1) Why are you running?
It is an honour to be Mayor of Saugeen Shores.
I am looking forward to leading our community over the next 4 years as we work to help those
who are most in need of affordable housing by doubling the number of rental apartment units in
our community and by enhancing regional rent subsidies.
I’m eager to build a new recreation and aquatics centre and have it open for swimming lessons
by the end of 2024 or early 2025.
I want to implement new measures to protect our environment – reducing waste going into our
landfill and enhancing tree cover in our community.
I intend to lead in a way that looks to the future with ambition, positioning our community and
our region at the innovative heart of clean energy production in Canada.
I am privileged to be acclaimed as Mayor, to have the chance to lead the next Council and seize
every opportunity we have to enhance the quality of life for everyone in Saugeen Shores.
2) Are there any steps municipalities can take to help ease cost of living concerns?
The Town of Saugeen Shores maintains property tax rates that are among the lowest in Ontario.
In fact, our property tax rates for multi-residential dwellings, like apartments, were 7th lowest in
the province in 2021. We will work to reduce the financial burden on residents by maintaining
low tax rates relative to other municipalities.
3) What are your ideas for economic development in your municipality?
Our economic development efforts include a continued focus on affordable and attainable
housing, helping ensure that we can accommodate the workforce needed to support our local
economy.
We plan to begin construction of our new Innovation Park, at the south end of Port Elgin, next
year. I expect this development will help drive commercial and industrial investment in our
community, building and fortifying our local economy for the future.
We are supporting our tourism sector by investing in high quality, recreation amenities that will
attract visitors to our community. We are also working to support our agricultural sector by
ensuring that prime agricultural land is protected as our community continues to grow.
4) Do you think the municipality has a role to play in the recruitment and retention of
physicians and other healthcare workers?
The Town of Saugeen Shores has always played a significant role in recruiting primary care
providers. We will continue to play that role with the help of partners like Grey Bruce Health
Services, Bruce Power, the Society of United Professionals and our existing, local physicians.
Over the past four years, we have recruited multiple new physicians and established a nurse
practitioner, urgent care clinic in Southampton. As a result of this work, Saugeen Shores
currently has nearly one physician for every thousand residents plus two nurse practitioners.
This is an enviable position for a rural community of our size.
Going forward, we will continue in our effort to ensure that everyone in our community can
access a primary care provider.
5) What are your views on the revitalization of Port Elgin’s waterfront?
Over the past several years the Town of Saugeen Shores has overseen the largest ever investment
in Port Elgin’s Main Beach. I have been a strong supporter of these efforts.
These revitalization efforts have included the major renovation and expansion of the Beach
House washroom facility and the restoration and enhancement of the break wall. What’s more,
through the Cedar Crescent Village Project, we are leveraging private investment to revitalize the
northernmost part of the Main Beach, which has long been a centre of commercial activity on
our waterfront.
Going forward, I will continue to support efforts to enhance the remaining public areas at the
Main Beach by improving landscaping, traffic flow and parking. I am also excited to work on
restoring the old steam train in North Shore Park.
6) How would you propose the town manage its projected growth over the next 10 to 20
years?
I have worked hard as Mayor, along with Council, to ensure that we grow strong, together.
We are making sure that there is ample capacity in our water, sewer, recreation and road
facilities to accommodate our increasing population. We will continue to plan ahead and build
infrastructure for the future.
We are making sure that growth will not cause property tax increases. By maintaining
appropriate development charges to make growth pay for growth, we are ensuring that our
property tax dollars are available to provide services for our families.
Most importantly, we are using the proceeds of growth to enhance the things that make our
community great.
Growth helped pay to fix up the Southampton Coliseum and the Port Elgin break wall. Growth
is paying for the new Lamont Sports Park. Growth put the money in the bank that will build our new pool starting next year. Moreover, growth gives us the tools we need to get more affordable housing built for the people who need it.
Going forward, we will continue to leverage our growth to build our community and improve the
quality of life for everyone in Saugeen Shores.