Few imagined

It may be the most important election in Prince Edward County since 1998. Strains are pulling at the fabric of this place. The centre is fraying. It may struggle to hold together.

With each passing decade, it becomes harder to see our prospects, opportunities, and community ambitions through the lens of local government. More and more we live our lives with little regard for Shire Hall— less a shining light on a hill, more an industrial- scale vacuum of energy, time and resources. More irritant than inspiration. Neither a comfort nor a curse.

The institution is fading. Seemingly unable to protect or promote. Shrugging toward irrelevance. It is vulnerable. It needs our attention.

A decade was lost chasing the agenda of developers and the province—even as the province was shrinking from its responsibilities and developers jockeyed for advantage. Meanwhile, the engine that drove investment, energy, and the creative rural economy a decade ago is stalling out as the first wave of grapegrowers and winemakers begins aging out. Some are disappearing with barely a ripple.

As land prices soar and regulatory hurdles expand, Prince Edward County suddenly looks less appealing to investors, entrepreneurs, and those who might otherwise have considered making a life here. Barley days are giving way to a buckthorn thicket. We are drifting to the mean of generic rural Ontario.

We might wish our local government had a plan to restore the vitality and dynamism of the County economy that hummed during the first decade of the millennium—that made waves across Canada and beyond. We might expect it to nudge the economy out of its drifting trajectory. But to do so imagines that Shire Hall considers the local economy at all. There is little evidence to suggest it does.

Council decided in 2010 the local economy wasn’t necessary. Some resented the money spent to nurture and cultivate the investment that the efforts attracted. Others simply didn’t like the face of economic development—despite the success created. Even as the brand continued to draw investment two decades later.

Some argued cultivation wasn’t necessary— once the creative rural economy was rolling, it would keep thriving. It would always do so. In perpetuity without reinvestment. Some still do.

Few imagined other communities would innovate, invest in their opportunities and would one day compete with Prince Edward County. Few imagined.

The same arguments are currently being tested regarding tourism. Unsatisfied with the fresh flow of tax revenue from the accommodation tax, some want a bigger share of it. The province created the tax to shift the cost of tourism promotion onto municipalities—half going to the municipality to manage visitors, half to destination marketing orgs to promote their competitive advantage.

But some folks want it all—they don’t want to share. The tourism economy can look after itself.

So they cajole Queen’s Park. Someday the province will concede. Local government will steal away all the tax and throw it into roads it can’t afford to maintain. To roads it no longer remembers were the province’s responsibility.

The outcome is as predictable as gravity. Investment will go to more fertile ground. The tourism sector will wither. The revenue pool will dry up. Barely noticeable at first. By then it will be too late.

While the natural beauty of Prince Edward County will likely continue to draw holidaygoers for a long time, without innovation, investment, and entrepreneurialism in the shoulder seasons, it can’t hope to feed more than seasonal workers.

A young council candidate in Athol proclaimed last week that “the County was her home, not a business opportunity”. It was surely intended as a snappy contrast line—and a good one. Yet it captures a lot.

But here is the thing: It is unclear how the County remains the County without investment. Without entrepreneurs chasing business opportunities. Without a vital brand. Without a creative rural economy.

Can we eat the County?

Find a candidate meeting near you (See page 15). Help with the nudging.

rick@wellingtontimes.ca