North Frontenac Remembers Ed Schlievert
North Frontenac lost a beloved community member, Ed Schlievert, on Tuesday February 21st. Settling in Ardoch back in 1995, he is remembered by many for his restaurant; Ed's Place. Where so many of our community gathered to enjoy his cooking and company. He made a delicious burger and always had… READ MORE
Drilling Down: Analysing Municipal Tax Rates
Frontenac County increased taxes by almost 9% this year, the largest increase in memory. And, as we reported last month, members of Frontenac County Council said there was little they could do to lower that increase, after they received the draft budget from county staff . The Frontenac County budget… READ MORE
Frontenac County, And Its Municipalities, Need To Get Involved With 'Find A Doc'
Over the last 15 years, there have been a couple of successful 'find a doc' campaigns in our region. While the circumstances today are different, those successes are still instructive. In one case, the township of Addington Highlands, with support from the Township of North Frontenac, invested in the Northbrook… READ MORE
Is Canada Really Broken, Or Is It Just Winter
Most Canadians pay scant attention to the fortunes of federal political parties when there is no obvious federal election on the horizon, but of course that does not stop the parties from jockeying for position. The Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, has become fond of saying, “it feels like everything is… READ MORE
A year later, it can't be about vaccine mandates any more
A year later, it can't be about vaccine mandates any more A year ago the freedom convoy had become a full blown occupation of the City of Ottawa. It was already clear at that time that the reason so many people were protesting, and the support that they were receiving… READ MORE
The Poor Cousin & The Rich Cousin
A quick scan of the numbers in the proposed South Frontenac capital budget reveals that staff are proposing to spend about $11 million this year on capital expenditures, including over $8 million on road projects. The biggest ticket item, by far, is the Sunbury Road reconstruction project at $3.8 million.… READ MORE
North Frontenac Council Climate Change Action
North Frontenac Township Council passed a motion I brought forward in December, to state that it recognized that we are now in a climate emergency. It also agreed to receive recommendations from myself and Councillor Roy Huetl about what steps the township might take to reduce its carbon footprint in… READ MORE
Bill 23: We Should Be Concerned About Collateral Damage
Land use planning is bureaucratic, tedious, complicated, and boring. It is also a big deal for anyone who wants to build something, or wants to prevent or change the plan of someone else who wants to build something. Everyone, with the possible exception of former South Frontenac Councillor Ross Sutherland,… READ MORE
Thinking About The Long Haul In A New Year
There is a sense that a new year brings new opportunities, and while we all inevitably slip back into the same patterns of work by mid January, it is important to at least note where we have come from and how we can do things just a little differently, or… READ MORE
Not An Easy Year
Remember the idea of us all being 'alone together', the idea that we were all in the fight against COVID together. That seems so 2020, doesn’t it By the winter of 2022 there was little good will left In its place was an unprecedented protest and occupation in Ottawa and… READ MORE
Bill 23 could make for more disfunction, not less
Bill 23 – the More Homes Built Faster Faster Act, recently passed by the Ontario Legislature, is a set of sweeping measures that reflect the underlying political thinking of Premier Doug Ford. It is all about removing barriers to commerce, in this case the building and development industry, throughout the… READ MORE
Bill 28 is gone, but Bill 23 is still here
A lot of families with younger school aged children found themselves scrambling two weeks ago, when a contract dispute between Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing education workers in Ontario schools, and the Ontario government, became a game of chicken. Instead of continuing to negotiate with CUPE, the government… READ MORE
KFL&A COVID Advantage Dissipates
Early on in COVID, the KFL&A region was the best place to be in Canada. The reason for that was that KFL&A was the only region that did not see any major outbreaks in long term care facilities, and we were able and willing to isolate when the first COVID… READ MORE
What The Election Tells Us About Our Townships
There were distinct dynamics in each of the townships that we covered during the municipal election campaign this fall. They were apparent in candidate interviews and particularly apparent at the all-candidates meetings. And the election results bore that out. In general, as with most elections, incumbents did rather well this… READ MORE
Municipal election reckoning – mistakes were made
At the beginning of the municipal election season, I was worried that it would be a tall order to fulfill the role that we have taken on, at the Frontenac News, to provide a forum for voters to get acquainted, in a basic way, with all of the candidates in… READ MORE
Seniors lose out as Frontenac County Council plays politics
Two quite minor items at the Frontenac County Council meeting a couple of weeks ago revealed something about the council being out of touch with each other, and with the real workings of Frontenac County. While township council meetings are not exactly riveting events, they do, for the most part,… READ MORE
