Sustainability... in every respect

Social Sustainability & Attainable Housing

Social sustainability for The Blue Mountains will be non-existent if we do not address the issue of attainable housing for both our workforce and retired community.  I have been diligent in disputing uncontrollable Market Value Assessment with the province, and in drawing attention to the devastating effect it is having on the citizens of The Blue Mountains.

The Affordable Housing Committee that I initiated many years ago is just another step towards addressing our significant gap in wages earned and housing prices. Along with my committee members and Council, I am looking at finding other resourceful ways of providing affordable housing for our permanent working and retired residents.

Environmental

Given our dependence and reliance on all that’s offered by the environment surrounding us, environmental sustainability and the health of the planet is central to the well-being of our community and our nation.  I am vitally concerned about the protection of our natural resources and wildlife. Past initiatives have included:

• Being a leader in Canada to ban bottled water in our town facilities when a safe source of potable water is available.
• Achieving a blue flag rating on our two beaches, incorporating environmentally based decision making into ongoing beach planning and management.
• Receiving the 2009 AMO Federal Gas Tax Project Award for solar powered signage
• Declaring the town an idle-free zone, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, launching a food waste collection system, a rain barrel program, diversion programs for electronic and hazardous waste, and acquiring property for green space and recreational use.
• Obtaining FCM funding for a LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification for the new Town Hall.

I am especially passionate about declining lake levels in the Great Lakes basin, and the impacts this has and will have on our economy and community. As such I am a member of the Board of Directors for the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Cities Initiative and actively involved in working with other governments towards the protection, restoration and wise usage of our water.  The group has addressed issues such as water levels, pollution and invasive species.

Dredging concerns and protection of fish habitat have led to the formation of the Southern Georgian Bay Coastal Initiative, which I established in concert with Cal Patterson, Mayor of Wasaga Beach.  This initiative is designed to bring together the many groups involved in protection of our coasts under the Canada-Ontario Agreement Memorandum of Cooperation to better map coastal areas, analyse existing land use policies and pass Council resolutions.

Keeping Youth Engaged

From my background in working with youth, and from participating in round table discussions with area youth, I appreciate that both the younger generation and the community benefit from harnessing their enthusiasm and fresh thinking. We have enormous potential in our youth that can be tapped by meeting their needs and keeping them in their community, and not allowing our future generation to feel disenfranchised.