Grey County County Council Meeting Transcript — January 8, 2026

00:00:00 Speaker 01: Thank you, and we. There's the

00:00:03 Speaker 01: message that we are recording in

00:00:04 Speaker 01: progress. Thank you very much, Madam

00:00:06 Speaker 01: Clerk, and thank you very much,

00:00:08 Speaker 01: everyone, for attending online this morning.

00:00:10 Speaker 01: I would like to call to

00:00:11 Speaker 01: order this January eighth County Council

00:00:13 Speaker 01: meeting. At this point in time,

00:00:15 Speaker 01: as you are able, please stand

00:00:16 Speaker 01: and join us in the singing

00:00:18 Speaker 02: of O Canada. our home and

00:00:34 Speaker 03: native land, true patriot love in

00:00:40 Speaker 03: all of us command. With glowing

00:00:46 Speaker 03: hearts, we see thee rise, the

00:00:51 Speaker 03: true North, strong and free, from

00:00:53 Speaker 04: far and wide, O. Canada, we

00:00:58 Speaker 04: stand on guard for thee. God

00:01:03 Speaker 04: keep our land, glorious and free.

00:01:11 Speaker 04: O Canada, we stand. on guard

00:01:18 Speaker 04: for thee. Thank you very much,

00:01:26 Speaker 04: Madam Clerk. Could you please conduct

00:01:30 Speaker 04: our roll call? Thank you, and

00:01:42 Speaker 04: through you, Madam Warden, I can

00:01:43 Speaker 05: confirm we have all members in

00:01:47 Speaker 05: attendance from County Council, with the

00:01:49 Speaker 05: exception of Councillor Nielsen, and. Body.

00:01:51 Speaker 05: We won't expect Councillor Nielsen this

00:01:53 Speaker 05: morning, but are expecting Councillor Body

00:01:56 Speaker 05: later on. Okay, thank you. And

00:01:58 Speaker 05: Madam Clerk, could I please ask

00:02:00 Speaker 05: that you or someone, a staff

00:02:04 Speaker 05: member, share the land acknowledgement because

00:02:06 Speaker 05: I don't have that in my

00:02:08 Speaker 05: notes in front of me. Thank

00:02:10 Speaker 05: you. Yes, no problem. Please hold.

00:02:11 Speaker 05: Thank you very much, Madam Clerk.

00:02:13 Speaker 05: We acknowledge with respect that we

00:03:13 Speaker 01: are gathered on the traditional territory

00:03:15 Speaker 01: of the Anishinaabeg Nation, the people

00:03:16 Speaker 01: of the Three Fires. known as

00:03:18 Speaker 01: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi nations,

00:03:20 Speaker 01: we give thanks to the Chippewas

00:03:21 Speaker 01: of Saugeen and the Chippewas of

00:03:25 Speaker 01: Nawash, known collectively as the as

00:03:26 Speaker 01: the Saugeen Ojibwe Nation, the traditional

00:03:29 Speaker 01: keepers of these lands and waters

00:03:30 Speaker 01: since time immemorial. To our south,

00:03:33 Speaker 01: the traditional territories of the Six

00:03:35 Speaker 01: Nations of the Grand River and

00:03:39 Speaker 01: the Haudenosaunee, we are dedicated to

00:03:41 Speaker 01: honoring Indigenous history and culture and

00:03:42 Speaker 01: committed to moving forward. in the

00:03:46 Speaker 01: in the spirit of truth, reconciliation,

00:03:48 Speaker 01: and friendship with all First Nations,

00:03:50 Speaker 01: Métis, and Inuit people. And with

00:03:53 Speaker 01: that, for our county council agenda,

00:03:56 Speaker 01: we have a number of adoption

00:04:01 Speaker 01: of minutes. The first one is

00:04:02 Speaker 01: item five a. It's recommended that

00:04:03 Speaker 01: the minutes of the joint Bruce

00:04:05 Speaker 01: and Gray County special meeting, dated

00:04:07 Speaker 01: November twenty seventh, twenty twenty five,

00:04:09 Speaker 01: and the resolutions contained therein, be

00:04:11 Speaker 01: adopted as presented. May I ask

00:04:13 Speaker 01: for a mover? May ask for

00:04:16 Speaker 01: a mover and a seconder. Okay,

00:04:17 Speaker 01: I see the deputy warden has

00:04:22 Speaker 01: raised his hand to move, and

00:04:23 Speaker 01: Councillor Dickerd has seconded. Any discussion?

00:04:25 Speaker 01: All those in favor, please to

00:04:29 Speaker 01: raise your hand. And that motion

00:04:31 Speaker 01: is carried. Thank you. Next is

00:04:34 Speaker 01: item five B. It's recommended that

00:04:36 Speaker 01: the inaugural minutes of the County

00:04:38 Speaker 01: Council meeting dated December second, twenty

00:04:40 Speaker 01: twenty-five, and the resolutions contained therein

00:04:42 Speaker 01: be adopted as presented. May ask

00:04:44 Speaker 01: for a mover. and a seconder.

00:04:46 Speaker 01: Got a move by Councillor Patterson

00:04:47 Speaker 01: and seconded by Councillor Dobrin. Any

00:04:49 Speaker 01: discussion? Please raise your hand. All

00:04:53 Speaker 01: those in favor? And that motion

00:04:54 Speaker 01: is carried. Item 5C. It's recommended

00:04:58 Speaker 01: that the minutes of the committee,

00:05:00 Speaker 01: the whole special budget meeting, dated

00:05:02 Speaker 01: December 5th, 2025, and the resolutions

00:05:04 Speaker 01: contained therein be adopted as presented.

00:05:06 Speaker 01: May ask for a mover and

00:05:09 Speaker 01: a seconder. Move by Councillor Mackie,

00:05:10 Speaker 01: seconded by Councillor Carleton. Any discussion?

00:05:12 Speaker 01: See no hands. Then, all

00:05:15 Speaker 01: those in favor, please raise your

00:05:17 Speaker 01: hand. And that motion is carried.

00:05:19 Speaker 01: Item five D. It's recommended that

00:05:23 Speaker 01: the minutes of County Council meeting

00:05:25 Speaker 01: and the Committee of the Whole

00:05:26 Speaker 01: meeting, dated December eleventh, twenty twenty-five,

00:05:28 Speaker 01: and the resolutions contained therein, be

00:05:30 Speaker 01: adopted as presented. May I ask

00:05:33 Speaker 01: for a mover and a seconder?

00:05:35 Speaker 01: I have it moved by Councilor

00:05:37 Speaker 01: McKay, seconded by Councilor McEvaney. Any

00:05:38 Speaker 01: discussion? Seeing none, all those in

00:05:43 Speaker 01: favor, please raise your hand. And

00:05:45 Speaker 01: that motion is carried. And then

00:05:47 Speaker 01: we have item five e. It's

00:05:51 Speaker 01: recommended that the minutes of the

00:05:54 Speaker 01: special committee of the of the

00:05:55 Speaker 01: whole budget meeting dated December twelfth,

00:05:57 Speaker 01: twenty twenty five, and the resolutions

00:05:59 Speaker 01: contained therein be adopted as presented.

00:06:01 Speaker 01: May I ask for a mover

00:06:03 Speaker 01: and a seconder? Moved by Councilor

00:06:03 Speaker 01: Bordain, seconded by Councilor Eccles. It's

00:06:06 Speaker 01: on the floor for discussion. Councillor

00:06:09 Speaker 01: Eccles is out of hand for

00:06:13 Speaker 01: discussion, or just a second. Okay,

00:06:14 Speaker 01: just a second. All right, then.

00:06:15 Speaker 01: All those in favor, please raise

00:06:18 Speaker 01: your hand. And that motion is

00:06:20 Speaker 01: carried. And item five f, it's

00:06:22 Speaker 01: recommended that the closed minutes of

00:06:24 Speaker 01: the joint Bruce and Gray County

00:06:27 Speaker 01: Special Meeting, dated November twenty seventh,

00:06:28 Speaker 01: twenty twenty five, and the closed

00:06:31 Speaker 01: session Special Committee of the Whole

00:06:33 Speaker 01: Budget Meeting minutes, dated December fifth,

00:06:34 Speaker 01: twenty twenty five, be adopted as

00:06:37 Speaker 01: provided. May I ask for a

00:06:39 Speaker 01: mover in a second? May ask

00:06:40 Speaker 01: for a mover and a seconder.

00:06:43 Speaker 01: Okay, we've got it moved by

00:06:45 Speaker 01: Councillor Kentner and seconded by Councillor

00:06:50 Speaker 01: Eccles. Any discussion? Okay, all those

00:06:52 Speaker 01: in favor, please raise your hand.

00:06:56 Speaker 01: And that motion is carried. And

00:06:56 Speaker 01: we do not have any closed

00:06:58 Speaker 01: meeting matters on today's council agenda,

00:07:00 Speaker 01: and nor do we have any

00:07:02 Speaker 01: reports. So we can then move

00:07:03 Speaker 01: on to the bylaws. It's

00:07:05 Speaker 01: recommended that bylaws fifty-two sixty-three twenty-six

00:07:08 Speaker 01: and fifty-two sixty-four twenty-six be in.

00:07:10 Speaker 01: 5426 be introduced and taken as

00:07:12 Speaker 01: read a first, second, and third

00:07:14 Speaker 01: time, finally passed, signed by the

00:07:15 Speaker 01: warden and the clerk, sealed with

00:07:17 Speaker 01: the seal of the corporation, and

00:07:19 Speaker 01: engrossed into the bylaw book. There

00:07:22 Speaker 01: are two. The first one is

00:07:25 Speaker 01: 526326. It's a bylaw to adopt

00:07:27 Speaker 01: the estimates of revenues and expenditures

00:07:30 Speaker 01: for the year 2026, requiring a

00:07:31 Speaker 01: total to be raised from taxation

00:07:36 Speaker 01: in 2026 of 83,951,800 dollars. Thousand

00:07:39 Speaker 01: eight hundred dollars, and the second

00:07:41 Speaker 01: one is a bylaw to confirm

00:07:43 Speaker 01: all actions and proceedings of the

00:07:44 Speaker 01: council. May I ask for a

00:07:47 Speaker 01: mover and a seconder? I've got

00:07:49 Speaker 01: it moved by Councilor Gregg. Thank

00:07:53 Speaker 01: you. Seconded by Councilor Pringle. Any

00:07:54 Speaker 01: discussion? Seeing no hands raised. All

00:07:57 Speaker 01: those in favor, please raise your

00:08:00 Speaker 01: hand. And that motion is carried.

00:08:02 Speaker 01: Thank you. So news and celebrations.

00:08:03 Speaker 01: It's wonderful to see everyone, even

00:08:04 Speaker 01: if it's virtual. It's still good

00:08:07 Speaker 01: to see everybody's faces. here after

00:08:08 Speaker 01: the holidays and all of the

00:08:10 Speaker 01: wonderful events that happened in December

00:08:12 Speaker 01: as well throughout our communities and

00:08:14 Speaker 01: and more so into the new

00:08:16 Speaker 01: year. I'd like to begin by

00:08:17 Speaker 01: first of all recognizing that this

00:08:20 Speaker 01: is actually from January seventh until

00:08:22 Speaker 01: twelfth. This this marks the Gray

00:08:24 Speaker 01: Bruce Farmers Week, and this year's

00:08:25 Speaker 01: conference is even more special because

00:08:27 Speaker 01: there's a special celebration. There is

00:08:30 Speaker 01: a 60th anniversary. It is the

00:08:32 Speaker 01: 60th anniversary, an incredible event for

00:08:35 Speaker 01: the Gray Ag Services. Six. decades

00:08:37 Speaker 01: of work six decades of bringing

00:08:39 Speaker 01: our agricultural communities together and it's

00:08:42 Speaker 01: truly something that should be celebrated.

00:08:43 Speaker 01: Farmers Week is a great opportunity

00:08:45 Speaker 01: each and every year for farmers

00:08:46 Speaker 01: and everyone in the agricultural community

00:08:48 Speaker 01: to come together, learn about their

00:08:51 Speaker 01: different commodities, discover new developments and

00:08:53 Speaker 01: farm practices and technology, and take

00:08:55 Speaker 01: valuable knowledge back to their farms.

00:08:57 Speaker 01: Agriculture isn't just an industry in

00:08:58 Speaker 01: a great county; it is woven

00:09:00 Speaker 01: into our very history, and it's

00:09:02 Speaker 01: driving our economy and it's shaping

00:09:03 Speaker 01: who we are. in each and

00:09:06 Speaker 01: every one of our municipalities. Gray

00:09:07 Speaker 01: County is a proud supporter of

00:09:09 Speaker 01: the Gray Ag Services and the

00:09:11 Speaker 01: Gray Bruce Farmers Week, and we

00:09:12 Speaker 01: want to extend all of us

00:09:15 Speaker 01: want to extend our sincere congratulations

00:09:16 Speaker 01: to Lori Smith for her leadership

00:09:19 Speaker 01: and her wonderful team of organizers,

00:09:21 Speaker 01: and wish them a tremendous success

00:09:23 Speaker 01: this week. And the other news

00:09:24 Speaker 01: and celebrations, I just like to,

00:09:27 Speaker 01: on behalf of all of Council,

00:09:28 Speaker 01: recognize all of those municipal services

00:09:32 Speaker 01: and emergency services and healthcare providers.

00:09:33 Speaker 01: both at our lower tiers and

00:09:34 Speaker 01: at our upper tier here in

00:09:36 Speaker 01: the county, who worked diligently over

00:09:38 Speaker 01: the holidays and especially during some

00:09:40 Speaker 01: of the the challenging weather that

00:09:41 Speaker 01: we had as well. We are

00:09:43 Speaker 01: no strangers to snowstorms in Gray

00:09:45 Speaker 01: County; that that is true. But

00:09:47 Speaker 01: we do truly appreciate the dedication

00:09:49 Speaker 01: shown by so many to work

00:09:52 Speaker 01: so efficiently and so professionally under

00:09:54 Speaker 01: those circumstances. To our transportation services

00:09:56 Speaker 01: team, thank you for working around

00:09:57 Speaker 01: the clock and doing your best

00:09:58 Speaker 01: to keep our roads open and

00:10:01 Speaker 01: safe and keep our our public

00:10:03 Speaker 01: and keep our our public informed.

00:10:05 Speaker 01: And your commitment during those long,

00:10:07 Speaker 01: challenging shifts does not go unnoticed.

00:10:08 Speaker 01: To our paramedics, you are right

00:10:10 Speaker 01: there with them, ready to go

00:10:12 Speaker 01: out during the storms, responding to

00:10:15 Speaker 01: calls, caring for our community members,

00:10:17 Speaker 01: and in their times, perhaps of

00:10:19 Speaker 01: greatest need. Your skill and dedication

00:10:20 Speaker 01: are fundamental to our community's well

00:10:23 Speaker 01: being, and to the many staff

00:10:24 Speaker 01: and our other services operating over

00:10:26 Speaker 01: the holidays. There's lots of lots

00:10:27 Speaker 01: of activity that happens in the

00:10:30 Speaker 01: background that people are often unaware

00:10:31 Speaker 01: of. We really do. appreciate that,

00:10:33 Speaker 01: including all of those who are

00:10:35 Speaker 01: in our long-term care homes who

00:10:36 Speaker 01: brave the elements just to make

00:10:38 Speaker 01: sure that they could still come

00:10:41 Speaker 01: to work and support our residents

00:10:43 Speaker 01: and their coworkers. All of us

00:10:45 Speaker 01: share our deepest gratitude. So, with

00:10:47 Speaker 01: that, I would like to open

00:10:49 Speaker 01: it out for other community announcements

00:10:52 Speaker 01: of news and celebrations. We'll go

00:10:53 Speaker 01: to Councilor McKay first. Yes, thank

00:10:56 Speaker 06: you, and through you, Warden, I

00:11:00 Speaker 06: know this is dear to your

00:11:03 Speaker 06: heart this year. 2026, is the

00:11:05 Speaker 06: 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian

00:11:07 Speaker 06: Legion, and keep your ears and

00:11:11 Speaker 06: eyes open. There'll be many special

00:11:14 Speaker 06: events going on with our branches

00:11:17 Speaker 06: throughout Grey County. I know the

00:11:20 Speaker 06: Chatsworth Legion 464 is going to

00:11:22 Speaker 06: throw a big event come this

00:11:26 Speaker 06: summer. So, the I guess the

00:11:29 Speaker 06: anniversary date is July 18th. Eighteenth

00:11:32 Speaker 06: or seventeenth. So keep your ears

00:11:34 Speaker 06: open. Help support the regions in

00:11:35 Speaker 01: your area. Thank you. Excellent. Good

00:11:37 Speaker 01: heads up for us to make

00:11:42 Speaker 01: sure we're circling that date on

00:11:43 Speaker 01: our calendar. And other news and

00:11:46 Speaker 01: celebrations. I'll look for any virtual

00:11:48 Speaker 01: hands to go up. I do

00:11:49 Speaker 01: hope this means that everybody had

00:11:51 Speaker 01: some good rest and time with

00:11:52 Speaker 01: their friends and family. It's good

00:11:53 Speaker 01: good to see that we've had

00:11:55 Speaker 01: some downtime, and I know there

00:11:57 Speaker 01: is some exciting. Time and I

00:11:58 Speaker 01: know there are some exciting events,

00:12:02 Speaker 01: some levies coming up around the

00:12:03 Speaker 01: municipalities as well, and it's good

00:12:05 Speaker 01: to see everybody back. Okay, well,

00:12:06 Speaker 01: I'm not seeing any further announcements

00:12:08 Speaker 01: at this point in time, so

00:12:10 Speaker 01: we will then move on with

00:12:12 Speaker 01: a motion to adjourn. May ask

00:12:16 Speaker 01: for a mover and a seconder.

00:12:19 Speaker 01: I've got a move by Councillor

00:12:21 Speaker 01: McQueen, seconded by Councillor Dobrin. Any

00:12:22 Speaker 01: discussion on adjourning? All those in

00:12:23 Speaker 01: favor? And the council portion is

00:12:25 Speaker 01: adjourned, and we'll wait for a moment to get the heads. up from our communications before we move on to Committee of the Whole.