CollingwoodToday asked the candidates running for council in Grey Highlands four questions about the issues facing the community.
The following responses were submitted by the candidates. The answers have not been checked for accuracy; they represent the candidates’ platforms and opinions.
Please visit CollingwoodToday’s municipal election web page for more coverage of the local municipal elections.
Responses are presented in alphabetical order beginning with candidates for mayor. They include all the responses submitted by the publishing deadline.
Q: The expansion of the Grey County-owned and operated Grey Gables long-term care home in Markdale is currently in limbo. The Ministry of Long-Term Care has awarded the county new beds to allow for an expansion, but county council has put the project on hold. As a member of Grey Highlands council, how will you encourage Grey County to proceed with this project?
Candidate for mayor: Don Alp
I currently do not have an opinion on Grey Gables. If elected I will take a common sense approach with the detailed information I receive.
Candidate for mayor: Paul McQueen
Grey Gables, wow! What a ride this has been. We went from it being scheduled to be sold from recommendations that came from Grey County staff and supported by county council during the term of 2014-2018, to this term reversing the decision to sell, to keeping it, applying for and receiving 62 new beds because it was felt that 128 bed LTC facility would be most efficient. Having consultants look at creating a new building and converting the current Grey Gables to assisted living with revenue to offset the cost. Creating not only a new build, but also creating up to 40 assisted living spaces. Looking at the big picture having the community health centre, a new hospital being complete for the end of 2023, a conceptual design of a new three-floor Grey Gables and a conversion to assisted living, what a great health hub in Markdale, the centre of Grey County, what a no brainer!
Candidate for mayor: Danielle Valiquette
As the mayor of Grey Highlands, I will put forward a resolution to direct Grey County staff to include Grey Gables and the 60-plus approved beds in the county's ten-year plan. And then I will work with every mayor and deputy mayor to ensure all their questions are satisfactorily answered. All within the limitations of quorum, of course! Additionally, not only will I prioritize the long-term sustainability of Grey Gables, but I also support the Grey Highlands Age-Friendly Action Plan that was supported by this council. I would like to see the new council develop a strategic plan that ensures age-friendly policies are supported in our community.
Candidate for deputy mayor: Dane Nielsen
The county consultants show that the campus of care model is the most cost-effective and sustainable model. Having an assisted living plus long-term care facility and hospital located all in the same location makes practical and fiscal sense. Building at the same time as Rockwood Terrace would have brought economies of scale that would have benefited the project. The consultant report also projected the higher costs to build the longer we wait. With the increasing age of our population, the decision becomes even clearer. The question is: can we mend the division at the county council to get this done. And I believe that, with the new election and the potential for change at the county, we can. The last election saved Grey Gables from being sold and this election will see the logical investment.
Candidate for council: Paul Allen
I will vote for a mayor and deputy mayor that I know will continue to advocate for the expansion of Grey Gables and support that expansion when it is discussed and voted on at county council. I have supported this cause by participating in efforts in the past to obtain more bed allocation and redevelopment of the county-owned facility that is strategically located in the centre of Grey County. I will continue to do so!
Candidate for council: Tom Allwood
The county-owned and operated Grey Gables long-term care home in Markdale is an essential and needed facility in Grey Highlands. The current term of council worked hard to save this wonderful Class A facility when the county was proposing selling it. We lobbied and were again successful in getting the province to approve the additional 62 beds. The county has put this expansion on hold. It has used the cost-per-bed estimates moving from $280,000 to $400,000 as the reason and decided to continue with the upgrade and expansion of Rockwood Terrace in Durham. They have not even provided funding for Grey Gable’s extra beds in the ten-year financial forecast. There is no guarantee the province will hold Grey Gables extra beds beyond 2025. Grey Highlands council needs to get Grey Gables expansion back and approved by Grey County. We were successful in “saving Grey Gables” at the county and we need the same kind of effort to get those extra beds.
Candidate for council: Reid Dennison
The "delay" on the 62 new beds promised for Grey Gables may make it seem like we’ll get them sooner or later, but there are no guarantees that the provincial funding will be there when we want it, and this concerns me. I understand that the county believes building the new capacity now will lead to a significant tax increase, but do they understand what we will lose in tax revenues if we don’t? Many residents want to be able to live near their aging parents, and if they can't get LTC beds for them, will they move elsewhere? I have a related concern: affordable housing for seniors who want to downsize and stay here in the community where they grew up (or the community they chose to spend retirement in). The municipality needs to consider all the stages of aging. Council can and should direct planning staff to do everything they can to ease the way for affordable seniors’ housing. If I’m elected as a councillor, I won’t have that much influence on the county’s spending priorities; that falls to our mayor and deputy mayor, who will each have a seat on county council. But I will do whatever I can to further the housing interests of our seniors and their families who live here.
Candidate for council: Nadia Dubyk
For Grey Gables, the Ministry of Long-Term Care approved 62 new beds to the existing 66 beds to create a 128-bed long-term care home. This addition is a great need for our community, however, it is still on hold. As a councillor, I will prioritize the viability and expansion of Grey Gables, and assist the Grey Highlands mayor and deputy mayor in the efforts to bring the issue, discussion and supporting resolution to Grey County council. A transparent discussion is needed to understand the issues and competing priorities to find a solution for continued and expanded long-term care home service in our municipality.
Candidate for council: Emmett Ferguson
The whole Grey Highlands community has acted so admirably to invest in our new hospital, and it will serve as a good beginning to upgrade acute and emergency care services. Yet we also need new investment in home care services to keep families together as long as possible, and long-term care assets available locally. Families thrive when they can live closer together. We need services in Markdale for health care and for long-term care to support our aging population and the dignity and autonomy of seniors. Thus, every effort should be made to ensure that additional investments in long-term care are made to avoid families being separated to Owen Sound or other communities far distant from Grey Highlands. Reflecting on the success we’ve had so far in our new hospital, I think nothing is as convincing as local money on the table. So if it’s up to me, I’d just start fundraising here to meet a goal for our portion, and I expect the county will come around when the time is right.
Candidate for council: Gary Franklin
I don’t know why they would have deferred the project for so long. Building costs have risen exponentially over the last five years. The cost will be much more than originally thought and adding every year there is a delay. I would personally press Grey County to start ASAP. The population is getting older quickly and space will be needed.
Candidate for council: Joel Loughead
Public healthcare is a cornerstone of what makes our society so great. During the pandemic, we learned that private long-term care facilities had nearly double the death rate of publicly funded homes. With so many seniors in our communities and an aging population, having a public long-term care facility close to home is a necessity. Grey Highlands needs to work with the county and the province to leave no stone unturned in making sure Grey Gables gets the expansion the people of this municipality were promised.
Candidate for council: Brian McCulloch
The expansion of the Grey County-owned and operated Grey Gables long-term care home in Markdale is currently stalled. The Ministry of Long-Term Care awarded the county new beds to allow for an expansion, but county council has put the Grey Gables project on hold as they want to expand in another community. Grey Highlands has a demonstrated need and statistics show an above-average percentage of retired people who are in the area and requiring services. Why force residents to move to another community? Why force their family to visit them there as well? The mayor and deputy mayor are Grey Highlands representatives at the county level. To support their efforts, municipal council will have to pass resolutions to be taken to the county. As well, councillors must continue to lobby MPPs about the funding of Grey Gables when they meet at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conferences.
Candidate for council: Lynn Silverton
When I was previously on council I supported the Save Grey Gables movement. We should never have had to face this challenge but we did and Grey Gables is still operating nicely as a 66-bed long-term care facility. I would give my support to any initiative that would move forward the approved 62-bed expansion. One solution discussed was to convert the current facility to an assisted living home and build the 128-bed LTC on the west side of the current home. This would result in a positive cash flow model but it will require some innovative capital funding. The beds are needed and we must work towards an innovative solution.
Candidate for council: Joe Van der Vechte
Baby boomers are the largest part of our aging population and more beds and facilities will be needed. I will work tirelessly with the rest of council to ensure we come up with a solution to solve this issue. We need to attack this issue before it becomes a nightmare for our aging community members. If it is just about money and rising costs to build, I would keep putting it out to tender until we find a number that will work. I would look to fundraising efforts to raise the money we need to move forward. Keep lobbying the provincial and federal government for more funding. I am a believer in the idea that there are no problems, only solutions. We just need to find the one that works, and if we work together I believe we can make it happen.
Candidate for council: Christine Wagner
Grey Gables is a priority that needs to be brought forward in this year’s budget. We need to understand the needs for our aging community members and develop a plan to support these needs. Sixty-two beds is not near enough, but it is a start. It is 62 more chances for loved ones to stay together. With the rate of growth we are seeing, this will not be a long-term fix. I do not feel 62 beds is an adequate number.
