Owen-sound Council-meeting Meeting Transcript — September 30, 2026

00:00:12 SPEAKER_UNKNOWN: All right.

00:00:14 SPEAKER_UNKNOWN: How's everybody doing tonight?

00:00:16 SPEAKER_UNKNOWN: This is a full house.

00:00:18 SPEAKER_UNKNOWN: Wow.

00:00:19 SPEAKER_UNKNOWN: We are going to be standing room here in a few moments.

00:00:22 SPEAKER_UNKNOWN: This is incredible.

00:00:23 SPEAKER_UNKNOWN: Thank you all for being here tonight.

00:00:25 SPEAKER_UNKNOWN: This is an important one.

00:00:27 SPEAKER_UNKNOWN: It's the mayoral all candidates meeting.

00:00:29 SPEAKER_004: We want to say a big thank you to Bonpoint, the Association of Retailers, for helping us with this meeting.

00:00:36 SPEAKER_003: We're going to get to meet the mayor candidates in just a moment.

00:00:39 SPEAKER_004: First, though, the outside of District Chamber of Commerce would like to acknowledge that we are meeting on Aboriginal land that has been inhabited by Indigenous peoples from the beginning.

00:00:49 SPEAKER_004: As settlers, we're grateful for the opportunity to meet here, and we thank all generations of people who have taken care of this land for thousands of years.

00:00:58 SPEAKER_004: Long before today, as we gather here, there have been Aboriginal peoples who have been the stewards of this place.

00:01:05 SPEAKER_004: In particular, we acknowledge the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee, Ojibwe, Cree, and Shinnecock.

00:01:14 SPEAKER_004: We recognize and deeply appreciate their historic connection to this place.

00:01:18 SPEAKER_004: We also recognize the contributions of the Métis, Inuit, and other Indigenous peoples have made in both shaping and strengthening this community in particular, and our province and country as a whole.

00:01:33 SPEAKER_004: Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Jay C. Coots.

00:01:35 Jay C. Coots: I will be your moderator for this evening.

00:01:37 Jay C. Coots: But first, I'd like to thank the Owen Sound Chamber of Commerce and One Point Association of Realtors.

00:01:44 Jay C. Coots: Also, thank you to Gary Myers for doing the sound tonight.

00:01:48 Jay C. Coots: Very quick, very quick idea of what we're doing here for a format tonight.

00:01:54 Jay C. Coots: First of all, all of your candidates are going to get a two minutes period for opening remarks.

00:02:00 Jay C. Coots: I have drawn their names in a random draw, and we'll be jumping around the stage for these opening remarks here in a few moments.

00:02:07 Jay C. Coots: At the end of it, they will get one minute for closing remarks.

00:02:11 Jay C. Coots: As moderator, I am going to have a few questions, or in fact, to get us through about the first hour of the night tonight.

00:02:18 SPEAKER_004: And I promise you, I'm not going to ask any of the big issue questions that I'm sure are on your mind.

00:02:24 SPEAKER_004: I'm going to leave that up to you.

00:02:26 SPEAKER_004: Now, if you do have questions, there is an opportunity to write in questions.

00:02:30 SPEAKER_004: If you need a card and a pen or a pencil to write your questions down, we have volunteers, student volunteers, who are with us here tonight.

00:02:38 SPEAKER_004: Kids, if you just want to raise your hands, let everybody know who you are.

00:02:41 SPEAKER_004: And if you've got questions, make sure you signal them.

00:02:43 SPEAKER_004: They will bring you over a pen and paper so that you can write down your question.

00:02:47 SPEAKER_004: We'll do your questions for the second half of this meeting tonight.

00:02:51 SPEAKER_004: We are not televised on Rogers tonight, so we don't.

00:02:54 SPEAKER_004: We're not really constrained by time.

00:02:55 SPEAKER_004: If we have to run a few minutes past nine o'clock to get as many questions as we can in, we will.

00:03:00 SPEAKER_004: I am hopeful tonight we can get at least five or six audience questions in for our mayoral candidates.

00:03:07 SPEAKER_004: Now, for our candidates, you do have two minutes to answer each question.

00:03:10 SPEAKER_004: We have a timekeeper that is going to be timing your responses.

00:03:14 SPEAKER_004: When you get down to thirty seconds, you'll get a little thirty-second warning that's going to be held up, and when it's time to stop, you will get a stop sign.

00:03:21 SPEAKER_004: And at that point we'll cut your microphone off when the stop sign comes up.

00:03:25 SPEAKER_004: So just be aware of that.

00:03:27 SPEAKER_004: Of course, tonight we do have security on hand.

00:03:31 SPEAKER_006: I know that we won't need these lovely folks, but they are here.

00:03:35 SPEAKER_004: So let's all be nice, play nice in the sandbox, be respectful of each other, and of our candidates who are here tonight.

00:03:42 SPEAKER_004: One thing that is certain: we are going to have a new mayor in Owen Sound at the end of this.

00:03:48 SPEAKER_004: That is going to be one of these people sitting on stage right now that are here tonight.

00:03:52 SPEAKER_004: So it's very exciting, and people continue to come in.

00:03:55 SPEAKER_004: So thank you very much, everybody, for being here.

00:03:58 SPEAKER_004: There is obviously a lot of interest.

00:04:00 SPEAKER_004: I should probably mention in case I forget: make sure that you are registered to vote.

00:04:06 SPEAKER_004: You can go to Owen Sound.ca or Oceansidevotes.ca for information.

00:04:11 SPEAKER_004: There are two election centres.

00:04:13 SPEAKER_004: They're going to be open.

00:04:14 SPEAKER_004: One at City Hall starting October 16.

00:04:17 SPEAKER_004: The other at Carvin's.

00:04:17 SPEAKER_004: Sixteen.

00:04:17 SPEAKER_004: The other at Heritage Place Mall, starting October seventeenth.

00:04:20 SPEAKER_004: I realize not everybody is technologically advanced and has access to the internet and things like that.

00:04:26 SPEAKER_004: You can go and ask questions there, but very important to make sure you're on the list so that you can vote.

00:04:33 SPEAKER_004: With all of that said, let's get into meeting our candidates here tonight.

00:04:38 SPEAKER_004: The order in which we are going to go, just so that everybody on stage is aware, first up would be Richard Thomas.

00:04:44 SPEAKER_004: Second will be Carol Merton.

00:04:46 SPEAKER_004: Third will be Carol Merton.

00:04:48 SPEAKER_004: Fourth will be Jodi King.

00:04:50 SPEAKER_004: Fifth will be Andre Zaborgin.

00:04:52 SPEAKER_004: And sixth will be Ray Botten.

00:04:55 SPEAKER_004: And then when we do closing remarks, we will reverse that.

00:04:58 SPEAKER_004: Don't worry, guys.

00:04:59 SPEAKER_004: I will remember where you were, so we'll get that all sorted there for the end.

00:05:03 SPEAKER_004: With that said, let's put two minutes on the clock, and we will get opening statements from Richard Thomas.

00:05:14 Richard Thomas: Thanks very much.

00:05:15 Richard Thomas: DC.

00:05:15 Richard Thomas: Thanks everybody for coming out tonight.

00:05:17 Richard Thomas: It's always great to see a good turnout.

00:05:21 Richard Thomas: This election is not about any of us here on this stage.

00:05:27 Richard Thomas: It's not about whose face you see on Facebook the most.

00:05:29 Richard Thomas: It's not about who has the most likes or the most followers.

00:05:34 Richard Thomas: This election is about the future of Owen Sound.

00:05:38 Richard Thomas: It's about the vision you have for the future of Owen Sound.

00:05:43 Richard Thomas: I have a vision for the future of Owen Sound as well, and I'll tell you what it is.

00:05:47 Richard Thomas: My vision for the future of Owen Sound is a safe, welcoming, prosperous community where everybody loves to live.

00:05:57 Richard Thomas: That's why I've chosen this election to make the downtown river district my number one priority.

00:06:04 Richard Thomas: I think that it's time for us to talk about the downtown and deal with some of the issues that are there for four years now.

00:06:12 Richard Thomas: What I've heard from council is it's happening everywhere, and it's being used as an excuse for taking no action at all.

00:06:20 Richard Thomas: And I think that the time for action is now.

00:06:22 Richard Thomas: No more words.

00:06:23 Richard Thomas: It's time for action.

00:06:26 Richard Thomas: We hear a lot about taxation at the door when you campaign, and I've certainly heard lots about it.

00:06:33 Richard Thomas: Taxes are high in Owen Sound.

00:06:35 Richard Thomas: The only way to deal with high taxes is to build your assessment.

00:06:39 Richard Thomas: I cannot see our assessment building new families and new homes coming unless we have better curbside appeal in Owen Sound.

00:06:49 Richard Thomas: Tonight, I'm rolling out my ten-step plan for dealing with the problems in the downtown River District.

00:06:56 Richard Thomas: There will be a copy outside the door for each of you when you go.

00:06:59 Richard Thomas: It includes things like creating a River District Action Team to deal specifically with the problems and a Rapid Response Waste Team to go downtown and clean up in the morning before business owners arrive at

00:07:11 Richard Thomas: work.

00:07:12 Richard Thomas: You know compassion should not stop there.

00:07:15 Richard Thomas: Thank you, Mr. Thomas.

00:07:17 SPEAKER_013: Next up, opening statement from Carol Merton.

00:07:27 Carol Merton: Over the last eight years as a city councillor, I've seen our city change, and I have also heard the concerns of our community.

00:07:35 Carol Merton: The role of mayor is more than just stepping up; it is stepping forward.

00:07:40 Carol Merton: And as your mayor, I will do the following: build stronger connections between city hall and the public.

00:07:47 Carol Merton: This means practicing and expecting civility through meaningful communications.

00:07:53 Carol Merton: Focus on getting back to the basics, providing essential and core municipal services when and where they are needed.

00:08:01 Carol Merton: Encourage a whole community approach to the complex issues of homelessness, addictions, and mental illness.

00:08:09 Carol Merton: This means council and city staff address these issues with enthusiasm and absolute determination.

00:08:16 Carol Merton: We need to dig into our municipal toolkit to be able to support the supply of deeply affordable housing.

00:08:26 Carol Merton: A housing first programme with wraparound services has shown us that it works in addressing the issues of the unhoused.

00:08:32 Carol Merton: Addressing the issues of the unhoused, we need a whole community focus—not just us, but all of us together—to work at these issues and get additional viewpoints.

00:08:45 Carol Merton: We have to actively support our businesses and seek local economic development packages to retain the ones that are here.

00:08:55 Carol Merton: And I congratulate every single one of them.

00:08:57 Carol Merton: That's downtown.

00:08:59 Carol Merton: We appreciate you here, and we need you to stay.

00:09:03 Carol Merton: We want to explore our transit service because it is not designed to meet current or future needs for our residents.

00:09:12 Carol Merton: This includes looking at traffic flow.

00:09:15 Carol Merton: Our community has choices.

00:09:17 Carol Merton: We have possibilities.

00:09:19 Carol Merton: Avoidance of the issue is not a strategy, but engagement is.

00:09:25 Carol Merton: I'm determined to work for you.

00:09:27 Carol Merton: I am committed to this community.

00:09:29 Carol Merton: That is the stuff.

00:09:30 Carol Merton: I thank you, Carolyn.

00:09:30 Carol Merton: Yes, the outside.

00:09:30 Carol Merton: Thank you, Carol Merton.

00:09:32 SPEAKER_018: And next for the opening statement, we will go to Jodi King.

00:09:42 Jodi King: Hi, everyone.

00:09:45 Jodi King: We need a mayor who is compassionate but not weak.

00:09:50 Jodi King: I am that person.

00:09:52 Jodi King: I believe in full support and community input.

00:09:56 Jodi King: I will not be afraid to represent our city.

00:09:58 Jodi King: Saying, even if it doesn't fit my own agenda, I am not a career politician.

00:10:05 Jodi King: I am someone who's been here all my life.

00:10:08 Jodi King: I have seen all the problems and difficulties with my fellow citizens that we face on a daily basis.

00:10:17 Jodi King: I will do my very best to represent every citizen in Owen Sound,

00:10:22 Jodi King: and I'm willing to adapt to the constraints of the political system in order to bring the leadership that is needed more than ever to our great city.

00:10:34 Jodi King: I will help keep our city safe and secure.

00:10:38 Jodi King: We will no longer be afraid to open our car doors and walk down the streets.

00:10:44 Jodi King: As mayor, I will serve as a spokesperson for all the town by continuing my daily interaction, and I will make time for that with all members of this community.

00:10:56 Jodi King: Your concerns will not be ignored.

00:10:59 Jodi King: We will sit down together and come up with a workable and feasible solution.

00:11:06 Jodi King: With the housing and the four buildings, we will plan to approve new builds.

00:11:13 Jodi King: We will tackle zoning to accommodate such new builds.

00:11:18 Jodi King: We will give incentives for landlords with multiple buildings, and we will work together with the bylaws to address property standards for rentals.

00:11:31 Jodi King: We will also encourage new and updated housing projects geared to income.

00:11:37 Jodi King: Owens-Corning will invest in more housing options, for example, nursing homes and new builds.

00:11:44 Jodi King: And that does the top side.

00:11:45 Jodi King: Thank you, Jodi King.

00:11:46 Jodi King: Next up for opening statements is Mike Seiler Seiler.

00:11:53 SPEAKER_022: Is Mike Seiler Seiler?

00:11:54 Mike Seiler: Good evening.

00:11:58 Mike Seiler: Thank you for having me, guys.

00:12:01 Mike Seiler: I just want to let you know a little bit about myself.

00:12:04 Mike Seiler: I'm sure we'll get to the Q and A's and answer all the difficult questions.

00:12:08 Mike Seiler: So I was born to a single deaf mother in Brampton.

00:12:12 Mike Seiler: Kind of grew up in the projects down there.

00:12:14 Mike Seiler: Spent my childhood and teenage years in Peterborough, Ontario, where I had some early exposure to what we're experiencing here on the Sound.

00:12:22 Mike Seiler: I spent about ten years in the Bradford-Newmarket area before we came to Gervais Island Sound in 2012.

00:12:29 Mike Seiler: I purchased a farm from Mr. Gervin Erickson, and I don't see him here today.

00:12:36 Mike Seiler: But we moved to Island Sound with hopes of creating business and opportunity.

00:12:43 Mike Seiler: I'm what you would consider a prolific entrepreneur.

00:12:47 Mike Seiler: I've never had a boss before.

00:12:49 Mike Seiler: I just always worked for myself.

00:12:49 Mike Seiler: Work for myself.

00:12:51 Mike Seiler: I do not have authority issues.

00:12:52 Mike Seiler: Someone asked me, you know, if I should be running for council.

00:12:55 Mike Seiler: I said, "Go see for next."

00:12:57 Mike Seiler: I said, "See."

00:12:58 Mike Seiler: Like I'm not good around the table.

00:13:00 Mike Seiler: So I have served on many boards of directors and charities.

00:13:05 Mike Seiler: So I do not have cooperators on the table.

00:13:08 Mike Seiler: But I'm more of a leader than a follower.

00:13:10 Mike Seiler: My name is Mike Seiler Seiler, and I look forward to answering your questions this evening.

00:13:18 SPEAKER_030: Next up, opening statement from Andrii Zvorygin.

00:13:24 Andrii Zvorygin: Right.

00:13:25 Andrii Zvorygin: I'm Andrii Zvorygin, residing in the heart of Owen Sound for 11 years.

00:13:28 Andrii Zvorygin: My plan responds to the concerns residents raise most: downtown safety, property taxes, affordable homes.

00:13:35 Andrii Zvorygin: I connect those priorities through participation, clear responsibility, and practical service.

00:13:40 Andrii Zvorygin: I created Helpo Association so residents can follow council discussions and results.

00:13:45 Andrii Zvorygin: And I have attended and participated in Owen Sound and Grey County Council for years, interviewed urban planners and spoken with provincial and federal representatives about Owen Sound's needs.

00:13:55 Andrii Zvorygin: I run two profitable businesses: Liber IT, an information technology business, and OBS Forestry, a plant nursery farm.

00:14:02 Andrii Zvorygin: That work gives me experience with budgets, cash flow, and accountability.

00:14:05 Andrii Zvorygin: During the last eight years, property taxes rose more than two and a half times as fast as resident incomes.

00:14:11 Andrii Zvorygin: Owen Sound needs a new direction and a mayor who knows how to balance the budget.

00:14:16 Andrii Zvorygin: My draft 2027 city budget is more than a quarter million below the 2026 budget, while funding practical improvements.

00:14:23 Andrii Zvorygin: The budget funds the municipal civilian crisis response pilot.

00:14:27 Andrii Zvorygin: As mayor, I will work with the police services board and chief on police accountability and body camera policy.

00:14:33 Andrii Zvorygin: Local representatives will help neighbours organise watches and follow up with ward councillors.

00:14:38 Andrii Zvorygin: At Grey County Council, I will advance affordable housing pathways that could allow a family to get a warm home and land to grow their own food for as little as $700 a month.

00:14:47 Andrii Zvorygin: Transparency, participation, and compassion connect the work, so residents can help build a safer, more affordable city together.

00:14:58 Andrii Zvorygin: And yes, thank you very much, everyone, for being here.

00:15:01 Andrii Zvorygin: And I just like to be very well prepared.

00:15:04 Andrii Zvorygin: I've been working for several weeks on these, so I may have your answers pre-scripted, but everything is on my website: marvellandsound.ca.

00:15:14 Andrii Zvorygin: A lot more details there.

00:15:16 Andrii Zvorygin: Thank you very much.

00:15:17 SPEAKER_036: And our final opening statement will be from Ray Botten.

00:15:29 Ray Botten: I am saving lives.

00:15:31 Ray Botten: The primary reason I'm running for the office of the mayor is to deal with the drug pandemic in Old Town.

00:15:37 Ray Botten: This is my calling and mission sent from heaven, in or out of politics.

00:15:42 Ray Botten: If elected, I will ensure every political strategy will involve the safety and protection of our residents.

00:15:48 Ray Botten: Firstly, I will redelegate the strong mayor power back from the city manager to the mayor's office.

00:15:55 Ray Botten: This will empower myself to create and amend or veto any bylaws.

00:16:00 Ray Botten: This will support the police to engage and properly deal with open drug usage, which will no longer be tolerated in our city.

00:16:10 Ray Botten: I will be allowed to hire, fire city staff, and also put in heads of boards and committees that I feel are best suited for this great initiative, including setting the budget.

00:16:21 Ray Botten: Secondly, we will be withdrawing from Grey County in a number of phased-out procedures, looking to the Ontario government's permission.

00:16:34 Ray Botten: It is now time for Owen Sound to stand alone and become the city we were destined to be—strong, purposeful, and beautiful.

00:16:43 Ray Botten: Lastly, I believe Owensville and Meaford will become one city in the near future.

00:16:49 Ray Botten: The projected nine-billion-dollar water storage facility project in Meaford will be the catalyst for this, which will cause a stimulus economic boom we have never seen.

00:17:01 Ray Botten: We will now proactively support the project as it will create the sustainable momentum and growth in green energy for our region for years to come.

00:17:10 SPEAKER_042: It is an awesome beginning, and starts now.

00:17:14 SPEAKER_042: Thank you in advance for your support.

00:17:16 SPEAKER_038: My name is Ray Watson.

00:17:23 SPEAKER_042: All right.

00:17:24 SPEAKER_042: Now we're going to get into the portion of some moderator questions.

00:17:28 SPEAKER_004: I will not be touching on any of the obvious big topics.

00:17:31 SPEAKER_004: I'm going to leave that up to the audience to ask those questions.

00:17:34 SPEAKER_004: I'm sure you know what those big topics are.

00:17:36 SPEAKER_004: Again, if you have arrived late, as we've had a number of people still coming in, thank you for being here.

00:17:43 SPEAKER_004: We do have volunteers who have pens and paper.

00:17:46 SPEAKER_046: If you're looking for them, again, volunteers, you can just raise your hand so everyone can see you.

00:17:51 SPEAKER_046: Make sure you get their attention, and they will bring you over a pen and paper.

00:17:55 SPEAKER_004: We'll get through these questions quickly, and then hopefully five or six audience questions to end our evening.

00:18:03 SPEAKER_004: We're going to start at the front table with Ray and work our way down.

00:18:07 SPEAKER_004: So, Ray, will you be coming up first for this question?

00:18:09 SPEAKER_004: You will all have two minutes to answer this first question.

00:18:14 SPEAKER_004: What specific experience, qualifications, and leadership skills make you the best candidate to serve as mayor of Owen Sound?

00:18:22 SPEAKER_004: How do those qualifications prepare you to address the community's current challenges?

00:18:29 SPEAKER_004: Two minutes on the clock, and Ray Botten, you are up first.

00:18:31 SPEAKER_004: Ray Botten, you were up first.

00:18:33 Ray Botten: Yes, I've had leadership roles in Africa.

00:18:37 Ray Botten: I've served as a supervisor in northern Nigeria.

00:18:42 Ray Botten: I've been to places that the world has come to hear, and I've had the privilege to be a part of people's lives for over 25 years on the streets right here in Owen Sound.

00:18:57 Ray Botten: I've been the international coordinator for our ministry, Victoria's Living Centre.

00:19:03 Ray Botten: I was the manager for the homeless shelter.

00:19:07 Ray Botten: I've done a whole bunch of different other things.

00:19:11 Ray Botten: The most important reason why I'm here is to save lives.

00:19:14 Ray Botten: So it's not—it's not a game to me.

00:19:18 Ray Botten: Do I need qualifications to be kind or help someone who's in need?

00:19:24 Ray Botten: No. What I need is to do what God has called me to do, and that is to save lives.

00:19:30 Ray Botten: That's my qualification.

00:19:32 Ray Botten: Thank you, Ray.

00:19:33 SPEAKER_004: Again, candidates, if you do need me to repeat any questions, just make sure you ask, and I will be happy to do that.

00:19:42 SPEAKER_004: As some of the questions get a little long.

00:19:45 SPEAKER_004: Next to answer will be Richard Thomas.

00:19:52 Richard Thomas: Well, lots of you here already know me.

00:19:55 Richard Thomas: I've been around for a long time.

00:19:56 Richard Thomas: I moved here some forty years ago to stay.

00:19:57 Richard Thomas: Sound forty years ago to stay for a year, and here I still am because it's the most beautiful place probably that I can think to settle.

00:20:05 Richard Thomas: My experience got a fair bit of it.

00:20:08 Richard Thomas: I've been the library board chair for twenty three years, defending and protecting what I think is the best institution in the city of Owen Sound, the most important one that's for darn sure.

00:20:18 Richard Thomas: I also was on city council between two thousand fourteen and two thousand twenty two, involved in lots of important decisions that were made then, some of which we may talk about tonight.

00:20:30 Richard Thomas: Development charge, holiday, OBP costing, etc. I guess that all of that experience, along with some more experience I've had, I was on the hospital foundation board for ten years.

00:20:43 Richard Thomas: Worked on the major MRI projects and the cancer oncology centre project.

00:20:48 Richard Thomas: Also worked on the regional rep centre project.

00:20:51 Richard Thomas: So I've been around a bit, and I spent thirteen years covering city council as a reporter when I was working for KCO TV,

00:20:59 Richard Thomas: so I've been around City Hall for about 40 years since I came here.

00:21:02 Richard Thomas: I've seen lots of decisions made.

00:21:04 Richard Thomas: I've been involved in making lots of decisions, and I've got a strong knowledge of the way the city works and the way the municipal act works to constrain and, well, mostly constrain the city.

00:21:17 Richard Thomas: But there are other things as well.

00:21:20 Richard Thomas: But that's that's what qualifies me.

00:21:22 Richard Thomas: I've been around for a while.

00:21:24 Richard Thomas: And I don't need the extra thirty seconds.

00:21:26 Richard Thomas: Thanks.

00:21:27 SPEAKER_013: Next answer will be Mike Seiler Seiler.

00:21:38 Mike Seiler: I trust that you guys got one of my flyers when you came in.

00:21:42 Mike Seiler: On your way out, you can get one.

00:21:44 Mike Seiler: I put on the front compassion, courage, and competence.

00:21:48 Mike Seiler: And I'd just like to take a few minutes, or two minutes, to describe what that means to me.

00:21:53 Mike Seiler: So, compassion's two words to me: it's community and it's passion.

00:21:57 Mike Seiler: And no one to be a person with passion, and it's not a good emotion if anyone can relate.

00:22:03 Mike Seiler: So, passion is something that comes as a result of, and it pushes people forward to make changes.

00:22:12 Mike Seiler: So, to be compassionate is to understand what community is and be able and willing to serve your community.

00:22:21 Mike Seiler: So there's my compassion, courage.

00:22:25 Mike Seiler: What I've recognized going out and campaigning is that there's a lot of hurt people, there's a lot of angry people, and there's a lot of people that just simply don't trust right now.

00:22:34 Mike Seiler: And so what I've recognized in the beginning, I don't know if anyone's here that's thrown me out of their store, but I've been thrown out of a few places during my campaigning.

00:22:46 Mike Seiler: And I just recognize that you need that courage in this election because we're going to have to all be peeved off just a little bit, and I can explain that in detail.

00:22:59 Mike Seiler: And then competence—you need somebody with a vision right now.

00:23:04 Mike Seiler: We've kind of been stagnant for the past eight years, and so having somebody has a vision forward, a business plan—I think that that's probably the most important thing right now.

00:23:14 Mike Seiler: So without the three together, you can have competence without your passion.

00:23:17 Mike Seiler: Without compassion, without competence, we're going to lose some people, and we just need all three: compassion, competence, and courage.

00:23:24 Mike Seiler: Thank you so much, guys.

00:23:25 Mike Seiler: Thank you, Mike Seiler.

00:23:31 Mike Seiler: Same thing.

00:23:31 SPEAKER_004: We'll start at the far end of the table, and it will be Carol Merton.

00:23:36 Carol Merton: When I was contemplating running for mayor, I looked at what were the key competencies.

00:23:43 Carol Merton: What's different about being a mayor compared to a councillor, because there is a difference.

00:23:50 Carol Merton: The essential traits and skills were strong communication, high integrity, financial acumen, knowing where the buck stops, conflict resolution, strategic vision, collaboration, and crisis management, decisiveness, empathy, and knowledge of governance.

00:24:13 Carol Merton: I bring here experience having worked in various areas in upper level management, also in communication.

00:24:24 Carol Merton: I've taken extensive training through the Canadian Management Centre on how to develop high performance teams, how to work and navigate through the tough stuff, which we do know happens in politics, and communication skills.

00:24:41 Carol Merton: I have had to develop multiple.

00:24:42 Carol Merton: Had to develop multi-million-dollar budgets, present them to a board, and then make sure we stay within that budget line.

00:24:50 Carol Merton: So handling multi-million-dollar budgets is not uncomfortable for me, even though there's an awful lot of big zeros at the end.

00:25:00 Carol Merton: I also strongly believe in a community-focused approach and communication.

00:25:06 Carol Merton: I have worn a volunteer hat and for many years have actually done the Roger Stevie HealthLink programme connecting home, community, and healthcare.

00:25:16 Carol Merton: I am an author.

00:25:18 Carol Merton: I have written children's books, and I have also written books to try and help others along the political journey, based on the experiences and the adventures that I've had.

00:25:29 Carol Merton: So I bring a mixture of skills to this table, but most of all, it's the people skills.

00:25:36 Carol Merton: It's the relationship-building skills that I believe a mayor needs.

00:25:41 Carol Merton: Thank you.

00:25:42 SPEAKER_018: Next up is Andrii Zvorygin.

00:25:49 Andrii Zvorygin: Hi.

00:25:50 Andrii Zvorygin: Hello.

00:25:51 Andrii Zvorygin: Okay, I'm Andrii Zvorygin, and I'm the most prepared candidate for mayor.

00:25:56 Andrii Zvorygin: I have been at Great County Council for years, talking to the other mayors and the deputy mayors and the staff, and so I am well aware how everything works.

00:26:09 Andrii Zvorygin: And I've been following all of the council meetings.

00:26:13 Andrii Zvorygin: And I've even made helpwest.ca.

00:26:15 Andrii Zvorygin: And what it does is, it actually the agendas are hundreds of pages long, and that's difficult for people to understand what's going on.

00:26:21 Andrii Zvorygin: So I summarise them and put them up as articles.

00:26:25 Andrii Zvorygin: And then, after a meeting is made, I transcribe it and put up an article.

00:26:30 Andrii Zvorygin: And that way, people can follow along: who said what, why, why is this happening?

00:26:35 Andrii Zvorygin: And I have extended.

00:26:36 Andrii Zvorygin: I have extensive budgeting skills because I run the two profitable businesses, and a treasurer for the Great Rosemaker Space.

00:26:44 Andrii Zvorygin: I've been treasurer for other companies as well, and I, because of my IT background, I'm able to very accurately manage very large sums of money.

00:26:57 Andrii Zvorygin: I can transcribe the receipts.

00:27:00 Andrii Zvorygin: I can look through all of the documents because I have these IT skills.

00:27:06 Andrii Zvorygin: And in terms of people skills, I have a foundation of compassion and unconditional love for all beings, and I know how to work with people, even those who have strong animosity towards me.

00:27:18 Andrii Zvorygin: And I've been outside and talking to people who, for instance, were talking about violence, and I talked them down, and I helped them through that.

00:27:29 Andrii Zvorygin: And I've been at board meetings where people disagree, and we go to consensus because I believe in service and being a service to others.

00:27:39 Andrii Zvorygin: And we need someone who's willing to go and understand the levers of power.

00:27:45 Andrii Zvorygin: And I've been doing that with the federal and the provincial governments, and I've gotten results done.

00:27:51 Andrii Zvorygin: Thank you.

00:27:52 Andrii Zvorygin: Thank you, Alder.

00:27:53 SPEAKER_038: Next up is Jodi King.

00:28:01 Jodi King: I have twelve years of experience in being a security guard for banks, grocery stores, and bars.

00:28:08 Jodi King: I have to deescalate trauma, drama, fighting.

00:28:14 Jodi King: I have a heart for the less fortunate people here in Old Town.

00:28:20 Jodi King: I live around the corner from St. Paul's Sound, and I see the chaos.

00:28:27 Jodi King: I see the sadness in people for 12 years.

00:28:31 Jodi King: It seems that these people have been thrown to the side and forgotten about.

00:28:37 Jodi King: I have a good rapport with about twenty of these homeless people who call me Mama Bear.

00:28:43 Jodi King: I love them equally as I love my own children.

00:28:48 Jodi King: Everyone here tonight has a vision.

00:28:50 Jodi King: Everyone here has a platform.

00:28:53 Jodi King: Everybody here wants to have a say.

00:28:56 Jodi King: My question to you folks tonight: What do you have to say?

00:29:00 Jodi King: I don't want to bring division.

00:29:02 Jodi King: I want to bring unity back to our community.

00:29:06 Jodi King: I want to be able to say.

00:29:10 Jodi King: I want to bring back neighbourhood watches.

00:29:13 Jodi King: I want to be able to say to my neighbour, "Could you watch my home when I'm on vacation?"

00:29:19 Jodi King: or vice versa.

00:29:21 Jodi King: I want to be able to say to my neighbour, "There was somebody in your backyard," and I have followed procedure calling the police because we want to look out for each other again.

00:29:35 Jodi King: I don't want to be scared walking down the street.

00:29:37 Jodi King: I don't want you to be scared walking down the street at nighttime.

00:29:42 Jodi King: That's bringing unity back alongside again.

00:29:45 Jodi King: Thank you.

00:29:46 Jodi King: All right.

00:29:51 SPEAKER_030: For this next question, we will start with Mike Seiler and work our way down the front table.

00:29:55 SPEAKER_004: The question: If elected, will you oppose new municipal land transfer taxes that make buying a home even less affordable?

00:30:07 SPEAKER_004: And first up for two minutes will be Mike Seiler Seiler.

00:30:16 Mike Seiler: I've been in real estate since 2013, and I don't fully understand the context of the question right now.

00:30:24 Mike Seiler: So, just generally speaking, when it comes to real estate, I'm just going to speak on what I would like to see with real estate,

00:30:33 Mike Seiler: and I would like to see our tiny homes come to backyards, so garden suites.

00:30:40 Mike Seiler: They push you know basement apartments and whatnot, but I think it's probably one of the most important things that we can do as Canadians, not just as Oldham Sound, but across Canada.

00:30:56 Mike Seiler: The feelings that you guys have towards homeless, I'm looking amongst here, and we have an aging population ourselves.

00:31:02 Mike Seiler: And as I've been campaigning, asking people, they're waiting for retirement homes, and there's backlogs.

00:31:11 Mike Seiler: And so, my question to you guys, like, you guys have parents and aging family members that are waiting to get in homes, and the expense of that.

00:31:20 Mike Seiler: So, densification, backyard homes to me not only helps solve the problem for homelessness, but it also helps for students who don't always want to live with mom and dad,

00:31:34 Mike Seiler: but could have an option to go into a backyard suite, and then also for the aging population.

00:31:39 Mike Seiler: This is going to be slightly controversial on the stop sign, but there is a rise in the need.

00:31:46 Mike Seiler: Death, and I'm going to tell you guys, I love you guys just like Andre, just like Ray Botten, and I would like to save lives as well.

00:31:56 Mike Seiler: And I think when the elderly are given an option because they're all alone, and an option is to take the medically assisted in dying,

00:32:04 Mike Seiler: I think we need to put a stop and make sure we can take care of our people.

00:32:08 Mike Seiler: Okay.

00:32:08 Mike Seiler: Good.

00:32:08 Mike Seiler: Thank you, Mike Seiler.

00:32:14 SPEAKER_061: And next up will be Richard Thomas.

00:32:18 Richard Thomas: Starting to think about that saying, always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

00:32:22 Richard Thomas: I'm in the middle here, getting these guys on either side.

00:32:25 SPEAKER_013: I think the short answer to the question is, I plan to consider anything that will get housing started in Owen Sound.

00:32:32 SPEAKER_013: In 2014, when I was first elected to council, I was the one that brought the first ever development charge holiday to the table.

00:32:40 SPEAKER_013: Council agreed to give it a try, and new starts in the community more than doubled in the next three years.

00:32:46 SPEAKER_013: I think that we need to look at creative solutions for housing in Owen Sound.

00:32:52 SPEAKER_013: And one of my ideas is to bring together local developers, local not-for-profits like Habitat for Humanity and the Owen Sound Housing Company,

00:33:01 SPEAKER_013: and look at the surplus areas of municipal land and see if we cannot get homegrown projects to build affordable housing here in Owen Sound.

00:33:10 SPEAKER_013: And by affordable, I don't mean affordable like Saugus shores, where the level is four hundred thousand dollars for a home.

00:33:14 SPEAKER_013: A hundred thousand dollars for affordable?

00:33:17 SPEAKER_013: I need something truly affordable in Owen Sound.

00:33:21 SPEAKER_013: Thank you.

00:33:21 SPEAKER_013: Mr. Ray Botten, could you repeat the question?

00:33:30 SPEAKER_013: Yes.

00:33:31 SPEAKER_004: The question is: If elected, will you oppose new municipal land transfer taxes that make buying a home even less affordable?

00:33:42 SPEAKER_042: First of all, I'm not educated to be able to really answer that question; I don't want to say something I don't know.

00:33:50 SPEAKER_042: What I do know is what Mike Seiler just shared about made.

00:33:54 SPEAKER_072: I know that why, because last year in November I was dying.

00:33:59 SPEAKER_072: I was in palliative care on oxygen, and I was going very soon from that point.

00:34:06 SPEAKER_072: So I chose made.

00:34:08 SPEAKER_072: I was about to sign my life away.

00:34:11 SPEAKER_072: I did that twice, and I changed my mind.

00:34:15 SPEAKER_072: I'm here living only because God has given me that opportunity.

00:34:18 SPEAKER_072: Don't ever, ever give up.

00:34:22 SPEAKER_072: That's my message tonight.

00:34:24 SPEAKER_072: You want to save a life?

00:34:26 SPEAKER_072: Save your life.

00:34:27 SPEAKER_072: Don't give your life away.

00:34:30 SPEAKER_072: Live.

00:34:30 SPEAKER_072: Thank you.

00:34:36 SPEAKER_072: Thank you, Ray.

00:34:39 SPEAKER_072: Next, we will go to Joey King.

00:34:43 SPEAKER_072: Affordable housing.

00:34:44 SPEAKER_072: What does that mean to you?

00:34:46 SPEAKER_022: These vinyl housing units that are being built on the west side, where the old Kennedy Building was at one time—that's a long time ago.

00:35:00 SPEAKER_068: They start, I believe, they start at twenty-two hundred to twenty-five hundred.

00:35:04 SPEAKER_068: They start at that.

00:35:07 SPEAKER_068: How can anyone in Elmira afford that?

00:35:10 SPEAKER_068: We can't right now.

00:35:13 SPEAKER_022: I'm wanting to bring in housing that we can actually afford.

00:35:18 SPEAKER_022: That a family of two, three, four can afford a beautiful home for about less than half of that.

00:35:29 SPEAKER_022: That can be done.

00:35:30 SPEAKER_022: That is feasible.

00:35:32 SPEAKER_022: Everyone deserves a beautiful home.

00:35:35 SPEAKER_022: Everyone deserves an affordable home.

00:35:39 SPEAKER_022: And even with the landlords here in Owen Sound having multiple housing units, I would like to offer them incentives to offer ten, twenty percent of their rentals below the rental fees right now.

00:35:59 SPEAKER_022: So if the going rate is eighteen hundred dollars a month, I would offer less than that, so they can actually have a decent home to live in,

00:36:08 SPEAKER_022: and not worry about what they are going to use the money for?

00:36:14 SPEAKER_022: Do I pay rent, or do I pay more groceries, my gas for my car?

00:36:20 SPEAKER_022: I want to bring back affordable housing for everyone.

00:36:23 SPEAKER_022: Thank you.

00:36:25 SPEAKER_022: Thank you, Joe.

00:36:25 SPEAKER_022: Next up is Andrii Zvorygin.

00:36:30 Andrii Zvorygin: Thank you.

00:36:31 Andrii Zvorygin: And yes, I'm opposed to land transfer taxes as because it raises the price of homes when you're getting them; residents need more homes families can carry.

00:36:40 Andrii Zvorygin: I will return vacant homes, then open construction paths.

00:36:43 Andrii Zvorygin: The city allows missing middle homes, including townhomes and multiplexes, when housing costs stay 30 percent or less of relevant income: one living wage income for a single person or household income for a family.

00:36:57 Andrii Zvorygin: Surplus lots and brownfield sites can support housing while parks and green spaces remain for residents.

00:37:03 Andrii Zvorygin: At Grey County Council, I will propose the rural planning pathway through affordable rural communities.

00:37:08 Andrii Zvorygin: First, I will establish the vacant home tax.

00:37:10 Andrii Zvorygin: Owner declarations will identify vacant homes for a baseline.

00:37:13 Andrii Zvorygin: Second, staff will publish stalled projects and city lands, give tenants clear information, and move attainable projects through approved timelines.

00:37:21 Andrii Zvorygin: Third, as a voting member of Grey County Council, I will propose a countywide rural housing framework and model zoning provisions for municipalities.

00:37:28 Andrii Zvorygin: I've attended Grey County planning meetings for years and developed this proposal.

00:37:31 Andrii Zvorygin: I've done the math, construction, and land calculations, and published at helpos.ca/arc.

00:37:34 Andrii Zvorygin: A family can have a warm, resident-owned home and productive land for food, firewood, and a perennial food forest for 700 a month.

00:37:43 Andrii Zvorygin: The public measures will count homes returned to use, affordable units created, projects advanced, and county milestones completed.

00:37:50 Andrii Zvorygin: A secure home gives residents ground to stand on.

00:37:53 Andrii Zvorygin: From there, health and family, work and hope have room to grow.

00:37:59 Andrii Zvorygin: And so, the development charges: I want them to be just for if it's actually affordable construction because we've had a lot of luxury homes, as Jodi King mentioned, and we need actually affordable homes,

00:38:15 Andrii Zvorygin: and that is possible.

00:38:17 Andrii Zvorygin: We just have to allow them both within the city and in the county.

00:38:20 Andrii Zvorygin: All right, thank you.

00:38:28 SPEAKER_018: We have to use every tool we can find to bring affordability to our community.

00:38:35 SPEAKER_018: So I would not support anything that adds to the cost of homes.

00:38:41 SPEAKER_018: We are in a crisis, and this affordability crisis is affecting us and also affecting our ability to attract economic development to our city.

00:38:53 SPEAKER_018: You don't have homes, you can't bring people in, and businesses can't get workers.

00:38:58 SPEAKER_018: It is critical that we look at this, but there are things we can do.

00:39:02 SPEAKER_018: As a member of the Institute of Southern Georgian Bay Affordable Working Housing Group and Finance Group, there are strategies.

00:39:10 SPEAKER_018: Currently here in Owen Sound, we have a mega-million funding debt for our surplus for our facilities that require repair,

00:39:22 SPEAKER_018: and we have a capital unfunded debt where we can't even afford to buy the capital that we need, so what do we need to do?

00:39:32 SPEAKER_018: We need to sit down and look at the facilities that perhaps are underused or that we can't afford to repair,

00:39:38 SPEAKER_018: and be creative and repurpose them for affordable housing through the newly formed Community Development Corporation, which is under the umbrella of the Community Foundation of Greater Owen Sound.

00:39:50 SPEAKER_018: This is a corporation that will be the vehicle to be able to accept land transfers, land trusts, community bond issues, and repurposing buildings.

00:39:59 SPEAKER_018: We have many, many tools.

00:40:02 SPEAKER_018: Our median income is sixty-three thousand.

00:40:05 SPEAKER_018: Those are the workers that are the glue of our community, and fifty percent of people earn less than that.

00:40:12 SPEAKER_018: We need this for survival.

00:40:13 SPEAKER_018: We need it for sustainability, and we need to look at every possible tool that we have.

00:40:18 SPEAKER_018: Thank you.

00:40:22 SPEAKER_018: All right.

00:40:25 SPEAKER_030: For this next question, we're going to work from the far end to the near end, starting with the top tables.

00:40:32 SPEAKER_004: So, Carol, you'll be going first on this next one.

00:40:34 SPEAKER_004: I'm actually going to ask only one more prepared moderator question because we are getting so many audience questions.

00:40:41 SPEAKER_004: I'll allow more time for that.

00:40:43 SPEAKER_004: So, just one more for me.

00:40:44 SPEAKER_004: Still the same ballpark of the topic.

00:40:47 SPEAKER_004: The question is: If elected, will you support zoning changes that make it easier to build townhomes, multiplexes, and other missing middle housing?

00:40:58 SPEAKER_004: Carol Merton, absolutely.

00:41:02 SPEAKER_018: With David, in fact, certainly we're moving towards densification and intensification.

00:41:07 SPEAKER_018: We need to maximize the use and also repurpose the homes that we currently have that could become more than one unit.

00:41:17 SPEAKER_018: So building in vacant lands,

00:41:20 SPEAKER_018: there are also opportunities for the city to consider linking with nonprofit developers if they were guaranteeing that they would be building deeply affordable housing that the people at that median income or less could afford.

00:41:37 SPEAKER_018: These are the tools.

00:41:38 SPEAKER_018: These are the strategies that we need to use.

00:41:42 SPEAKER_018: Every neighbourhood can become a mixed neighbourhood where you can get single residents, single residences, family homes, townhomes.

00:41:51 SPEAKER_018: We also need to explore the opportunity of innovative cooperative housing developments that maximize choice.

00:42:00 SPEAKER_018: We want our seniors, as they wish to move to a smaller place, to have that available to them, which then frees up available housing for families who want to come to our area.

00:42:13 SPEAKER_018: There are amazing opportunities.

00:42:15 SPEAKER_018: We need an affordable housing working group established, which brings people together to the table.

00:42:21 SPEAKER_018: All of the people who can provide the expertise, and all of the community members who can identify what they need.

00:42:29 SPEAKER_018: Let's connect the dots.

00:42:31 SPEAKER_018: Housing is critical for our survival, and it also means that our community can move forward in what they need to thrive in our area.

00:42:47 SPEAKER_018: Thank you.

00:42:48 SPEAKER_038: And well, you might have noticed I answered the missing middle question in the previous response, and so I want to address it a little further here.

00:42:58 SPEAKER_038: In terms of, I've actually done the math, and the construction costs don't add up.

00:43:04 SPEAKER_038: The conventional construction is simply too expensive to be affordable for people with Owen Sound incomes, and that's why I designed a type of home which actually is affordable, and works well with what we have.

00:43:18 SPEAKER_038: We have hundreds of families that are going to Oshawa soup kitchens.

00:43:23 SPEAKER_038: Even though they're working and they're affording rent and transportation, but they can't put food on the table, and that's a tragedy.

00:43:30 SPEAKER_038: And we have to consider that people need more than just four walls.

00:43:34 SPEAKER_038: They need to have land where they can grow food, provide for themselves, let their children play outside, and have a business so that they can support our communities,

00:43:45 SPEAKER_038: and so with this housing plan that I made, it's based on a yurt, which is costable and it's similar to the indigenous wigwam, but it has the full insulation: R-40 roof, R-20 walls,

00:44:01 SPEAKER_038: and then you have solar electric and rainwater compost toilet, and it's all to building code, and you can have it for like ninety thousand, and thirty thousand, and with all the amenities,

00:44:13 SPEAKER_038: and that works out to be about four hundred to five hundred a month, depending on your down payment.

00:44:19 SPEAKER_038: And then, if you have twelve families get together and buy a large twenty-hectare lot, then that ends up being two hundred to three hundred.

00:44:29 SPEAKER_038: So you're looking at seven hundred to eight hundred a month.

00:44:33 SPEAKER_038: And so it works out, and we just need to allow it at the county level, and we can get those stalled projects through townhouses.

00:44:40 SPEAKER_038: That went bankrupt, and we can have with these kind of affordable homes, and then we can have housing for everybody, food for everybody, love and kindness for all.

00:44:49 SPEAKER_038: Thank you.

00:44:50 SPEAKER_038: Thank you.

00:44:51 SPEAKER_038: That was Jodi King.

00:44:56 SPEAKER_038: Could you repeat the question, please?

00:44:57 SPEAKER_038: Yes.

00:44:58 SPEAKER_004: If elected, will you support zoning changes that make it easier to build townhomes, multiplexes, and other missing middle housing?

00:45:08 SPEAKER_004: 100%.

00:45:09 SPEAKER_004: I would support that.

00:45:10 SPEAKER_004: I believe I answered some of that.

00:45:12 SPEAKER_004: The last question: There is room.

00:45:16 SPEAKER_004: There is space.

00:45:20 SPEAKER_004: There is a...

00:45:23 SPEAKER_004: Oh my goodness.

00:45:26 SPEAKER_004: Everyone needs a house.

00:45:28 SPEAKER_004: Everyone needs a home.

00:45:31 SPEAKER_022: Everyone needs to be able to afford a new home.

00:45:37 SPEAKER_022: And if we have some company from Owen Sound or out of Owen Sound wants to come and build, then we'd accommodate the zoning.

00:45:50 SPEAKER_022: But we'd also ask that company to build affordable housing, as my friend here, Audrey, has said, and Carol has mentioned: affordable, less than what's happening right now.

00:46:06 SPEAKER_022: These are beautiful homes too, but many, many people don't seem to need a home that they can afford comfortably, and to be able to buy groceries and clothing and whatever else they need.

00:46:23 SPEAKER_022: Basic needs.

00:46:25 SPEAKER_022: Housing is a basic need.

00:46:28 SPEAKER_022: More bikes than homeless right now.

00:46:31 SPEAKER_022: Most of the homeless people right now are in tents.

00:46:33 SPEAKER_022: Tense right now because I have a bit of fireworks.

00:46:38 SPEAKER_068: Most of them, they're actually saying they're tense on fire because they're so stressed and so angry at the system.

00:46:49 SPEAKER_068: These people continually need affordable housing, and we can't do that without your help.

00:46:55 SPEAKER_068: We can't do that with our help.

00:46:57 SPEAKER_022: We can't do that with the support of changing the zoning to accommodate such building.

00:47:02 SPEAKER_022: Thank you.

00:47:03 SPEAKER_022: Thank you.

00:47:09 SPEAKER_022: We're going to start.

00:47:09 SPEAKER_022: Sorry, Mike Seiler.

00:47:10 SPEAKER_022: We'll start with Ray.

00:47:12 SPEAKER_022: This time, so Ray, Bob, you're next.

00:47:15 SPEAKER_022: Thank you for the question.

00:47:17 SPEAKER_072: Am I for having zoning changes?

00:47:22 SPEAKER_072: Well, in my platform, I believe that we're on the precipice of the greatest move of Owen Sound, and we're not going to stay the little hamlet that we have been.

00:47:33 SPEAKER_072: That was a great little place to stay, and come up from Toronto and live here for the rest of our lives.

00:47:40 SPEAKER_072: In ten years, most of us in this room are going to be past the age of living.

00:47:46 SPEAKER_072: Okay, so anyone who wants to start a new life here, it will be because our vision is much greater than ourselves.

00:47:58 SPEAKER_072: Instead of saying old...

00:47:59 SPEAKER_072: Instead of saying the homeless will never make it, the addicted will never make it, it's time to have a little faith.

00:48:07 SPEAKER_072: And without faith, it's impossible to please God.

00:48:10 SPEAKER_072: I'd rather be on that faith action of seeing this nine-billion-dollar water storage facility be a part of what we're going to do.

00:48:25 SPEAKER_072: We're not prepared.

00:48:26 SPEAKER_072: We're not ready for prosperity.

00:48:28 SPEAKER_072: None of us for what we could have, and unless we expand our mind and be willing to say we can't do it, that's the time that God speaks to us in our hearts,

00:48:43 SPEAKER_072: and we start doing greater things each and every day.

00:48:47 SPEAKER_072: So, this nine billion dollars that is going to promote a green energy project that will help people for years to come is only the beginning.

00:48:59 SPEAKER_072: Let's take our sights off being a small community.

00:49:04 SPEAKER_072: We're not a city until we really have transportation.

00:49:10 SPEAKER_072: There's more to talk about, but let me assure you, we're all worthy of fighting for the good fight.

00:49:16 SPEAKER_072: Thank you.

00:49:17 SPEAKER_072: Thank you, Ray.

00:49:24 SPEAKER_072: Mr. Thomas.

00:49:24 SPEAKER_072: Ray, I got to tell you, I think...

00:49:25 SPEAKER_072: I got another twenty in me.

00:49:27 SPEAKER_072: Listen, this question's really similar to the last one.

00:49:35 SPEAKER_072: Everybody's alluded to that.

00:49:36 SPEAKER_013: I think that we've come to a point, you know, in Owen Sound where everything has to be on the table when it comes to affordability and housing.

00:49:44 SPEAKER_013: We can't budge around anymore.

00:49:46 SPEAKER_013: We've got to do something.

00:49:48 SPEAKER_013: It's part being a regional centre that brings a lot of people to our community when they're in need.

00:49:54 SPEAKER_013: And I think that while Grey County has the responsibility for housing in the region, and you know we are a member of the county,

00:50:02 SPEAKER_013: I think it's clear to me at least that we've got to advocate a lot more strongly with Grey County to make different things happen in Owen Sound.

00:50:11 SPEAKER_013: Otherwise, the problem is just going to get worse and worse and worse.

00:50:14 SPEAKER_013: And trust me, I know.

00:50:15 SPEAKER_013: I've been self-employed for thirty years.

00:50:18 SPEAKER_013: You know, it's not getting any cheaper to live these days, and we need to take serious action.

00:50:27 SPEAKER_013: And I believe the city of Lansdowne, through its mayor and deputy mayor, need to take a leadership role in tackling this problem.

00:50:33 SPEAKER_013: Mike Seiler Sweet, I will double down and go into the garden suite.

00:50:47 SPEAKER_013: I'd like to reinforce what Andre said.

00:50:51 SPEAKER_013: I too think that the prices are too expensive.

00:50:54 SPEAKER_013: The idea of building semis and multi-family homes—it's going to be expensive.

00:51:00 SPEAKER_061: I personally... it's not that I would be against rezoning, but just in the mindset of why you would rezone and make classifications less desirable affects our property taxes.

00:51:14 SPEAKER_030: So when you live downtown, downtown, you have an R-4 zone versus in a nicer area, and you have an R-1.

00:51:20 SPEAKER_030: Those zoning classes protect you for...

00:51:23 SPEAKER_030: It's kind of like living in a condo.

00:51:24 SPEAKER_061: So, I don't support the idea of just making our zoning down.

00:51:29 SPEAKER_061: But I also don't think that the answer is small family homes.

00:51:33 SPEAKER_061: We have a ton of great homes in Owen Sound, from small homes, wartime homes to great big homes.

00:51:38 SPEAKER_061: I'm saying that the students, with my kids, want to move out of home.

00:51:42 SPEAKER_061: They want autonomy.

00:51:43 SPEAKER_061: If they have to go to live with another student, then they're going to have problems and stuff like that, so to give them the autonomy that they need today.

00:51:51 SPEAKER_061: Like I don't think it's ideal.

00:51:52 SPEAKER_061: I think we need to be in community, but we all desire to have our own space and privacy.

00:51:57 SPEAKER_061: So I think the garden suites serve, like I said, students, young adults, the homelessness and the addiction crisis that we have in front of us, and more importantly,

00:52:06 SPEAKER_061: I think the biggest elephant in the room is the aging population.

00:52:10 SPEAKER_061: If you guys can imagine putting a garden suite in your backyard and possibly having, you know, a neighbour's elderly impaired...

00:52:15 SPEAKER_061: You know, neighbours, elderly parent, community living with you, vice versa.

00:52:19 SPEAKER_061: You know, you might not have the perfect sweet spot in your backyard, but your neighbour might.

00:52:23 SPEAKER_061: And in communities, you can take care of each other.

00:52:26 SPEAKER_061: So it can work for everybody.

00:52:29 SPEAKER_061: We will now get into some of the audience questions.

00:52:36 SPEAKER_061: We have lots of time for audience questions, and there are still some coming in.

00:52:40 SPEAKER_061: So I promise we will get to as many as we can.

00:52:42 SPEAKER_004: The one thing that often happens when we do these is a lot of the same questions come in just asked in different ways.

00:52:49 SPEAKER_090: So, trust me, if your question doesn't get asked, we are doing our best here.

00:52:54 SPEAKER_004: But we have lots of time—about an hour and ten minutes, maybe a bit more—to get through audience questions.

00:52:59 SPEAKER_004: This first one, I get the longest one I've received, so bear with me, everyone, as I read this question for you.

00:53:06 Jodi King: We are going to start on the top table with Jodi King and work our way down.

00:53:11 SPEAKER_004: The question: Since 2017, the Tom Thompson Art Gallery has lost approximately $400,000 a year, and Owen Sound taxpayers have covered that loss annually to over four million dollars.

00:53:25 Jodi King: According to Owen Sound budget, the gallery is estimated to lose another $432,000 to $450,000 this year.

00:53:36 Jodi King: The art gallery proposal is requesting 16 to 18 million dollars for expansion.

00:53:40 Jodi King: For expansions, what are your plans to eliminate the art gallery's massive losses?

00:53:47 Jodi King: And we'll start with Joey.

00:53:49 Jodi King: Wow.

00:53:50 Jodi King: We'll be happy to repeat that.

00:53:52 SPEAKER_004: Please, please, I think that was.

00:53:58 SPEAKER_004: Yes.

00:53:58 SPEAKER_004: The question: What are your plans to eliminate the art gallery's massive losses?

00:54:04 SPEAKER_004: Wow.

00:54:05 SPEAKER_004: I don't know where to begin.

00:54:10 SPEAKER_004: That's a lot of money.

00:54:13 SPEAKER_004: I'd rather see that money go toward more important things like housing and the whole recent infrastructure to invite more projects to.

00:54:31 SPEAKER_004: I just don't like wasting money.

00:54:34 SPEAKER_022: That's where I'm coming from, and I've heard that.

00:54:39 SPEAKER_022: I don't have the point to answer the question.

00:54:44 SPEAKER_022: Actually, I just know that there's.

00:54:48 SPEAKER_022: It seems like a waste of money to me, but I guess I'll just have to stop there.

00:54:56 SPEAKER_022: I don't know much about that.

00:54:59 SPEAKER_022: That's fine.

00:55:00 SPEAKER_022: So I apologize.

00:55:02 SPEAKER_022: Thank you.

00:55:03 SPEAKER_022: Thank you, jury.

00:55:05 SPEAKER_022: Next, we will go.

00:55:06 SPEAKER_022: Next up is Andrii Zvorygin.

00:55:09 Andrii Zvorygin: Yeah, thank you.

00:55:10 Andrii Zvorygin: And I've actually looked into this extensively, and I've run the numbers.

00:55:14 Andrii Zvorygin: And so, to have a contrast, the library has a hundred and seventy some thousand visitors a year, and based on how much we're giving the library, it costs about five dollars per visitor.

00:55:29 Andrii Zvorygin: Whereas for the art gallery, it has while they kind of have the last reliable numbers I managed to get, they're having about three to four thousand visitors,

00:55:40 Andrii Zvorygin: and it's over a hundred dollars per visitor that we're paying.

00:55:45 Andrii Zvorygin: And so my idea is actually that we can merge because those our buildings are right next to each other.

00:55:51 Andrii Zvorygin: We can just break down the wall, and then we can have a nice media centre where you could have like a big screen TV, flip through various artworks, maybe print one off, take it home,

00:56:06 Andrii Zvorygin: and this will also be additional revenue.

00:56:09 Andrii Zvorygin: And so, there's ways we can work together where we can still have art, but we can have also a bigger library, and save the people a lot of money.

00:56:24 Andrii Zvorygin: And I feel like there's opportunities like this all over Owen Sound because the budget has been going up just so much, like I said before, two and a half times faster than residents' incomes.

00:56:37 Andrii Zvorygin: I feel like there's many opportunities for cost reductions.

00:56:41 Andrii Zvorygin: The quarter million reduction that I made in my draft budget—that's just based on the public information that I could find.

00:56:47 Andrii Zvorygin: There's a lot more to it.

00:56:49 Andrii Zvorygin: If I'm mayor, I can direct the staff to release that information.

00:56:52 Andrii Zvorygin: We can find a lot more savings, and taxes will be going down year after year after year.

00:56:57 Andrii Zvorygin: Thank you.

00:56:59 Andrii Zvorygin: Thank you, ma'am.

00:57:01 Andrii Zvorygin: There is no doubt that the art gallery brings cultural value to our city.

00:57:12 Andrii Zvorygin: There is also no doubt that we have to do our homework first.

00:57:18 Andrii Zvorygin: Getting information about projected costs will be the job of a newly formed committee.

00:57:26 Andrii Zvorygin: Applications are invited around art gallery expansion.

00:57:28 Andrii Zvorygin: Our gallery expansion and also the collection, we need input, and we need to explore the opportunity of a private-public alliance or collaboration to assist in the funding on an ongoing basis.

00:57:47 Andrii Zvorygin: However, before we do that, and I alluded earlier to the fact that we have thirty-seven point two million dollars in unfunded capital infrastructure that we have to find money for.

00:58:03 Andrii Zvorygin: We also, based on our facilities review, have a thirty-one point million dollar repair job that we have to find money for.

00:58:16 Andrii Zvorygin: We need first make sure that we can keep the buildings that we have in a state of good repair, or figure out a plan on how we can repurpose them to meet a community's needs.

00:58:31 Andrii Zvorygin: While the working group looks at options around the art gallery, we also need to consider the fact that the art gallery is a tourism economic draw for the region.

00:58:46 Andrii Zvorygin: And looking at regional opportunity for finding assistance, since it brings people and tourists to the whole area, is an avenue still to be further explored.

00:58:59 Andrii Zvorygin: There are options that we need to consider them.

00:59:02 Andrii Zvorygin: Thank you.

00:59:03 SPEAKER_018: We'll start at the end of the table with Mike Seiler Seiler.

00:59:13 Mike Seiler: Anybody played in the city growing up?

00:59:18 Mike Seiler: So similar to what Carol said, you know, art galleries added to culture the city.

00:59:24 Mike Seiler: And it's one of the major downfalls of our society right now is our culture.

00:59:32 Mike Seiler: There's three wars going on.

00:59:34 Mike Seiler: If I can go on a tangent, we have a data war, we have a privacy war, and we have a culture war.

00:59:40 Mike Seiler: Most of you are probably aware of the data war going on, the privacy war, culture war.

00:59:46 Mike Seiler: It's it's probably the worst out of the three.

00:59:49 Mike Seiler: And again, it's as kind of middle class people.

00:59:52 Mike Seiler: We can look down at homeless people and say, you know, just kind of round them up and take them out.

00:59:59 Mike Seiler: We became kind of autonomous and desensitized.

01:00:03 Mike Seiler: And what I'm trying to say is, it's going the other way.

01:00:06 Mike Seiler: Like our desensitiz sensitivity is going towards our elderly.

01:00:12 Mike Seiler: And like, what does that do with the gallery?

01:00:15 SPEAKER_061: I mean, the question is 400 dollars for a gallery.

01:00:18 SPEAKER_061: My plan says I would like to create an Owen Sound passport for Oceansiders.

01:00:24 SPEAKER_061: So it's 100% free for Oceansiders.

01:00:26 SPEAKER_061: It's a big one.

01:00:27 SPEAKER_061: I can't tell you how much more seconds, but it's free for you guys to go around fishing, canoeing, the gallery, different things, and maintaining that culture and knowledge of our history is fundamental.

01:00:39 SPEAKER_061: It's important.

01:00:39 SPEAKER_061: But that's an opportunity to give the passport to Chatsworth, Gardenlofts, tourism that's coming in, so they can spend thirty dollars a month and then go around to these stations around the south.

01:00:50 SPEAKER_061: It's important for us to keep it.

01:00:51 SPEAKER_061: It's part of our community culture.

01:00:53 SPEAKER_061: It's a lost leader, kind of like the police, but it's a necessary evil.

01:00:59 SPEAKER_061: Thank you.

01:01:01 SPEAKER_061: And next up will be Richard Thomas.

01:01:06 Richard Thomas: One of the things I did mention at the start is I was chair of the Tom Thompson Art Gallery Advisory Committee for a number of years.

01:01:15 Richard Thomas: Well, I want to start my conversation by correcting the question.

01:01:20 Richard Thomas: The Tom Thompson Art Gallery does not lose four hundred thousand dollars a year.

01:01:25 Richard Thomas: It is a city department, and it is funded four hundred thousand dollars a year by the city.

01:01:31 Richard Thomas: It raises more than half of its own budget to continue operations.

01:01:36 Richard Thomas: So I just want to correct that.

01:01:38 Richard Thomas: This is a community area, but you know, I always tell my kids don't ever believe anything that you see on the internet.

01:01:46 Richard Thomas: We live in an era of jumping to conclusions instead of asking questions.

01:01:53 Richard Thomas: All you have to do is ask if you want to know this information.

01:01:57 Richard Thomas: As far as the sixteen million dollar expansion, absolutely, there was a plan going forward to explore what we can do.

01:02:04 Richard Thomas: But trust me, Owen Sound and Sound was never going to be on the hook for sixteen million dollars.

01:02:10 Richard Thomas: That was going to be funded by other levels of government and by donors.

01:02:15 Richard Thomas: So just to put those to rest for now, I think that sometimes it only sounds we really don't see what other people see in our city,

01:02:26 Richard Thomas: and I'm going to tell you right now that we have one of the best collections of Tom Thompson and Group of Seven work in the free world.

01:02:34 Richard Thomas: The city tourism department has only rarely promoted the Tom Thompson Art Gallery.

01:02:43 Richard Thomas: The Tom Thompson Art Gallery's budget is so small for promotions that they can't promote themselves.

01:02:49 Richard Thomas: So we got this great resource.

01:02:50 SPEAKER_013: We're going to keep it secret, and we're going to hack them when not enough people come and visit.

01:02:55 SPEAKER_013: Really, Owen Sound, we can do better than that.

01:02:59 SPEAKER_013: And as mayor, I will do better than that.

01:03:01 SPEAKER_013: Thank you.

01:03:01 SPEAKER_013: Could you repeat the question to see it slowly?

01:03:11 SPEAKER_013: Just say it slowly.

01:03:12 SPEAKER_013: I really want to get this.

01:03:14 SPEAKER_004: So, the question had to do with the losses for the Tom Thompson Art Gallery.

01:03:21 SPEAKER_004: Specifically, the question is: What are your plans to eliminate the art gallery's massive losses?

01:03:33 SPEAKER_004: I got to stand on this one.

01:03:37 SPEAKER_004: I'm not just mad.

01:03:38 SPEAKER_004: I'm furious.

01:03:39 SPEAKER_004: Okay.

01:03:40 SPEAKER_004: Periods.

01:03:40 SPEAKER_042: Okay, we got people wondering where their next food item is at home, and we're worried about how we're going to create a nice art piece.

01:03:50 SPEAKER_042: You people are wonderful art artists, great.

01:03:54 SPEAKER_042: Okay, but the thousands of dollars that are spent for and I'll tell you because I'm a former chef.

01:04:00 SPEAKER_042: You know the elite are always part of the artwork.

01:04:04 SPEAKER_042: Okay, the ones that have money.

01:04:06 SPEAKER_042: Of course, there's people that don't, but.

01:04:08 SPEAKER_042: I know the facts.

01:04:10 SPEAKER_042: You want to pass the orders, please.

01:04:12 SPEAKER_042: I have a solution for what we're saying.

01:04:17 SPEAKER_042: Well, well, it was only two hundred thousand.

01:04:19 SPEAKER_042: He says not more.

01:04:20 SPEAKER_042: So it was only two hundred thousand dollars tonight.

01:04:23 SPEAKER_042: I call for a boycott of the Tom Thompson.

01:04:27 SPEAKER_042: Starting tonight.

01:04:28 SPEAKER_042: Thank you very much.

01:04:31 SPEAKER_042: Thank you.

01:04:35 SPEAKER_030: For our next question, we're going to start at the top of the stage, and we'll begin with Carol, and work our way down.

01:04:41 SPEAKER_004: The question is: Homelessness remains a growing challenge in Owen Sound, despite ongoing investments in programmes and services.

01:04:53 SPEAKER_004: What do you believe is driving the increase in homelessness?

01:04:56 SPEAKER_004: What role should mayor and council play in addressing it?

01:05:00 SPEAKER_004: And how would you determine whether or not those efforts are having positive outcomes for both the unhoused and the broader community?

01:05:05 SPEAKER_004: That is a long question.

01:05:05 SPEAKER_004: They are long questions, but a good question.

01:05:17 SPEAKER_004: We're in an affordability crisis.

01:05:20 SPEAKER_018: What you're seeing with the homeless is a symptom of a larger system breakdown.

01:05:28 SPEAKER_018: And until we get everyone working together at all levels, federal, provincial, municipal, homelessness will continue to grow.

01:05:39 SPEAKER_018: The latest information we have from the Accountability Office, the Financial Accountability Office from the province, Bruce County, Grey County,

01:05:50 SPEAKER_018: tell us what we see today is going to be hugely increased in just a few years.

01:05:58 SPEAKER_018: We absolutely need to address homelessness.

01:06:02 SPEAKER_018: The studies on homelessness tell us housing first with a wraparound support system is the most effective.

01:06:10 SPEAKER_018: We don't have enough housing, so what do we need to do?

01:06:13 SPEAKER_018: We need to roll up our sleeves, get our pencils out,

01:06:17 SPEAKER_018: and figure out how we're going to get deeply affordable housing so we can get the people on our streets with something solid over their heads and the supports so they'll be successful.

01:06:28 SPEAKER_018: Tents are not houses, and we need to move people, and not assume that giving out or having encampments is taking care of the issue.

01:06:40 SPEAKER_018: We have options here, but we need to bring the people with lived experience, those social service agencies who are on the ground all of the time addressing these issues,

01:06:50 SPEAKER_018: all of our municipal players and decision makers together, and say, what do we need to do, and let's do it.

01:06:57 SPEAKER_018: We have the ability to make this change.

01:07:00 SPEAKER_018: We need to have the will to roll it out and not expect everyone else to solve it for us.

01:07:06 SPEAKER_018: It's our issue, our community, our streets, our people.

01:07:10 SPEAKER_018: Thank you.

01:07:11 SPEAKER_018: I will make downtown safer while helping people keep their homes, create affordable homes, and find stable paths towards recovery and work.

01:07:25 SPEAKER_018: Support outside the downtown.

01:07:27 SPEAKER_038: The downcore will reduce pressure downtown, create cleaner public spaces, and give people in crisis practical help.

01:07:35 SPEAKER_038: People are losing homes faster than affordable homes are being created, and Grey County housing has a ten-year waiting list.

01:07:41 SPEAKER_038: Existing meals and temporary shelters help during crises.

01:07:44 SPEAKER_038: I will organise local representatives across seven wards so neighbours can meet, organise neighbourhood watches, coordinate signage and camera coverage, and bring concerns and relevant footage to ward councillors and police.

01:07:56 SPEAKER_038: My 2027 draft budget already funds a civilian follow-up pilot and a roughly $60,000 cap.

01:08:03 SPEAKER_038: The 12-week test uses trained responders, emergency coordination, and optional police backup.

01:08:08 SPEAKER_040: Long-term, it may join the mental health crisis response and lower police costs.

01:08:13 SPEAKER_038: Police can focus on traffickers, violent crime, and emergencies.

01:08:16 SPEAKER_038: In Owen Sound, I will return vacant homes to use, support affordable construction, and move meals and support to scheduled locations on the outskirts of town.

01:08:25 SPEAKER_038: Golden Broom cleanups, and shared equipment will support public spaces while residents and city staff work together.

01:08:32 SPEAKER_038: That draft budget is a quarter million below 2026, with every proposed programme already fully costed.

01:08:38 SPEAKER_038: I will have staffed, published costs and results.

01:08:40 SPEAKER_038: Compassion can restore stability, safety, and belonging.

01:08:45 SPEAKER_038: And so, we have to work with the people that we have, and with these local representatives.

01:08:52 SPEAKER_038: Of the local representative would be someone on your street or on your block, or one for every 150 households,

01:08:59 SPEAKER_038: and that way they can organise those neighbourhood watches or patrols to help keep your community safe and help organise cleanups, and so that you know one another.

01:09:08 SPEAKER_038: And like Jodi King was saying, so you can ask your neighbour, "Okay, can you watch my house?"

01:09:12 SPEAKER_038: And they will be able to help you with that.

01:09:15 SPEAKER_038: And because the local representative will be coordinated with the councillors.

01:09:21 SPEAKER_038: Thank you, Andre.

01:09:22 SPEAKER_038: Julie King.

01:09:22 SPEAKER_038: I would love to see the end of chronic homelessness, but with so many factors contributing to it, it appears unlikely.

01:09:37 SPEAKER_021: I do believe we can find a way to reduce homelessness in our town and provide support to those who are unable to be housed for whatever reason.

01:09:48 SPEAKER_021: I learned that being homeless can happen in a number of ways.

01:09:52 SPEAKER_021: Sometimes people see it coming; other times, it's sudden.

01:09:57 SPEAKER_117: Just as there's no single path towards homelessness, there's no single path out of it.

01:10:03 SPEAKER_021: My friend Carol says, "Housing, 100% support of that."

01:10:09 SPEAKER_021: But I want to share quickly a story, a personal story.

01:10:14 SPEAKER_021: Over 20 years ago, my husband and myself, and our four children, we were homeless.

01:10:18 SPEAKER_021: Our five children.

01:10:18 SPEAKER_021: We were homeless.

01:10:21 SPEAKER_021: We owned a house.

01:10:23 SPEAKER_021: We missed two payments.

01:10:27 SPEAKER_021: Two payments, and we became homeless.

01:10:30 SPEAKER_021: We ended up in a motel room.

01:10:32 SPEAKER_021: At that point, we did not have savings down.

01:10:34 SPEAKER_021: We did not have SOS.

01:10:37 SPEAKER_021: We did not have everything we have today.

01:10:40 SPEAKER_021: Thank you so much for all the places that are helping people today, because at that point, we didn't have help.

01:10:46 SPEAKER_021: We have help!

01:10:47 SPEAKER_021: We had to come up with more than one hundred and fifty dollars a day to support seven people in a motel room.

01:10:57 SPEAKER_021: Food, clothing, gas.

01:11:00 SPEAKER_021: It was over three thousand dollars a month.

01:11:04 SPEAKER_021: I don't know how we did it, but we did it because we had to.

01:11:09 SPEAKER_021: We need to come as one community, one family, and support these people.

01:11:15 SPEAKER_021: And tackle this homelessness problem together.

01:11:20 SPEAKER_021: Thank you.

01:11:20 SPEAKER_021: Could you say the question, sometimes, please help me.

01:11:32 SPEAKER_021: Yes, right.

01:11:33 SPEAKER_004: The question was: homelessness remains a growing challenge in Owen Sound, despite ongoing investments in programmes and services.

01:11:42 SPEAKER_004: What role should the mayor and council play in addressing it, and how would you determine whether those efforts are best achieving positive outcomes for both the unhoused and for the broader community?

01:11:54 SPEAKER_072: First of all, the mayor or council or anyone in Owen Sound's staff cannot do anything.

01:12:03 SPEAKER_072: That's the truth, and why?

01:12:04 SPEAKER_072: Because it's a great county issue.

01:12:07 SPEAKER_042: I've—I don't know how many years I've shared openly that it's an Owen Sound issue.

01:12:12 SPEAKER_042: That it's an open-ended issue, always has been, and now we're all crying out, "Oh, please help us!

01:12:19 SPEAKER_042: Let the mayor help us!

01:12:20 SPEAKER_042: Let him have an answer."

01:12:22 SPEAKER_042: This is a spiritual problem.

01:12:24 SPEAKER_042: That's the truth.

01:12:25 SPEAKER_042: It's not going to change because we give more money into projects or anything.

01:12:29 SPEAKER_042: I was the manager for the homeless shelter, and I can tell you, people are worth it.

01:12:36 SPEAKER_042: We fight for them.

01:12:38 SPEAKER_072: But let me leave you with this one thought: Everyone used to have.

01:12:42 SPEAKER_072: I was the volunteer coordinator of our ministry, and everyone would come in, and we feed them, and we clothe them, and we be their friend, and they became our friends.

01:12:53 SPEAKER_072: But one day I said, "Listen, you know what?

01:12:55 SPEAKER_072: It's all give, give, and they take, take, take.

01:13:00 SPEAKER_072: What are we going to do?"

01:13:01 SPEAKER_072: So I started a family night on Tuesday nights, and I said, "The only time of the week that you come here on the Tuesday night is that you have to bring some food."

01:13:11 SPEAKER_072: Okay?

01:13:11 SPEAKER_072: It has to be cooked or within five minutes, and everybody gets a job, okay?

01:13:17 SPEAKER_072: And we're going to have a mother and father.

01:13:18 SPEAKER_127: That's what we did, and everyone had a job, whether they had money or not.

01:13:25 SPEAKER_072: They all came and they brought food, and it was the greatest for months.

01:13:30 SPEAKER_072: Every Tuesday night, we had better food than I had at home.

01:13:35 SPEAKER_072: These people who are the throwaways of society are the very people, myself included, that become the leaders of tomorrow.

01:13:45 SPEAKER_072: It's time to stop being victims.

01:13:47 SPEAKER_072: It's time to be the person that we were created to be.

01:13:51 SPEAKER_072: Thank you.

01:13:53 SPEAKER_072: Ready, Mr. Thomas.

01:13:54 SPEAKER_072: I think this logger's own sound is the regional centre for services.

01:14:03 SPEAKER_072: We're going to struggle with this issue.

01:14:06 SPEAKER_013: I think that Carol Merton's idea of housing first with wraparound services is not a bad idea, but that's an idea that's years away.

01:14:17 Carol Merton: And Owen Sound is in crisis right now.

01:14:21 Carol Merton: You know, when I grew up, I was taught that compassion was a two-way street.

01:14:26 Carol Merton: Right now in Owen Sound, there are a number of groups providing compassionate services to people who need them, and I applaud them for doing that.

01:14:35 Carol Merton: But somewhere there's a disconnect amongst all the groups providing services, and people are being left falling through the cracks.

01:14:43 Carol Merton: I think what we need to do is sorry, I'll talk closer.

01:14:46 Carol Merton: What we need to do—I probably don't even need it—we need to bring together all of the services that are providing service to the people in downtown Owen Sound that need them,

01:14:56 Carol Merton: and we need to look for some accountability as a group for what's going on in downtown Owen Sound.

01:15:03 Carol Merton: I don't think compassion should come at the expense of others.

01:15:06 Carol Merton: And our downtown businesses, who are paying our taxes, helping to support these programmes, are struggling.

01:15:12 Carol Merton: There are more and more empty stores every day.

01:15:16 Carol Merton: I release today a ten-part plan that I hope will help to address the problems in the River District in a compassionate and forward-thinking way.

01:15:28 Carol Merton: We need to take action.

01:15:29 Carol Merton: For too many years, we have heard that it's great county's issue.

01:15:33 Carol Merton: The city of Owen Sound has no role in it.

01:15:35 Carol Merton: Well, I'm here to tell you tonight that Owen Sound has got to take a role in this crisis, or it is never going to change here.

01:15:43 Carol Merton: Thank you.

01:15:44 Carol Merton: I was a teenager, grade nine, grade ten.

01:16:00 Carol Merton: I wasn't doing very well.

01:16:01 Carol Merton: My dad incentivized me.

01:16:03 Carol Merton: Offered me fifty bucks for every A. I think I was on a roll, student, for the next two years.

01:16:10 Carol Merton: I was.

01:16:11 Carol Merton: So that's the value of a couple thousand bucks.

01:16:15 Carol Merton: It costs maybe one hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty to incarcerate somebody.

01:16:23 Carol Merton: I just think that the problem we have right now, we have to incentivize.

01:16:31 SPEAKER_061: We have to encourage people to move.

01:16:34 SPEAKER_061: I went down to a tent city.

01:16:37 SPEAKER_061: Called tent city.

01:16:38 SPEAKER_061: Sorry.

01:16:39 SPEAKER_061: Went down to the place where there's tents, and I there was maybe a dozen people there, and I asked them questions.

01:16:46 SPEAKER_061: I said, "Hey guys, I came here today with an opportunity for you guys to make a little money.

01:16:51 SPEAKER_061: Would you be open to that?"

01:16:52 SPEAKER_061: They all said yes.

01:16:54 SPEAKER_061: They said, and I was surprised at the next or answer.

01:16:56 SPEAKER_061: I said, "You guys all have bank accounts," and they have a safe place.

01:17:00 SPEAKER_061: And so, there's three types of homelessness that we kind of categorize: whether homelessness, mental illness, and drug addiction.

01:17:09 SPEAKER_061: I'm not going to say we're not going to get rid of mental illness.

01:17:13 SPEAKER_061: So there's one third we just have to talk away.

01:17:15 SPEAKER_061: And you know, people that walk up and down the streets and if they're yelling and talking themselves, there are neighbours, there are friends.

01:17:21 SPEAKER_061: They hello get to know them a little bit.

01:17:24 SPEAKER_061: Homelessness, like Joey said, sometimes bad times just fall on people, and there should be a 411 for them, really, because when you're by yourself and you're at the bottom of the barrel,

01:17:37 SPEAKER_061: that's when people turn to drugs and addictions.

01:17:40 SPEAKER_061: And so everything we know about addictions is wrong.

01:17:43 SPEAKER_061: Look it up at TED Talk.

01:17:44 SPEAKER_061: You guys will probably have your minds blown.

01:17:47 SPEAKER_061: Everything we know about addictions is wrong."

01:17:54 SPEAKER_061: All right.

01:17:55 SPEAKER_030: We're going to start for this next question right back here with Mike Seiler again.

01:18:02 SPEAKER_111: So Mike Seiler will get to go first on this one.

01:18:03 Mike Seiler: We've actually had a couple of variations of this question, and this has to do with public transportation.

01:18:12 Mike Seiler: If you don't have a car, it can be really hard to get around.

01:18:16 Mike Seiler: Our buses don't run Sundays, and they stop pretty early.

01:18:21 Mike Seiler: Would you improve transit, and if so, how?

01:18:25 Mike Seiler: I saw a comment.

01:18:32 Mike Seiler: Someone asked if the candidates would go around and use the bus system.

01:18:36 Mike Seiler: I actually packed up my truck with a lot of laundry and I went and did laundry at a local laundromat.

01:18:43 Mike Seiler: Made a video.

01:18:43 Mike Seiler: You guys can watch it.

01:18:46 Mike Seiler: This might not have anything to do with it, but we're talking about vulnerable people who are using public services, and they're not getting good service.

01:18:54 Mike Seiler: When I went to the laundry mat, I had a terrible debt.

01:18:56 Mike Seiler: Like I said, nobody will watch it.

01:18:58 Mike Seiler: In terms of transit, I'm going to give a shameless plug.

01:19:03 Mike Seiler: I believe that the future in telecommunications and technology is about making our systems more efficient.

01:19:10 Mike Seiler: So when it comes to transit, I believe that at any rate we should be able to make the systems better for people.

01:19:17 Mike Seiler: Like you know, you watch Uber and you can see the driver.

01:19:20 Mike Seiler: I don't see why we can't know where the bus is going.

01:19:24 Mike Seiler: Have some custom calls.

01:19:26 Mike Seiler: Again, if it can work for everybody, and we can put a little AI to it, then I don't see a problem with increasing the service.

01:19:35 Mike Seiler: Thank you, Mike Seiler.

01:19:37 SPEAKER_061: Mr. Thomas, I happened to be on council when the current transit contract was passed,

01:19:50 SPEAKER_013: and I can tell you at that time I don't think any of us were particularly happy with what we were looking at.

01:19:57 SPEAKER_013: But of course, budgets being budgets and taxes being taxes, we made the most responsible decision we could at the time.

01:20:06 SPEAKER_013: I think there's a big difference between providing the service that you want to provide and providing the service that people need.

01:20:13 SPEAKER_013: And right now in Owen Sound, we're providing the service that we want to provide, and it's not necessarily the service that people need.

01:20:21 SPEAKER_013: I'm certainly open to looking at other options.

01:20:24 SPEAKER_013: I've talked quite often about the pilot project in Indusville, where they went to Uber.

01:20:30 SPEAKER_013: They sold their buses, and their transit system is now subsidizing rides on Uber, door-to-door service, 24/7.

01:20:38 SPEAKER_013: They've actually expanded it so the rides are now out of their urban centres and into their rural areas.

01:20:44 SPEAKER_013: So it's working for them, and I may or may not work for us, but I think it's something we need to explore.

01:20:51 SPEAKER_013: Some combination of city buses and ride share, anything like that, anything that would make it better.

01:20:58 SPEAKER_013: I mean, I remember when I first got elected to council, a friend of mine told me that he decided he was going to stop buying gas.

01:21:05 SPEAKER_013: He was going to take the bus, and the first Saturday when he finished work at six o'clock, and if you ride transit, you know where this is going.

01:21:13 SPEAKER_013: He went out to the bus stop, and he lined up until somebody in a nearby apartment opened the window and said, "Hey, buddy, there's no buses till Monday."

01:21:23 SPEAKER_013: So to me, that's a problem.

01:21:25 SPEAKER_013: But we have to have transit if we're going to be a strong and vital municipality.

01:21:30 SPEAKER_013: I just think there are other options.

01:21:31 SPEAKER_013: Thank you.

01:21:32 SPEAKER_013: I've been waiting for this question for about five months.

01:21:42 SPEAKER_072: This is a news media release about what I'm going to say, because it wasn't taken by the media because I'm running for mayor.

01:21:51 SPEAKER_072: They would have thought maybe he's trying to get votes.

01:21:54 SPEAKER_072: But here it is.

01:21:56 SPEAKER_072: I'm an amputee.

01:21:57 SPEAKER_072: I cannot get a taxi at any time, 24/7.

01:22:03 SPEAKER_072: Why?

01:22:03 SPEAKER_072: Because I am told that I'm a liability.

01:22:07 SPEAKER_072: I was at the hospital.

01:22:08 SPEAKER_072: That's how I found out after having the ambulance take care of me.

01:22:12 SPEAKER_072: The only way I can get to the hospital after six o'clock is there is the mobility that we have service with Owen Sound is to take an ambulance,

01:22:26 SPEAKER_072: which really compromises the whole system and someone's life.

01:22:32 SPEAKER_072: Transportation for a city is synonymous with being a city.

01:22:38 SPEAKER_072: We're not a city.

01:22:40 SPEAKER_072: We're a town.

01:22:41 SPEAKER_072: We have town mentality, and because we have a transportation gap, it's more than a gap.

01:22:48 SPEAKER_072: It's a highway.

01:22:50 SPEAKER_072: People who are coming here from different nations are experiencing in our city that we don't care for them to get home at night.

01:23:00 SPEAKER_072: If they walk, they walk, and they walk, and they walk.

01:23:04 SPEAKER_072: Well, walking is great, but in the winter time.

01:23:07 SPEAKER_072: Wintertime.

01:23:09 SPEAKER_072: What are we doing?

01:23:10 SPEAKER_072: So I say this: We're going to have transportation.

01:23:14 SPEAKER_072: This is part of my platform, a pretty part of it.

01:23:18 SPEAKER_072: Is six o'clock to twelve o'clock, seven days a week.

01:23:22 SPEAKER_072: And how are we going to London?

01:23:24 SPEAKER_072: We're not.

01:23:25 SPEAKER_072: It's going to be a lot sweeter.

01:23:26 SPEAKER_072: We're going to invest in people.

01:23:28 SPEAKER_072: And this nine billion dollar project that is about to hit us.

01:23:33 SPEAKER_072: We need to do something now.

01:23:37 SPEAKER_072: Don't tell me you're going to do something.

01:23:39 SPEAKER_072: I am saving lives.

01:23:42 SPEAKER_072: Thank you, Ray.

01:23:43 SPEAKER_072: Right off the set with Joey King.

01:23:48 SPEAKER_072: I do it.

01:23:50 SPEAKER_072: I'm saving.

01:23:51 SPEAKER_022: I am in full support of, as my friend Richard had mentioned about looking at the idea of Uber, working security at the bar when the patrons were leaving.

01:24:04 SPEAKER_022: Someone would, some of them would stay and talk, and miss the taxis, and they would have to walk home, especially young women.

01:24:12 SPEAKER_022: So, if we can talk to them with the bus terminal and say, you know what?

01:24:21 SPEAKER_022: First, they're on a union, so we would have to have a chalice.

01:24:27 SPEAKER_022: I'm going to say, look, what can we do to expand the bus services to accommodate people who are working late, working early, for the people who go to the bars at nighttime, yet women,

01:24:44 SPEAKER_022: for instance, because most of the taxi places they end their shifts at two o'clock in the morning.

01:24:52 SPEAKER_022: While some people stay past two o'clock in the morning, so how do they get home except from walking?

01:24:57 SPEAKER_022: And when they're intoxicated, that's a big problem.

01:25:00 SPEAKER_022: That's a big liability for everyone.

01:25:03 SPEAKER_022: So if we can expand the buses and look at the possibility of Ubers, then that person can get home safe.

01:25:14 SPEAKER_022: Thank you.

01:25:15 SPEAKER_022: Thank you, Joey.

01:25:20 SPEAKER_038: Residents need transit that arrives reliably, remains accessible, and fits the city's recurring budget.

01:25:25 SPEAKER_038: I will stabilize current service before adding hours.

01:25:28 SPEAKER_038: That means publishing whether trips run on time.

01:25:30 SPEAKER_038: What gets cancelled?

01:25:31 SPEAKER_038: And what each completed trip costs.

01:25:33 SPEAKER_038: I will also report ridership and mobility transit coverage.

01:25:37 SPEAKER_038: My systems and budget experience helps me connect the schedule, the contract, and the cost of maintaining accessible service.

01:25:44 SPEAKER_038: Instead of treating one number as the whole decision, I will prepare the 2027 contract decision with a transparent comparison of current service, city-owned or locally maintained accessible buses, buses, maintenance capacity, and long-term costs.

01:25:57 SPEAKER_038: And we can also compare Uber.

01:25:59 SPEAKER_038: Transit or our own local app that does the same thing.

01:26:03 SPEAKER_038: Expansion would follow clear gates.

01:26:06 SPEAKER_038: The transit survey found 71% support for evening service.

01:26:10 SPEAKER_038: A one-route pilot is estimated at 50,000 annually.

01:26:14 SPEAKER_038: Extending all four routes is estimated 200 to 250,000.

01:26:18 SPEAKER_040: Supplier quotations will set the final cost.

01:26:21 SPEAKER_038: First, I will test what the recurring budget or verified transit savings can cover.

01:26:27 SPEAKER_038: Evening service would move to 10 p.m.

01:26:29 SPEAKER_038: Sunday service would run nine to three when the funding goal is met.

01:26:33 SPEAKER_038: Residents would see the core service become more dependable.

01:26:37 SPEAKER_038: Mobility transit remains available, and even every expansion tied to published cost, demand measures, and funding source.

01:26:44 SPEAKER_038: Reliable transportation helps people reach work, school, healthcare, shops, and one another.

01:26:49 SPEAKER_038: That keeps expansion connected to clear evidence and capacity.

01:26:52 SPEAKER_038: And I have a calculator available that shows what the different kinds of expansions can cost, and I can easily add in trying our own Uber as one of the options as well.

01:27:06 SPEAKER_038: It's all about residents listening to what residents want, researching it, finding the solutions, proposing them, and seeing what them and council want to hear, want to experience.

01:27:16 SPEAKER_038: Thank you.

01:27:22 SPEAKER_018: It's great timing to be talking about transit since the contract is coming up for review in 2027,

01:27:31 SPEAKER_018: we have done transportation studies and it is time to have a local transportation transit traffic flow working group.

01:27:42 SPEAKER_018: People here know how traffic moves, and if we want transit to be on time,

01:27:46 SPEAKER_018: we need to look at it without looking at the synchronization of the lights in our town and how traffic moves from one place to another, especially during peak times.

01:27:58 SPEAKER_018: Uber has been mentioned as a member of the Orange County Services Board.

01:28:02 SPEAKER_018: We did hear a presentation from Uber.

01:28:05 SPEAKER_018: We are quite open to considering all options for ride share.

01:28:10 SPEAKER_018: However, Uber did not want to negotiate individual municipality contracts—444 of them—and is currently, as we're sitting here chatting today,

01:28:22 SPEAKER_018: moving to the provincial government for consideration of provincial regulation and licensing for Ontario for Uber and that would include others as well.

01:28:34 SPEAKER_018: This is an advantage for us in that there'll be standardization, including standardization of fees.

01:28:42 SPEAKER_018: We need it now.

01:28:43 SPEAKER_018: It has to be a fulsome transportation approach.

01:28:49 SPEAKER_018: I have met with people who are concerned, and I believe before we move to any contract, we need to do a pilot.

01:28:56 SPEAKER_018: Let's see at what Sunday transit or after-hours transit the ridership would be.

01:29:02 SPEAKER_018: Let's start to get the information so when it's time to write the contract, we can say this is what we need.

01:29:08 SPEAKER_018: We're growing; we need more routes, and that's a good sign.

01:29:12 SPEAKER_018: We know there's development; we know people will be using transit.

01:29:16 SPEAKER_018: We need transit so our city will continue to move.

01:29:18 SPEAKER_018: We still have lots of time for audience questions, which is great.

01:29:29 SPEAKER_004: If there have been any questions that have since come in, if our question-takers can bring those up to me, that would be great.

01:29:37 SPEAKER_004: This next one is a short one.

01:29:39 SPEAKER_004: It's to the point.

01:29:40 SPEAKER_004: Carol, we're going to start at your end of the table.

01:29:43 SPEAKER_004: The question is: How will you bring doctors to our community?

01:29:46 SPEAKER_004: Thank you for the question.

01:29:53 SPEAKER_018: There is no doubt that it's not just doctors we need in this community.

01:29:59 SPEAKER_018: It is nurses, esthetes, and allied health professionals.

01:30:05 SPEAKER_018: We need to start working together across the region, so we're not competing with each other to attract doctors.

01:30:14 SPEAKER_018: There has been certainly a move forward in doctor retention and funding for doctors, but we need to work together and fund.

01:30:25 SPEAKER_018: We need to encourage consideration of bursaries and paying for education for doctors in return for a dedicated time that they will commit to be in our community.

01:30:39 SPEAKER_018: Without doctors, our citizens are at risk, and people wanting to come.

01:30:45 SPEAKER_018: What is the first?

01:30:46 SPEAKER_018: One of the first questions often with real estate: Where can I go shopping?

01:30:52 SPEAKER_018: And what about the doctors?

01:30:53 SPEAKER_018: And where's the hospital?

01:30:55 SPEAKER_018: These are critical economic development factors we have to consider.

01:31:00 SPEAKER_018: So, doctor recruitment and retention, because as doctors age out, we want to have replacement.

01:31:07 SPEAKER_018: But the other gap that I see is the walk-in clinics for those people downtown that we used to have but don't have anymore.

01:31:17 SPEAKER_018: Being able to provide primary care for those unhoused and at risk of chronic illness is critical.

01:31:24 SPEAKER_018: Let's think about opening some opportunity or supporting through grants or funding with a nurse practitioner-led clinic that will be able to address those critical needs of all of us, and most,

01:31:40 SPEAKER_018: mostly those who are unhoused.

01:31:41 SPEAKER_018: Mostly those who are in the house and at risk.

01:31:43 SPEAKER_018: Thank you.

01:31:51 SPEAKER_038: And yeah, that's very important to realize is that healthcare practitioners are multifaceted, and we've seen the Owen Sound Family Health Team on strike for months now, and they appeal to the council for resolution,

01:32:11 SPEAKER_038: but we didn't see that from this council.

01:32:13 SPEAKER_038: I feel that we need to support our local people, and if they want us to make a resolution, that we should do it.

01:32:20 SPEAKER_038: It doesn't cost us anything, and it's worth it.

01:32:24 SPEAKER_038: And I've talked to many nurses; a large number of people in our community are working in healthcare, and they're talking about the cost of living as being an issue.

01:32:35 SPEAKER_038: And with those affordable rural communities, they're very interested in having affordable housing, whether that's in town or near town, and so that they can, with the income that they have, support their families,

01:32:48 SPEAKER_038: and then continue to grow, and then their children can become the next healthcare practitioners.

01:32:54 SPEAKER_038: We also have to realize we're in the 21st century, and a large number of people are now getting e-healthcare services, and we have to be open to helping and supporting people doing rudimentary understandings,

01:33:11 SPEAKER_038: assessing symptoms, and things like that.

01:33:14 SPEAKER_038: That way, they can triage quickly, even at home or over the phone, without having to wait for six to ten hours.

01:33:23 SPEAKER_038: And so, I feel that health is important, and there's also the element of the emotional and spiritual health of our community.

01:33:32 SPEAKER_038: And so, I feel we can also have kind of information available on how to forgive, love, and be kind to one another,

01:33:43 SPEAKER_038: so that we can be at peace within and let that health flow outwards for all.

01:33:48 SPEAKER_038: Okay, thank you.

01:33:50 SPEAKER_038: Thank you, Andre.

01:33:51 SPEAKER_038: What do you mean?

01:33:55 SPEAKER_022: I'm in full support of operating nurseries as Carol has mentioned and housing to attract doctors and nurse practitioners, especially at the walking point downtown.

01:34:12 SPEAKER_022: I think it's close now, but we need to attract doctors and nurses and nurse practitioners for the entire population of the city.

01:34:21 SPEAKER_022: Thank you.

01:34:26 SPEAKER_022: Starting the fire at the table with Ray Botten.

01:34:31 SPEAKER_072: I believe the answer is investment.

01:34:36 SPEAKER_072: Investing in people.

01:34:37 SPEAKER_072: How do we do that?

01:34:39 SPEAKER_072: To get a doctor here, they're not coming.

01:34:41 SPEAKER_072: They're not going to come here.

01:34:43 SPEAKER_072: Why would they come here?

01:34:44 SPEAKER_072: Because soon as they find out that they can't really have much of a life other than maybe going to one restaurant, they're high level.

01:34:55 SPEAKER_072: They're high-level people.

01:34:56 SPEAKER_072: They love to spend their money.

01:34:59 SPEAKER_072: So let's do this.

01:35:00 SPEAKER_072: This is my vision: is to have a university teaching hospital in Owen Sound.

01:35:08 SPEAKER_072: Okay, the federal government and the Ontario government work hand in hand in order for us to have healthcare.

01:35:17 SPEAKER_072: But if we don't have a vision, the Bible says, "Without a vision, the people perish," and that's what's happening every single day.

01:35:26 SPEAKER_072: People are dying at home because they can't even get to the heart surgeon in time, because he's overloaded himself.

01:35:34 SPEAKER_072: It's not his fault.

01:35:36 SPEAKER_072: They're doing everything they can, and some have given up in their own profession.

01:35:42 SPEAKER_072: They've actually left, and some are going to leave.

01:35:46 SPEAKER_072: So I would like to share with the hospital board that you have what it takes for the vision to take place.

01:35:56 SPEAKER_072: This is my concept.

01:35:57 SPEAKER_072: I'm not a doctor.

01:35:59 SPEAKER_072: I'm a patient, and I'm very patient, but not for long.

01:36:03 SPEAKER_072: Thank you, Richard Thomas.

01:36:09 SPEAKER_072: I think it should be a fundamental right that everybody have a family physician.

01:36:17 SPEAKER_072: Yes.

01:36:18 SPEAKER_072: Now I'm kind of old-fashioned.

01:36:20 SPEAKER_013: I still go to the bank and make my deposits with the tellers, because I like to know a person is there on the other end helping me.

01:36:29 SPEAKER_013: So telehealth, you know, great in a pinch, but no thanks.

01:36:34 SPEAKER_013: I think we need to get even more radical in our thinking when we think about doctors.

01:36:39 SPEAKER_013: You know, doctor recruitment has been going on in our community for I don't know twenty-five or thirty years, more or less, in an ongoing way with varying degrees of success.

01:36:49 SPEAKER_013: Mostly, they've had success attracting surgeons to our excellent hospital, and they still do have success with that, but what we really need are family doctors in the community.

01:37:00 SPEAKER_013: There's a really interesting pilot that was carried out in British Columbia.

01:37:04 SPEAKER_013: There are a couple of Ontario municipalities looking at it, and I think it's something we should look at.

01:37:09 SPEAKER_013: And believe it or not, it is a municipal doctor's clinic.

01:37:14 SPEAKER_013: And the way it works is the doctors are paid by OHIP, and all of the administration work is done by the municipality.

01:37:23 SPEAKER_013: And what that does is it frees up doctors' time.

01:37:26 SPEAKER_013: Lots of doctors don't like to get into family practice because there is such a burden of work.

01:37:31 SPEAKER_013: And what they found in this pilot project is that, in fact, the doctors actually really like going to work at eight o'clock or nine o'clock in the morning, seeing patients all day,

01:37:42 SPEAKER_013: and then going home and not having paperwork to do.

01:37:45 SPEAKER_013: So I think this is the kind of thing, if I was elected mayor, that I would definitely want our community to look into because what we need.

01:37:51 SPEAKER_013: Because what we've been doing up till now hasn't actually worked.

01:37:55 SPEAKER_013: Thank you.

01:37:57 SPEAKER_013: Part of my campaigning, I went to the police and spoke with Mr. Ambrose and Tom Thompson, who's the board director.

01:38:13 SPEAKER_013: Is he here?

01:38:16 SPEAKER_013: John Thompson.

01:38:16 SPEAKER_061: You might be surprised that police are also having a difficult time recruiting, and so I would just put it in the same category of people that aren't desiring to move to Owen Sound.

01:38:29 SPEAKER_061: You just got your doctor, PhD, whatever you get, and you look at the landscape, and you see Owen Sound and the troubles that we're having, and another city that's not having similar problems.

01:38:40 SPEAKER_061: Then I think the decision is easy, and that's what they're having a hard time with the police force because we have a low morale kind of sickness.

01:38:48 SPEAKER_061: Morale, kind of.

01:38:49 SPEAKER_061: So I think I would just kind of deflect and say that I've been marketing all my career.

01:38:58 SPEAKER_061: I can help Owen sell market, but at the end of the day, we have to be honest about the reality of where we're at.

01:39:05 SPEAKER_061: So this is gonna be a little TMI, but I sold my doctor multiple properties, speaking of high palates, and sold her parents' property.

01:39:21 SPEAKER_061: I won't disclose too much information here.

01:39:23 SPEAKER_061: But a couple months ago, I was passing a kidney stone.

01:39:28 SPEAKER_061: Anybody pass a kidney stone?

01:39:31 SPEAKER_061: So I called my doctor, and she booked me in for a month—a month.

01:39:37 SPEAKER_061: And so I said thank you, and I let her go.

01:39:41 SPEAKER_061: So there's one free doctor in all of South Africa.

01:39:45 SPEAKER_061: Thank you, Mike Seiler.

01:39:48 SPEAKER_061: I passed my kidney stone.

01:39:59 SPEAKER_061: All right.

01:40:00 SPEAKER_030: This next question, again, this is one we've had several variations of.

01:40:04 SPEAKER_004: This has to do with cutting budgets and revenues.

01:40:08 SPEAKER_004: I like this one because it has a bit of a hypothetical question.

01:40:11 SPEAKER_004: I'm going to jump around the stage a little bit.

01:40:13 SPEAKER_004: I don't think we...

01:40:14 SPEAKER_004: I don't think we've had Andre start yet with the question, so Andre, going to go to you first on this question.

01:40:21 SPEAKER_004: If Owen Sound city revenues suddenly dropped by ten percent overall, where are the first places you would look to save money?

01:40:31 SPEAKER_004: Andre, is it working?

01:40:34 SPEAKER_004: Yeah.

01:40:35 SPEAKER_038: So there's, like I said, a lot of opportunities for saving money in terms of one of our biggest expenses: I found that six hundred thousand dollars is being spent on software licences,

01:40:50 SPEAKER_038: and for probably most of that, if not all of it, we actually have open-source alternatives that we can use.

01:40:58 SPEAKER_038: And then once we have those, and I've actually costed in my current 2026 budget for software development,

01:41:08 SPEAKER_038: so that we can integrate many of our current very high-fee softwares into just one software based on ERPNext, which is enterprise resource planning software, completely suited for our organisation size,

01:41:26 SPEAKER_038: and has been used for much larger ones.

01:41:28 SPEAKER_038: And that will also mean we have a much smaller staff than necessary.

01:41:35 SPEAKER_038: In terms of, we have extra management layers, and so there's opportunities there to simplify it because the employees themselves have been complaining that it's too siloed and too difficult to get things done,

01:41:47 SPEAKER_038: and we have a large turnover rate with vacancies appearing, and so nobody gets fired.

01:41:54 SPEAKER_038: It's just when someone quits, we kind of just simplify the organisation and make things work there.

01:42:01 SPEAKER_038: So I believe I would be the best prepared if our revenues did go down 10%, because I have all of this budgeting.

01:42:10 SPEAKER_038: Thanks.

01:42:14 SPEAKER_004: Let's jump down to the middle seat in the front table to Richard Thomas.

01:42:21 SPEAKER_004: Look, I was going to go all over.

01:42:22 SPEAKER_004: Guys, thank you.

01:42:25 SPEAKER_013: I think to answer that question, it's important just to talk about the way that city council works.

01:42:31 SPEAKER_013: City council is a governance board, not a management board.

01:42:36 SPEAKER_013: The city has one employee.

01:42:37 SPEAKER_013: The city council has one employee, and that is the city manager.

01:42:41 SPEAKER_013: The city manager has a lot of employees.

01:42:45 SPEAKER_013: Budgeting is up to a combination of city staff and the city manager.

01:42:50 SPEAKER_013: And if we were faced with a ten percent drop in revenue, first of all, I'd be really alarmed and wonder why.

01:42:57 SPEAKER_013: The second thing I would do is I would ask the city manager to go to his staff and come back with scenarios that would be palatable and would retain a reasonable level of service for

01:43:09 SPEAKER_013: residents.

01:43:11 SPEAKER_013: That council could then consider, and that is the only way to proceed with a question like that.

01:43:16 SPEAKER_013: Because council is a governance board, not a management board.

01:43:21 SPEAKER_013: We have had service reviews in Owen Sound in the past, where council was asked staff to go and find savings.

01:43:28 SPEAKER_013: The first service review that I was involved in is about 2016, I think, came up with $850,000 of cash savings, which was implemented by staff.

01:43:40 SPEAKER_013: There's another service review took place in 2022, and some of that work is still being implemented by the city.

01:43:48 SPEAKER_013: But it was supposed to bring savings of around $2 million.

01:43:51 SPEAKER_013: There's always a better way to do things, whether your budget precipitously drops or not, your revenues drop or not,

01:43:59 SPEAKER_013: and I'm all for continual vigilance when annual vigilance against the budgets and keeping things on track.

01:44:05 SPEAKER_013: Thank you.

01:44:07 SPEAKER_013: I went back to the backstage to drink it.

01:44:13 SPEAKER_013: I knew it.

01:44:14 SPEAKER_013: I want to see every budget at every office.

01:44:23 SPEAKER_013: I don't know where to go.

01:44:25 SPEAKER_022: I want to see the budget for city hall.

01:44:31 SPEAKER_022: I want to see the budget for the police.

01:44:34 SPEAKER_022: I want to see how much we're spending on every service we have in downtown.

01:44:40 SPEAKER_022: There has to be a saving somewhere—ten percent, twenty percent.

01:44:46 SPEAKER_022: I want to see the numbers.

01:44:48 SPEAKER_022: I think it's time that the budget is more transparent to the citizens of downtown.

01:44:56 SPEAKER_022: So let's see the numbers.

01:44:58 SPEAKER_022: Let's see what we're spending.

01:44:59 SPEAKER_068: Seeing what we're spending our hard-earned money on.

01:45:04 SPEAKER_068: Thank you.

01:45:06 SPEAKER_068: Thank you, Jodi King.

01:45:07 SPEAKER_030: Welcome ahead to Mike Seiler Sieber.

01:45:16 SPEAKER_061: I tend to agree with Andre that there's we're in the middle of an information boom or era.

01:45:24 SPEAKER_061: You guys might be familiar with it as AI.

01:45:27 SPEAKER_061: As somebody who is, as somebody who's been deeply involved in it for the past year, I formed a corporation and an enterprise.

01:45:34 SPEAKER_061: And instead of the concept of open-source software and open-source AI, what AI actually does for us is it helps us create tools, and so it helps us create software.

01:45:46 SPEAKER_061: This idea that AI is this thing in a box and it's always working for us, as opposed to having a very specific tool or task that it does for us.

01:46:01 SPEAKER_061: Those are ways that we can save money.

01:46:11 SPEAKER_061: It's hard to cram things in a couple minutes.

01:46:13 SPEAKER_061: I'm not the best salesperson at the best of times, and so my apologies.

01:46:19 SPEAKER_061: The social infrastructure I've built, and this is not a shameless plug.

01:46:24 SPEAKER_061: It's the social enterprise, and it's part of my business platform to invite the City of North Vancouver to be on the platform map.ca, and it's a Canadian sovereign platform.

01:46:35 SPEAKER_061: It's completely owned by my corporation or my company.

01:46:39 SPEAKER_061: It's not open; it's open-source, where you guys can see the inside or how it operates.

01:46:44 SPEAKER_061: But just give an example like the dog tags: how we use the Hamilton company or somewhere to do the payment processing, so I've created a bank-to-bank instant transfer process,

01:47:00 SPEAKER_061: so civilians can send the money directly to the animal shelter, kind of like a credit card, but using their debit machine, and we can save like ten bucks per hand or something like that.

01:47:12 SPEAKER_061: It's just these little efficiencies that we can do.

01:47:14 SPEAKER_061: Thank you, Mike Seiler.

01:47:20 SPEAKER_061: Okay.

01:47:20 SPEAKER_061: Any questions again, right?

01:47:21 SPEAKER_061: Yes, please.

01:47:21 SPEAKER_061: Question again, right?

01:47:21 SPEAKER_061: Yes, please.

01:47:22 SPEAKER_004: The question was: If Owen Sound city revenue suddenly dropped by ten percent overall, where are the first places you would look to save money?

01:47:34 SPEAKER_072: That's a great question because in economic times, this is what is happening.

01:47:40 SPEAKER_072: Anyhow, we can't sustain our old city.

01:47:45 SPEAKER_072: That's why we're looking for every dollar under a bush that's not coming.

01:47:51 SPEAKER_072: If we lost ten percent of our revenue through property tax, then I would say this: it's time to spend, okay?

01:48:04 SPEAKER_072: It doesn't make sense to spend when you don't have it.

01:48:08 SPEAKER_072: But when you're investing, this is the difference in our mentality.

01:48:12 SPEAKER_072: Those who are very wealthy know this, okay?

01:48:15 SPEAKER_072: They do.

01:48:15 SPEAKER_072: They don't wait for the golden opportunity.

01:48:20 SPEAKER_072: They invest way ahead of time before something tragic happens.

01:48:25 SPEAKER_072: So what are we going to do if it's going to drop ten percent?

01:48:29 SPEAKER_072: We're going to invest somehow, and we're going to pay later.

01:48:33 SPEAKER_072: You know, the governments around the world—they're already in debt.

01:48:37 SPEAKER_072: You know, we're not allowed to be in debt, being a municipality.

01:48:41 SPEAKER_072: The Ontario government would say, "You can't do that."

01:48:44 SPEAKER_072: Well, we're not going to call it debt.

01:48:46 SPEAKER_072: We're going to pay it off, but not right away, and we're going to do it because we have a ten-billion-dollar facility, water storage facility that's coming.

01:48:58 SPEAKER_072: Do you realize that's nine thousand million dollars?

01:49:02 SPEAKER_072: And what is our budget?

01:49:04 SPEAKER_072: It doesn't even touch what is about to happen.

01:49:08 SPEAKER_072: So someone who is listening, who is an entrepreneur, I like Mike Seiler.

01:49:14 SPEAKER_072: He, he, he is the state-of-the-art kind of man who has what it takes to invest and to do something.

01:49:24 SPEAKER_072: If you can do something, do it and be a part of this great city, which Mifflin will be a part of.

01:49:31 SPEAKER_072: Thank you.

01:49:33 SPEAKER_072: Thank you, Ray.

01:49:34 SPEAKER_072: I want to be a state-of-the-art woman.

01:49:47 SPEAKER_018: We currently have a process around budgeting that has been granted to municipalities, some called the strong mayor powers, and one of those is the absolute responsibility to have a mayor's budget,

01:50:03 SPEAKER_018: unless the mayor decides to wait past the deadline, and then it becomes through the normal council process.

01:50:11 SPEAKER_018: As the mayor, the buck does stop at that level through the strong mayor's process.

01:50:20 SPEAKER_018: Ten percent reduction to me would be a crisis, and it would need crisis management.

01:50:28 SPEAKER_018: It would need special meeting, and absolutely, the city manager charged with going back to the staff and finding out how that savings can be found.

01:50:40 SPEAKER_018: Can't be found.

01:50:42 SPEAKER_018: It would mean an immediate hiring freeze.

01:50:45 SPEAKER_018: It would mean not replacing through attrition.

01:50:50 SPEAKER_018: It would mean that council assumes the responsibility for the governance and oversight of the corporation, and that implies financial management.

01:51:04 SPEAKER_018: There are certainly reserves that we would have to buffer, and we have used a tax stabilization reserve in the past, not for a ten percent,

01:51:15 SPEAKER_018: but when we needed to be confident we could meet the requirements.

01:51:21 SPEAKER_018: But ten percent reduction to me means we meet, we talk, and we go back to that strategic review.

01:51:29 SPEAKER_018: We're on, we're done it for the first go around.

01:51:32 SPEAKER_018: But who says things stay the same?

01:51:35 SPEAKER_018: And we need to revisit it and find out what more savings.

01:51:38 SPEAKER_018: Thank you, Chairman.

01:51:38 SPEAKER_018: All right.

01:51:38 SPEAKER_030: Our next question.

01:51:45 SPEAKER_018: We're going to start with Mike Seiler down here at this end of the front table.

01:51:50 Mike Seiler: This has to do with policing.

01:51:53 Mike Seiler: Will you vote to increase the annual budget for policing significantly?

01:51:59 Mike Seiler: I would also maybe tag on too.

01:52:00 Mike Seiler: If you have any thoughts on OPP versus local police, include that in your answer as well.

01:52:07 SPEAKER_004: And we'll start with Mike Seiler.

01:52:10 Mike Seiler: So, as I mentioned, I had the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Ambrose.

01:52:15 Mike Seiler: Also went to the chat tour of OPP and spoke with one of the receptions there.

01:52:20 SPEAKER_061: Short answer: the idea of having OPP come to Owen Sound is a bad idea, terrible idea.

01:52:28 SPEAKER_061: I want to explain why, and for those of you who might not understand, so the Municipal Act requires that municipalities police, and if we're unable to police, then we are forced to use the OBP.

01:52:43 SPEAKER_061: When we have the OBP, it costs money.

01:52:46 SPEAKER_061: Period.

01:52:47 SPEAKER_061: When we have our own police, we have to pay for them, but they become an economic engine.

01:52:51 SPEAKER_061: So the police makes money for us.

01:52:53 SPEAKER_061: We also pay them, but they also have earnings.

01:52:56 SPEAKER_061: And so it's important to understand that if we give up our police, we give up the opportunity to make money in that department.

01:53:04 SPEAKER_061: When I said it's a necessary evil, I didn't mean that in a bad way, a slight order.

01:53:08 SPEAKER_061: I really didn't.

01:53:09 SPEAKER_061: But police are kind of a terror to the like to bad people, and we need them.

01:53:15 SPEAKER_061: We need their presence.

01:53:16 SPEAKER_061: And if there's no police, we just all go to sleep at night, right?

01:53:20 SPEAKER_061: So, like, I support keeping the local police, not just for the fact that it's an economic driver, but because decentralization of power is against the monarchy.

01:53:30 SPEAKER_061: The reason that against the monarchy, the reason why they put this down to a municipal level is to ensure that we were decentralized.

01:53:38 SPEAKER_061: The third point is for our police officers and our families, locally.

01:53:42 SPEAKER_061: Local police that live here, they might salivate the idea that they'll transfer from Owen Sound to local.

01:53:47 SPEAKER_061: But when you're part of the Owen Sound or OPP, it's like being part of the army.

01:53:52 SPEAKER_061: You shift around, and I would bet double that there's a higher divorce rate.

01:53:58 SPEAKER_061: There's less family units in the OPP.

01:53:59 SPEAKER_061: I think having in 2015, I was the one who brought the motion to the table to conduct the last OBP costing in Owen Sound.

01:54:19 SPEAKER_013: It was an interesting process, but in the end, we chose to keep our own police force, and it was the right decision.

01:54:27 SPEAKER_013: It's still the right decision today.

01:54:29 SPEAKER_013: In year eight of the ten-year agreement, they predicted that we would actually be a million dollars less than our regional or our sorry local police service.

01:54:38 SPEAKER_013: But guess what?

01:54:39 SPEAKER_013: In year eight, what would have been year eight OPP costs went up ten to twenty-five percent across the province of Ontario.

01:54:46 SPEAKER_013: Nobody can predict the future.

01:54:49 SPEAKER_013: At least, not anyone I know.

01:54:51 SPEAKER_013: I think that if we look at some straight figures, the city, if we just did decide to go to OPP.

01:54:56 SPEAKER_013: If we did decide to go OBP costing, it would cost us between twelve and seventeen million dollars to pay severance to the current staff of the city police department.

01:55:09 SPEAKER_013: Twelve to seventeen million for severance.

01:55:12 SPEAKER_013: It would cost us twelve million dollars, approximately, in the first year of an OBP costing, and we'd have to build a new station in Owen's Valley.

01:55:21 SPEAKER_013: So there's a lot to consider when you start throwing around.

01:55:24 SPEAKER_013: We should do an OBP costing.

01:55:25 SPEAKER_013: I still think our city police force is an excellent force.

01:55:30 SPEAKER_013: They're responsive to our local needs, which is not something you would get with the OPP.

01:55:35 SPEAKER_013: And I am comfortable with the decision we made in 2017 to stay at the New South Police Service.

01:55:41 SPEAKER_013: I am very much for those who serve our community, not just policing, but fire, ambulance.

01:55:54 SPEAKER_072: Ambulances, all the healthcare people, and I want to say a special plug to the PSWs who are serving our community, and they're not making any money.

01:56:06 SPEAKER_072: We don't really care about them.

01:56:08 SPEAKER_072: That's that's the truth.

01:56:09 SPEAKER_072: Why?

01:56:09 SPEAKER_072: Because we don't pay them what they're worth.

01:56:12 SPEAKER_072: They are worth everything.

01:56:14 SPEAKER_072: When you're getting care at home care, which I get, I get home care.

01:56:17 SPEAKER_072: I don't usually share this publicly, but I get home care because they care.

01:56:25 SPEAKER_072: We are paying for it.

01:56:26 SPEAKER_072: But the police, the I was listening to the Police Services Board meeting the other day, and I checked it out.

01:56:37 SPEAKER_072: Sure enough, Owen Sound has twice the amount of incident reporting crises at a level of one hundred and three.

01:56:50 SPEAKER_072: The provincial average is fifty to sixty.

01:56:56 SPEAKER_072: Then I checked out what the officers are dealing with.

01:57:00 SPEAKER_072: They can't keep up.

01:57:02 SPEAKER_072: They're burning out from one call to the next.

01:57:08 SPEAKER_072: We, I spoke to the chief of police and the deputy number months ago, and they're having trouble recruiting.

01:57:15 SPEAKER_178: Yes, you know how many officers they're going to be able to have according to the chief.

01:57:21 SPEAKER_178: By next year, one in May, one.

01:57:27 SPEAKER_072: Okay, so whether it's OPP or city police, it's time to support the police.

01:57:34 SPEAKER_072: And yes, I don't care what they ask; they get it.

01:57:38 SPEAKER_072: That's what they get.

01:57:39 SPEAKER_072: They get.

01:57:40 SPEAKER_072: They deserve it.

01:57:40 SPEAKER_072: They put their life on the line.

01:57:43 SPEAKER_072: Do you put your life on the line every single day?

01:57:46 SPEAKER_072: Well, they do.

01:57:47 SPEAKER_072: Thank you.

01:57:55 SPEAKER_018: Having had the pleasure of sitting on the Owen Sound Police Services Board for the last two years, I've been able to learn a lot about the service that is being provided,

01:58:05 SPEAKER_018: and I support community policing.

01:58:08 SPEAKER_018: We spent time today talking about the unhoused and some of the issues that are happening downtown.