Accessibility is an incredibly important issue, and one that’s often poorly understood. What is accessibility, and how does it play out in a small town context? How does our municipality address it? What does Accessible mean? Accessibility, at its core, is about who gets included. The Brighton Accessibility Committee, which just had our first 2023Continue reading “Accessibility”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
The Politics of Snow Removal
Some people think that Canada’s national sport is hockey; I think I was in my 20’s when I was told that it is, in fact, lacrosse. Turns out it’s both. (Yup, there’s a law for that.) But whatever our national sport is, I think it almost goes without saying that our national pastime, official orContinue reading “The Politics of Snow Removal”
Budgets and the Cost of Councillors
Across Ontario, municipalities are approving budgets. It’s always a controversial time: my top priorities for spending might be your lowest priorities, and there’s always pressure to keep taxes low (yes, I say KEEP taxes low, because whatever you’ve heard our taxes are relatively quite low). Any spending at all is a travesty, according to some.Continue reading “Budgets and the Cost of Councillors”
Economic Development
Few politicians get elected without promising “jobs, jobs, jobs!” At the same time, it seems like the folks most interested in job creation don’t want to see those jobs be government jobs: there’s a long history in North America of distrust toward the public sector, and a commitment to free markets and privileging the privateContinue reading “Economic Development”
Thinking Globally, Acting Locally
The phrase “think globally, act locally” has been a touchstone of the environmental movement since the 1970’s, a constant reminder that the things that we do in our local context can affect other communities around the world. That’s a message that doesn’t always sink in: I once witnessed a council meeting (thankfully not here inContinue reading “Thinking Globally, Acting Locally”
Thinking Big in a Small town
We have a tendency to downplay small towns. The tropes are maybe just true enough to persist: small town folks, the story goes, are sheltered from the big wide world; nothing ever happens in a small town, and young people need to escape to experience the world; and even in reverse, there are a thousandContinue reading “Thinking Big in a Small town”
ROMA Wrapup
After just two nights and three busy days away, my brain took the rest of the week off. Apparently I’m not a young man anymore. The last day of the Rural Ontario Municipal Association 2023 conference was light on learning sessions, and the plenary sessions were sparsely attended as delegates left early. Too bad; theyContinue reading “ROMA Wrapup”
ROMA Conference 2: Waste & Energy
Day 2 of the ROMA conference had lots of learning, and some lovely pushback on bad policy. Morning Session: Beyond the Blue Box & the Circular Economy In this morning’s session, our MPP and Environment Minister, David Piccini, gave some details and promotion for a transition from government-run recycling centres to privately run recycling centres.Continue reading “ROMA Conference 2: Waste & Energy”
ROMA Conference 1: Asset Management Plans
Brighton budgets for Councillors to each attend up to two conferences relevant to our work per year. This helps keep our team in a constant state of learning and growth, which is really helpful for ensuring we have open minds and innovative approaches. This year I chose to attend the Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference,Continue reading “ROMA Conference 1: Asset Management Plans”
Public Consultations
This week started with a Planning meeting that included a public consultation about a proposed development near a wetland. Before, during, and after this meeting there has been significant public interest: councillors have been receiving emails, addressing comments on social media, and getting phone calls about the development, and through all of this communication we’veContinue reading “Public Consultations”