Questions

Q: Do you have to live in the Ward you are running in?

A: No. To run for a position on council candidates must be eligible to vote in that municipality. On the day a candidate files their nomination, they must be a Canadian citizen aged 18 or older, and qualify as a resident or non-resident elector. After nominations close the Clerk issues a Certified List of Candidates, meaning that all qualifications have been met.*

Did you know? Former Caledon Mayor Marolyn Morrison (2003 to 2014) lived in Ward 1 but represented the Ward 2 community throughout her political career as a Regional Councillor.

*Source: 2022 Candidates’ Guide – Ontario Municipal Council and School Board, Elections Page 2

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Q: Who is paying for the Caledon Proud campaign?

A: Great question. So far just me. “If you love Caledon like I love Caledon and want to contribute please send an email to caledonproud@gmail.com. There are specific rules and regulations relating to donations and I’d be happy to chat.

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Q: Do you have to be on title to vote?

A: No. You are eligible to vote in the 2022 Municipal and School Board Election if you meet the following criteria on the day you vote:

• Canadian citizen 

• at least 18 years of age

• reside within Caledon or are the owner/tenant of land in the Town, or the spouse of such owner/tenant

Source: https://www.caledon.ca/en/government/voter-information.aspx

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Q: I’ve heard some people say they want to bring Question Period back into Caledon Council. Is this a good idea? And why isn’t it there now?

A: Great questions. Because at first blush it may seem like a good idea to have an open public forum at the end of a meeting. But here is the challenge.

Councils are held to unique and particular legislative standards and procedures by which they must abide. What do I mean by that? 

For example, they are required to give proper notice in advance of meetings and the opportunity for public input. And so while in theory it may sound like a good idea, in practice having the Question Period actually accomplishes the opposite.

How? Suppose a resident(s) asks a question, makes a statement or an ask during Question Period. It prompts discussion amongst Council and in the enthusiasm of the discussion Council decides to take prompt action on the particular request of the resident. A decision of Council has now been made. The resident(s) who asked the question may be happy with the outcome.

But here’s the thing. Council’s knee jerk reaction has now been made without that deeper dive that includes professional, legal and financial consultation to make a well-informed, evidence-based decision.

To further frustrate… now people not at the meeting haven’t been awarded the same opportunity to participate. For them that decision of Council lacks both the proper notice public input to which they are entitled.

If someone is advocating for Question Period to be brought back into the Caledon Council chambers it may simply mean they are not familiar with the procedures and protocols that already exist for them to participate and bring a matter forward in a meeting. It’s as easy as making an application to the Clerk to make a delegation with the click of a button or a phone call. Click here to learn more.

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Q: Did the lane reduction and all-day parking in downtown Bolton increase congestion in the downtown area?

A: No.

It decreased congestion.

Here’s how.

Parking, safety and traffic concerns have been a challenge in downtown Bolton for the last couple of decades, so something needed to be done. To address these concerns, the Region of Peel began a Bolton All-Day On-Street Parking Pilot Project in the summer of 2019. The analysis and statistics from the Region of Peel All Day Parking Pilot Project were an overwhelming success:

  • Signification reduction in collisions (down by 43 per cent);
  • Cut-throw traffic (drivers using surrounding streets) almost completely eliminated (reduced by 90 per cent);
  • Traffic in the downtown core has been diverted (18 per cent reduction); and
  • Traffic on the preferred by-pass traffic routes (Coleraine Drive and the Emil Kolb Parkway) has increased

Fun Fact: there have been 12 new businesses open up in the last two years in downtown Bolton since the land reductions and all-day parking was implemented

Again and again, when we look at streets oriented toward people we find that they are more economically productive than any other style of development.

https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2018/1/16/why-walkable-streets-are-more-economically-productive

Additional reading:

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Q: Why did our Caledon Councillors need a pay raise?

A: Sound bites are intended to give short quick messages with maximum impact.

On this campaign trail, some of the candidates have been quick to jump on the bandwagon to decry the 24 per cent pay raise for Councillors as unseemly. Some have suggested they will reverse it if elected. But here’s my question to you.

Shouldn’t the question be why is the raise so high?

Simple answer.

Because the renumeration for your Mayor and Councillors was so low when compared to other neighbouring and similar sized municipalities.

How low?

Our Mayor and Councillors were below the Market P50 Median (Annual)

What does that mean?

At the Market P50 Median if you put 100 people in a room, half the people have a higher salary value and half the people have a lower salary for similar jobs and responsibilities.

So. How far below P50 was the Caledon pay scale?

  • The Mayor’s salary was below it by $11792; and
  • The Councillors’ salary by $3420

Everyone deserves a fair and living wage and in today’s current climate driving a wage to below the 50th percentile is in no one’s best interests.

I guess the question is: Are you willing to be working so far below the 50th percentile?

Highlights from Staff Report 2022-0259

  • The Town last conducted a review in 2015 
  • Recommendation brings salary adjusted to the 60th per gentile of the market
  • Compensation should be based on realistic standards to ensure reasonably compensated 
  • Recommendation demonstrates fiscal responsible and fairness to the taxpayer
  • Compensatio should be aligned with an established comparator group reflective of Caledon
  • The Mayor’s salary was 18.5 per cent below the recommended 60th percentile
  • The Councillor’s salty was 24.4 per cent below the market rate

Additional reading:

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Q: Is the proposed Highway 413 route through Caledon destroying farmland?

A: The simple answer is no.

The proposed route has been reviewed and discussed for many years and in Caledon the lands are in the southern portion of our Town, in the area referred to as the “whitebelt.” The “whitebelt” are the lands designated in 2005 for urban expansion by the provincial government of the day.

While the lands may still be actively farmed today, their fate for future development was sealed 17 years ago. 

Whether or not the 413 runs through these lands, development will consume these lands to accommodate the population growth.

It is also important to note this is a provincial initiative.

If the infrastructure corridor does not come to fruition, the population still is—and the burden of accommodating, building and updating our local road network to accommodate this massive growth will then be borne by our community.

That means at the expense of the taxpayer…through our environmentally sensitive areas…and through our hamlets and communities.

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