Orillia’s Ward 4 candidates had an opportunity to share their ideas on a wide range of local issues at a candidates meeting Wednesday night.
Organized by Ward 4 residents Sandy Merelaid and Norm Sinclair, Ward 4 hopefuls gathered before a crowd of about 50 residents in the Elgin Bay Condominiums meeting room.
Following introductory remarks, candidates were given two minutes apiece to weigh in on six questions submitted to event organizers in advance of the meeting.
Candidates answered questions concerning water, wastewater and preserving Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching, addressing homelessness, food insecurity, affordable housing and poverty in the city, and how they would address infrastructure and road maintenance.
Candidates also answered questions about improving law and security in Orillia, their vision for the long-term future of the city taking boundary expansion, intensification, and a new hospital into consideration and their ideas for making Orillia a net-zero carbon emissions city.
Each of the ward’s six candidates showed up to the event, including Janet-Lynne Durnford, Paula Hill-Coulson, Tim Lauer, Kyle Peacock, Pat Reid, and Joe Winacott.
First up, candidates provided their ideas for successfully managing water, wastewater, and the preservation of Lakes Couchiching and Simcoe.
“I think we could study up on the Lake Simcoe protection plan. We need to work with the Lake Simcoe conservation group, and perhaps rejoin the Severn Sound Environmental Association to develop strategies to stop the invasive weeds species in our lakes and to keep our lakes healthy,” said Hill-Coulson.
“I think we also need to educate our community on how to reduce phosphorus going into our lakes – that's a big issue,” Hill-Coulson said. “I think we need to make sure our city outflows are cleaned out on a regular basis and that we dredge out our canals, and that the silt coming from construction sites is controlled.”
Current Ward 4 councillor Tim Lauer noted the city follows the Lake Simcoe Conservation Authority “to a T” and that phosphorus levels are currently acceptable, stating his number one priority is managing stormwater in Orillia.
“It's something that we just have to get on immediately – there's no time,” Lauer said. “There's a 25-year plan; we're five years into it. There's no way we can wait for 10-15 years to deal with some of these outflows … they have to have catchment basins put in, and it's got to be quick
“If we don't do that,the the weeds that are growing in the lake are going to continue to grow, and the beaches are going to continue to be closed, and the drinking water quality will go down, so that's, in my opinion, the number one issue with water.”
Peacock lamented local bodies of water are “not enjoyable to go to anymore,” and said some of the waterfront’s features, such as the fishing pier, lacked adequate public consultation.
With regard to addressing local water issues, Peacock urged making better use of the public and local experts in decision making.
“Orillia experiences the largest amount of brain drain I've ever seen,” Peacock said.
“We have a doctor of plant life that came back to Orillia from the U.S., and he's leading in his area and no one even in the city has engaged him or his company,” he said. “I think that's where we have to be a little more resourceful and a little more efficient, (is with) these local individuals that are coming back, that are leaders, that want to help.”
Reid argued upper levels of government need to dole out additional help to municipalities facing water issues.
“We've seen the growth of lily pads and blue, green algae and everything in our neighbourhoods because we're not treating stuff to the capacity that we could if we have the resources that are available,” Reid said. “It's put down on the city to take care of it.
“The city struggles with how to do it and still not (increase) taxes, and that's a real issue. It's a repetitive concern of mine, but it's a real concern of mine. I do believe that we should have better (support) from the upper levels of government to take care of the quality of our water, our lakes and make sure that they're healthy," Reid said.
Winacott highlighted various issues he had recently read about concerning contaminants in urban water runoff. He said he needs to do more research on the issue, but highlighted the role of a councillor is to find the correct answers to issues ahead of being an expert.
“I can sit up here and tell you stories that I don't really know. I do research on things that I need to find information. That's what I did on this project,” he said. “I don't expect the council to be experts on all this information, but I do expect them to find the answers out, get into the hands of people that know the information, and do the research.”
Durnford argued that “prevention is better than remediation,” and laid out numerous actions she would like to see the city take.
“We need to limit growth and protect our shorelines by calling on the province to include Simcoe County and the Lake Simcoe watershed in the provincial greenbelt. I think that's very important for long term protection,” Durnford said. “We need to ensure that Orillia does not expand its borders into vulnerable wetlands in the areas around us because those wetlands of course feed into our lakes and affect the health of those lakes.
“We need to explore alternatives for winter road de-icing because salt is a concern, including maybe beet brine, which they used in Barrie,” she said. “Public education is a huge piece too–I had to go and look at what sources of phosphorus were … we can educate people about sources of these contaminants that are affecting the lakes.”
The next question candidates weighed in on asked for their plans to address homelessness, food insecurity, affordable housing, and poverty.
Lauer opted to speak about addressing poverty in particular.
“As a councillor, you don't have control over anybody's wages other than city staff … but what we need to do as a community … is raise the pay level for the whole city,” he said. “The city is underpaid in relation to Ontario averages, significantly. Our pay levels are way down.
“To do that you've got to get businesses … that pay decently,” he said. “Right now we're selling land over at (Horne Park) to anybody who's got $400,000 for an acre … what we really needed to do there was to be patient and say, ‘Okay, we're not selling this until you can prove to me that you are going to pay a living wage and you're going to employ a certain number of people.’”
Peacock similarly highlighted the importance of attracting good-paying businesses and middle class tier jobs to Orillia.
“We need to look at bringing those jobs in. My grandparents worked for Bell Canada … as you guys know that building’s no longer there, and those jobs are no longer there,” he said. “I know the council has done a good job at bringing some of the Hydro (One) jobs and the OPP headquarters, and those are great jobs that are coming, but it's not to the citizens of Orillia, it's to specialized individuals.
“The money's coming in and salary jobs are here, but it's for new people coming, not for people that are already here, and that's unfortunate to see.”
Reid suggested the city might encourage businesses to both come to the city and to hire local workers through means such as reducing development charges for businesses investing in the city.
Although he conceded it’s a slow process, Winacott said building more housing is a big part of the solution, and suggested putting together a council/public committee to bring the community together and come up with solutions.
“We need to cut the red tape a lot faster, and we need to get the people re-homed a lot faster. The issue is they're not being re-homed as quickly as they can be because there's so many loops and jumps we have to go into,” he said.
“We need to develop a community plan with council, or a committee, that's going to have council and citizens that care for the city to come together,” he said. “This … can be made up of half council, half citizens, and we can start a plan going. We need to have a housing first perspective.”
Durnford similarly called for a roundtable of community members, council members, and experts, and also called for the development of a municipal poverty reduction strategy.
“I believe that addressing poverty starts locally, and economic development is crucial– businesses that pay a living wage are crucial–but there was a federal poverty reduction strategy and we should have a municipal poverty reduction strategy,” she said, noting about 63 Ontario municipalities have a poverty reduction strategy that has paid dividends.
“Research has shown that the most effective strategy is a roundtable that brings together … individuals, agencies, levels of government, community partners, community agencies, facilitated by the city to find locally developed solutions,” she said. “Some of those might be things such as a sliding scale for a monthly bus pass based on income, recreation for all, so reducing economic barriers to participating in city run recreation programs, and health programs that bring people out of poverty.”
Hill-Coulson said the city needs to work with the chamber of commerce to attract new businesses to Orillia, and that finances should not prevent citizens from accessing certain services, suggesting the city should work with local post-secondary institutions to develop graduates who will stay in Orillia.
“I feel we need to ensure finances are not a barrier to services. I spoke to a lady when I was door knocking, and she told me that her grandchildren cannot even attend swimming lessons at the rec centre because her daughter is a single mother,” she said. “Not only that, (we need) affordable and accessible transportation for all.
“We need to work with our college and university to keep expanding their programming, enrolment, to attract more students to our city, and we need to work with them to encourage graduating students to stay in Orillia and make it their permanent home.”
Candidates were next asked to outline their plans and ideas for addressing city infrastructure and road maintenance.
Peacock argued Ward 4 is in particular need of infrastructure improvements.
“I think this is kind of where Ward 4 has been forgotten a bit – a lot of the infrastructure money has been going into the other wards, and that's great they're growing, but (we) can't forget about Ward 4, as well,” he said. “I think we need to really utilize our efficiency if we're going to pave roads. Don't just look at the short-sighted view of lower costs, when you could do a higher cost but get more captured for that.
“If you can do four roads for the price of three, even though it's more expensive than doing one, it makes more sense, and we need to make more sense," said Peacock.
Reid said the city needs to begin focusing on smaller things, like infrastructure, in lieu of larger legacy projects.
“It’s time to sweat the small stuff, and … infrastructure, roads, sidewalks in town are the things that I mean. We've neglected them for a while,” he said. “We do have a tendency to look at some major legacy projects, which are fantastic, but you can only have so many mortgages.
“We need to start spending whatever available money the city has with a limited budget on taking care of the stuff that means quality of life for homeowners, for seniors walking around town with walkers, and so many people with mobility issues,” he said. “Sidewalks, in some cases, are in terrible shape.”
Winacott argued the city lacks transparency on its infrastructure plans, and said he wants to educate citizens on “exactly what’s going on.”
“I would assume (the city has) a plan on the roads and stuff like that,” he said. “We all know Laclie Street is terrible; we all know some other streets are terrible,” he said. “The sidewalks are terrible. The city councillors, the city officials, they all know that, so what is the plan? The problem is they're just not sharing that information with us.
“Basically, for me, it's find out what the plan is … on the roads and streets and infrastructure and all that, (and) educate everybody on exactly what's going on and get the streets fixed.”
Durnford highlighted numerous ongoing and upcoming projects outlined on the city website, including the ongoing Centennial Drive work and Laclie Street, slated for 2023, but also stressed the importance of communication between all parties involved.
“I think that we can review communication processes between city staff and contractors to ensure that projects stay on track on budget as much as possible, and things like the (Elgin Bay) pumping station debacle are hopefully avoided,” she said. “We need to consult with citizens, obviously, to determine the next projects to prioritize.
“I've heard at the door that traffic calming measures for Laclie Street and Peter Street are essential, and we need to prioritize investment in active transit to ensure we have safe, walkable neighbourhoods and bike trails that we can actually use.”
Hill-Coulson said she agreed with the points raised by other candidates, but added several concerns of her own.
“Snowbanks: I feel they need to be cut down sooner, as a driving instructor. This is a huge safety issue for us. Lines need to be painted sooner too,” she said. “I also feel we need bike lanes on our streets. We know there's going to be way more electric modes of transportation on our streets with gas prices going up.”
Lauer said Ward 4 has a “special problem” with its infrastructure as its the oldest part of the city, but did note there are many infrastructure projects taking place in Orillia at the moment.
Part of the solution, he said, is ensuring the appropriate city departments receive funding to push infrastructure projects through on time.
“We have a significant problem with the administrative side,” he said. “What's happening is we do not have enough people in the right place. We need to not hire more people – we just need to assess … where we're spending money and shift it to the engineering department so that we have proper people … pushing these things through and they stay on time.”
Following infrastructure, candidates what “fresh ideas” they would bring to the table to improve law and security in Orillia.
Reid highlighted examples he has heard of people feeling unsafe downtown, even in daylight, due to social issues created by poverty and addiction.
"That's our downtown right now. We've got big problems. And these, again, are huge societal issues,” he said. “If we want more police presence, the city has to pay through the nose for it.
“We need to have a better answer for how we're going to actually secure our town, and the way to make the town more secure is to have a more affluent town. I don’t mean affluent in terms of making people rich, but comfortable to live,” he said. “That's when I come back to a level of universal basic income … it's actually a lot cheaper, and it makes people a lot happier in their general lives. It cuts down on social social anxiety and (improves) social wellness.”
Winacott said the city needs to make more efficient use of the resources at its disposal to address downtown issues.
“People smoking drugs and doing cocaine, you see it all the time. We see needles and all that all the time walking down to the beach and stuff,” he said. “I think we need to be smarter in how we use our resources – the (OPP) are coming down, walking past Studabakers at nine in the morning. There's not much stuff going on at nine in the morning.
“Have some signs up, some more lit pathways. We need people patrolling, possibly the staff who give tickets to cars all the time, maybe to patrol the beach a little bit, patrol the walkway down areas down here to make sure nothing's going on,” he said. “Give out the tickets and bring them in that way, instead giving tickets to people parking, spending money downtown.”
Durnford highlighted the importance of bringing affordable housing downtown and creating access to vital mental health services to improve law and order within Orillia.
“We've already talked about lack of support services, and of course the opioid crisis is having an effect on crime rates here,” she said. “We need affordable housing close to the downtown. We need to do whatever we can at a municipal level in terms of zoning and eliminating red tape to make that happen.
“We need continued funding for youth recreation and our excellent youth centre, continued support for our shelter services, prioritizing the creation of a dedicated youth shelter with access to social services,” she said. “We need a really good harm reduction site, and we need to work with our OPP to create innovative responses to mental health calls, with trained social workers as the first point of contact for many of these mental health and addiction calls.”
Hill-Coulson recalled she would commonly see police patrols out in the past, and called for more of the same; she also called for several measures to improve traffic safety in the city.
“I'm a driving instructor so I'm on the roads all the time – I think we need to consider photo radar. I know that's a hot topic, and other traffic calming measures, especially in the high, traffic high speed areas,” she said. “The first two weeks of school, when it started up this year, there was police in every single school zone. I'd like to see that on a more regular basis.”
Lauer noted a “sea change on the streets” over the past five years, and called for a balanced approach between the city and the OPP to address social issues.
“The behaviour was spilling out on the streets, and that behaviour included crime, but I think it's very important that we don't go one way or the other,” Lauer said. “I think it's critical that we strike some sort of balance where we are engaging our workers, we're putting them on the street and we are telling the police that we want more enforcement and more protection, but it's got to be balanced. We can't let it tilt one way or the other, so that will be the challenge.”
Peacock, like Winacott, also called for more efficient use of city resources, and argued that local police have become less efficient since the OPP supplanted the Orillia police force.
“You knew who was on the police force; they had a smile for you, and it was a different time,” he said. “I think that's what's really changed and I know Orillia has changed, but the OPP has a different view on it. As we're obviously where headquarters is, there's a lot of people transferring through so you don't grow those rapports.
“if you're just here for a two-year shift and then gone … I think that's where … we lose that knowledge base about what needs to be happening.”
Candidates were then asked about their ideas and views on long-term projects that will “affect the nature of our city,” such as boundary expansion, intensification, and building a new hospital.
Winacott leaned towards intensifying in lieu of expanding Orillia’s borders, but said he will need to do more research to understand the implications and hurdles behind expansion, intensification, or a new hospital.
“We need to bring more employers, and we definitely need more doctors, and those doctors are going to need a place to work, possibly a new hospital,” he said. “I like rebuilding things that we have instead of tearing down and building new, but we need to think about sustainability and all that moving forward, so it's one of these things I need to do a bit more research on.
“There is a lot of vacant areas in Orilia that we couldn't be doing these things, and there's so many vacant commercial places, so many vacant lands, and we could be building these things for them instead of expanding.”
Durnford said the upcoming municipal comprehensive review will be one of the “most challenging and important tasks” the upcoming council will take on, and highlighted the importance of expanding and intensifying with care towards the environment.
“Boundary expansion must be done with the least sprawl and the least impact on our surrounding townships’ farmlands, wetlands, lakes, rivers, shorelines,” she said.“The province has assessed to Orillia for an increase to 49,000 population and 26,000 new jobs over the next 30 years … I don't know if we can ask the city, in light of the limits imposed by our natural features or the lakes and wetlands that surround us, whether we can be reassessed at a medium growth factor, so that we are not forced into this position of annexing extensive acreage from surrounding townships.
“The city has set a goal of 50 per cent intensification,” she said. “We need to really look at some innovative ways to do that without harming our tree canopy and ensuring that we still have green spaces within the city.”
Hill-Coulson similarly highlighted the importance of protecting the city’s surrounding natural features.
“I think we need to look at infill in our city before more expansion, and the use of brownfield builds and vacant buildings,” she said. “We need to preserve our surrounding wetlands, forests and farmland, in my opinion. The new hospital is years away, but we need to start planning for it now, where it's going to be built and working with the province to achieve the goal.”
Lauer pointed out that, in spite of intensification goals within the city, houses sit on half-acre lots just outside Orillia in neighbouring townships.
“I think there's a lot to be learned going forward as we as we go through this discussion, but one of the questions I'm going to be asking, if I get the opportunity, would be why is it … if you go to the townships, you can find houses that are located on acre lots or half-acre lots? They are five minutes from downtown and they have no intensification regulations or anything.
“We are being expected to accommodate (intensification) in town, so what I would want to do is find out the county’s plan and meld that with the city’s plan before we get too excited about doing either (intensification or boundary expansion) … we may be able to gently intensify and not go into prime land and everybody will be happy.”
The final question candidates discussed involved their ideas to help the city achieve net zero emissions.
Durnford argued that climate change needs to be factored into all decisions made at the council table moving forward, and outlined numerous measures laid out in the city’s climate action plan.
“The city does have, as you probably know, a climate future plan, and it has measures that, if we make those targets, will reduce our carbon emissions to net zero by 2040,” she said. “The plan, as it stands, includes investing more in local renewable energy. I think that's really important. We are so fortunate to have Orillia Power, to have our own power generation.
“Building on that so that we have more sources of renewable energy is important: investing in zero emission vehicle infrastructure, zero emission, transit, active transit, that's another part of that climate future plan, and then retrofitting existing buildings to be more energy efficient and making changes at the kind of policy and process level to encourage high efficiency new builds,” she said. “Climate considerations and sustainability have to be the foundation for all the decisions that council makes going into the future.”
Hill-Coulson said she would like to see efficient building practices, create an easier-to-navigate city, and improve electric vehicle infrastructure.
“We need to make sure that new developments and retrofits are in line with our city's climate change action plan and that policies are in place to achieve those goals. I'm also a firm believer in the 15 Minute … (where everything) is within 15 minutes to get to,” she said. “Those are all going to help with addressing the issue of reducing greenhouse gases, and then electric vehicles, too, we need plug-in stations for them. Orillia doesn't have too many.”
Lauer said the city’s climate action plan is “very comprehensive” and that it must be implemented, but warned that it will not come cheaply.
“There's going to be a whole lot of questions, a whole lot of financial decisions, and they're going to not only raise your taxes, they're going to cause you to have to spend money to convert your furnace, or do this, do that, and they're going to be hard,” he said. “We can't do that much damage over the last 100 years … without having to pay for it.
“What we need going forward, most of all, is politicians who are committed to the idea, and a community that will buy in and participate and carry us through, or we are in trouble," warned Lauer.
Peacock stressed that businesses, as well as residents, should have to pay on the city’s path to being carbon neutral. He also noted that he did not use election signs during his campaign due to the waste they create.
“It is going to be painful, but we need to engage the local businesses more than we are the local constituents,” he said. “We’ve got to have some of the businesses pay those bills … but some of the manufacturers of the world that are operating in Orillia, we need to get them to pull their weight more.”
Reid called for council to implement all manner of climate protections, so long as they do not adversely impact affordability for residents.
“Every decision that the city makes, there should always be a consideration of how it's going to affect the environment,” he said. “The problem we have in Orillia is that … a lot of people that can't afford to do some of the things that we all wish we could do, for instance, an electric vehicle.
“Everything we do has to be … what the city can afford to do to encourage the most readily available green answer to projects, to shoot for net zero as much as possible, without impacting people that really can't afford to pay big things.”
Reid also called for upper levels of government to help subsidize comparably small municipal budgets on climate protections.
Winacott said another important element of addressing climate change is public education.
“Everything that I have to say has been said. So if you're gonna jump something that we didn't really touch on … we (do) need to concentrate on education,” he said. “We should have a committee or a group going to school and explaining all this information because they're the ones we are really doing this for: the future generations.”
“Educating the public is key. That communication between them and us is (important) because we all can't do it ourselves.”
