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Vol. 9
No. 2
YOUR INDEPENDENT LOCAL NEWSPAPER - LANARK, NORTH LEEDS & GRENVILLE
FEBRUARY 2022
What nation-leading growth means for Carleton Place
Photo credit: Carleton Place Town Hall Facebook page.
Carleton Place - Brian Turner editorial@pd gmedia.ca The County of Lanark has allocated a forecasted growth to Carleton Place of 97% by 2038 which will increase the total population of the town to 20,964, or approximately 8,735 households. Our forecasted annual growth is 3% per year, or 215 homes per annum. In 2021,
the town saw 213 new homes constructed which is in line with the County’s forecasted growth for the community, down 41% from the 361 homes built in 2020. Growth can be a double-edged sword for a community. In terms of benefits, it can provide a broadrange of housing stock (i.e. singles, semis, towns, apartment units, etc.) for purchase or rental to meet the
demand of the community’s aging population. Historically, our building stock has been mostly ownership models – single family homes on large lots -- which don’t meet the needs of an aging society. By creating new stock, we are providing options for first time homebuyers, aging seniors and anyone in between in our community who wants to upsize or downsize to fit their budget and lifestyle. In addition, having new housing stock equivalent or closer to demand is needed to help keep prices lower. With the increase in residential growth over the past 5 years (1,354 homes since 2017; 5-year average of 271 homes/year), the community is starting to see a corresponding growth in other job-creating sectors such as commercial/industrial (i.e Eteros, Lauryson Kitchens, Napa, restaurant chains, new hotel, etc.), lifestyle services (new Revera seniors home, Lanark Community Transportation services one day per week, Valley Eats, etc.), and health care (hospital expansion, Life Labs, Dynacare Labs). The growth in the community has added to the town’s assessment base which is the means used by the town to collect taxation on an annual basis. The added assessment from growth each year means the
town is able to maintain a lower annual tax rate increase than many of our neighbouring communities, often resulting in an increase that is lower than the rate of inflation. However, the growth also creates a need for new equipment, staffing and puts a demand on existing facilities and services such as water and sewer treatment plants, library, childcare, etc. The town has been planning for the current and forecasted growth to ensure we are ready to meet the extra demand it creates. Currently underway are Water and Wastewater Master Plans / Environmental Assessments for the expansion of both our Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants, a review of our Official Plan to ensure Carleton Place continues to grow in a way that we don’t lose our small-town appeal, a Transportation Master Plan to ensure the town’s transportation infrastructure, including active transportation, can handle the needs of all users and a Recreation Master Plan to help meet the community’s growing recreation and culture demands. The town undertook a Development Charges Study to ensure that the costs associated with growth are paid for by developers, though any new municipal service which also serves the needs of the
existing population will be partially paid for through taxation. Over the next 10 years, over $26 million dollars will be paid by developers towards growth-related projects in the community. While growth brings growing pains and new pressures to those living in the community, it can also create new opportunities and provide amenities never experienced locally before. Some great examples of this include the new Carleton Junction community space, the creation of splash pads throughout the community, and the addition of a new chain hotel. We undertook a hotel feasibility study about 10 years ago which concluded that the town did not have the population threshold to attract a chain hotel. Today, with the growth in the community, the town now has a 72-room hotel which allows groups within the town to host sporting events, weddings, and special events. All of the spending associated with hotel stays now remains in the community supporting our local businesses. It’s a win-win. As we continue to grow, we will be become a more attractive destination for future businesses, making Carleton Place a self-sustaining community rather than a bedroom community for the City of Ottawa.
Empty shelves not the biggest problem during the pandemic Regional - Shannon Mclellan editorial@pd gmedia.ca While you may have recently observed a lack of certain items on the grocery stores shelves, or noticed a flood of images of empty shelves and refrigerators on social media portraying what appears to be a food shortage, top Canadian food experts are quickly assuring us that no major grocery shortages are likely despite ongoing disruptions. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra stated in a recent interview that “Canadians have no reason to fear food shortages will result from a small minority of truck drivers refusing to com-
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ply with a vaccine mandate in order to cross the Canada-U-S border.” He also stated that the large grocery store chains and other retailers have assured him that they have plenty of goods to provide their customers, despite a few labour shortages and supply chain barriers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, he said there's been no “measurable impact'' on the number of trucks crossing the border since the vaccine mandate went into effect on January 15 – as reported by the Canadian Press published Jan. 26, 2022. The most recent event to cause people to race to the stores in panic mode is the pub-
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lic backlash from truck drivers in response to the vaccine mandate that was implemented last month. The vaccine mandate came into effect Jan. 15 for cross-border truckers coming into Canada. Canadian truckers who are not fully vaccinated will have to show proof of a negative PCR test collected within 72 hours of arriving at the border and will need to quarantine after arrival, while unvaccinated American drivers will be denied entry. In response to the new mandate, thousands of truckers joined by supporters have flooded Parliament Hill in Ottawa in protest of vaccine mandates and Covid-19. The “Free-
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Photo credit: The Garden Market Facebook page.
dom Convoy” is made up of teams of truckers and supporters who have raised more than $8.1 million from more than 102,000 donations on GoFundMe over the past several weeks.
The group has been steadily flooding the downtown core to oppose cross-border vaccine mandates and other public health restrictions. Continues on page 7
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