This is the third in a nine-part series in which OrilliaMatters asked city councillors to reflect on the first half of their mandate, look ahead to the second half and let citizens know if they intend to see re-election.
Today, we provide the answers from Ward 2 Councillor Ralph Cipolla.
Question 1. What are you most proud of, personally as a councillor, that you/council have been able to accomplish in the first half of your mandate?
This council worked really hard during this pandemic to limit community spread. It has been an unprecedented year and no one could have expected this.
It is a difficult question as there are many aspects of our mandate I am proud of such as the opening of the recreation centre, which I have been waiting 42 years to open. Although, I have to say that protecting the health and safety of our city and the people in it is what I am most proud of.
Question 2. What is your biggest disappointment as it relates to a council decision/direction or issue?
The biggest disappointment of this term is the delay of the development of the Metro lands/waterfront. I would have liked for all stakeholders to cooperate to ensure that we have residential occupancy within our downtown and to create a tax base which helps keep taxes down.
Another area I think that would be something for us to work on going forward is to make sure that there is enough affordable housing in the downtown and surrounding areas.
Question 3. Nobody saw the pandemic coming. Specifically, as a councillor, what is the biggest challenge the pandemic has created and how have you tried to tackle that challenge?
The biggest challenge that I felt was to keep everyone safe and secondly is to ensure that the economy in Orillia survived this pandemic. We wanted to keep people working so they had food on their tables. We wanted to ensure that as a city council we educated everyone to ensure that the Orillia citizens were informed and stayed safe.
We have created an economic task force to specifically tackle the issues pertaining to business survival during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Question 4. As a result of the pandemic, many citizens are worried about the future and think council should have halted everything (ie. waterfront plan, Centennial Drive project etc.) to save money. What do you say to those people and what is your view of the future of the municipality amid the reality of a pandemic?
We have followed provincial guidelines to ensure safety for all citizens. I would say to the people that may be worried about the continuation of projects in the City of Orillia: “Pausing programming would cause havoc in terms of growth, in terms of provincial funding and it would take years to catch up.”
The future for Orillia looks bright and the projects that are in place, such as 144 Elgin, Waterfront Development, the Rexton Property, the new hospital and Hydro One coming to Orillia, will create jobs and increase the tax base to make it affordable to live in Orillia.
Question 5. The recent discussion about the waterfront plan spawned a lot of debate and, despite your efforts, many seem to think there wasn’t enough public input. Are you doing enough as a council to be transparent, to encourage public input and to listen? How so? How could that be improved during the second half of your mandate?
There can always be more public discussion in everything we do. I am sure there would have been more public discussion if COVID had not been a factor.
I fully support more public discussion in terms of the waterfront plan. I would like to see us have a survey to ensure everyone has a voice whether that is through social media or other outlets to ensure everyone has the opportunity to speak up.
As a council, we are constantly learning how to navigate through this pandemic and we can always do more, but we are thinking about ways of how to stay safe as well as to ensure the voice of our community is heard.
Question 6. What is the biggest challenge council faces in the second half of its mandate (ie. Staff retirements, promised tax freeze, capacity) and what are your top priorities?
Council’s biggest challenge is to keep the tax increase at 0% and to create employment in the city. My top priorities are 1) to ensure everyone is safe and healthy during these unprecedented times; 2) to create good paying jobs for the people of Orillia; 3) to make sure all roads are upgraded and repaired to a safe standard; and 4) Listen to what the people of Orillia want and I will work hard on behalf of the people in this community.
Question 7: Lastly, do you intend to seek re-election? Why or why not?
I would like to run again for City Council. Due to COVID-19, there were some projects that we started that we were unable to complete. I would like to have one last term as your city councilor in Ward 2 to ensure that I can make certain that these commitments are completed.
OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.
Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.
Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.
Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.
Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.
Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.
Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.
According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.
That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.
People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.
That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.
Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.
That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
