Prince Edward County’s four candidates for mayor got together for another discussion Monday. This time it was a question and answer session on community radio station County FM 99.3.
Host Lynn Pickering asked the candidates, Steve Ferguson, Dianne O’Brien, Kyle Mayne, and Terry Shortt, several questions submitted by the public.
One question centered not on affordable housing but on whether the candidates supported mandating accessible housing.
Terry Shortt said he supported mandating a certain number of accessible units in apartment buildings but thought forcing accessibility measures in single family homes would infringe on people’s freedom.
Steve Ferguson was in support of some regulation forcing the creation of accessible housing units adding some would be available in the former Wellington arena as part of an affordable housing project. Ferguson said the county already had an accessibility advisory committee tackling the issue.
Kyle Mayne said he strongly supported the creation of accessible housing, but just in apartment buildings.
Dianne O’Brien also supported accessible units adding she’d work with both the accessibility advisory committee and the county’s Affordable Housing Corporation.
Another question concerned housing developments on non-prime agricultural land and whether the candidates would support off-grid solar systems for new homes on specifically designated rural lands.
All of the candidates were generally in favour of looking at the idea, but only on “scrubland.” Terry Shortt said there would definitely have to be discussions with the provincial government as he said Hydro One very much enjoyed everyone having to be hooked up to the grid.
The shortage of family doctors was another topic discussed by the mayoral candidates.
Statistics were cited that showed just 83% of county residents presently have a family physician, several percentage points lower than the provincial average. Adding urgency to the issue is the fact that 10 current doctors are planning on retiring in the relatively near future.
Kyle Mayne said the issue was a “tough one” saying the need for doctors and nurse practitioners was great but that the county only had limited funds to attract new medical professionals.
Dianne O’Brien said the county had to be competitive in the physician recruitment game. She suggested a good look at what neighbouring communities such as Belleville and Quinte West were doing as they seemed to be having success with their programs. She also suggested the county offer bursaries to medical students.
Terry Shortt also acknowledged the competitiveness of the situation saying the county needed to offer a better incentive package to attract physicians. He believed a particular focus should be given to attracting more nurse practitioners and foreign-trained doctors.
Steve Ferguson reminded listeners that the provincial government was the entity primarily responsible for health care services but said that progress on attracting new general practitioners was being made, pointing to the summertime hiring of a physician recruiter. Ferguson said the county does have an incentive package, $100,000 over five years to help cover the cost of education in return for a commitment to practise in the county for five years. Ferguson said the new Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital, to be ready in 2025, should help make the county a more attractive place for new doctors. He summed up by saying, “We’re doing the best we can.”
Child care was the focus of another question. Currently there are 185 kids on a wait list for licensed daycares in the county. Dianne O’Brien said THE HUB Child and Family Centre in Picton needed to be promoted and should be expanded.
Terry Shortt said the lack of daycare spaces was a “major problem” especially since the county was working to attract young families. He said current providers needed to be consulted on what problems they were experiencing with expansion and try to remove any “roadblocks” in concert with the provincial government.
Steve Ferguson called the child care shortage a serious problem that not only affected kids but the entire local economy. He said new spaces needed to be allocated by the province adding he very much hoped the county could buy the former Queen Elizabeth School and put a childcare centre in that building.
Kyle Mayne said said it was a big question suggesting any red tape involved in creating new daycare spaces needed to be removed for both current and new providers.
Another issue discussed, a hot-button one in the county, was balancing the needs of the tourism industry with those of everyday year-long residents.
Terry Shortt said he understood why tourists became a problem during the pandemic restrictions as people wanting to go to the Sandbanks ended up waiting in a long line only to be eventually told the park was full and they’d have to turn around and leave. Shortt said moves made by Ontario Parks to require a reservation for the park was a good one leading to a “calming” of the situation. He said a continuing dialogue with the tourism industry and the public was an absolute necessity.
Steve Ferguson said 2020 and 2021 were especially challenging because the county was one of the few attractive destinations in the province to be open for tourism during COVID-19 lockdowns. Ferguson said the current counci,l through consultations with the public and staff, had created a Tourism Management Plan. Ferguson said the plan and its fines and restrictions was making a difference but that it would continuously need updating as time goes on. He said efforts will continue to be made to “find a balance” adding that tourism was a huge part of the local economy.
Kyle Mayne acknowledged tourism was a big part of the economy but said that 10% of all tourist parking at attractions should be set aside for local residents.
Dianne O’Brien said residents’ anger with tourists was palpable during the COVID lockdowns but that that sentiment had been gradually dissipating. She said she’d work with the stakeholders involved in tourism and the general public to update the tourism master plan.
Another question revolved around another much-discussed topic in the county, short term accommodations (STAs). At issue was the need to control illegal STAs. It’s generally agreed that there are a lot of illegal operations now. There are about 860 licensed STAs currently.
Steve Ferguson said council had, after much consultation and modification, passed a bylaw controlling STAs. He said stiff fines should give illegal operators cause to think about what they’re doing and that there is now a moratorium on any new whole-home STAs.
“We’re more aggressive now going after unlicensed ones and we’ll soon have new software that should help us find more of the illegal operators.”
Terry Shortt said the new STA by-law was a “good first step but we have to make sure we enforce the by-law.” Shortt liked the moratorium on new whole-home operations and would push for more proactive investigations into illegal STAs, taking action even before complaints are made.
Dianne O’Brien said she had some questions and concerns regarding the new STA by-law but did not elaborate. She also said strong enforcement was needed. I think we need to consult, listen, and educate more before we pass any restrictive by-laws.
Kyle Mayne said he looked at the issue entirely differently from the others. Mayne believes there’s too much regulation and that the new system was just there as a “tax grab.” “Why do we need all of these regulations? So we can pay more and more taxes? What’s next? Are we going to tax the farmers’ wheat and corn for more money?”
