Saying his office has been “inundated” with phone calls and emails, Peterborough-Kawartha MPP-elect Dave Smith issued a statement on Monday (March 3) to correct what he terms are “erroneous comments” recently made by the project lead for the Brock Mission transitional housing building planned for 738 Chemong Road.
Speaking before Peterborough city councillors last Monday, Brock Mission board member Alan Wilson said “operational costing” for the 52-unit building that will rise next to the organization’s Cameron House emergency shelter for women “has been costed at $2 million,” adding “MPP (Smith) has said he will make sure we get that money.”
But in his statement, Smith made it very clear that “that’s not the case.”
“There has been no (provincial) funding offered to Brock Mission for this (project), whether it’s capital or operating,” he later clarified for kawarthaNOW.
“We (the Province) don’t have any (funding) programs at the moment because, obviously with the election, the budget has not been released yet,” Smith said. “Until the budget comes out, I don’t know what’s in it.”
“My office was inundated this morning (Monday) with phone calls and emails asking for clarification on this … based upon the statement Mr. Wilson said at city council.”
In his written statement, Smith acknowledges he participated in an “introductory meeting” last fall regarding the project.
“Representatives for Brock Mission were directed to work with the lead partners on the HART (Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment) Hub project during the development of Peterborough’s HART Hub application,” Smith writes in his statement. “Representatives of Brock Mission chose not to participate in the collaboration for the operational funding opportunity for the HART Hub.”
“I’ve been very heavily involved with the HART Hub application since its inception,” Smith told kawarthaNOW. “I don’t believe that what he (Wilson) is proposing is actually going to be a solution for our problem at the moment. Brock (Mission) has been operating in isolation, without working with any of the other partners on this (HART Hub).”
As for provincial dollars to help fund the Brock Mission build, Smith makes it clear in his statement that this is not an option. He notes the $6.3 million in funding that the Ontario government has committed for Peterborough’s HART Hub “can only be allocated toward operational expenses.”
“None of the funding can be used for capital build expenses. No funding from the successful HART Hub application for Peterborough can be used to assist in the Brock Mission build.”
Furthermore, Smith notes there are no provincial capital funding programs available for which Brock Mission could apply.
“No provincial capital funding is available nor has any been committed to Brock Mission for this project,” he states.
“As is the case for all funding opportunities, should a program be made available, Brock Mission may choose to apply for funding, at which time, the project would be evaluated through a competitive application process, and the merits of the proposal combined with the needs of all of the communities that apply would determine whether their application is successful or not.”
Asked if he thinks Wilson was misleading when he told councillors that he had been assured funding for operational costs would be forthcoming, Smith took a long pause before answering.
“Suggesting that someone is lying is not something I’m comfortable with,” Smith said. “What I will say is I have no idea where he came up with a commitment or dollar amount.”
To clarify that exact point, kawarthaNOW shared Smith’s statement with Wilson via email, to which Wilson only replied “I understand what Dave has said.” Meanwhile, kawarthaNOW’s request to Wilson for an interview went unanswered.
Wilson’s appearance before city council — the outcome of which saw Mayor Jeff Leal exercise his strong mayor powers to fast-track the project, and subsequently gain enough support from council to expedite it by amending the city’s zoning by-law and exempting the project from the city’s site plan requirements — followed an earlier appearance before Peterborough County councillors where Wilson sought financial support from the county.
Wilson afterwards told the Peterborough Examiner that he expects the project to include $2 million in operating expenses which, he’s quoted as saying, “will be covered by the Province in recognition of the desperate need for transitional housing in the city.”
While county council voiced its support of the project, it voted to defer Wilson’s funding request until 2026 budget deliberations.
Brock Mission’s transitional housing project was earlier granted $250,000 by the city to pay for site test testing work which has already begun.
Wilson has said that federal funding from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is actively being sought.
Should funding be forthcoming, the building’s foundation could be dug as soon as late April, with construction of the building itself starting this summer.
