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NOTICE OF FILING OF ADDENDUM SCHEDULE 'C' MUNICIPAL CLASS ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT COLUMBIA STREET WEST FROM ERBSVILLE ROAD TO FISCHER-HALLMAN ROAD In February 2014, the City of Waterloo completed a Schedule 'C' Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (EA) for improvements to Columbia Street West from Erbsville Road to Fischer-Hallman Road. In 2016 the final design of this project was prepared and tendered for construction. The low bid exceeded the estimated project cost and the City's available $9.0 Million budget by approximately $4.6 Million or 50%. As a result, the City determined that in order to construct the needed improvements to this section of Columbia Street, cost savings must be found. The most significant cost was the bridge crossing of the West Tributary of Clair Creek between Cavendish Drive and Erbsville Road. The bridge cost was approximately $5 Million; approximately one-third of the total project cost, making it financially unfeasible. The City now plans to have Columbia Street cross the West Tributary with a culvert and earthen side slopes. Required stormwater management will still be provided along with new vegetation and a created wetland area to blend into the existing wetland and upland habitat at the crossing. The planned road elevation over the West Tributary will remain the same as with the previously planned bridge crossing. By this notice the Addendum is being placed on public record for review in accordance with the Municipal Engineers Association Municipal Class EA (2000, as updated 2007, 2011 and 2015). The Addendum is available for review at the following location and on the study website: waterloo.ca/en/living/columbiastreetwest.asp City of Waterloo City Hall, Clerk's Office, 100 Regina Street South If concerns regarding this project cannot be resolved in discussions with the City of Waterloo, a person or party may request the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change to make an order for the project to comply with Part II of the Environmental Assessment Act which addresses individual environmental assessments.A Part II Order is for the Addendum West Tributary crossing only; the remainder of the Class EA remains unchanged. Requests for a Part II Order must be received, in writing, at all three addresses below no later than February 2, 2017. If no Part II Order request is received, the City will proceed with implementing the addendum recommendation. Minister of the Environment and Climate Change 77 Wellesley Street West, Toronto, ON M7A 2T5 Fax: 416-314-8452 Director, Environmental Approvals Branch Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change 135 St. Clair Ave West, 1st Floor Toronto ON M4V 1P5 EAASIBgen@ontario.ca Francis Reyes, P. Eng. Senior Project Engineer City of Waterloo 100 Regina Street South PO Box 337, Station Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, N2J 4A8 Fax: 519-886-5788 E-mail: francis.reyes@waterloo.ca NOTICE P. 519.886.1550 TTY. 1.866.786.3941 waterloo.ca/publicnotices NOTICE OF STUDY COMPLETION SCHEDULE 'C' MUNICIPAL CLASS ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT STUDY COLUMBIA STREET -LEXINGTON ROAD FROM KING STREET TO DAVENPORT ROAD The City of Waterloo has completed a Schedule 'C' Municipal Class Environmental Assessment Study (Class EA) for improvements to the Columbia Street/Lexington Road Corridor from King Street to Davenport Road. City and regional traffic growth forecasts showed the need and justification for operational and capacity improvements to Columbia Street/Lexington Road. Improvements are planned to serve the existing and forecasted movement of motor vehicles, public transit, cyclists and pedestrians along this route. On Dec. 12, 2016 city council endorsed the Draft Environmental Study Report (ESR) and directed staff to post this notice of study completion. By issue of this notice, the Environmental Study Report (ESR) is being placed on public record for a 30-day period. The ESR will be available for public review from Jan. 5, 2017 to Feb. 4, 2017, both dates inclusive, at the following location during normal business hours, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday: City of Waterloo City Hall, Office of the City Clerk, 100 Regina Street South, Waterloo, Ontario N2J 4A8; Telephone 519-886-1550. A copy of the ESR document is available for viewing at waterloo.ca/columbiaeast During this final public review period, if concerns regarding the project cannot be resolved in discussion with the City of Waterloo, a person or party may request that the Minister of the Environment make an order for the project to comply with Part II of the Environmental Assessment Act (referred to as a Part II Order), which addresses individual environmental assessments. Requests for a Part II Order must be received by the Minister at the address below no later than Feb. 4, 2017. Minister of the Environment and Climate Change 77 Wellesley Street West Toronto, ON M7A 2T5 A copy of this request, or any questions or comments submitted during this 30-day public review period must also be sent to the city contact noted below. Mr. Chris Hodgson, P. Eng. Engineering Services, IPPW City of Waterloo 100 Regina Street South PO Box 337 Station Waterloo Waterloo, ON N2J 4A8 Phone: 519-747-8791 Fax: 519-886-8523 Email: christopher.hodgson@waterloo.ca First Posting Date: January 5, 2017 NOTICE P. 519.886.1550 TTY. 1.866.786.3941 waterloo.ca/publicnotices 14 • WATERLOO CHRONICLE • Thursday, January 5, 2017 Over the last number of years, the Canadian dollar has had many ups and downs against its u.s. counterpart. In 2002, the loonie hit a low of 61.98 cents, climbed to parity (and beyond) in 2007 and several times thereafter, and has been trading in the mid-s yo per cent range for some time now. What are the major drivers of the u.s.-Canadian dollars exchange rate and what does our currently weak Canadian dollar mean for investors? Let's take a closer look. some experts have categorized the Canadian dollar as a petrocurrency -- that is, a currency that rises and falls with oil prices -- and Canada is, after all, an oil-producing country with large oil exports. But other experts see a number of interrelated drivers behind the rise and fall of the Canadian dollar, including: • a strong Canadian economy rais- es demand for the loonie, and hence its value, on international markets, while a weak economy lowers demand and reduces its value. • When Canadian interest rates are lower than u.s. rates, the loonie typi- cally weakens. • Lower inflation in Canada, rela- tive to the u.s., can raise the value of the loonie, while lower inflation in the u.s. can lower its value. • Current account balance is a mea- sure of the flow of goods, services and investment income between Canada and the rest of the world. a current account surplus means Canada is sell- ing more than it is buying, resulting in a net flow of money into Canada and pushing up the demand for Cana- dian dollars. a current account deficit means a flow of money out of Canada and a downward-trending exchange rate. • Canada is an exporter of resource- based commodities, so the value of the loonie is affected by the strength or weakness of world commodity prices. • In unstable economic times, investors look for "safe" currencies and the u.s. dollar has been traditionally considered a "safe" choice and thus strengthens against many major cur- rencies, including the Canadian dollar. What does all this mean for Cana- dian dollar investors? Well, if you hold u.s. investments, a lowering loonie is a good thing because it improves returns on your u.s. holdings. If you have hedged your interna- tional investments (meaning you have applied a strategy, by buying or sell- ing futures or options contracts, to off- set currency risk) you would not have benefited from the reduction in the value of the loonie, but you would be protected from losses related to cur- rency if the value of the loonie rises. The short answer is that a weaken- ing loonie is generally good news for unhedged Canadian investors -- but nobody knows for certain where the loonie will go. The solution is to maintain an investment portfolio with an appropri- ately diversified global asset mix within a comprehensive financial plan. Talk to your professional advisor about what's best for your personal situation. ••• This column is provided by McEachnie Group Private Wealth Management. Contact Russ McEach- nie, CFP,CPCA, CDFA, RRC, Prin- cipal, at 886-2360, ext. 6241 or go to russmceachnie.com. Loonies constant ups and downs can mean a lot to investors' portfolios