Editorial: When the region's anchors leave, rural services matter more
As big employers leave Owen Sound, the services that keep rural life workable become more important. The next council should say plainly that it will protect them.
By The Banner Editorial Board · · 2 min read
When a region loses a big employer, the damage doesn't stay inside the factory gate. Paycheques shrink, families leave, and the tax base that pays for local services gets thinner. With a printing plant in Owen Sound set to close at the end of January and the city's harbour grain elevator closing in December, this region is about to learn that lesson again.
That's exactly when the services rural people rely on matter most, and when they are easiest to cut quietly.
Several of those services are under review right now. Grey County and its nine member municipalities, Chatsworth among them, are studying whether waste services could be delivered more collaboratively, with recommendations due by the end of the year and decisions in 2027. A proposed transit network linking Bruce, Grey, Dufferin and Wellington counties won't come back to Bruce County council until early 2027. And Grey County is opening a new $2.4-million paramedic base south of Feversham, one of four new stations in the county's plans as demand for ambulances grows.
Studies and reviews aren't bad news. But "more collaborative" and "more efficient" can mean fewer local depots, longer drives and thinner service for the people farthest from town. Decisions on all of this will land in front of councillors elected on Oct. 26.
We think every candidate should say, before then, where they stand. Will they commit, publicly and on the record, to keeping front-line rural services, including ambulance response, local waste drop-off and the hours of county and township offices, at least where they are today? Will they insist that any regional plan shows how it serves rural households, not just town centres?
None of these services is free, and nobody is promising lower taxes and better service at the same time. That's the point. If something has to give, voters deserve to hear what it is now, not after the ballots are counted.
Your turn: Which local service would you fight hardest to keep? Send a letter to news@chatsworthbanner.ca or use the tip form on our site.
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