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economist sunsuntribune environment saturday july 2 2005 wave in by linda johnson staff writer a new breeze may be blowing through municipal council chambers the move by some coun- cillors from several munici palities to work together is a positive sign municipal poli tics is breaking out of its local shell a newmarket council lor says i think its great that councillors from different municipalities can get together and make a repre sentation to the region said councillor dennis ramsaf- ran31 mr ramsarran joined councillors elio di lorio 33 of richmond hill and erin shapero 30 of markham to oppose the construction of a sewer along 19th avenue a route that passes through an aquifer or underground water system the region approved the route at council last thurs day the collaboration began with municipal leaders for the greenbelt of which ms shapero is cochairperson when they publicly support ed the provinces greenbelt legislation mr ramsarran and mr di lorio regularly share infor mation and have also focused some of their energy on students in addition to speaking at a career day they hosted a showing and discussion of a film about the connection between suburbs and cheap oil they are working on a research and teaching proj ect at york university and plan to cooperate on other- events in the fall 1 cooperation among municipalities should be encouraged mr ramsarran said when you work together theres better communica tion more ideas on the table and your planning and exe cution of those plans is more comprehensive he said the partnership came about because they have similar interests and con cerns unrelated to any polit ical party platform mr di lorio said while the rookie council lor is president of the oak ridges green party provin cial constituency associa tion and has served as the federal partys international secretary the other two are not party members we keep each other abreast of whats happening in our municipalities we basically share infor mation so were not rein venting the wheel its just more effective to do things that way he said some might see some thing wrong in the notion of local councillors joining forces to influence a regional matter but theres no need for concern mr di lorio said going by reaction he has received from residents he knows they share his con cerns and largely agree with what he is doing protecting our water and air are crucial and i think that transcends any particular political bound aries or sphere of jurisdic- erin shapero markham coun cillor no longer feels like lone voicein york region politics tion he said as well he added he and ms shapero sit on the rouge park alliance and the sewer project has a major impact on the rouge river and park if the headwaters are contaminated that water will run into more than 50 rivers- that flow through his ward mother nature does not observe our little spheres of jurisdiction so i have a duty to protect the rouge it is my problem he said for ms shapero who is in her second term its impor tant to work with councillors who share her concerns- during her first term she felt like a lone voice in york region politics now its really great to have colleagues who share the same commitment to the future and to the planet and to sustainability of our communities its not quite so lonely she said fairtree golf centre 10411 kennedy road markham between major mac elgin mills 905888tree8733 nessrine nancy of whisper esthetics and hair care would like to thank all her clients for their support summer special manicure pedicure facial 9059471526