Money for Three Rivers being left on the table, says mayoral candidate
CBC
The candidates for mayor in the eastern P.E.I. town of Three Rivers disagree on whether the town could be doing more to attract money from other levels of government.
Debbie Johnston and Ray Brow discussed the issues facing the town during a roundtable on Island Morning Friday. Municipalities across the province are holding elections Nov. 7.
Both candidates agreed that with municipal infrastructure being expensive and municipal tax bases limited, convincing provincial and federal governments to invest is crucial. Brow said he is hearing from provincial politicians the town could be doing more.
"They have pots of money that they would like to bring to the town but the town hasn't been that aggressive to get this money," said Brow, who has not previously served on a municipal council in the area.
"It astounds me as a business person that we are not doing more. I think we can reach out not only to the provincial government but to the federal government and turn over every rock to find the dollars that we can bring into Three Rivers."
Johnston, who has been deputy mayor, argued the town has been successful at getting infrastructure built. She pointed to the expansion of water and sewer into Brudenell, which she said was part of $9 million worth of projects in the town over the last four years.
She said she knows there is more money available, and she will go after it.
"If I have to call somebody in government I have no trouble with that if we need something in Three Rivers," said Johnston.
"That's the key to getting anything done. Keeping our services, you know, going ahead with development."
The candidates also addressed the state of the town, following its creation four years ago.
Three Rivers came together as part of an amalgamation push. It's a sprawling community, a mix of farm, forest and urban areas with a population of 7,200 covering an area 10 times the size of Charlottetown.
There was resistance from outlying areas to the amalgamation. There is still some resentment, said Brow, though it is fading.
"I do hear it on the doorstep somewhat. They want to know what's in it for me to be in the town of Three Rivers," he said.
"Number one is communication. You have to be able to get the people from the outlying areas, such as Launching and Panmure Island, to feel as comfortable to be in Three Rivers as people in Montague."
The Alberta government has suspended a loan program at Picture Butte Feeder Cooperative, the province's largest cattle financing cooperative, after an inspection alleged a number of financial mismanagement and regulatory issues.
If you look up at the sky late, late Thursday in the Toronto area, there's a chance you'll be able to see a total lunar eclipse and what's called a blood moon.
When wintertime calls, go where it's warm.
Colby Leamon had lost a close family member, and was looking for a dog to provide emotional support.
The cost of a 24-pack of beer could increase $3 to $5 because of 25 per cent tariffs on aluminum exported to the United States, according to a craft brewery in northern Ontario.
Fire tore through a seafood processing plant in Cape John, N.S., on Wednesday night.
Another of New Brunswick's new municipal councils has become embroiled in drama and bitter conflict.
Tardiness is nothing new at Via Rail, but late arrivals are reaching historic levels in a key corridor since passenger trains have been forced to slow down at hundreds of rail crossings operated by CN Rail.
Walmart Canada will stop selling machetes — a type of weapon frequently used in violent crimes — in stores across the country, after Manitoba's government pressured the retailer to restrict online sales.
The parents of two 15-year-old girls at Evan Hardy Collegiate in Saskatoon say they went to police and the school multiple times between June and August 2024 with concerns about escalating online threats from the student now accused of setting one of the girls on fire in a school hallway.
After more than two years of developing an official plan, the City of Charlottetown is getting close to voting on adopting it. Some residents have concerns with higher density housing the plan could make way for, but others are welcoming it.
Premier Danielle Smith is once again headed to the U.S. later this month to continue her diplomatic approach to tariff talks amid a trade war with the United States.
Point Roberts, a U.S. community in Washington state, is so Canadian that it advertises its gas prices in litres as well as gallons.