DRYDEN - Councillor Shayne MacKinnon is looking to move up the ladder in his bid for Mayor of Dryden in this year’s municipal election. Before he was a council member, MacKinnon spend 20 years as a police officer and then 10 years as the chief of police. For the last 6 years, he has been on the city council working for the citizen of Dryden as an active council member.
“I’ve always been involved with public service within the community through policing and subsequently through my time on the city council, so this is a continuance of that I believe,” said MacKinnon. “Certainly, I would be proud to continue as mayor of the city.”
Public engagement is a point of interest for MacKinnon if he is elected mayor. MacKinnon addressed the city’s engagements with the public during the pandemic. MacKinnon would like the city council to utilize Dryden’s social media and website more often to gather opinions from the public.
“I think the obvious one is the change in policing services,” explained MacKinnon. “I don’t think there was enough community engagement. Of course, my opinion is biased. I had 30 years in the police service. Certainly, we have a quality service in the OPP. They are very disciplined in the community. They are very engaged with the community in all aspects in the community. My concern is that [the OPP service] is consistent and it’s maintained over the next few years. I know the police resources are stretched at the best of times. I believe, from my experiences, that our contract is being fulfilled in a meaningful way.”
MacKinnon also addresses a root problem for many northern communities: the housing shortage.
“Housing has always been an issue in the area,” said MacKinnon. “We can look forward to some of the construction in Dryden. We have a 40-unit seniors housing complex that going up. We’ve got other folks interested in market value apartments. I know that the Kenora District Services Board has been a great partner of ours in the city, and looking at more affordable housing is something that comes up.”
MacKinnon acknowledges that the housing shortage contributes to another concern in the north, homelessness, mental health and addictions.
“The homelessness population in Dryden has increased,” explains MacKinnon. “Certainly, since my time as a police officer. It quite concerning. I think the responsibility of any council is to lift up those who need help and I look forward to engaging with council and the community in doing that.”
A part of the issue is the over-representation of homeless who suffer from mental health and addiction, which MacKinnon highlights that Dryden has developed our Community Wellbeing and Safety Plan.
“I know that a community safety plan can be a real cornerstone in helping folks in Dryden and the surrounding area because I think Dryden is a center of activity for our region,” said MacKinnon.
McKinnon is an advocate for Dryden to get a homeless shelter in place.
“I’ve long stated that we need a shelter,” said McKinnon. “Certainly, we need a warming shelter because I am so afraid that people are really going to succumb to the elements if we don’t have a warming shelter of some kind. It doesn’t take long walking around the community at night to find out there are not many doors open to anyone whose seeking shelter, so I think that is an emergency priority for the community.”
McKinnon currently sits on the Dryden Nuclear Engagement and Education Committee, but during the summer, the city council met and voted to be a Significant Neighbour to the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s Deep Geological Repository. This was an issue MacKinnon voted against the Significant Neighbour agreement with NWMO because he believe that the City of Dryden and its citizens “should have as much say” as Ignace and Wabigoon in whether or not the DGR project should commence.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that the public is provided with the opportunity to be educated on all aspects of the Deep Geological Repository and I know what we need to do is have a culminating event,” stated Mackinnon. “I firmly believe in asking council, and if I’m elected, I will ask the council to have a referendum on the issue.”
If elected, MacKinnon would put a referendum on the council agenda right away, so it could be voted on and the process could begin as soon as possible. If all goes right, he hopes to have a referendum set up for the end of next year.
