Doer
Well before the County purchased the Prince Edward County Rail line as a Millennial year project, there were folks who dreamed about what it might become. Those who with breathless enthusiasm imagined the development of similar railway line trails like the Coeur d’Alene trail in Idaho or the Great Allegheny Passage in Pennsylvania as powerful […]
OMB is dead
Council has suddenly become a more powerful beast. As of yesterday, it now rules land planning in this community with lethal finality. While the province shrinks away from its role as a final arbiter, Queen’s Park is downloading the authority of what gets built and where, almost entirely into the hands of local government. (Of […]
A wee nudge
Aregional homebuilder bought 13 acres in Picton a couple of years ago. He had planned to build affordable homes—a mix of detached, semi-detached and townhomes. All were to be priced at under $300,000. In a market desperate for new homes, this was welcome news. It is vacant land. On the edge of the town. Water, […]
Unaffordable
What happens when only the very wealthy can afford to live in Prince Edward County? What does the place look like when the last working family packs up and abandons the place? Will any schools remain? Playgrounds? Arenas? Will we recognize it? Can it still be called a community? Only visitors and rich folk? Perhaps […]
Long time coming
I expect a lot of Ontarians woke up on Sunday morning, rousing Google to find out who the NDP candidate is in their riding in the June 7 provincial election. That it was as easy as that. So distressed by the outcome of the Progressive Conservative leadership race, that I expect many folks can neither […]
Seepage
It’s a fragile thing. Our trust in government to protect us, to keep us safe from the dangers in the world around us, is fundamental to this relationship. We grumble and complain about how they spend our money, the priorities they choose and the decisions they make, but at the core of our idea about […]
Aim higher
It’s hard to give money away. Not so much the letting go of the cash, more the decision- making about who is worthy and who isn’t. Or rather, which group or initiative is worthier than all the rest. For there is only a finite well of money to give away. It’s hard enough for individuals. […]
Helping plenty
Farmland owners need to knock on another door. Residential homeowners have given already. Plenty. For 20 years, homeowners have paid 75 per cent of farmland tax. They didn’t agree to do this. It was thrust upon them in a basket of bad ideas conjured by Mike Harris and his team at Queen’s Park in the […]
Not just math
I don’t have any options,” explained Mary. “I’m on a fixed income. Where am I going to go?” Mary (not her real name) had just received a notice of a massive MPAC (Municipal Property Assessment Corporation) increase. It lay on the table in centre of the large room bounded on two sides by windows. Nearby, […]
Retraction
I fully and unreservedly retract any inference in my column The Land of John (February 28, 2018) that John Thompson has acted in anything other than an honourable and professional manner. Any other interpretation was not, and is not, my intention. I have always held John Thompson in high professional esteem, and continue to do […]