Vote for Jane Lesslie

So my friend (and travelling webguru) Andy Bowers sent me a link to an article from the Globe and Mail today.  The Public Sector Accounting Board  (I know,  I know, you’re thinking “Oh please Jane, not accounting, no, no, no!” but bear with me) has been scrutinizing ways to recognize the value of a wide range of natural settings “from rivers and pounds to fields and marshes”. One interesting note in the article: “For example adding the value of a river or a marsh to its assets could enhance a city’s credit rating”.  Now of course the Globe and Mail – unlike other publications I subscribe to – has a severe paywall and I can’t figure out how to post the article here.  Among others quoted is the INTACT Centre on Climate Adaptation funded by reps of the Insurance Industry- who know first hand the costs of Climate Change!. But instead it might be interesting to go this link from the Municipal Natural Assets Initiative which discusses how Gibson BC did this very thing and how it changed the way the municipality thought about its natural assets. Here’s the link.

https://mnai.ca/media/2019/07/SP_MNAI_Report2_June2019.pdf 

It is also a great illustration of the guiding principles that the Environmental Advisory Committee has operated with:

1. Be Fact Based
2. Search Out Best Practices
3. Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
4. Employ Data – quantify expected impacts both environmentally and economically and recommend specific quantifiable actions

Those are the guiding principles I would operate with as your Councillor.

I had an email from a Picton resident, Alexandra, recently with a number of questions for candidates in Ward 1. Rather than respond to just one person in an email, I thought I could post my answers here. Thank you Alexandra for the question(s).

WHAT CONCRETE IDEAS DO YOU HAVE TO ATTRACT MEDICAL STAFF TO OUR COMMUNITY

First of all, this is a great question because Alexandra refers to medical staff, not just family doctors. And as I touch on below, if we are not a healthy community the ripple effects into other issues are significant.

1. We have to be competitive in the bursaries we pay to young doctors compared to other communities. Young doctors are graduating with higher debt loads than ever – one of the reasons they are drawn to specialties rather than family practice.
2. I read an opinion piece (more below from that) which noted that 25% of family doctors’ time is spent on administrative tasks. Can we help free up our doctors’ time in the family health unit by contributing to funding for admin support?
3. Can we beef up our local health professional teams with nurse practitioners? Could we provide grants for local nurses retraining as NP’s?
4. Does our new hospital present an opportunity to devise a new “best practices” in referral processes for tests, specialists and services, another drag on physicians’ time
5. Can we consider dedicated affordable rental accommodation for newly arrived family doctors in the community – say for 3-5 years – until they get on their financial feet?
6. And we have to think about a younger doctor moving here whose spouse may need support for a career transition. Eg. work from home technology support?

Continue reading

I don’t know about the rest of you but I have some truly spectacular colour in the trees off my back porch at the moment. But are they TOO pretty to be taken seriously? 

Here’s a few things I learned while Chair of the Environmental Advisory Committee of Council, and why I believe the County’s Tree Policy must be turned into a Bylaw with Teeth:

Trees Clean Our Air

• removing greenhouse gas emissions – 1/3^rd of global emissions according to US Forest Service
• help our health by removing pollutants from the air
• roadside trees reduce nearby INDOOR air pollution by more than 50%, Lancaster University UK

Trees Provide Oxygen

• one large tree can provide daily oxygen needs for 4 people – University of North Carolina State

Trees Provide Cooling

• lower surface and air temperatures by providing shade
• shaded surfaces may be 20-45% cooler than peak temperatures of unshaded – US EPA
• release water vapour into the air through their leaves

Trees save on energy costs

• properly placed around buildings can reduce air conditioning needs by up to 30% – US Forest Service

Trees Protect Our Drinking Water

• act as filters for stormwater runoff
• In 1997 New York City spent $1.5 billion to preserve the forested watershed that supplies New York City’s drinking water by purchasing thousands of acres of upstate watershed.  The cost of a new filtration plant would have been $6 billion – Ecosystem Marketplace2006

Trees Benefit Biodiversity

BC’s Ministry of Environment found trees protected 80 separate species

Trees Prevent Soil Erosion

Trees Save Taxpayer Money
TD Economics Department estimated that for every $1 spent by Toronto on tree maintenance, taxpayers gained $1.35 to 3.20 in value.

Trees Increase Property Values – numerous studies

Picton Main Street is becoming a Heat Island.  The lack of shade a deterrent to browsing.

Hello

A neighbour has kindly brought to my attention that All Welcome Here has withdrawn their endorsement of Dianne O’Brien for Mayor. The excerpt from the table highlighted in my post below pre-dated this decision. I wanted people to be aware of this.  Thank you Bill for making me aware of this!

Just when I thought the survey requests were over, I got a survey request from All Welcome Here.

Based on responses to the survey, Kate MacNaughton and I were endorsed as candidates in Picton. All wards endorsements are as shown below:

Their survey questions/topics and my response to them, can be found here [pdf].

To learn more about All Welcome Here, click here.