Community Matters with Brian Ostrander: Recent Episodes
Brian Ostrander
Brighton Mayor Brian Ostrander pulls back the curtain on the people practices of local government to get people talking and thinking locally. A production of On The Level Media.
The employees of the community work hard daily for their communities and bring their passion in serving the public! Today we interview the interviewer to discuss his passion about the public service he brings to his community. Today Jeff Hutton, Producer of Community Matters asks Brian questions about life on Council and his dedication to his community.
Wars create immediate humanitarian crises and the war in the Ukraine is no different. In small towns across Canada people are coming together to ask what can we do to help. During the Syrian crisis a group of local Brighton citizens were able to come together and assist two families seek refuge here in Brighton. The war in the Ukraine is different in that the international community expects that the conflict will resolve itself in a way that will allow displaced Ukrainians to return home one day. The Canadian government has set-up our emergency travel system for Ukrainians with that in mind.
So, how can we help? Where do we donate? With whom do we volunteer? What organization do we tell that we have the resources to help support displaced people?
I sat down with Andy Cragg, Executive Director of the New Canadians Centre to help answer these questions and more.
The costs of climate change on the municipal landscape are very real. Most of us remember when everything would freeze-up in December and we didn’t need to worry about thawing and potholes until March. Today’s constant freeze-thaw cycle is wreaking havoc on our road networks, the instant melts that take place cause flooding concerns and increasing temperatures are causing more and more heat related illnesses and emergencies.
We're joined by Jeff Wheeldon and Judy Smith.
We’ve heard that all politics is local. Certainly from my seat that’s true, but how about if you have to do a good deal of your business in Ottawa as our MP or from Queen’s Park as our MPP? How can you keep things local? How do you stay focused on your constituency with so many factors pulling you in different directions?
We're joined by Philip Lawrence MP for Northumberland Peterborough and the Honourable David Piccini MInister of Environment Conservation and Parks.
For a small community like Brighton Inter-Municipal partnerships are both legislated and a good idea. Let’s face it, your grandmother was right when she said many hands make light work. In Brighton we have both legislated and purpose-built partnerships across Northumberland County and throughout the Quinte region. In Northumberland we have partnerships that deal with larger road networks, take care of our social services and housing stock, deal with the refuse that we put at the end of our driveways and aid us in our times of need. Across Quinte we frequently team up to look on healthcare issues and share emergency and work crews across borders. At both the County and regional level we team up to drive economic development and tourism.
We're joined by His Worship Mayor Bob Sanderson of Port Hope and His Worshp Mayor Mitch Panciuk of Belleville.
In both 2017 and 2019 we experienced flooding on our shoreline resulting from rising lake levels. Some blamed climate change – some pointed to the International Joint Commission the group responsible for controlling the dam at the east end of Lake Ontario. Most of us said – it’s likely both – and are trying to figure out how best to deal with this if it happens again. We're joined by David Swan - Head of Risk Assessment with Hydra International and a member of both the Flood Mitigation Industry Association and the Association of State Floodplain Managers.
We have been told that we need to build a million homes over the next decade in Ontario to sustain the growth levels we anticipate in the province. With the largest air force base in the country less than 30 minutes away and the largest city in the country 1.5 hours away – we know that we will be significantly impacted by growth in our small community. We're joined by Diana Keay – Manager of Planning Services with DM Wills.
Entertaining the public has been an instrumental part of civil (or not so civil) society since time eternal. Whether it was gathering to cheer on one’s favourite gladiator in Roman times, the jousts and festivals of the medieval era or watching your favourite sporting event today, it is an important part of who we are. In the Municipal environment it can sometimes mean supporting these events, teams and venue owners from the sidelines or it may mean investing tax dollars in arenas and sports fields. We're joined by Mark Rinaldi co-owner of the Brighton Speedway and Tim Durkin co-owner of the Frankford Huskies
Civilizations have always had their record keepers and story tellers. The Clerk, as municipal record keeper, holds the municipal story and needs to ensure that story is available to whomever wishes to read it. It's a big responsibility and although the Clerk's role is to record the Council and Committee business without comment or opinion it must be difficult sometime to follow the bouncing ball of varying opinions and comments during a meeting. The administration’s role is provide the best advice they can to Council and then implement the direction provided by Council, even if that direction is contrary to their advice. Brent Larmer and Gayle Frost join the podcast.
After WWII, Canada splashed out the highways, ports and the other hard and soft services we take for granted until they aren't there anymore. Now communities are struggling to update and expand, repair and replace infrastructure that could be generations old. How do we plan for it? How do we execute on it? And who should pay for it? Scott Butler of the Ontario Good Roads Association joins the pod.
Introducing Community Matters
Brighton Mayor Brian Ostrander pulls back the curtain on the people practices of local government to get people talking and thinking locally.