Keep our Eye on the Ball - 3

The Four laning of Highway 35 is not just about making a highway bigger – it is about making it easier for tourists to access our beautiful area, for businesses to ship and receive products, and to enhance the safety and security of our community.

That being said – we can not take our eyes off of the ball. This project has been sidelined before and we must remain vigilant so that it does not suffer any further delays. I encourage you to visit your local Chamber of Commerce or my constituency office to sign the petitions that demonstrate to the government how important this project is to our future.

The Liberal government has landlocked the Golden Horseshoe with their Greenbelt Legislation. I support the principal of the policy, it protects and preserves our prime agricultural land, but it is not based on science and it pushes development out into rural areas that do not have the existing infrastructure to properly manage this growth.

I am excited about new growth and development opportunities for our area. The government of Ontario’s Places to Grow strategy indicates that the Kawartha Lakes will grow by close to 20,000 people in the next 15 years. I want us to be prepared for that growth, and ensure that we have a long-term strategy in place to deal with that growth. What I do not want to see happen is our community reacting to increased traffic and stress on our infrastructure after it is already too late.

We need the input from you – you are all stakeholders in our community and together we can put in place a plan to manage this new growth to our advantage, not to our detriment. Community Vision Committees have had a tremendous impact in communities throughout our Province, where business people, associations, tourism operators, and citizens share their vision for our community and create a document that lays the foundation for our future.

The four-laning of Highway 35 is part of that thought preparation process. Imagine moving from Mississauga to enjoy the quiet life of Kawartha Lakes only to face traffic jams on Highway 35. Preparing our infrastructure is more than just expanding Highway 35, it includes moving people and goods freely and easily through all transportation corridors, wastewater and water systems, and community infrastructure such as hospitals, long-term care facilities, affordable housing, parks and schools.

If our community can not provide the basic services then we will not be able to compete with other communities that have been hard at work on their plan and are poised to attract new investment. We can not rely on looks alone, there are many lovely pockets of Ontario that are ripe for development.

I look forward to working with you to make sure that we are ready to capitalize on the investments that are headed our way. I want growth on our terms, to bring prosperity to our community and to provide jobs for our young people, and I know you share those hopes and dreams.