This past week, Huntsville residents found in their mail a glossy communication from Mayor Nancy Alcock. It was well written and all about the accomplishments of our current council.
I enjoyed reading it, and hearing from our mayor was refreshing. But to me, it read more like an election brochure than a fulsome report of not only the council’s successes but also the challenges this growing municipality faces and, specifically, what is being done about them.
There are, of course, some good things that this council has accomplished during the past two and a half years. They were the first, and still, I believe, the only municipality to come out foursquare in support of the proposal from Muskoka Algonquin Health Care (MAHC) for a new multi-site regional hospital. That was an important statement of clarity, from the largest municipality in Muskoka, especially in light of concerns that have been raised in other parts of the District. I will have more to say about that later in this article.
The Town’s establishment of a physician recruitment plan is also an important step forward as far too many people in this municipality are without their own doctor. This initiative is already showing results.
The various Plans outlined in the Mayor’s Community Update, the Asset Management Plan, the Conservation Demand Management Plan, the new Strategic Plan and the Home Energy Retrofit Program, are all significant achievements as well. However, I would wager that less than 15 percent of Huntsville residents, permanent or seasonal, know what is actually in them and that even fewer have yet to see any effective change as a result of them. Now that the Town has recruited a Communications Officer, this should be a high priority of the municipality.
Had I been writing this communication from the Town, although not entirely their fault, I would not be mentioning as one of Council’s “successes”, the establishment in River Mill Park of two washrooms that turned out, (in spite of a generous donation) to be possibly the most expensive outdoor washrooms anywhere in Ontario, most of it at local taxpayer’s expense.
Overall, however, it was good to hear from our mayor. I hope to see more of these community updates as taxpayers in Huntsville still have a lot of questions. These include what actual progress is being made to provide reasonable cost housing in Huntsville, why many of our roads remain in poor condition and the rationale for the growing bureaucracy within our municipality.
There was a comment from a Huntsville resident under a different Doppler story last week, that caught my eye. In speaking about Huntsville, he said, “The middle class and poor are only here to support the upper -class lifestyle. We do the work, and they have all the fun. Will it ever change?”
I don’t agree with that statement. I believe we have a pretty inclusive community with lots of recreational and cultural opportunities for everyone regardless of their income and much of it made possible by the assessment paid from more expensive homes and properties.
However, with the many million- dollar houses and condos being built here now, some of them far too close to our waterways, (such as on Brunel Road and Highway 60) it is perhaps a fair question to ask what is being done for those many Huntsville residents who cannot afford such luxuries? Should affordable housing not be a greater priority with fewer bureaucratic restrictions?
I am also concerned about a decision made by Huntsville Council, at their most recent meeting, related to council representation. I understand why they did it, but in my view, it was a band-aid solution that did not go nearly far enough.
The decision was to combine the wards of Huntsville and Chaffey into a single ward that would now have two representatives. That to some degree would alleviate the heavy burden on a single councilor representing Chaffey, the largest Ward by far in the municipality.
But it doesn’t solve the problem of an antiquated ward system that no longer makes any sense. Huntsville and Chaffey have now and will have after the change by Council’s recent decision, two councillors representing about 53 percent of Huntsville’s permanent population. The remaining 47 percent will be represented by seven councilors.
Too many Councils (including perhaps, the one of which I was mayor) have ignored the issue of elected municipal representation not only in Huntsville but also in the District of Muskoka which has more elected municipal councilors than the entire city of Toronto.
The recommendation to our current council was to deal with the single problem of Chaffey representation and once again push everything else off to a future council. But they can do more. There is lots of time before the next election to find a better and more fair and equitable solution to council representation, perhaps elections at large, with no wards or a more realistic defining of ward boundaries.
The issue of council representation at all levels of municipal government in Muskoka is an important one. Our current council has taken the lead in terms of hospital care and physician recruitment. They should have no trouble in taking the lead again in much needed municipal election reform. There is no need to push it off to a future council.
Finally, turning briefly again to the hospital issue, it is past time for us all to hear what is really going on. Unless the date has been changed MAHC has an October deadline to formally submit their recommendations to the Ministry of Health.
It has been at least two months since we have heard anything substantive. At that time our MPP Graydon Smith said he would not support the recommendations of MACH in their present form. It was also widely circulated then that a fair solution to the outstanding issues was near at hand.
So, where is it? When will we know what the final recommendations of MAHC are and if they will differ from the plan that the Town of Huntsville has endorsed.? We know there have been ongoing discussions with activists and officials in South Muskoka. We have heard little to nothing substantive from North Muskoka.
The MAHC website, madeinmuskahealthcare.ca is helpful but less than definitive in relation to a final agreement that will go forward to the Province of Ontario and whether it will be supported by our member of the Ontario Legislature.
It is high time to get clarity on both of these matters.
Hugh Mackenzie
Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler and South Muskoka Doppler.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
We also experience a problem with councillors that appear to be willing to accept pay but provide little or no representation to the people in their ward. Most times not participating in council and not responding to contact from the public.
This is a problem in Stephenson ward and I’m sure others.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Mr Spivak’s comment seems pretty appropriate in Lake Of Bays too, especially when it comes to District representation.
There seems little actual response to queries about procedures handed down from District.
In general Lake of Bays township seems to be in love of over reaching legislation to solve non-existent problems at a fairly high cost. We are, in short, over governed and burdened with many rules that seem to have no ability to be adjusted to fit the actual situation, being followed by rote from a general policy that is not always applicable and maybe quite old.
Now we are to give them the ability to directly tax any accommodation rentals for the greater good of promoting the area to tourists but we do not plan to tax anything but the easily found “roofed accommodation” so all the tourist dependent stores, businesses and contractors get a free ride on this yet they arguably get more benefit from tourists than the roofed accommodation sector will gain from this tax.
As our friend Trump would tweet, “very unfair!”
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Brian and Thomas, with so many opinions and armchair quarterback skills, one would think that you should run for council to make Stephenson, LOB and Muskoka a better place for all.
Dr. Don
Allen Markle says
I was all set to add my comment to that of Thomas Spivak, regarding the council representation for Stephenson Township. Or rather the lack of it. And was then somewhat taken aback by the comment by Dr. Keedic.
I think I have stated before that I would rather suffer a root canal than stand for public office. I doubt I would have the disposition for the job. So I pay my taxes and I make my ‘X’ when required, and brook no hesitation whatsoever when it comes to having and voicing an opinion. Or so I’ve been told.
So here’s to those ‘quarterback’ skills. Here’s to the people with opinions. And here’s to Doppler as the perfect place to present various opinions. If you don’t like them, just read them and ignore them.
Simple.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Mr, Mackenzie you are right on with your comment on MAHC. They do a terrible job of communicating. They won’t even say who is in the working groups they formed Why not? And Graydon Smith was clear on his stand on the MAHC proposal
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
I am in complete agreement with Mr. Tapley and Mr. Spivak. Our Huntsville town council likes to answer those who are in total agreement with their idea’s however they refuse to engage those of us who express opposition. I guess they don’t like to engage with those of us who ask hard questions. I keep reading their statements in the Doppler, wich I read every day, where they like to state ” There are a lot of people/businesses who are on board” yet refuse to answer the question of “What percentage of our towns population/businesses are represented by a lot?” Or “Who’s idea was it to spend $680,000.00 on public washrooms?”
As for the public washrooms, If Huntsville town council didn’t think they had made a mistake, why did they try to return it. The company in Quebec refused thus leaving tax payers on the hook for a $340.00 per month storage fee.
As for Dr. Don, I thank those armchair politicians because they are the voice of the people who have become apathetic and have lost faith in local government. They also give those of us who are active ideas and inspiration on holding our local government accountable. It’s hard to engage with a town council who refuses to engage with us.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Good article Hugh. On the subject of council representation, I agree with you and voiced it to several councillors recently. It is a band-aid solution that will not be permanent. When I was on council between 2010 and 2014 I brought forward the concept of at large elections.
I did my research, speaking to every municipality in the province who has adopted it. 100% of the municipalities that have adopted it think it’s great. It’s a permanent solution and it actually serves to elect better council members because they have to work harder to get elected. It avoids someone serving for umpteen council terms simply because they’re the most popular in their Ward. It almost serves like term limits. Currently we actually have two, soon to be three at large areas in our system: District, Port Sydney, Utterson, Stisted and now Chaffey/Town. Literally only Brunel Ward has one representative for it’s ward.
On the question of overrepresentation, a number of years ago when I was a District Councillor, I was at an event in Toronto and was chatting with the then Deputy Mayor of Toronto. We were discussing the representation issue and the number of District Councillors vis a vis the number of constituents. He shared that the ward he represented in the city had a population of 160,000! (albeit with more staff at his disposal). But one person for 160,000 and we have 21 for approximately 80,000! So certainly at District we are overrepresented. As you know, this has been discussed many times over the years with no solution in sight.
Janice Schumacher says
I don’t usually respond because my husband and daughter have been councillors for Port Sydney, Stisted and Stephenson. However, I would like to address the comment about them not doing anything except taking their pay. If you want to see and talk to your representatives, I would suggest that rather than sitting on your duff and writing letters that you go out to the community events. All of your representatives will be working at the Turkey Dinner in Port Sydney next weekend. Will you be volunteering? They are at almost every community event. There is a yearly cleanup in Utterson. Were you there to help? When we fought for the overpass and the new school ( V.K.Greer) years ago ( maybe that was before your time) we did not just write letters, we actually had yard sales every weekend, walked all over collecting signatures, and got involved. Do you belong to the Lion’s club or the Rotary, where you volunteer and help out your community? Your representatives are members and are busy in the community most weekends and during the week. I still teach at the college and I tell my students that if you are not willing to go out and make a difference in your community by volunteering and doing the work, then you have no right to complain.
Chas Clark says
What glossy letter from the Mayor, not in my post box? It would have been better posted on Doppler as the best means of reaching Huntsville residents.