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11 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,January 31,2019 w aterloochronicle.ca University hearing study seeks participants. ConnectHearing,withhearing researcher Professor Kathy Pichora-Fuller at the University of Toronto, seeks participants whoareover50yearsof age andhavenever worn hearing aids for a hearing study investigating factors that can influence better hearing. All participants will have a hearing test provided at no charge and if appropriate, the clinician may discuss hearing rehabilitation options including hearing aids. Qualifying participants may also receive a demo of the latest hearing technology. The data collected from this study will be used to further our understanding of hearing loss and improve life-changinghearinghealthcare across Canada. Why participate in the hearing study? Hearing problems typically result from damage to the ear and researchers have spent decades trying to understand the biology behind hearing loss. More importantly, researchers now realize the need to better understand how hearing loss affects your everyday life*. In this new hearing study, Professor Pichora-Fuller and her team are trying to find out how people learn to live with hearing loss and hownewsolutions couldhelp thesepeople take action sooner and live lifemore fully. It is estimated that 46% of people aged 45 to 87have somedegreeof hearing loss1, butmost donot seek treatment right away. In fact, the average person with hearing losswillwait tenyearsbefore seekinghelp2. This is because at the beginning stages of hearing losspeopleoftenfind they can"get by"without help, however as the problem worsens this becomes increasinglyharder todo. For somepeople this loss of clarity is onlyaproblematnoisy restaurantsor in the car, but for others it makes listening a struggle throughout the entire day. By studying people who have difficulty hearing in noise or with television, we hope to identify key factors impacting these difficulties and further understand their influence on the treatment process. * Pichora-Fuller, M. K. (2016). How social psychological factors may modulate auditory and cognitive functioning during listening. Ear and Hearing, 37, 92S-100S. † Study participants must be over 50 years of age and have never worn hearing aids. No fees and no purchase necessary. Registered under the College of Speech and Hearing Health Professionals of BC. VAC, WCB accepted. 1. Cruickshanks, K. L., Wiley, T. L., Tweed, T. S., Klein, B. E. K., Klein, R, Mares-Perlman, J. A., & Nondahl, D. M. (1998). Prevalence of Hearing Loss in Older Adults in Beaver Dam,Wisconsin: The Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study. Am. J. Epidemiol. 148 (9), 879-886. 2. National Institutes of Health. (2010). If you are over 50 years of age and have never worn hearing aids, you can register to be a part of this new hearing study† by calling: 1.888.242.4892 or visiting connecthearing.ca/hearing-study. Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky was pleased with the team effort from organi- zations and politicians in protesting Schedule 10, call- ing it a "major relief" that it won't go through legisla- tion. He was particularly con- cerned about the drinking water as well. "I think what's really im- portant here is I can't find a municipality that ever asked for this," added Ja- worsky. "So I think this is a good change by the provin- cial government, recogniz- ing that municipalities nev- er asked for this, and didn't particularly want it." Councillors and politi- cians across the region were all concerned about Schedule 10, and the risks it had on the region's water quality and supply, natural ecosystems, and agricul- tural and rural communi- ties. "I think there was a con- sensus in our community that Bill 66 Schedule 10 was not advantageous at all, it created a planning gap that would potentially allow things like the importance of our water mitigated in fa- vour of our development," said Jaworsky. Jaworsky, who was reached via phone inter- view on Jan. 24, along with mayor of Wilmot Les Arm- strong, and several non- profit groups such as the Waterloo Federation of Ag- riculture, were very happy with the government's deci- sion to backtrack. "I think that was ex- tremely important, I think it just shows that the pro- vincial government isn't above listening to their con- stituents," said Armstrong, who was firmly against the proponents of Schedule 10, citing safety of drinking water as a key factor. "I think that pressure was put on by all the municipalities that I think they (the gov- ernment) listened to, and I'm very happy that they did. It's something that from what I understand, is something they may or may not bring back. But they will take a better look at it, and make sure there's a better understanding of what they're trying to do. "I think it's a good thing that they've withdrawn that, we just have to see where they go from here." Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Mike Harris reiterat- ed that the Progressive Conservatives are "built on the fact we're here to listen" and due to all the concern to Schedule 10, they brought it back to the minister, who in turn scrapped it. Harris, who spoke to Metroland Media via phone interview on Jan. 24, said consultation is vital going forward, and added that Schedule 10 wasn't created to "carve up the Greenbelt." "The whole point of Sec- tion 10, Bill 66, was to first allow municipalities to go through their approval pro- cesses and do their due dili- gence, and make sure that they have sites that they want to get approved, and then everything still has to comply with anything that the ministry already has in place when it comes to envi- ronmental regulations ob- viously being the No. 1 con- cern," said Harris. "It cer- tainly wasn't going to be anything that would be put into place specifically to circumvent any greenbelt or any area sites that are pre-existing. All this was, was a tool to allow munici- palities to essentially peti- tion the ministry to help economic development in their regions." Kevin Thomason, vice- chair of the Grand River Environmental Network, says they were confused by the bill in the first place, as he mentioned that Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he wouldn't touch the Green- belt during his election campaign after some of his potential plans were criti- cized. "And that's why we were so surprised six months in- to his government, here comes this bill that's de- signed specifically to by- pass all the greenbelt legis- lation to allow businesses to develop on agricultural land, and sensitive lands and farm fields where they're not allowed to as a way of removing red tape," said Thomason. "It count- ered what we were being told and had been told, and just seemed to defy all good planning." However, Thomason said it was "absolutely fan- tastic" that the government is backtracking and revok- ing Schedule 10. Thomason, who spoke at a Region of Waterloo council meeting earlier in January, was happy that all the groups came together with a uni- fied approach in a "real community effort." "We're really lucky we've always had good planning in Waterloo Re- gion, and so much of our success has come from the good planning that has en- sured we've had good safe, clean, reliable water and haven't had to build a pipe- line to Lake Erie," said Thomason." (It) has en- sured we haven't driven off our Mennonites off the land by urban sprawls, and that our rural townships re- main rural." "Today is a day for cele- bration. By working to- gether, concerned people and groups - including mu- nicipalities, environmental advocates, agricultural or- ganizations and the Official Opposition - have been suc- cessful in holding off Ford's attack on the Greenbelt," said NDP Energy and Cli- mate Change critic Peter Tabuns, via press release. "But this is now twice Ford has tried to punch holes in our Greenbelt, and twice he's had to back down." NEWS PROVINCE ANNOUNCES SCHEDULE 10 WILL NOT PROCEED AS PLANNED Continued from page 1 THE ISSUE: LOCAL GROUPS, POLITICIANS LOBBY AGAINST SCHEDULE 10 OF BILL 66 LOCAL IMPACT: IF APPROVED, SCHEDULE 10 WOULD HAVE MADE IT EASIER TO DEVELOP ON THE GREENBELT STORY BEHIND THE STORY Metroland Media saw Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark's tweet on Jan. 23 stating that the government would not be proceeding with Schedule 10 of Bill 66. Metroland has been following the issues raised by local environmental and advocacy groups since the bill was introduced late last year after various groups reached out to us to report on the issue. Following Clark's announcement, reporter Namish Modi reached out to local groups and politicians to get their reaction to the news.