
City asks for meeting on Park Street services, but P.E.I. housing minister says it's pointless
Social Sharing
The City of Charlottetown wants more details on the province's long-term plan for services within its boundaries directed at those facing homelessness, but Prince Edward Island's housing minister says he doesn't know what such a meeting would accomplish.
Steven Myers and the city have been at odds about the location of an emergency overnight shelter and the Community Outreach Centre, which currently sit at 15 Park St. in Charlottetown's southeast end.
In late April, Mayor Philip Brown sent a letter to Myers asking for a meeting to discuss what's going to happen with the services.
"From a planning perspective, we stand by our decision in rejecting the province's proposed amendment to [the] Zoning and Development Bylaw that would allow the continued operation of the shelter and centre," Brown wrote in the letter.
"However, since the province has affirmed its intention to continue operations at the Park Street site through changes to the Planning Act, it's vital that the city and the province work together toward long-term solutions to support individuals with complex social service needs in appropriate community settings."
Back in March, Charlottetown council voted to reject the province's request for a zoning change that would have allowed the shelter and outreach centre to remain on Park Street.
Two days later, Myers said that vote didn't matter: The province would set up a special planning zone in the area that would allow both operations to stay in place, effectively overriding council's decision.
The mayor could say 'Put it on the moon,' and I could care less what he thinks. — Steven Myers, P.E.I.'s housing minister
On Friday, the housing minister told CBC News there have been several meetings between the province and city, so he's not sure what's left to discuss.
"I don't know what would be accomplished in a meeting. We have a minister's task force on housing that the mayor was invited to be a part of and he decided he didn't want to be part of it, so he's had lots of opportunity to be a willing part of this," Myers said.
"I'm not really sure where this would come from at this point, after being such a negative force on such a positive solution."
WATCH | 'I could care less what he thinks': Myers dismisses Charlottetown mayor's opinions on Park Street:
'I could care less what he thinks': Myers dismisses Charlottetown mayor's opinions on Park Street
25 minutes ago
Duration 1:58
The City of Charlottetown wants to meet with P.E.I. Housing Minister Steven Myers about the provincial emergency shelter and outreach centre located on Park Street, but Myers doesn't think that's necessary. He says the province has bought some homes in the area and the plan is to turn them into social housing. CBC's Tony Davis reports.
The mayor has suggested Acadian Drive near the Queen Elizabeth Hospital as a possible location for the services.
On Friday, Myers made it clear that he's not taking any suggestions.
"The mayor could say 'Put it on the moon,' and I could care less what he thinks."
In the meantime, the province has been buying up some properties near Park Street, and those homes might be turned into social housing.
The province's long-term plan to help fight homelessness is to transition to a model that involves providing stable housing first, then incorporating support services.
Myers says the province hopes to do that starting with a 24-unit building in the Park Street area later this year.
"We think that when that happens, the sheltering need will lower a lot," he said.
"Some of our long-term tenants… the ones that come every night and we know are participating and trying to work inside our system to get on a better track, we think we can put them in a better housing situation."
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Globe and Mail
25 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
What Canadian investors need to know about the Trump tax bill
If the first six months are any indication, the reign of U.S. President Donald Trump is going to be a rough one for Canadian investors. First, the stock market plunged earlier this spring as Mr. Trump's tariffs started a global trade war. Stocks have mostly recovered, but a new threat has emerged in the form of legislation that would allow Washington to ramp up the taxation of Canadians holding U.S. stocks. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is not yet law – it passed in the U.S. House of Representatives by a single vote but must still pass in the Senate – and may change in scope. For now, it has the potential to more than double the tax applied to dividends from U.S. companies received by Canadian investors and corporations. The ultimate effect of the tax changes could be costly in total but perhaps not so bad on an individual basis. Regardless, it's too early to make changes in your investment portfolio. 'Currently, we're not making any moves, and I'm recommending everyone do the same thing and just wait to see what the information actually is,' said Justin Bender, a portfolio manager at PWL Capital. 'Then we can assess and see if there's any changes necessary.' Wealth managers brace for proposed U.S. tax bill's impacts on Canadian clients What's in Trump's big budget bill? From cuts to taxes and Medicaid, here's what to know Ultimately, Section 899 of the legislation could introduce a withholding tax of 20 to 50 per cent of dividends received by Canadians. There are estimates that this extra tax could cost individual investors, pension funds and others billions of dollars. The point of Section 899 is to give the U.S. a weapon to punish what it considers to be unfair taxes in other countries. Thought to be a target is our digital services tax, which mainly applies to U.S. tech giants generating revenue in Canada. Estimates from Mr. Bender show a worst-case additional drag on returns of 0.46 percentage points from U.S. stocks and U.S. equity exchange-traded funds when the higher withholding tax is fully phased in over four years. Think of this cost as being in addition to the management expense ratio of an ETF or mutual fund. If your return from a U.S. equity fund was a net 10 per cent with the management expense ratio (MER) included, then a higher withholding tax could ultimately leave you with as little as 9.54 per cent. Note that fund returns are always published on a net basis, with the MER included and, where applicable, foreign withholding taxes already deducted. Under existing U.S. tax law, there is a base withholding tax rate of 30 per cent for foreign investors holding U.S. stocks. A Canada-U.S. tax treaty generally reduces this rate to 15 per cent. No withholding tax applies to U.S. dividends paid into registered retirement savings plans and registered retirement income funds by U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs. There's no clear sense of whether this exemption would continue to apply under Section 899. In a non-registered account, you can offset the 15-per-cent withholding tax by claiming an offsetting foreign tax credit. In a TFSA, registered education savings plan, first home savings account or registered disability savings plan, the withholding tax cannot be recovered; it is also non-recoverable in RRSPs and RRIFs if you hold a Canadian-listed U.S. equity ETF. Canadian investors have a massive level of exposure to U.S. stocks directly and through funds. About $60-billion is invested in just four TSX-listed ETFs that track the S&P 500 index. But investing in the S&P 500, and the even more tech-focused Nasdaq, is much more about growth than dividend income. The dividend yield on the S&P 500 right now is about 1.3 per cent, half the level of the yield on Canada's S&P/TSX composite index. 'It's very low, which is why this tax maybe isn't as much of an issue as people are making it out to be,' Mr. Bender said. 'Some extra withholding taxes are probably not going to blow up your financial plan.' Mr. Bender added that the impact is further diminished by the fact that most investors have diversified their U.S. exposure with bonds and Canadian stocks, plus international markets in many cases. Investors who use ETFs for exposure to U.S. stocks can buy funds listed on U.S. exchanges as well as those located in Canada. Among Canadian-listed funds, there are those that hold U.S. stocks directly and those that are effectively a wrapper for a U.S.-listed fund in the same corporate family. Mr. Bender said each of these three ETF types would be affected similarly by higher U.S. withholding taxes. Are you a young Canadian with money on your mind? To set yourself up for success and steer clear of costly mistakes, listen to our award-winning Stress Test podcast.


National Post
25 minutes ago
- National Post
Danielle Smith reignites feud with Guilbeault over his plans for Canada's national parks
OTTAWA — Steven Guilbeault may no longer be federal environment minister, but Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she still sees him as a threat to the province's oil and gas industry. Article content Smith said on her weekly radio show this weekend that Guilbeault, now heritage minister, has an 'overt motive' to establish new federally-protected parks in the path of pipelines and other energy infrastructure. Article content Article content Article content She added that she wouldn't consent to the creation of any new federal parks in Alberta. Article content 'I do not want to see one additional acre of territory that's within Alberta turned into a federal park … we certainly don't need Steven Guilbeault telling us what is important to protect in Alberta,' said Smith. Article content 'If there is critical habitat that Albertans want to protect … we'll put in provincial parks.' Article content Guilbeault, a former Greenpeace activist, was shuffled out of the environment portfolio in March by Prime Minister Mark Carney but kept his role as minister responsible for Parks Canada. Article content This puts him in charge of implementing the Liberals' campaign promise to create at least 10 new national parks and protect 30 per cent of public lands by 2030. Article content According to Parks Canada's website, the agency is currently vetting four proposed national parks and protected areas, including a northern Manitoba watershed on the Hudson Bay, one possible destination for future oil shipments. Article content Neither Guilbeault's office nor Parks Canada gave an immediate response to Smith's comments about future federal parks blocking energy infrastructure. Article content This isn't the first time that mistrust has flared between Smith's United Conservative Party government and Parks Canada. Article content Greater Edmonton UCP MLA Brandon Lunty put forward a private member's bill in late 2023 barring municipalities and Parks Canada from expanding urban parks without the province's consent. The bill was signed into law in 2024. Article content Lunty told the National Post that he decided to champion the bill when he caught wind of bilateral discussions Edmonton's city council was having with federal officials about an urban park in the capital region. Article content 'It seemed like they were down the road a bit on those conversations and I kept coming back to the question of, well, what about the provincial perspective on this?' said Lunty.


National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Sikh groups call on MPs to denounce Carney's G7 invitation to Modi
OTTAWA — A group of Canadian Sikh organizations is calling on members of Parliament to denounce Prime Minister Mark Carney's invitation to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to next week's G7 leaders' meeting. Article content The open letter comes after Carney defended the invitation to Modi last Friday, saying it was important to have India at the table, given that it represents the world's fifth-largest economy, is essential to supply chains, and now boasts the world's largest population. Article content Article content Article content 'Carney's decision is not merely a diplomatic miscalculation,' reads the letter, released Monday. Article content Article content 'It is a direct insult to the Sikh community and a grave threat to the integrity of Canada's institutions.' Article content Signatories included the World Sikh Organization, the British Columbia Gurdwaras Council and Sikh Federation, as well as the Ontario Gurdwaras Committee and the Quebec Sikh Council. Article content The statements follows comments on Friday by Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal, who represents the Surrey, B.C., riding where Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed outside of a temple in June 2023, that he was concerned by the invitation extended to Modi and planned to raise it with Carney this week. Dhaliwal said he had received dozens of calls and more than 100 emails from constituents expressing concern about Modi's attendance at the summit. Article content The groups cite the statement made by former prime minister Justin Trudeau in September 2023 that Canada had 'credible allegations' that India's government was involved in the death of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whom police say was gunned down outside of a temple in June of that year. Article content That accusation sent shockwaves through Canada and resulted in a souring of relations with India, which denied the allegations. Article content India had regarded Nijjar as a terrorist. He was a prominent activist in the Khalistan movement, which pushes for a separate Sikh state to be created in India's Punjab province. Article content Four Indian nationals have been charged in his death. Article content Last fall, further tension was inserted into the Canada-India relationship when the RCMP went public with a statement that it believed India's government to be involved in violence unfolding in Canada, from murder to criminal gangs.