials in Tecumseh, Ont., on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (Michelle Maluske/CTV News Windsor)
According to town councillor Rico Tonial however, the club has been operating in the building on Lanoue Street without a contract; a concern that was raised during a Clerks’ Review last fall.
“They were using the facility as they wish which is a liability to our taxpayers, which we must fix,” said Tonial.
Simultaneously, the town was in the negotiations with the Essex County Library board, about the need for $1 million in renovations to the Tecumseh-based Cada branch.
After exploring other possible buildings - both public and private - the town decided to move the library into the GAC building, temporarily.
“We're asking the Golden Age Club people to just move to the Optimist Club (at St. Clair Beach Community Centre) for a year,” says Tonial.
During that time, Tonial says the library will reopen in the Lanoue Street building and they will work on the next chapter for the GAC.
“We'll negotiate the contract with the Golden Age club people, to fine tune what they need. No program is changing for them for the next year. Nothing is changing except where they drive to have their facilities,” said Tonial. “The dates (and) times (of services) will be the same, just the location has changed.”
Town officials won’t say where the GAC will operate after the library moves back to the Cada building, which is expected to take a year to complete.
At a public meeting Tuesday members voiced their displeasure with being forced to move on short notice, with the perceived lack of parking at the new location and the lack of consultation before the decision was made.
“In my words, I think they're using this building as a crop out,” said Pfiefer O’Connor. “I have a feeling they've got something more to it. I know they're saying no. But we have not been given a choice to come back.”
Town officials say they repeatedly promised to work with the members to figure out what services they want and how they might help to grow the club, which currently has approximately 80 members.
“We're very cognizant that you know, we're dealing with seniors, we're dealing with people that might have some anxiety of this change. It's emotional because they’ve been there, we understand that (and) we feel for that,” said Tonial. “We have a whole team ready to help them move forward. And that's our goal is just to move it forward.”
Club members at the meeting were disappointed Mayor Gary McNamara had a previous commitment and couldn’t attend the public meeting.
But he did meet with Pfiefer O’Connor and two other club members Tuesday afternoon, in a meeting organized by former National President of the Canadian Auto Workers union, Ken Lewenza.
Essex County Library CEO Adam Craig, who attended Tuesday’s public meeting, says the $1-million renovation project will make the Cada building accessible for users.
The cost is being shared between the Town of Tecumseh and the library system.
Seventeen people – most of whom are young students – have been taken to hospital after a falling from a height during a field trip at Winnipeg's Fort Gibraltar.
Although bladder cancer is the fifth most common cancer in Canada, experts say there’s a significant lack of awareness surrounding whom it affects the most — statistically, men — and that the most common risk factor is smoking.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has confidence in David Johnston, even as the House of Commons is about to vote in favour of a motion to push him out of his job.
Canada will soon require health warnings to be printed directly on individual cigarettes, making it the first country to implement this kind of measure aimed at reducing tobacco usage.
More than three years after COVID was declared a global pandemic, a new study is looking at how the international health crisis has changed the lifestyle habits of Canadians.
A year after arguing Nigeria's ruling party is responsible for terrorist acts, the Trudeau government has sent a cabinet minister to celebrate the swearing-in of its new president.
The Canadian economy grew faster than expected in the first three months of the year and likely expanded again in April, fuelling speculation that the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates again.
Statistics Canada says fewer fresh fruits and vegetables were available to Canadians in 2022, due to factors such as ongoing supply chain issues, labour shortages and price increases.
People who live on Ralgreen Crescent in Kitchener say it could have been a lot worse after a car careened off the road and smashed through their backyards on Tuesday afternoon.
A sentencing hearing got underway for the 71-year-old Georgian Bay man convicted of driving impaired and causing a collision on Highway 12 in 2020 that claimed the life of a 77-year-old Midland man.
Police charged one man following a serious collision involving a dump truck and car in Barrie on Tuesday afternoon that sent both drivers to the hospital.
Huntsville OPP has charged a third girl in connection to an alleged assault captured on video at a local high school and shared on social media earlier this month.
A Toronto woman says she was shamed for the size of her order at a sushi restaurant north of the city in a scathing review posted to social media that’s been viewed more than 1.4 million times.
Forest fires in northern Ontario are on the rise, with the largest in the region shutting down a critical highway for the people of Hornepayne for a bit and bringing the community to the brink of evacuation.
A heat warning is in effect for Ottawa. Environment Canada's forecast calls for sunny and hot weather to continue for the final day of May and the start of June.
Canadian Heritage unveiled the programming for July 1 celebrations, inviting Canadians to come to the capital region to "join the biggest party in the country!"
The Toronto Maple Leafs have hired Brad Treliving to be the team's new general manager. The team made the announcement Wednesday, less than two weeks after firing Kyle Dubas.
A Toronto woman says she was shamed for the size of her order at a sushi restaurant north of the city in a scathing review posted to social media that’s been viewed more than 1.4 million times.
Last year, Quebec’s Bill 96 became law, which brought sweeping changes to the Charter of the French language. Sections of the new law will come into effect on June 1, the one-year anniversary of the bill receiving royal assent.
Some communities in Quebec are expected to get record-high temperatures and Environment Canada has issued several weather warnings and watches for heat. Dr. Christopher Labos spoke to CTV News anchor Mutsumi Takahashi about heat and sunstroke and tips for preventing serious consequences in the sun.
A new team working out of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada (SHC-Canada) wants to get young people like Horn, who injured themselves, back on their feet and running as fast and efficiently as possible.
Seventeen people – most of whom are young students – have been taken to hospital after a falling from a height during a field trip at Winnipeg's Fort Gibraltar.
Seventeen people – most of whom are young students – have been taken to hospital after a falling from a height during a field trip at Winnipeg's Fort Gibraltar.
After the remains of Madison Scott were identified this week, exactly 12 years after the B.C. woman went missing, her family says they’re still looking for answers and closure.
Hundreds of nurses from across B.C. are gathering in Vancouver Wednesday to demand better working conditions, adding to multiple calls by medical professionals this week for urgent action to staff under-resourced hospitals.
Members of the Golden Age Club pack a public meeting with Town of Tecumseh officials in Tecumseh, Ont., on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (Michelle Maluske/CTV News Windsor)
