By MPP Bobbi Ann Brady
You may remember back at the end of August I wrote about my work in Ottawa at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), and in that column, I told you I made it my mission to find out whether other municipalities were receiving additional funds beyond regular allocations.
It was the following answer that appeared in my column that got me an online tongue lashing by a local municipal official: That question was met with laughter because no municipality is getting money above and beyond what is typically sent from Queen’s Park, despite which stripe their MPP represents.
At both AMO and the Rural Ontario Municipalities Association (ROMA) I repeatedly hear municipalities are drowning, they cannot keep up with the growth. Then there are those municipal leaders who have guzzled the juice and believe adding more people is the path to prosperity.
The reality of what we see happening across Ontario is that when areas grow too much and too fast, the infrastructure in small towns and cities buckles. Growth is not paying for growth!
At both AMO and ROMA I’ve encouraged municipal leaders to say no to growth until they are confident the province will partner for a better path forward. I’ve encouraged local councils to push back to which I’ve been told “We can’t.” Well, apparently, they can.
Oxford County Council last week tabled a resolution that said Oxford County residents are already experiencing consequences from the high rate of growth, which includes homelessness, mental health supports, addiction supports, encampment response, housing availability and attainability, lack of primary medical care, lack of adequate school spaces. Council also conveyed concern with growth pressure on green space and agricultural land. Warden Marcus Ryan will write to the Doug Ford government, indicating Oxford County cannot continue to accommodate the rate and level of growth directed by the province.
By way of background, Oxford County is an upper-tier municipality made up of elected officials from eight area municipalities: Blandford-Blenheim, East Zorra-Tavistock, Ingersoll, Norwich, South-West Oxford, Tillsonburg, Woodstock, and Zorra.
Each town/city/township has its own mayor and council, and I will add that they are all represented provincially by a member of the PC Government at Queen’s Park.
One of the mayors who sits at the Oxford County table is Deb Gilvesy who heads Tillsonburg Town Council, where one-third of the town’s population will soon be without primary care.
Gilvesy says people in her community are sad, they have no hope, and she has been beating the same drum as me for two years claiming growth does not pay for growth. She says, and I agree, under the current conditions, taxpayers are being saddled with large tax increases because councils are struggling to table responsible budgets. Growth is not paying for growth!
Don’t get me wrong, not all growth is bad. When it is good, the horse goes before the cart and the development/growth is managed and supported appropriately by all levels of government.
Pushing pause and pushing stop are two different things and Oxford County is pressing pause so they may be responsible to the taxpayers they serve. I encourage other municipalities including Haldimand and Norfolk to join with Oxford County and push back and push pause. I maintain we must take stock; we must ensure all citizens are supported and their families have access to the services they rely upon daily.
Elected officials are supposed to represent the will of most people they serve, and I want to thank and commend Oxford County Council on being courageous and representing the will of its people.
Bobbi Ann Brady is the MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk