Like many municipalities in Ontario, Meaford's council is grappling with the recent imposition of 'strong mayor powers'. During Monday's council meeting there was significant discussion about the strong mayor powers, and while it was clear that not one of the seven members of our council support the use of strong mayor powers, it was also clear that rejecting them...
A motion brought forward by Deputy Mayor Shirley Keaveney during council's May 12 meeting could lead to the return of a BIA in Meaford, and that could be a good thing for the municipality, the downtown area, and the many businesses that operate there.
BIAs are established by municipal councils under the authority of sections 204 to 215 of the...
A friend recently suggested to me that a community is only as good as its army of volunteers. My friend was frustrated that in their own community, finding volunteers has become increasingly difficult, yet they have often heard me bragging about the culture of volunteering that can be found in my community, the Municipality of Meaford.
There is no doubt...
Though it might have felt slow in arriving, we are now a week into the month of May, and spring finally feels like it is in full swing. The damp, chilly, and sometimes snowy April we experienced is behind us, and many are looking forward to the warmer air and sunny skies that May will bring.
I have been enjoying...
Just six months ago I would have bet with confidence that the Conservative Party would form a majority government when the next federal election, originally scheduled for October 25 of this year, was held. Never would I have imagined even those few short months ago that the Liberal Party of Canada would overcome nearly two years of trailing the...
With the winter snow now gone, and the sand and grit on our roads and sidewalks slowly being swept away, we find ourselves in the midst of Earth Week. But with all the chaos taking place around the globe these days, Earth Week seems to have taken a back seat this year, in the hype department at least.
This year's...
In a little over a week Canadians will be heading to the polls to elect our next federal government.
According to the Elections Canada website, we will have six candidates on our ballots in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound:
Natasha Akiwenzie, for the Green Party, Ann Gillies, for the United Party of Canada (UP), Christopher Neudorf, of the New Democratic Party (NDP), incumbent Alex...
Prior to council's Monday meeting, I mentioned to our publisher that the agenda was a 'long and busy one', and in deed it was, with many important items on the agenda, from the final approval of the 2025 municipal budgets to officially appointing Meaford's new Chief Administrative Officer, to an update on the coming Short Term Accommodations bylaw, a...
They say that April showers bring May flowers, but Mother Nature didn't wait until April this year and instead poured an enormous amount of rain and freezing rain on us over the weekend, which, when combined with chilly evening air and some healthy winds, resulted in significant damage to trees and power lines throughout the region as that rain...
Around this time each year, as is required by Section 284 of Ontario's Municipal Act, this week the municipality released a report that outlines the remuneration received by our seven members of council last year.
While you might hear some folks suggest that council members should cut their pay in order to reduce taxes, the reality is that you could...
