Ward 6 candidate Brock McGregor

It’s time to start thinking about the future of Chatham-Kent. As a young father, naturopathic doctor, and small business owner, I came back to Chatham-Kent because I see potential in our community. I am raising my family here, growing my practice here, and dedicating my full energy to fostering community in Chatham-Kent.

For our municipality to be successful, we need to focus on attraction and retention of youth, growth of small business, fiscal sustainability, and improvement of health within our community.

I believe I can bring a fresh perspective to council, and will work hard to fully explore all sides of any issue brought forward. I will be your voice – accountable, accessible, and engaged.

Would you support a tax freeze or rollback if it meant reduced staff or services?

No. As a municipality we need to maintain our service levels. We need to carefully look at how we do business in order to ensure efficiency, but cannot sacrifice services important to residents and businesses of Chatham-Kent. All efforts should be made to keep costs down with the goal of a 0% tax increase.

Would you support an OPP costing study?

Yes. As part of an initiative to fully understand comparative cost, an OPP costing study should be completed. Informed decisions can only be made when thorough, relevant information is provided. Would you support examining a volunteer-only fire service if the provincial arbitration system isn’t overhauled?

Would you support examining a volunteer-only fire service if the provincial arbitration system isn’t overhauled?                                                                                                             No. I support a local fire service with paid employees, and do believe that the arbitration system needs to be addressed provincially. Municipalities need to work together along with the province to re-evaluate and alter the arbitration system.

Do you believe we should continue our ongoing efforts to attract economic investment from China?

Yes. As part of an integrated economic development strategy I believe we need to focus on small business development and industry retention, along with exploring emerging markets as especially when this involves provincial/federal cost sharing.

Would you support contracting municipal services to the private sector if those services can be delivered more efficiently?

No. Effective and efficient service provision is a priority, however a full costing analysis needs to be done when considering any private sector provision of service, with careful scrutiny paid to quality of service, oversight, and fair treatment and compensation of employees. As we have seen recently with the divestment of childcare spots in Wallaceburg, changes in funding from the other levels of government can force a shift to private service provision. We must ensure this process is fair to all stakeholders.

Would you support investigating amalgamation of fire/ambulance/police services to reduce costs?

Yes. I believe we need to be prepared to continually review the way we provide service to ensure not only appropriate costing, but that we are providing services in the most effective way to residents of Chatham-Kent. Investigating cost reduction strategies, and making decisions with full, detailed information should be adopted as a best practice for all issues coming before council.
Would you support a municipal tree-cutting bylaw if it contained incentives for woodlot owners to retain/increase tree cover?

Yes. I believe we should look into low-cost, innovative solutions to maintain and increase tree cover in Chatham-Kent. Such a program should be economically viable, focusing on private partnership and education.

Do you believe we need a municipal ombudsman or ethics commissioner such as London and Windsor have added?

Yes. We need accountability and transparency. An independent office able to address code of conduct issues is vital to maintaining objective and accountable governance.

Would you consider developing a usage benchmark for municipal offices, arena and libraries and closing those that don’t meet the standards?

No. We should be looking at not only usage but also impact in communities. We are a municipality of small communities, and a benchmark program cannot adequately measure degree of impact, only quantity of individuals in and out. We need to continually evaluate how we provide service to ensure we are doing so in the most effective, efficient way, but a simple benchmarking system is not comprehensive enough.

Do you support development of a community-wide multipurpose recreation centre?

Yes. It is clear that Chatham-Kent has aging recreation infrastructure. We need to work towards updating to a new, more modern and cost effective multi purpose centre. Recreation is crucial to health, and an updated multipurpose centre would not only increase travel to Chatham-Kent, but would provide increased opportunity for healthy and active living within our community.

Do you support an adopt-a-park program in which service or volunteer groups assume some maintenance (grass cutting) of some municipal facilities?

Yes. I believe community members should be engaged to maintain community spaces, for example community outdoor ice rinks. However the municipality has a responsibility to maintain green space and should not look to community volunteers as a means to reduce maintenance responsibility.

Do you support investigating a reduction in the number of municipal councilors?

Yes. I believe that we should follow recommendations made in 2010 to alter the ward system. I believe this process should heavily involve community members as current and prospective councilors cannot approach the issue objectively.

Election platform

I grew up in Chatham-Kent, my business is here, and I am raising my family here – I am all in!  I commit to work hard everyday to become fully informed before making decisions that impact the future and prosperity of the community I love. Over the next four years we need to focus on transparency, jobs, fiscal responsibility, health promotion, youth engagement, and sustainability.

Transparency

Our community deserves transparency and accountability. I will make myself available outside of council chambers to explain and discuss municipal issues, brainstorm with community members and stakeholders, and give voice to those I represent. It is time to engage in a new way. Community consultation needs to happen outside of chambers, with community meetings held at venues throughout Chatham-Kent.

 Jobs

​Fundamental to Chatham-Kent’s success as a community is job creation and retention. Council needs to actively support small business initiatives, lobby to support local business, and foster a climate conducive to growth. This includes fiscal responsibility and appropriate infrastructure investment. Local businesses have demonstrated overwhelming support for 401 access at Charing Cross road. Listening to our business community and lobbying provincially during this process is a priority.

 Fiscal Responsibility

I support the ongoing service review. Council needs to adopt a culture of best practices and continually review how we operate – we need to avoid a business as usual mentality. As our community changes, we need to adapt and ensure we are able to continue to provide services needed in our community. Community stakeholders should be actively engaged in the budget process.

Health Promotion

Unfortunately Chatham-Kent is a leader in cardiovascular disease and cancer. It is time that we address this issue municipally and move our community toward better health. We need to re-form the Active Communities Steering Committee and support changes in our community to facilitate healthy lifestyles. We need to maximize our use of green space, complete a viable bike lane network, support local health initiatives, and keep recreation affordable for residents of Chatham-Kent.

 Youth Engagement

Chatham-Kent is focused on bringing youth back to CK. I came back – and I know what it takes to attract young families and young professionals to our community. The attraction and retention of residents involves job creation, health promotion, and sustainability – all-important aspects of my platform. Youth are intelligent and innovative, and we need to be intelligent and innovative in our engagement strategies. Youth need to see our community as a viable part of their future.

Sustainability

We are chronically underfunding infrastructure renewal. It is time to recognize the importance of infrastructure life cycle funding. We need to stop leveraging our future. The long-term sustainability of our community depends on our ability to maintain infrastructure crucial to life in Chatham-Kent, and the operations of our agricultural and business communities.