1) Why are you running?
I have been acclaimed in our municipality for Mildmay-Carrick but I feel it’s important to have diverse voices and new perspectives. I want to ensure people have a voice when it comes to the proposed DGR. The decision to run for council was not a decision I came to lightly and I will do my best for my community.
2) Are there any steps municipalities can take to ease cost of living concerns? If so, what measures would you support?
The cost of living is mainly a provincial and federal issue. Locally it’s harder to impact individuals as businesses and employers have to follow suit with others in the province when it comes to pricing goods and cost of living increases for their staff. Not every business can afford to keep prices stable when their own costs have gone up so sharply in the last 24 months. We have an unstable world economy right now that impacts everyone, no matter where you live.
Being rural also impacts shipping costs more profoundly which impacts costs of goods. That is something that we are not able to change. We can promote that compared to larger centers, we are a more affordable place to find housing which could help ease the cost of living for individuals.
3) What are your ideas for economic development in your municipality?
I would like to support those who wish to start new small businesses in the area. Encourage those interested to move businesses into downtowns. Get people walking our streets in the communities to see the great lifestyle it has to offer. Housing is key to development. The more people we have in our community, the more preference to stay within that area to socialize, shop and enjoy their life here.
4) Do you think the municipality has a role to play in the recruitment and retention of physicians and other healthcare workers?
It has some part to play in that it can work with the physician recruitment team(s) to develop a package of what the area has to offer. Municipal staff can be available for tours and answer questions to give more a personal touch to why they should relocate to our area. Lifestyle preference is also a large selling feature that the municipality can promote to potential new physicians and healthcare practitioners. Physician recruitment, along with regular recruitment of staff, is a large issue since the pandemic began. The science table says one solution is to retain the existing primary care workforce by supporting them through team-based care. That would include nurse practitioners, mental health counsellors and other healthcare specialists to share the workload to care for patients (Yazdani and Casaletto).
5) What is your view on South Bruce being a potential host municipality for a deep geologic repository to store spent nuclear fuel?
My personal view is that it’s not the right fit for our community. To be known as ”the place that has all that nuclear waste” doesn’t sound like somewhere I would want to relocate or build my business if I was looking at moving from outside South Bruce. I worry about the negative effects and that the true risks can’t be fully known. We have no guarantee what will happen to our area if this project is approved.
I think we need to involve more stakeholders outside of our area as well including our First Nations peoples and communities surrounding the Great Lakes. There are many concerned conversations happening in other communities about the proposed DGR including the state of Michigan. There is a reason that only two communities in Ontario are still looking at being the proposed DGR site. I would like to see the community vote on this subject in 2023. We owe everyone that as it’s more than just a few people’s opinion that should be making this decision.