The employees of the community work hard daily for their communities and bring their passion in serving the public! Today we interview the interviewer to discuss his passion about the public service he brings to his community. Today Jeff Hutton, Producer of Community Matters asks Brian questions about life on Council and his dedication to his commu…

Wars create immediate humanitarian crises and the war in the Ukraine is no different. In small towns across Canada people are coming together to ask what can we do to help. During the Syrian crisis a group of local Brighton citizens were able to come together and assist two families seek refuge here in Brighton. The war in the Ukraine is different …

The costs of climate change on the municipal landscape are very real. Most of us remember when everything would freeze-up in December and we didn’t need to worry about thawing and potholes until March. Today’s constant freeze-thaw cycle is wreaking havoc on our road networks, the instant melts that take place cause flooding concerns and increasing …

We’ve heard that all politics is local. Certainly from my seat that’s true, but how about if you have to do a good deal of your business in Ottawa as our MP or from Queen’s Park as our MPP? How can you keep things local? How do you stay focused on your constituency with so many factors pulling you in different directions? We're joined by Philip Law…

For a small community like Brighton Inter-Municipal partnerships are both legislated and a good idea. Let’s face it, your grandmother was right when she said many hands make light work. In Brighton we have both legislated and purpose-built partnerships across Northumberland County and throughout the Quinte region. In Northumberland we have partners…

In both 2017 and 2019 we experienced flooding on our shoreline resulting from rising lake levels. Some blamed climate change – some pointed to the International Joint Commission the group responsible for controlling the dam at the east end of Lake Ontario. Most of us said – it’s likely both – and are trying to figure out how best to deal with this …

We have been told that we need to build a million homes over the next decade in Ontario to sustain the growth levels we anticipate in the province. With the largest air force base in the country less than 30 minutes away and the largest city in the country 1.5 hours away – we know that we will be significantly impacted by growth in our small commun…

Entertaining the public has been an instrumental part of civil (or not so civil) society since time eternal. Whether it was gathering to cheer on one’s favourite gladiator in Roman times, the jousts and festivals of the medieval era or watching your favourite sporting event today, it is an important part of who we are. In the Municipal environment …

Civilizations have always had their record keepers and story tellers. The Clerk, as municipal record keeper, holds the municipal story and needs to ensure that story is available to whomever wishes to read it. It's a big responsibility and although the Clerk's role is to record the Council and Committee business without comment or opinion it must b…

After WWII, Canada splashed out the highways, ports and the other hard and soft services we take for granted until they aren't there anymore. Now communities are struggling to update and expand, repair and replace infrastructure that could be generations old. How do we plan for it? How do we execute on it? And who should pay for it? Scott Butler of…

Introducing Community Matters Brighton Mayor Brian Ostrander pulls back the curtain on the people practices of local government to get people talking and thinking locally.Av Brian Ostrander