The Owen Sound District & Chamber of Commerce hosted an All Candidates meeting on Thursday at the Bayshore Community Centre.
All of the council, deputy mayor and mayor candidates running in Owen Sound were invited to take part.
The All Candidates discussion asked a series of questions for candidates to answer.
You can find some of the questions below and portions of the candidate responses.
Q: For mayoral candidates, in the past few years we’ve seen a significant increase in housing in our area, what changes do you hope to initiate to make housing more affordable and accessible for middle-class and working families in Owen Sound?
Mayoral Candidate Richard Thomas: This is a subject that’s very much on everyone’s minds in Owen Sound these days … there are a number things we can do as a municipality to improve the situation locally. Everyone would be familiar with our development charge holidays over the past two terms … the first on housing, the second term on purpose built rental units. Both of those had the desired effect and brought a lot of units into the marketplace. I’m proposing a development charge holiday on purpose-built affordable units using the CMHC’s definition of affordable units … I also think we could improve our community improvement plan by adding more money to it and use it as a tool to reward developers who build purpose-built affordable units … I would advocate for a housing first policy when it comes to surplus city lands, so we either give it away or give it at a very low rate for a developer who’s going to build affordable housing.
Mayoral Candidate Ian Boddy: We have been using development charges to be a successful incentive to get builders to build here. … With development charges we give up reserves that could be used for developing streets and developing new infrastructure. … The council coming this January will be looking at reviewing development charges. I would prefer to go to the community improvement program like Hanover has just done with the county and use those monies to have affordable and attainable housing. We have had approximately 350 houses that have come on to the market or residential units that have come onto the market in the last year. Approximately 30 of those are attainable or affordable in accordance with the CMHC’s guidelines, so we have made great progress. The other thing we want to do is work with new developers that are coming in such as having back-to-back townhouses and different styles of houses so there is more density on the property to bring the prices down and make them more affordable for people to be able to purchase.
Q: For deputy mayor candidates, addiction and mental health are affecting our population now more than ever, what can be done at the municipal level to help these citizens?
Deputy Mayoral Candidate Brian O’Leary: I think we really lean on the county to step up in this situation they have a larger budget, they have got the SOS program, which is the support of outreach program that has gone through our paramedic division, where they meet the homeless people face-to-face and provide them doctor appointments, food, clothing, and necessities. One of the other things we have done just in the last couple of weeks, we have taken over the housing from YMCA and that is now at the county and we have case workers that are meeting the homeless people face-to-face and giving these people someone to talk to one-on-one and have the opportunity to get to the bottom of why they are homeless and what contributed to it, and provide that extra support.
Deputy Mayoral Candidate Scott Greig: It is a topic where there maybe matters I would like to go back and forth with the incumbent tonight, I can find very little fault for the effort Brian O’Leary has brought forward in the last four years representing the city on this. ….One of the initiatives this council did do is approval of the site plan for the Bayview school and I mean that is a positive step we hope for the treatment and betterment in many in our community, but any councillor who has checked their email in that last three weeks will certainly tell you there is a large amount of residents that are upset with that being in their neighbourhood …… we do need to work on sites like that, on programs like that and we need to work along side the county. We are a lower tier and they are the upper tier. ….So you have got these different levels of administration through the province, and Brian has worked hard to advocate for better services to treat addiction and mental health in our community.
Q: For council candidates group one, it is well known the appeal Owen Sound has as a tourist destination, what opportunities do you think exist to expand on that appeal?
Councillor Candidate Travis Dodd: I think that when you start talking about tourism in general, we always like to think Owen Sound is that jewel everyone is going to come to, but Owen Sound, there is more to it. …. We need to start thinking about tourism on a larger scale, looking at it as a regional option. The more options that we have where municipalities start working together, and going for one main goal, it draws more people to the community. …. When we start talking about tourism economic development, a regional approach is the best approach we can do and we start working together. On a funding model of what we can do, I think we really need to start thinking about how we can start working with our neighbours, working with the county, working with other areas to starting them together. What is best for Owen Sound is just as best for Georgian Bluffs, what is just as best for Meaford, we are all here, we all have natural beauty.
Councillor Candidate Suneet Kukreja: I agree that tourism will play a key component in enhancing the economic growth and diversity. … One of the things that can be done is eco-tourism, for example if we have large groups of people coming and going to Tobermory or going to places, I think advocating for open buses like the bigger cities have, so that people can roam around in the city in one bus. ….. Rather than everyone having their own cars and causing pollution, suppressing the idea of climate change. Also ensuring all of our sites are eco-friendly and are promoting tourism and cultural activities. We should be able to advertise heritage festivals in our community and advertise them for a large base, so that neighbouring communities, like Barrie and Collingwood which are near, can access them throughout the year and not just in the summer.
Councillor Candidate Jeffrey Alan Caldwell: I think that from the outside, we get seen as a bit of a gateway to Tobermory, Sauble Beach, people heading north, people heading west as well. I like to see us promote some things that we really haven’t dug into. One of those things is cycling, this area is a fantastic cycling area. ….. People who cycle, are people who spend money, it is not a cheap sport. I think that is something we could really promote and I would like to see more events. If you got to Quebec, you go to a small town, every single weekend there is something that is going on. …… we don’t do enough of that in Ontario and we don’t do enough of that in Owen Sound.
Q: For council candidates group two, if elected, what will you do to house people who are homeless, or are at risk of being homeless?
Councillor Candidate Carol Merton: The issue of the un-housed is a very important one, and I am very passionate about it. I believe we need local solutions, we need a local table to discuss what other options can be done. …. Our community has the tools to add to what the county, federal and provincial governments are doing and it is time. As was said in the council meeting, before some horrible potential disaster happens to someone this winter, we have the resources, we have the knowledge, we need to bring the people to the table including those with lived experiences. ….We cannot completely offload county, they have an important role. But there are resources, there are people with expertise, we need a table we need to have the conversation.
Councillor Candidate Robert Galbraith: I believe we should be looking at stuff like temporary shelter and used R.V. trailers, some people might say that is a band-aid solution, but we have a problem right now. Even if it is a band-aid, that buys us time to talk it out, figure out a way, but everything comes back to who is going to pay? The majority is the working class and to be honest, we are tapped out. We are right on the edge ourselves, and what really upsets me is asking seniors on fixed income to pay a little bit more. Well there is going to come a point where they are access those services, so we need to balance it somehow between helping the needy and protecting the people who are paying.
Councillor Candidate Meghan Robertson: I think this is one of the hardest topics that we have right now. I can’t tell you how many times my 10-year-old has come home on the bus and said ‘mom I saw a homeless person, what can we do?’ We have a lot of seniors on fixed incomes that can’t afford their taxes to be raised if we build a huge shelter, that is a lot of money on the tax payers. There are things we could do in the interim with support from Grey County. We have the farmers’ market that has that whole long hallway that could be easily cleaned that could be a night time shelter if we needed to in the meantime. There is a bathroom there, there are facilities, it’s easy to clean. There are solutions that with more voices at the table with different perspectives, we could find something for the meantime to make sure those people are safe.
Q: For council candidate group three, with the increased focus on the improvement to the downtown core, the river district, council has the responsibility the ensure we have a safe downtown for merchants and pedestrians alike, what do you hope to do to address concerns around the safety of the downtown?
Councillor Candidate Jon Farmer: The people’s perceptions of safety are very different. …. One of the things that makes people feel less safe downtown is partly not knowing folks. I live downtown, I work downtown, I often walk home late because I facilitate groups. …. I feel safer around the people I know and that is true for everyone, when you know your neighbours, you feel safer. …. I think that by bringing more people into downtown for events, that helps to increase exposure. I also think the city has a lot of tools at its disposal to shape how community spaces are structured. There are people who live downtown, who are poor, who might might not wear a button down shirt and are sitting outside in the summer time because that is their front yard. …. That is not a problem of safety, that is a problem of knowing our neighbours and being good neighbours to each other.
Councillor Candidate Marion Koepke: Downtown is very near and dear to my heart, having served on the downtown improvement area, now known as the river district board for the past two terms of the my council. We have an extremely dedicated board working for the downtown, trying to make improvements, very conscientious of what’s going on there, trying to make it safe for everyone and all the other merchants. ….. Council has invested heavily in making improvements in the downtown area and I think those improvements will make it more attractive for people we have coming into the down town area to keep the events going and activities going. We as a whole group, homeless or merchants or people walking downtown, can work together and make things a better place.
Councillor Candidate Alan Douglas: I am going to take the safety in this context means physical safety or your own well-being. You have all kinds of different ways, better lighting, you could look at a more consistent foot patrol of police officers, your loitering laws could be enforced. …. I can’t put my finger on that because I don’t think in that way. I would certainly say an increased police presence, even a curfew if necessary if you are feeling it is getting that bad. I am not talking about marshal law, I am talking about a curfew for those under the age of 16.
Q: For council candidate group four, is there any important upgrade to community owned bricks and mortar facilities such as the arena, library, galleries, or museums, that you think needs greater priority, or are we over invested in some of those areas for the city of this size?
Councillor Candidate Brock Hamley: I think in terms of our actual buildings, I think we do take pretty good care. You look at this bayshore here, we actually just completed an upgrade this year of the ice making machine. It upgrades the efficiency of it by 20 per cent, which will save significant amounts of money and it is better for the environment. If you look at some places where we need to do some more work, I think the art gallery has been long neglected and I think we are at a point in time where we need to start seriously looking at changing that.
Councillor Candidate Melanie Middlebro’: I think the city has done a good job as far as the rec centre goes and creating recreational facilities here in town. …. I feel like Owen Sound proper has borders written on a map that don’t correspond to what is actually happening in real life that all the people in our neighbouring communities are coming into the city, they are using our facilities and they are not necessarily contributing towards the costs of those. That is where the collaboration with the municipalities comes in. I would like to start more conversations of how we can partner together to lower the tax burden for the Owen Sound tax payer, by having them contribute more.
Councillor Candidate Jasmine Schnarr: I would like to personally see, more facilities and events for youth and the rec centre for example, as such as beautiful facility as it is, you need a membership to get in there. You can’t use the washroom unless you have a membership. There isn’t enough to do for youth. …. This has been a big concern of mine seeing as how I had two sons living here for four years. In terms of brick and mortar, I think this is something that has affected everyone in terms of online shopping and everything, it is a difficult thing at this point and time, specifically post-pandemic.
Voting day is Oct. 24.
