Looking back!

A little under a year ago, I started this discussion post.Since then, on an almost daily basis I have questioned or examined a variety of political issues.

There is certainly no shortage of content, but I think looking back is important as well. Discussion 1 of 365 was about where you live if you want to run for office.

The issue has been raised several times since. There will be no changes to legislation that allows people who do not live here to run for Mayor and win. The only way to prevent it is at the polls.

One can easily say, they are eligible if they own or rent property, regardless of where they actually live, and they would be right.

But… when they use promotional videos and constantly say it is their “home”, well that draws a line under the issue that needs to have a spotlight on it. Our Mayor even stood on stage and said he has lived here all of his life. Sure, that’s the truth if you add the words, “off and on”. He presently lives in Tiny and has lived in Ottawa as well. Great… just stop painting a different picture.

Why raise this again? Well another member of our Council who has a part time home here but lives in the GTA posted a great series of photos today showing off a bakery in her “home town”. She was invited to their anniversary celebration and thought it would be appropriate to share the photos in Wasaga Beach Social Media groups saying we need one here. Sadly, I don’t think that particular Councilor has ever come into our store to take photos and share her experience. There are several businesses in Wasaga Beach who sell baked goods and they would all love if our Council members featured their visits.

Discussion 3 was about homelessness and questioned what the Town was doing to address the various issues related to the homeless community. That discussion ended with a reminder that some people were still sleeping in tents here in Wasaga Beach. I suspect nothing has changed.

One item that has come up is that the County of Simcoe has agreed to build another 99 unit affordable housing building on Zoo Park. Great… but why withhold the news of such a great decision? That’s easy to answer. It’s not close enough to the next election. I suspect Brian or Tanya will turn on the charm just prior to the next election and announce how hard they have worked towards this incredible announcement. (Sounds like Costco-

)

Discussion 4 was a particularly important one to look back at now. Remember the big deal this Council made of “shredding trucks” being at Town Hall just after the last election? They even wasted OPP investigators time on this issue. So far, a year later, no charges have been laid and guess what? THE SHREDDING TRUCK CONTINUES TO VISIT TOWN HALL MONTHLY and we see evidence of that in our Cheque registers. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE remember this in the next election. They knew the shredding was routine and made it sound nefarious.

Finally, I think it is worth reviewing discussion 5. It is probably one of the most important issues to ensure EVERYONE knows about. One of the very first actions this Council took when they took office was to cancel the recording of “in camera” meetings. This is such an important issue because there was only ever two people who would have easy access to those recordings; The Integrity Commisioner and, The Closed Meeting Investigator.

Now, the reality is that this Council has more “in camera” time booked than any Council in Wasaga Beach history. Are they discussing inappropriate items in camera? Nobody knows because the only ones who could report it are members of Council themselves. Sure a staffer could try whistle blowing, but it probably wouldn’t end well. My understanding is that no decisions are to be made in camera. Any voting needs to happen in public sessions. But as recently as this month, issues have been discussed in camera, the public report simply said “direction was given”, THEN, the next day announcements were made that a major decision had been made. Really? Did all seven members vote in favour of that decision? Was there even a vote? It certainly didn’t happen in public.

Regardless of how any of you feel after reading this, there is NOTHING that can be done. Why? Well a complaint to a closed meeting investigator would require proof of what was discussed. That evidence used to be collected and stored. Now… it is all secret!

This Council has made some pretty blatant mistakes but this early decision simply showed malice and contempt towards open and transparent government. It was quietly swept under the rug and they do NOT want us talking about it still!

More reviews over the next few weeks. Feel free to chat about any of it.