Kate MacNaughton

Picton Ward One 

Montreal-born Kate MacNaughton, who lives in Picton, holds three things dear: her teenage daughter, her family and her community. “Serving as an elected representative has been an honour,” she said. “It wakes me up in the morning and keeps me up at night.” Noting that she has worked hard in that role, she said she has put forward more motions at council than anyone else.

While there have been some local successes in the area of affordable housing, MacNaughton said more should be done to address affordable rentals. “We have no reach to renovate the Rental Tenancies Act, which needs a deep overhaul, but we can advocate for fairer rent predictability,” she said, adding that the province often ignores municipal advocacy. “We should be doing everything we can to urge them to fix their mistakes.”

Tourism may be the engine driving the County economy, but MacNaughton would like to see more diversification in the job market here. “We should be seeking to create full-time, four-season opportunities,” she said. And it is time to roll back the large parking fines near water access, she added.

The waterworks system has become a huge and overwhelming issue, said the incumbent councillor, who pointed out that she was able to work with staff and Council to create a grant program to help low-income households manage their water costs as well as property taxes. “I’m pretty proud of that,” she said. “I’m hoping that we’ll be able to fine tune it next year.”

When asked about heritage, environmental sustainability, stewardship and protection in the County, MacNaughton said the bigger issue is climate change. “Are we doing anything to assist with climate change and to prepare for the increasing climate risk this community faces? This is the critical question,” she said. “It has to be top of mind with all our major plans and policies.” She pointed out that the County declared a climate emergency in May 2019 but “it took a full year after that to get the first meeting of the Environmental Advisory Committee and we, as a municipality, have still not done much.”

About the size of council, she would like to see a slightly smaller Council of nine or 10 plus the mayor. “Shaving off a few positions will make the group a more workable size but, importantly, it would allow for a more adult conversation to be had about raising Council pay so that there are fewer barriers to entry for lower income individuals.” But she warned that a much smaller Council would risk losing diversity of perspectives. And then added: “All of that said, Council size can wait if there is another crazy term with pandemics, climate impacts or other emergencies. Housing, climate work and emergency management should take precedence.”