1: I see deterioration between council and ratepayers. The focus appears to be less on the people and more on the province. I have read and studied various reports that have been approved by a corporate lawyer on the Municipal Act, the Planning Act, the Building Code and have learned to study
and pay special attention to the wording and interpretations. Council must work under the authority of the Municipal Act and must understand their legal boundaries. They are sworn to protect the interests of the people they represent. I have attended most council meetings and am concerned that council has become too dependent on outside un-elected consultants who encourage land use restrictions as directed by the province that seriously affect the future growth and development for businesses and property owners in Whitewater. I want to do what I can to protect the interests of the people in Whitewater today and ensure there is a future for my children and grandchildren in Whitewater tomorrow. I believe I can do so and still work under the legal authority of the Municipal Act as municipalities were meant to when they first began in 1841.
2: Councillor: Elected member of the local municipality that will hear and address any concerns of the people within the municipality.
3: I am the President of the Renfrew County chapter of the Ontario Landowners Association. This is a volunteer group that educates property owners on what they should know about private property rights and what municipal councils should know that is written within their own legislation. Our group held a Municipal Law Seminar where we invited all municipal councils from Renfrew County to attend and share information we had researched and encouraged them to take that information and research it hemselves that would be beneficial to both the municipality and the ratepayers. I have also spoke before Whitewater Region Township Council as a delegation on the subject of Whitewater Bylaws and expressed concern on the wording of them with the intent of working with council and not against them. Our group has held public meetings in Cobden with a professional tax consultant on the subject of Property Tax Assessments, another subject from a registered planner was the United Nations document of Agenda 21 signed by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in1992 that is implemented today through our municipalities in land-use conditions under planning with regulations like the Endangered Species Act. We recently held a public meeting for candidates running in this upcoming election on information they should be aware of as far as legislation is concerned.
4: I worked for the Metro Toronto Police Association on arbitrations, so I am familiar with researching and contract law. I co-ordinated the 7th World Medical Conference in Toronto over a 3-year period inviting guest speakers (doctors) to talk on various medical subjects as well as preparing other events to accommodate visiting doctors from around the world. This meant planning ahead and having a projection. My husband had his own trucking business which meant bookkeeping, payroll, hiring drivers for me, therefore, having knowledge of a budget and how to work within it. At the same time, I worked in Cobden at the former Ontario Hydro as an electrical inspection clerk, looking after inspection permits. I later transferred to the dam at Chats Falls (Fitzroy Harbour) as the Plant Clerk doing payroll, reports, material management involving different computer programs and then
transferred again to Chenaux doing basically the same job. Material management included contracts, tendering, ordering material, etc. Currently, my knowledge of the Municipal Act and other pieces of legislation.
5: Research and study the financial structure of the books and know what kind of footing we have to begin change that will protect the interests of the people and sustain the corporation.
6. Work independently as a separate corporation from others and remove the burden of cost and regulations that infringe on future growth and development and at the same time still work under the authority of the Municipal Act and the Criminal Code of Canada.
7. A serious look at the financial statements is required first to determine the status of the municipality’s finances. Good roads are a major consideration in any municipality and should be given top priority along with water and sewer. Depending on the finances, it may require some re-structuring on the budget.
9. Of course. That is part of being transparent and accountable to your residents who elected you to represent them.
10. Agriculture is the backbone of any community. From agriculture, you get your feed stores, your tractor dealerships, your tire shops, your banks and the domino effect thereafter.
11. Councillor Daryl McLaughlin answered it best at a recent council meeting……the removal of the Wards systems was a big step in that direction.
12. I am not very happy about that. For a strong, thriving community…..you need good, well-maintained roads.
13. Why not? You already have them and our plan is to increase more growth and development in this municipality, not go the opposite direction.
14. Definitely!
15. First of all, let’s determine what really caused the contamination of Muskrat Lake in the first place and then work from that point.
16. That is a decision for what the residents would like to see in the area. This is a community venture that requires community input.
17. Again, that is a decision for community input. They are the shareholders of this corporation who direct to us what they want or what they are willing to give up.
18. Investigate and research the contract this council signed up with OCWA (Ontario Clean Water Agency) to oversee our Water Treatment facility. It seems this was hastily done without any research being properly investigated to determine what is required to update this facility from other contractors and/or from our own employees. This was a single source contract the municipality undertook that created the loss of three jobs.
19. I am a fighter. I believe we are on the verge of losing our property rights, we are looking at the decrease in value on our properties, loss of businesses, loss of jobs, etc. as a result of government over-regulation if we don’t take a stand and fight back because nobody is reading the legislation. I have read the legislation. The legislation is written to protect our private properties from Acts like the Endangered Species, or provincial regulations that create a huge financial strain with studies and excessive fees on those who want to create development in our municipality. As elected officials, our job is to protect the residents of this municipality…..and that is what I intend to do and hopefully have the support of other council members that allows Whitewater Region Township to take the lead of other municipalities and stand up to the province on behalf of the people they represent.
