By Cecilia Nasmith
Northumberland County council departed from procedure at its April meeting to get through a lengthy list of proclamations.
Most county council meetings include a handful of timely proclamations made to honour any number of good causes, historic achievements or important milestones. This month's agenda had nine proclamations, each consisting of roughly a half-dozen paragraphs.
While each is customarily read aloud, Warden Mandy Martin asked leave to read only the topic line of each one, such councillors would have received the agenda in advance and knew all the details.
“It would be another book of the Bible to read them,” Martin declared, asking for – and receiving – council's indulgence in her request.
In the coming months, council has voted approval of the following list of honourees.
April 1 to 30 – Dig Safe Month, as requested by the Canadian Common Ground Alliance and Ontario Regional Common Ground Alliance
April 16 to 24 – National Volunteer Week 2023, honouring Canada's 24-million volunteers who contribute almost five-billion volunteer hours each year
April 22 – Earth Day, celebrating the county's commitment to the preservation of our environmental assets
April 28 – National Day of Mourning, a day to remember Canadian workers killed, disabled or injured in the workplace as well as those afflicted with industrial disease
May 1 – First Responders Day, celebrating the dedication and commitment of the professionals and volunteers whose skills often make the difference between life and death
May 1 to 6 – Safety and Health Week, focusing on the importance of preventing injury and illness at home and work, and in the community
May 7 to 13 – Emergency Preparedness Week, to raise community awareness of the need to prepare for the possibility of an emergency
May 8 to 14 – National Nursing Week, with the theme for 2023 (as announced by the Canadian Nurses Association) being Our Nurses, Our Future
May 1 to 30 – Museum Month, celebrating Ontario's 700-plus museums, art galleries and heritage sites
