Laurie Watt on Municipal Affairs

Watson needs to intervene

In politics, a few words can mean a lot, mostly to the person who says them.
In reality, however, those words can be virtually irrelevant.

This truth became very clear this week after I interviewed Municipal Affairs Minister Jim Watson following Question Period Thursday. I quoted him about his intention to intervene; for the first time, he said “It will be up to the province to come up with a solution if we can’t find one locally. And I am prepared to move on that sooner rather than later.”

I missed the “if we can’t find one locally.”
And thanks to Watson’s press secretary’s tape, the few words were found.

These few words would matter to the politicos who dance and play their parts in the theatrical drama on the political stage.

But the reality is few, if any, are holding out hope for a local solution. But as the Good Book says, “three things remain: faith, hope and love.” (Oh dear, perhaps I should check the quote.)
Perhaps Simcoe County Warden Tony Guergis would be; he wants Watson to tell Barrie to work with the county. Guergis envisions a regional government to which Barrie would report on planning issues. He said this in a press briefing at Queen’s Park Thursday afternoon.

But we know Watson’s not holding out much hope on that. In Question Period, he recounted the series of fruitless meetings held in February and March, in which ministry staff met privately with Barrie, Innisfil and Simcoe County – and then will all three.

Then, of course, there were the extensive talks led by provincial development facilitator Alan Wells which failed in February 2008.

And, of course, there’s the series of studies that go back to 2002, including one in which Barrie invited its neighbours to talk about growth, followed by the Intergovernmental Action Plan (IGAP), which recommended focusing growth in the region in “Barrie and area.”

Then there was the county process throughout 2007 and 2008, which ultimately led to plans to scatter growth mostly between Innisfil, Bradford West Gwillimbury, New Tecumseth and Wasaga Beach. The province has raised serious concerns with that plan and is challenging Innisfil’s official plan (which implements the growth for the town) at the Ontario Municipal Board.

So, in reality, there truly is little hope for a local solution.
Watson needs to intervene sooner rather than later.

The reality is there are deadlines; any municipal ward changes must be made by Dec. 31, so that on Jan. 1, which technically is Nomination Day, candidates can register to run in the November 2010 municipal election.

And to be fair, if boundaries change, ward boundaries will change, and the residents should have some say in the shape of those and what their municipal council will look like.
No politician would surrender and give up territory; this will take a provincial ruling.

And as for Innisfil’s Fair Growth campaign, what better way for incumbent councillors to raise their profiles and increase their name recognition, with taxpayers footing the bill?

Watson needs to step in and solve this issue – to not only add some teeth to his government’s Places to Grow policy, but to reduce uncertainty to encourage business and to stop the campaign that Innisfil taxpayers are paying for, which are doing more for the profiles of incumbent councillors than building community.

Fact and fiction regarding Barrie’s growth

The voice on the radio is so authoritative and blunt:  “What are the politicians of Barrie up to? Did you know they want to double their population...”
“And take thousands of acres from Innisfil to do it?”

Not only are we talking misinformation. We’re talking Lies.
That, however, is the start of the claims Innisfil is making to get people involved in its “fair growth” campaign, designed by a Toronto public-relations firm and featuring radio ads, mobile signs, a petition, website and a Queen’s Park demonstration next Thursday, May 28.

Having covered Barrie City Hall since 2001, I have seen first-hand how Barrie has been planning and changing the way it grows. Having covered Simcoe County since 2006 – beginning with the Intergovernmental Action Plan (IGAP) report on growth that included the province, the county, Barrie and its neighbours – I understand the environmental rationale for Barrie growing south.

And as I’m out there fielding questions, I saw the need to take some fairgrowth.ca claims and questions to Barrie officials. Barrie’s boundary working group chairperson Coun. Jeff Lehman provides us with answers.

1. Barrie wants to double its population.
Untrue.
Ontario’s Places to Grow planning policy sets Barrie’s population, within its current boundary, at 180,000 by 2031. The province also set aside 40,000 “unallocated” -- which was to be distributed through the facilitated talks with provincial development facilitator Alan Wells. Barrie’s target is 220,000 – which also happens to be its current sewage treatment capacity. (Barrie’s population is now 135,000).

2. Barrie wants to take thousands of acres from Innisfil; specifically 6,427 acres and $7 billion in assessment.
Untrue.
Most of the land under discussion is part of the previously negotiated “moratorium” lands set aside in agreements in the 1980s; these lands cannot be developed until an agreement is reached.
“We have no idea where the $7 billion number comes from,” said Lehman.

3. Barrie wants the racetrack and the money it will bring in.
Untrue.
“All negotiations and studies in the past have indicated that should the boundary need to expand to include the raceway, an agreement would be reached regarding revenue from the raceway continuing to go to Innisfil,” said Lehman. Innisfil does depend on the revenue from the racetrack; it amounts to about one quarter of Innisfil’s operating budget.

4. Barrie hasn’t made good use of lands it annexed before. Why would this time be any different?
This one is a good one – I’ve seen first-hand how the city has sent plans back to developers and told them to build more intensively: two examples are townhouse developments, one at Harvie/Essa/Ferndale, the other not far from the GO station on Mapleview East.
In 2005, Ontario passed Places to Grow, a legislation that requires municipalities grow smarter and more compactly. As part of this plan, Ontario has designated Barrie as an Urban Growth Centre, which requires higher densities and more jobs.
“Barrie wants slower growth. Our plan is for suburban growth to occur at a much slower pace than it has in recent years,” said Lehman, adding the city has a plan to intensify downtown and along major arterial roads.

5. If Barrie annexes my area, the lands will be turned into subdivisions.
Untrue.
“Barrie is growing smarter already ... We are going to grow slower on the edges and more inside our urban area.” How a land is zoned is determined through a public process that includes zoning, secondary plans and neighbourhood plans.

6. Judging by all the construction, Barrie can’t take care of what it already has. Why should it get more land?
Barrie has an aggressive $220-million infrastructure renewal program to repair roads and pipes. It creates 1,100 construction jobs and another 1,100 indirectly.

7. Barrie snubbed its nose at working with Simcoe County.
Untrue.
“Barrie is not in the county and has no vote at the table. It did, however, act as an observer, the only role it could have. Barrie co-operated fully by providing information requested throughout the study.”

8. Why, all of a sudden, is Barrie trying to steal land from Innisfil?
“Innisfil walked away from local negotiations. Barrie has been actively trying to reach a local solution with Innisfil to address this important issue since 2002. For the past two years, Barrie participated fully in facilitated talks between Innisfil, the county and Barrie. Innisfil walked away from the table rejecting the facilitated solution. In the past two months, Barrie attempted again to reach a local solution with Innisfil and Simcoe County. The demands of Innisfil cannot be satisfied by Barrie. Innisfil is demanding a change in provincial direction and policy.” (for more detail, see Question 4.)

9. Why can’t Barrie grow in another direction?
The Intergovernmental Action Plan (IGAP) – a joint study by Ontario, Simcoe County, Innisfil and Barrie – concluded Barrie should expand to the south. Lake Simcoe and its tributaries can handle growth better than the Nottawasaga River valley that’s already stressed by settlements.

10. How will Innisfil residents be affected by a boundary change?
Directing growth and intenstification to the urban growth centre will allow Innisfil residents to continue to enjoy the rural lifestyle they chose.

Heritage and history emanate through communities; Barrie should try to appreciate that

As Lt.-Gov. David Onley joined in honouring Ontario’s first lieutenant-governor John Graves Simcoe by joining the county and sculptor Marlene Hilton-Moore in unveiling Simcoe’s bronze, a piece of Barrie history began to shatter.

It’s terribly ironic that as that occurred, an 1884 building that was most recently Steele’s China Shop was hit by a demolition crane. It punctured holes in its roof and in its rear wall.
Barrie tried to stop it, as the city clerk and CAO ran along Collier Street to the site with a copy of city council’s intent to designate in hand.

When I finished journalism school in 1986 and settled in at my first job at a Midland newspaper, I quickly learned the area I’d chosen as my new home was an historic one, filled with stories and events that shaped not only our nation but our sense of self as Canadians. Everywhere I looked, I saw history – Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, the Martyrs’ Shrine, Georgian Bay and the landscape that inspired the Group of Seven.

In Barrie, however, the historic landscape is that much more barren. The opera house is gone, as is the old post office and Barrie train station. Old city hall is remembered only with an arch. The old fire hall is a parking lot and parkette. On one old hotel site there’s a chip wagon; on another, a reflecting pond that doubles as an ice rink in the winter. Barrie’s record in preserving and honouring its history is poor.
Not that I was a history major. Although I took some history in university, I never did very well; the history department continually downgraded by papers not for their research and content, but for writing style. I wrote too much like a newspaper reporter.

But I can tell a story. And I love telling stories and hearing stories. And part of our community’s story is told by its buildings – their architecture and the role they played in the community. That is the fascinating part. That is the part that is critical in creating what’s known as a sense of place.

It’s this sense of place that creates an authentic experience, for tourists and for investment, which then adds up to longer-term prosperity. We return to the economic theories (I minored in economics) of Martin Prosperity Institute director Dr. Richard Florida. He says communities that offer a sense of place attract more-creative, well-generating professionals.

Barrie talks a good game about Florida and his theories to build a more-resilient economy. But the city hasn’t seemed to embrace protecting the past and using its heritage to create a more prosperous future.

Barrie must truly focus and work to appreciate, preserve and highlight its stories – whether told in buildings, organizations or in individuals.

Those who came before us laid the foundations of who we are; we need to respect them and learn from them, use their wisdom as well as our own creativity to build a better community for our children.

Gloves were scripted to come off

The gloves are off in the Barrie-Innisfil boundary debate, says Innisfil Mayor Brian Jackson.
And so it goes, according to script.
When talks failed in February 2008, it became just a question of time as to when the curtain to the political theatre rose.
It rose last Tuesday, April 26, when county councillors stood one by one to support a resolution urging the province to not intervene and impose a solution to the Barrie-Innisfil boundary question. The county stressed Barrie shouldn’t be rewarded for not participating in the county’s growth management strategy.
“Be it resolved that the Province of Ontario be asked not to make a bad political decision by imposing a solution that conflicts with the consensus obtained in the area-wide growth plan for the entire County of Simcoe ...
“and reward the 17 municipalities that have ... kept their word, complied with the legislation to the best of our ability and ahead of other jurisdictions. Reward all but one.”
That resolution came almost a week after a closed-door meeting between Simcoe County Warden Tony Guergis and Innisfil council – at which they strategized how to handle the issue.
Quite honestly, it’s all pretty scripted.
Any local politician wanting a future in public life is going to Resist (yes, with a capital R) being annexed; anyone wanting to live in the community and show his/her face will fight for the constituents he/she represents.
Scene 1 of the show actually occurred Jan. 28, when Barrie MPP Aileen Carroll wrote a letter to Municipal Affairs Minister Jim Watson urging him to resolve the ongoing dispute, for the sake of the regional economy and to protect the integrity of the province’s Places to Grow plan. Chances are Carroll was following direction, to set the stage for what was to come.
Fast forward to April 22. In Innisfil there’s the closed-door meeting with the warden and council. Days later, the “All but one” resolution gets resounding support with every county politician there standing up, even those who sympathize with Barrie. There had to be a bracing visual and emotional element.
Then this week, Jackson takes off his gloves at Innisfil council, which passes two resolutions opposing Barrie’s plan and urging the province not to support the city by imposing a solution before the summer recess.
It had to happen. To keep the political careers of Innisfil politicians alive.
And to set the stage for the intervention, which – ideally – needs to occur in adequate time to allow boundary changes and new wards to be created by Dec. 31, 2009. The next day, Jan. 1, 2010, is Nomination Day – the day in which candidates can register to run in next fall’s election.
So get caught up in the theatre; it certainly is entertaining. But yes, it is scripted. And yes, it has incredible impacts on the lives of people.
But that’s politics. That’s government. Hopefully, it results in good, even better government.