1) Why are you running?
I am running for Council because I enjoy collaborating with and building community. I wish to use my people skills to bring collections of folks together to make the communities stronger and more resilient. I also wish to bring a grounded, patient voice into a public forum and debate that has become far too polarized. I like combining the different ‘silos’ that community groups often form, to unleash new ideas and collaboration. One such idea involves combining our strong arts community with our robust agricultural community to create a hybrid, ‘AgArt’ festival that takes place both in our towns and on the farmland that inspired the art.
2) Are there any steps municipalities can take to help ease cost of living concerns?
Since housing today eats up a large percentage of peoples’ income, creating more attainable and transitional housing would help immensely to offset the rising cost of living. Steps are being taken at the County & Municipal level with housing by allowing more Secondary Units within current dwellings – helping seniors stay in their homes longer. Also, innovative zoning changes and incentives have allowed smaller homes to be built on smaller footprints without the requirements to follow older, heavy-handed, parking bylaws. More creative and modular, ‘transitional’ housing should also become part of the discussion such as co-op and co-housing options.
3) What are your ideas for economic development in your municipality?
For economic development, I would like to work on partnering with neighbouring municipalities to promote a larger geographic area that is beneficial to all municipal partners. Every small town is, in some way, experiencing a decrease in their retail environment and industrial growth. Amplifying our voice in West Grey would help compete with larger towns and cities. I would also work to increase experience tourism that has begun at the County level, in an attempt to harness our natural beauty and rural location as a destination. Cycling is one area of tourism growth that I feel West Grey should seriously consider.
4) Do you think a municipality has a role to play in the recruitment and retention of physicians and other healthcare workers?
Yes, municipalities have a role in the recruiting and retaining of physicians and healthcare workers. There are many factors that affect why people would wish to move to West Grey: our services; natural beauty; agricultural infrastructure; and many more. Municipalities should work hand-in-hand with Hospital Foundations and any other organizations that work on both recruitment and retention of physicians and healthcare workers by finding needs and synergies that harness the skill-sets of all people involved in the process. One such idea would be for West Grey to sponsor a nursing scholarship for a local student or students who wished to enroll locally at the new Georgian College Honours Bachelor of Science – Nursing Honours Bachelor Degree Program, Central Ontario’s first four-year nursing degree; thereby, encouraging these students to study locally, live locally, and hopefully, after graduating, work locally.
5) What is your vision for the future of police services in West Grey?
I envision a future where our local police force of West Grey is housed in a new, shared space with our fire department and EMS. The West Grey Police also share as many procurement and administrative services with neighbouring forces as the Ontario Police Act allows, keeping costs minimized and the local force viable for the future.
6) What issue do you believe is a top priority for West Grey to tackle during the next term?
I believe a top priority for West Grey is recruiting and building new business and services. West Grey is adding several new subdivisions in our large, geographic area. Now is the time to work on actively seeking new small manufacturers, e-businesses and even service and retail business to better serve our growing population and workforce. I would encourage strategic and creative, local investment that builds the services, towns and community that West Grey-ers wish to enjoy now and well into the future.