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The Paris Independent 8

December 17, 2022 C O M M U N I T Y N E W S

The worry about these charges shifting from developers onto taxpayers is unsettling to Ward 2 councillor Steve Howes, as property tax could increase for homeowners and there will be a decrease in municipal funding. “If the province changes or reduces the amount the developers have to pay to the municipality,” said Howes. “Where do these funds come from? Growth is supposed to pay for growth. ” Each municipality is allocated a certain amount of growth within the region and is given a growth target. According to Howes, by 2051 the county of Brant is supposed to grow to 59,000 people. The current population is about 40,000. Howes explains that without any new development applications, there are currently enough in the pipeline to reach that target and beyond. The County of Brant is growing rapidly and is projected to continue growing in the coming years. Councillors are urging the needs and utilities of the community be examined to meet the demands of growth. “We need to make sure that when we grow our county, we actually grow it in a way that provides infrastructure at the right pace to support,” said Bell. While a need for space is needed to support this growth, land is not the issue, according to the Ontario HousingAvailability Task Force. Bill 23 introduces the idea of developing on sections of the Greenbelt, land which was previously undeveloped under the Greenbelt Protection act of 2004. Howes references a statement from the Ontario Housing Availability Task Force site report from February 8, 2022, published before the bill was announced. The report states “a shortage of land isn’t the cause of the problem. Land is available, both inside the existing built-up areas and on undeveloped land outside greenbelts. ” Of the 1.5 million houses being built, 50,000 of these houses are proposed to be built on the Greenbelt taking 7,400 acres of protected land. With the fear of displacing wildlife and abolishing heritage sites, Howes and Bell are both wary about the development. Petitions by the Green Party have been started in order to stop development on the Greenbelt and are still circling. “We can’t hold back growth,” said Bell. “What we’re going to do is manage it as best we can. We’ve been dealt a set of cards and were going to play them as best we can. ”

C O M M U N I T Y N E W S

It’s star ting to look a lot like Christmas….!!!

The 5th Paris Brownies are getting into the spirit of the holidays with various activities around town. On December 7th the unit visited Walter’s Greenhouses to learn a lesson in horticulture and created their own Christmas decorations to take home. The following week on December 13th, the girls helped sort food and wrap Christmas gifts at the Paris Community Christmas Hamper & Toy Drive.

Photo by Casandra Turnbull

Warm up with a bowl of soup!

Eight days until Christmas and the Raw Carrot Enterprise still has gift boxes ready to deliver or pick up at one of their locations, including the Paris location at Paris Presbyterian Church! The Gift Boxes make wonderful gifts for those hard to buy for folks on your list. Your purchase supports tangible social change in our community. The Raw Carrot Enterprise employs individuals on ODSP who want to work the chance to have employment. Their Christmas Gift Boxes are full of feel good winter treats. Dubbed ‘the gift that keeps giving’, these boxes include two homemade (with love) soups and handpicked local charcuterie products: Bright cheddar cheese, Finest Gypsy Sausage and Barrie’s Asparagus cracked wheat crackers. To reserve your box visit their website today!