Greg Wilson Running for Mayor
Question #1: With an apparent change in policy by the Provincial Government, it appears privately owned shops will be able to sell Cannabis products. Should the City of Dryden grant business licenses to local shops to sell cannabis and associated products? How many should be allowed?
Answer: As per below, based on Provincial government information to date, only the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario will issue licenses and control the process with input from both the public and municipal government. City Hall will not be determining who gets these licenses and how many will be approved. We will however be making a decision on whether or not to opt out (for now) of the retail “bricks and mortar” model by January 22nd, 2019.
(Taken from AMO website)
• It is proposed that local municipalities would be provided with the opportunity to opt-out of cannabis retail stores in their communities by January 22, 2019 ‒ Municipalities that opt-out of cannabis retail stores could allow them in the future, but municipalities that do not opt-out of stores by January 22nd, cannot opt-out of them at a later date
• In municipalities that have not opted-out of stores, if a request for a store location authorization request is received, the AGCO would initiate a public notice process in which the affected municipality and the public would have an opportunity to identify any comments within a 15-day period ‒ AGCO Registrar would consider any comments raised through this process when making its final decision to grant an authorization for that location ‒ MAG will continue to consult with municipalities on the implementation of this process
• Municipalities would not be able to designate cannabis retail as a separate land use from retail generally or create a cannabis retail licensing regime within their jurisdiction
Question #2: The first issue Council will face will be a decision on the OPP servicing the City versus remaining with the Dryden Police Service. Do you have a preference? And-a simple yes or no-would you be willing to hold a referendum on a possible switch?
Answer: It’s always easier to maintain the status quo with our current policing model. Previous Councils have tried and failed in the past to do any kind of cost/value comparison to determine what level of value taxpayers are receiving. This whole question has nothing to do with the quality of service and professionalism we currently enjoy and everything to do with the long term sustainability of policing in Dryden.
The trend across the country has been for communities of less than 100,000 people to opt for policing models such as the OPP. If three out of four towns and cities in Ontario prefer this route, we should at least be willing to do a cost comparison as long as non-monetary benefits (animal services and control, public education, HR, etc.) are factored into the decision making process.
Regarding a referendum, yes I would be willing to hold a referendum on a possible switch if that is the wish of Council and would only consider not having a referendum if there were at least one, preferably two public meetings where anyone from the community could speak.
Question #3: Possibly the most contentious issued faced by Council this year was the withdrawal of service by the Dryden Fire Fighters Association and the resulting restructuring of Dryden Fire Services. Do you feel the issue has been dealt with and is now closed or do you want to see it re-opened?
Answer: The issue has received much attention and has been dealt with. The City’s Policy Committee, consisting of three Councillors (Councillors Valley, Trist and Carlucci) and the Town Clerk, created a new alcohol policy last fall and recommended it to Council. Council unanimously supported the new proposal. Subsequently, the Firefighter Executive came to a Council meeting (which is their democratic right) to request we consider various ways of accommodating alcohol in the workplace. Along with other Councillors and Administrative personnel I met with members of the Executive and DFFA at City Hall. The City agreed to check one more time with insurance and legal professionals concerning the DFFA requests. The Deputy-Mayor and Executive meanwhile continued planning for a further meeting.
The City’s legal counsel, insurer and the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office have consistently advised against any kind of City involvement relating to alcohol in the workplace except under Ontario Liquor License rules. They came back with the same message again.
When the Firefighter Executive suddenly pulled their services the City had no choice but to find other firefighters willing to protect our community. This included a request of all then-current firefighters to advise if they were going to attend training and any emergency calls or continue to withhold their services. In May, a group representing petitioners, including the head of the previous DFFA Executive, Darren Trist implored Council to hold a public meeting on the subject and others requested we form a separate committee. When asked specifically by Councillor Valley what would bring the DFFA back to the table, Council was told by Mr. Trist we must remove the Fire Chief from his position.
I firmly believe Council acted responsibly on behalf of our citizens with its position on alcohol in the workplace. Secondly, once the City had negotiated the reinstatement of the three firefighters who were disciplined, there was nothing further to negotiate. Holding a separate public meeting to discuss whether or not to obey Provincial alcohol-in-the-workplace laws or the dismissal of a City employee is not appropriate under any circumstance. These are legal and personal Human Resource issues not involving the public. Both parties have agreed that the implementation of the policy and the whole issue could have been handled better by both sides. Having said that, the Fire Department is now fully staffed, the City is well protected and there is no point reopening this issue. It is time to move on.
Question #4: Approximately 20% of Dryden residents are First Nations people. As a member of Council what would you do to ensure that our Indigenous residents, visitors and neighbours feel welcomed and are included as Dryden moves forward?
Answer: My philosophy is simply that the more we in the north can work together at as many levels as possible (social, sport, political etc.) the better all communities will be. Working together also leverages our voices at Queens Park and Ottawa so that we are not forgotten. We cannot determine an indigenous agenda on our own as much as we can engage in collaborative partnerships and support strategies that benefit both ourselves and our northern and southern 1st. Nation neighbours.
As for a specific strategy for ensuring that our Indigenous residents, visitors and neighbours feel welcomed and are included as Dryden moves forward, we can engage on many fronts.
Inside the community we can:
Work with organizations such as the Native Friendship Centre and Metis Association when looking to foster economic, social, political and cultural relationships.
-Continue to support preventative health organizations such as the NWHU. They can help newcomers to town with many health related services.
-Support organizations such as Hoshizaki House, the Volunteer Bureau and the local Food Bank as they serve the community.
-Encourage the re-introduction of the “Welcome Wagon” host or hostess in town, partnering with businesses, the City and various clubs. We could collaborate with indigenous groups to ensure presentations are inclusive of and sensitive to indigenous families and individuals.
-DAARN is a positive force for much good along with service clubs like Rotary. We need to support their efforts wherever possible.
-Lobby the Province alongside KDSB and on behalf of the Dryden Health Centre for more support dollars for various programs that would enable us to provide the necessary care and protection of people traveling through or living here. Local tax payers currently do much of the heavy lifting through property and provincial taxes. The Province must stop downloading these costs back onto property owners.
We are already working collaboratively with KDSB to create better housing opportunities for all Drydenites, including indigenous groups. Increased ambulance and police calls each year are putting a strain on our community and the City is working diligently to ensure the Province addresses our needs without putting undue financial stress on the community. We have not getting the support dollars from the Province that other southern communities have been receiving for all sorts of services, including mental health as an example. The key to success will be fostering better relations with the Province to develop programs tailored for the unique northern needs in our corner of Ontario.
Question #5: What would you do to enhance recreational activities and make Dryden more accessible and active?
Answer: My philosophy is that the initiative to get up off the couch must come from the individual. There is so much to do in our town when you consider all the great service clubs and organizations that are looking for more active members. It doesn’t take much effort to get a street-hockey game going either. (We used to use snow lumps for goal posts in the winter.) I see lots of seniors and young people going for walks in the evening and early in the morning before work.
Consider what we’ve got:
-We have excellent ball diamonds, soccer fields (a new clubhouse), golfing, cross-country and downhill ski facilities, school gymnasiums, bike and nature trails, an extremely high quality outdoor track, two indoor ice surfaces, curling…
-We have clubs like the Dryden Sunset Wood-Carvers, Amateur Radio Society, Dryden Saddle Club, Royal Canadian Legion Ladies Auxiliary, Dryden & District Horticultural Society… the list goes on.
What we need to work on:
-We have a Dream Committee that is struggling to move the thermometer in the right direction outside the front doors of our arena. The roof, changing rooms and many other items needs repair. Drydenites are often tapped out when it comes to donating to many worthwhile projects. Without repeating myself about our debt situation, we still need both levels of senior government to redistribute our tax dollars back into our communities in a fair and equitable manner.
-In each of the next four years we will have more and more local dollars available to invest in repair of existing recreational facilities. Although much is to be done, we are heading in the right direction from a City perspective.
Accessibility:
If the word “accessibility” is used in reference to the ease of getting around our town there are several obstacles to overcome.
The elevator lift at the pedestrian overpass was out of commission for much of the year. (Hopefully the problem is solved for the long term now).
Complaints from wheelchair citizens who can’t navigate the underpass (or overpass) in winter to get across town from home.
Uneven sidewalks and walkways in summer. Many concrete walks were smoothed out over the summer
Unevenly plowed (or unplowed) sidewalks in the winter (never easy to keep up for a variety of weather and equipment related reasons).
Rows of streetlights out at night making it extremely difficult to see where you’re going without a miner’s headlamp. We are working with contractors and Ontario Hydro to come up with effective solutions.
No official bike lanes to easily ride a bicycle safely down our more busy street corridors. This could be implemented on some streets more cost-effectively than others.
Dangerous intersections for pedestrians (top of underpass on the highway side, especially at night) and at Walmart/Tim Horton’s entrances. The City traffic committee has been studying this.
Roads that have been sanded during winter but not swept until late in the spring making it difficult for wheelchairs and bicycles to safely travel.
Dryden is still a relatively easy community to walk, skateboard, bike or drive around. Local transit via “My Lift” is a much appreciated service for seniors and those without other means of private transportation. There are many ways of getting here by plane or the TransCanada Hwy but there is a void with bus service with the pulling out of Greyhound. Thankfully, Kasper Air is doing its best to fill the void.
Question #6: What is the single most important issue facing our newly elected Council in the coming year-and the single most important long term issue for the four-year term?
Answer: The single most important issue facing our newly elected Council in the coming year is in my mind a tie between the OPP costing and our financial management of the 2019 budget. The OPP costing proposal has a six month window for public debate and a final decision which creates a certain level of urgency.
With the upcoming budget, having worked closely with the Finance Committee, CAO and Treasurer – (including our local MPP Greg Rickford and other Provincial leaders) – balancing debt reduction with infrastructure spending (streets, sidewalks, water and sewer for example) next year must fit into the larger three year economic picture for Dryden. If we get this right, the other projects we’re working on such as seniors housing, child-care, downtown development etc. will fall into place much more easily.
The most important long term issue between now and 2022 is financial stability. You can’t fix what’s broken or grow our community if you don’t have any money.
Question #7: Why should we vote you to Council?
Answer: I hope people will consider voting for me if they like the direction we are going and want to continue along that path.
