DRYDEN – Jack Harrison retired from his leadership role in the forest industry a few years back. Now after taking some time off to enjoy his retirement, Harrison feels he has a lot more to give to the community.
Harrison has never sat on the city council, but with a little encouragement from current Mayor Greg Wilson, Harrison has decided to put his name on the mayoral ballot in this year’s municipal election.
During his interview with NWONewsWatch.com, Harrison reflects on Wilson’s rise to the mayor spot. Wilson wasn’t a council member either before winning the municipal election in 2014. Harrison credits Wilson for bringing Dryden out of their financial hardship and hopes to continue that tread.
“I thought I would put my hat in the ring to try and continue that fiscal responsible management,” said Harrison. “We need to make sure the tax dollars we collect are used wisely for the benefit of our citizens. We need to ensure our taxes are reasonable, so it’s affordable to live and operate a business in Dryden. The one thing I really like about the current mayor and councillors is they’re really paired down the business in Dryden.”
Harrison states that he wants to continue maintaining a focus on business, which is to maintain and upgrade the core infrastructure which involves sewer, roads, and existing facilities such as the area and fitness center.
“This really means prioritizing our work on our aging assets,” explained Harrison. “Like every community in Northwestern Ontario is facing. I want to ensure that we are reserving capital to replace in a timely manner without affecting the daily lives of our citizens.”
Another plan Harrison wants to focus his attention on is improving Dryden’s quality of life by developing the waterfront.
“I just want to encourage folk to spend time outdoors and enjoy the beautiful nature that we have,” said Harrison. He explains that he will actively seek funding and partnerships so these projects can move forward.”
Adequate health care for Dryden’s senior population is another big part of Harrison’s campaign.
“With Bill 7 passing recently, we could see our loved ones sent out of our community,” said Harrison. “We need to focus on expanding the availability of long-term care in Dryden. This will require persistent effort to develop a workable funding model to make this happen in a facially responsible manner.”
Harrison admits that expanding long-term care is one of his long-term goals, but a goal he wants to ensure happens for the seniors and their family members.
Lastly, Harrison spoke about the Deep Geological Repository site that will potentially be built in the Revell Lake area.
“We need to be involved. The Dryden city council is already involved with a committee to look into educating the city, but now we are two years away from a decision being made, so we need to step that up. Engage our public and really get to know the information on both sides. The positive and the negative aspects of a nuclear repository. So, that’s a key item in my platform.”
