CUPE Town Hall

I want to thank CUPE Local 1764 & 1764-03 for organizing yesterday’s Municipal Election Town Hall and for providing candidates with an opportunity to answer questions directly from members.

I was pleased to participate alongside Mayor Adrian Foster, Tom Dingwall, Corinna Traill, Willie Woo, Kevin Taylor and Bernard Sanchez for this discussion.

Throughout this campaign, I have not sought formal endorsements from organizations, associations or special-interest groups. I’m an independent candidate.

I participated in this Town Hall because CUPE Local 1764 members are workers in our community, and they deserve to know where I stand on the issues and to ask me questions directly about my positions.

The introductory question from CUPE concerned Durham Region’s Core Services Review and the principles that should guide decisions about Regional services.

My answer focused on something I have heard repeatedly in Clarington: whether our community is receiving its fair share of Regional investment.

As I said at the Town Hall, Clarington cannot be an afterthought. We need to ensure that our community, including low-income residents, families and workers who depend on these services, receives its fair share.

Thank you,

Joshua Glover
Candidate for Councillor, Ward 2

On October 26 vote Joshua Glover for Peace, Order, and Good Governance.

Clarington’s Property Tax Increase

An important question came up during the Tyrone candidates’ forum: Is Clarington using its financial reserves to reduce the size of property-tax increases?

There appeared to be some confusion among candidates and incumbent members of Council about the answer. This is an issue that I have examined as part of the research supporting my Peace, Order & Good Government platform. I think it would be constructive to provide some clarity on the question by looking directly at the Municipality’s own financial records.

According to the Municipality of Clarington’s 2026 Budget Update, page 14, the previously approved tax levy increase for 2026 was 4.07%. On that same page, the Municipality states that it “applied reserve funds, including additional revenue from stronger-than-expected investments” to reduce the 2026 tax levy increase to 3.00%.

So the answer is yes: the Municipality used reserve funds to reduce the 2026 property-tax levy increase. The Municipality has also budgeted an additional reduction from the 2024 surplus for 2027, reducing the previously approved 2027 levy increase from 4.07% to 3.00%.

There can be a reasonable rationale for using reserves to moderate fluctuations in the tax levy. The important question is whether that use is sustainable.

Clarington’s policy targets a balance in the Rate Stabilization Reserve equal to approximately 5% to 10% of the annual tax levy—roughly $4.42 million to $8.84 million. The Municipality’s 2026 Budget Update projects an ending balance of approximately $3.81 million, below the policy’s target range.

When the Municipality produces a surplus, those funds can help rebuild the reserve. Council can then draw on the reserve when financial pressures arise or, as we have seen in the 2026 and 2027 budgets, use available reserve and surplus funds to moderate tax levy increases. According to the 2026 Budget Update, a $680,000 contribution to the Rate Stabilization Reserve is budgeted for 2027.

Strong investment returns and operating surpluses cannot be assumed every year. If revenues fall short or expenditures rise, rebuilding the reserve ultimately requires Council to find sustainable savings, generate additional revenue, or make direct contributions from the tax levy to replenish it.

That is where I believe stronger Value-for-Money scrutiny has a role.

Since 2024, the Municipality has had a contracted service arrangement with the Regional Municipality of Durham’s Internal Audit Division that includes the capacity to conduct Value-for-Money reviews.

A Value-for-Money audit is different from the traditional financial audit conducted each year. A financial audit examines whether public money has been properly accounted for and whether the Municipality’s financial statements fairly represent its financial position. A VFM audit goes further: it examines whether a program, service, contract or expenditure is being delivered economically, efficiently and effectively.

Essentially, a VFM audit asks three questions: Are we buying wisely? Are we operating efficiently? And are taxpayers getting the results they were promised for the money being spent?

My policy is to make regular use of this existing tool mandatory. Under Point #3 of my Peace, Order & Good Government platform, Clarington’s annual audit plan would include at least one Value-for-Money examination each year, with priority given to areas of significant financial risk.

I believe this is a reasonable reform that Council can support. The auditing capacity already exists through the Region, and Clarington already pays for access to it. My proposal simply makes regular Value-for-Money examination a standing requirement of oversight rather than an optional exercise.

I hope this helps provide some clarity following the discussion at last night’s candidates’ forum in Tyrone. The Municipality’s financial records show that reserve and surplus funds are being used to reduce planned tax levy increases.

You can read my full Independent Value-for-Money Audits policy brief, along with my complete Peace, Order & Good Government platform, at www.voteglover.ca.

Thank you,

Joshua Glover
Candidate for Councillor, Ward 2

Clarington’s CAO Clarifies Council Salaries

Several weeks ago, I raised concerns about Council salaries after reviewing the Municipality of Clarington’s published financial records.

The Municipality’s Q1 2026 expenditure report explicitly listed $175,889 for the Mayor and $80,449 for each Councillor under the heading “Salary”. I reported those exact figures publicly and questioned the significant increases they appeared to represent.

The Municipality has now clarified that the figures it published under the heading “Salary” did not, in fact, represent salary alone.

Clarington’s CAO, Mary-Anne Dempster, has explained to me that the original public document summarized the broader payroll and benefits section under the word “salary,” which she acknowledged “created the confusion.”

The Municipality has now advised candidates that the 2026 Clarington base salary is $143,573 for the Mayor and $57,429 for a Councillor.

That clarification is important because it allows for a direct comparison of Council salary rates. In 2023, the Municipality reported the Mayor’s base salary rate as $97,359 and a Councillor’s base salary rate as $38,944.

Compared with the figures now provided for 2026, the increases remain substantial:

I appreciate Clarington’s CAO providing this clarification.

During my time as a school board trustee, I developed a record for coming to meetings prepared, knowing the material, and bringing meticulous attention to the details of budgets, staff reports, and administrative decisions. I am pleased that my scrutiny has helped bring greater clarity to Council salaries and the way these costs are presented to the public.

Clarington residents can expect this standard of scrutiny from me when I am elected Ward 2 Councillor.

Thank you,

Joshua Glover
Candidate for Councillor, Ward 2

Clarington’s Economic Record: 47/61 Actions Left Incomplete.

At the recent candidates’ debate, I was critical of Clarington’s record on small-business and economic development. I want to explain why.

In 2022, Clarington adopted an Economic Development Strategy containing 61 action items. Those commitments included maintaining a five-year supply of shovel-ready industrial land, expanding servicing capacity for commercial and industrial lands, establishing a Business Retention & Expansion program, creating a Development Concierge, revitalizing our downtowns, supporting redevelopment of the Goodyear lands, and establishing an Invest Clarington brand and website.

When municipal staff reviewed that strategy in 2025, only 14 of the 61 actions had been completed. Forty-seven — approximately 77% — remained incomplete.

The Municipality’s review identified several problems with the plan. Staff reported significant turnover and acknowledged that “not all members of the team had direct experience working in the field of economic development.” The review also found that many of the 61 actions lacked clearly defined scopes and measurable outcomes, making implementation — and determining whether some actions had been completed — difficult.

How did we end up with 61 economic priorities when the Municipality did not have the capacity to deliver them?

Clarington’s business community is owed an apology. Council adopted an ambitious strategy and it ultimately failed. When we fail to deliver on our economic strategy, local entrepreneurs, workers and families lose opportunities. We need to do better for our local businesses, and that begins with getting the new plan right.

Clarington has adopted a more focused 23-point Economic Development Action Plan for 2025–2026. The new plan concentrates on three areas: getting Clarington investment-ready, strengthening local economic sectors, and improving how economic development is delivered and measured.

I have read the new Economic Development Action Plan, and my focus as Ward 2 Councillor will be ensuring that we follow through on it. Point #12 of my Peace, Order & Good Government platform — Backing Clarington Business — supports the current plan by opening incentives to more businesses, cutting approval delays through the Development Concierge, and publicly measuring the investment and jobs we actually deliver.

I have a proven track record of accountability in elected office. As a school board trustee, I consistently held administration to account for measurable results, including declining EQAO performance and successive budget deficits. I also pushed to ensure that Clarington taxpayers were seeing results from the public dollars we invested in education.

My experience has taught me that accountability does not have to be combative. Elected officials must support staff while also setting clear expectations, measuring results and addressing problems when they arise. When a plan falls short, elected officials and administration share in that failure, and have a responsibility to understand why it failed and how they can get the plan back on track.

It should be noted that I take a firm view of accountability: it must have consequences. It is not enough for Council to set targets, receive reports and acknowledge when those targets have been missed. Elected officials have a responsibility to act on the results. That includes asking whether increases in senior administrative compensation are justified when established targets are repeatedly missed.

It goes without saying that the last economic development strategy fell far short of what Clarington’s business community had been promised. 47 of 61 actions left incomplete is not a record we should accept, and it cannot be allowed to happen again.

When I am elected Ward 2 Councillor, I will support the Municipality’s current economic development plan and work with staff to ensure that it is implemented. I will engage directly with our business community, establish clear measures of progress and scrutinize the results as the plan moves forward. Where commitments are falling behind, I will ask why and what needs to be done to get them back on track.

On October 26, vote Joshua Glover for Peace, Order & Good Government.

The Goodyear Opportunity: Planning for Clarington’s next two ice pads

Hockey and skating are part of the fabric of our community. Our rinks are gathering places where young people grow up, families come together and community organizations build traditions that can last for generations. As Clarington grows, we have to make sure that growth strengthens the traditions that have shaped our community.

Hockey is one of those traditions, and ice capacity is something Clarington has been grappling with for some time. Earlier plans for the South Bowmanville Recreation Centre contemplated two indoor ice pads, but the project ultimately proceeded without them.

Clarington currently operates seven indoor ice pads, and the Municipality’s Parks, Recreation and Culture Master Plan identifies the need for two additional indoor ice pads to accommodate long-term population growth. Clarington has allocated $3 million in the 2026 Capital Budget for a feasibility study for a twin-pad expansion at South Courtice Arena. The current long-term capital estimate for two additional indoor ice pads is approximately $59 million.

Before a future Council makes an investment of that magnitude, I believe we should ensure that reasonable alternatives and opportunities have been examined.

That is where the former Goodyear lands deserve consideration.

Approximately 3,200 homes are currently proposed for the former Goodyear lands. Rather than considering this major redevelopment in isolation, I believe Council should examine whether a partnership with the developer could incorporate new indoor ice pads into the site.

The Goodyear lands sit immediately south of historic downtown Bowmanville. A recreation or civic destination there — whether ice pads, a museum, cultural venue or another attraction — could potentially bring residents and visitors into central Bowmanville throughout the year, strengthen connections with our historic downtown and support a broader and more diverse mix of local businesses.

This proposal is consistent with Point #5 of my Peace, Order & Good Government platform — Full-Cost Recreation Facilities. As Clarington grows, recreation infrastructure must keep pace, but major investments must also be considered in the context of their full long-term costs.

There will always be a thousand reasons why something cannot be done. I am more interested in asking how it might be done.

With two additional ice pads still identified as a long-term need, I believe Council should be willing to examine more than one way of delivering them.

When elected as Ward 2 Councillor, I will seek to sit down with the owner and developer of the Goodyear lands to discuss what may be possible. Major redevelopment works best when the Municipality, the developer and the community are able to work constructively together. Whatever disagreements have existed in the past, I believe we should be looking for opportunities to move the conversation forward.

If the evidence ultimately shows that the Goodyear lands are not a feasible location, then Council will have a sound basis for that decision. But if there is an opportunity to meet an identified recreation need, contribute to a major redevelopment and create a new destination near downtown Bowmanville, I believe it deserves to be investigated before the opportunity disappears.

On October 26, vote Joshua Glover for Peace, Order & Good Government.

Clarington Professional Fire Fighters Association

IAFF Local 3139

As a candidate for Clarington Council, I have made a clear commitment to open and accountable governance. I do not believe that candidate positions on matters affecting Ward 2 taxpayers should be kept behind closed doors.

Below are my formal, on-the-record positions regarding the priorities raised in the Clarington Professional Fire Fighters Association (IAFF Local 3139) candidate survey.

1. Frontline Staffing & Minimum Shift Strength

Clarington’s Emergency Response Service Review found that staffing could occasionally fall below four firefighters per truck, with total full-time staffing dropping to 9–11 firefighters per shift. In those circumstances, the Municipality could not meet the NFPA best-practice benchmark of 15 firefighters on scene within eight minutes, while crews of three faced significant restrictions on fireground operations.

I support the approved transition to four firefighters per frontline pumper and maintaining sufficient daily staffing to provide a safe and effective initial response as Clarington grows.

2. Labour Relations & Workplace Safety

I support the right of labour unions to advocate on behalf of their members before Council. Frontline firefighters provide practical operational knowledge that should inform decisions concerning equipment, protective gear, staffing and fireground safety. Occupational exposure to contaminants is also an established firefighter health and safety concern.

I support continued investment in firefighter health and safety, including effective decontamination, toxin-reduction and exposure-control measures.

3. Emergency Medical Response & Motor Vehicle Collisions

I support an evidence-based approach to determining which high-acuity medical emergencies and serious motor vehicle collisions receive a tiered firefighter response. Clarington restored its pre-COVID tiered response to calls involving chest pain and difficulty breathing. Station 1 responds to approximately 48% of Clarington’s emergency calls, while the Municipality’s emergency-response review identified significant response-time and staffing challenges.

Where rapid firefighter intervention can provide meaningful early assistance to patients and stabilize trauma scenes before transport arrives, Council should ensure that dispatch protocols and operational resources support an effective tiered response.

4. Capital Planning & Proactive Infrastructure

Fire stations, staffing, equipment and training capacity must be planned proactively based on projected growth and operational response data.

Over the next four years on Council, I will:

Support the timely delivery of Clarington’s Fire Training Facility, protecting the $3.2 million provincial Skills Development Fund investment and supporting prompt selection of an appropriate new site so local firefighters have access to modern, local live-fire training facilities.

Support responsible long-term planning for a future north Bowmanville fire station, with timing based on updated growth projections, response data and demonstrated operational need.

Ensure all eligible growth-related fire capital costs are fully captured through Development Charges, provincial grants and appropriate external partnerships to protect existing property taxpayers.

Support evidence-based firefighter staffing, advanced personal protective equipment, gear decontamination systems and occupational toxin-reduction measures aligned with professional safety standards.

5. Budget Pressures, Decision Priorities & Association Engagement

I will prioritize essential emergency-service capacity while pursuing efficiencies and appropriate growth funding before increasing the financial burden on existing taxpayers. With Clarington’s long-term capital program identifying significant fire-service infrastructure requirements, any tax adjustment should follow a transparent assessment of service needs, available grants, eligible Development Charge funding, reserve funding, external partnerships and internal efficiencies.

I support meaningful consultation with the CPFFA before major decisions affecting fire-service operations, staffing, equipment or working conditions. Frontline firefighters provide valuable operational knowledge that should inform Council’s deliberations, while final policy and budget decisions remain the responsibility of elected Council.

6. Vision for the Community

My vision for Clarington is grounded in Canada’s founding principles: Peace, Order & Good Government—building a safe, well-serviced and fiscally accountable community where public safety and infrastructure scale concurrently with growth rather than lagging behind.

Thank you for your email. This response will be posted on my website, voteglover.ca. I encourage your membership to visit my website if they would like to know more about my vision for Clarington moving forward. If you would like to schedule a meeting I would be more than happy to speak with your members personally.

Sincerely,

Joshua Glover
Candidate for Councillor of Ward 2

On October 26 vote Joshua Glover for Peace, Order, and Good Governance.

All Candidates Forum: Racism

At the recent All Candidates Forum, I was asked about racism in Clarington and the Municipality’s response to it.

Over the past several years, Clarington has experienced incidents of anti-Black racist graffiti, and the Municipality has a responsibility to ensure that residents can participate in community life without discrimination.

To meet that responsibility, the Municipality must establish clearly defined objectives and be able to demonstrate measurable results.

In my response at the forum, I referred to difficulties experienced by the former Anti-Black Racism Task Force. The municipal record documents problems with quorum, engagement and direction. In 2024, members themselves discussed clearer objectives, better goal-setting and the need to measure results. Members also acknowledged that meetings lost to a lack of quorum had contributed to a lack of direction.

Council subsequently elevated the Task Force into the standalone Clarington Anti-Black Racism Advisory Committee, which now reports directly to Council.

This leads to an important question that I believe Council should ask of every municipal initiative:

What are we trying to accomplish, how will we measure it and how will residents know whether it worked?

This is not a standard that should apply uniquely to this committee. Council’s advisory committees exist to bring additional knowledge, experience and community perspectives into municipal decision-making. Their work should have clear objectives, meaningful support and a way of demonstrating results.

During my time as an elected school board trustee, I took committee work seriously. I attended committee meetings, participated actively in their work and brought forward proposals intended to improve how committees operated. I supported the important role committees play in bringing additional perspectives and expertise into the decision-making process.

I would bring that same approach to Clarington Council.

When Council establishes an advisory committee, councillors should not simply appoint its members and walk away. They should understand its work, listen to its recommendations, ensure that it has clear objectives and examine whether those objectives are being achieved. Where a committee is struggling, Council should ask why and determine what can reasonably be done to help it function effectively.

We can condemn racism unequivocally while also expecting municipal programs, committees and expenditures to demonstrate their purpose and results.

On October 26 vote Joshua Glover for Peace, Order, and Good Governance.

Reconciliation Meets Governance

Today is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and I’d like to share a reflection with you.

My campaign is founded on the Canadian tradition of Peace, Order and Good Governance. To me, one of the effects of Good Governance is unity. We will not always agree, nor will our interests always align, but we can remain united by common principles, confidence in our institutions and the knowledge that every voice is entitled to be heard and treated with respect.

In my capacity as school trustee, I believed Truth and Reconciliation had to be reflected in Good Governance principles: following our own rules, honouring our commitments and ensuring that Indigenous voices had a place in decisions affecting their communities.

In 2023, a proposal was brought forward to add a First Nation trustee seat to the Board. I supported the goal of greater Indigenous representation, but the proposed model was flawed in two important respects: the representative would be appointed rather than elected, and the position would represent First Nation communities without providing representation for Métis and Inuit people. To me, Indigenous representation should be both democratic and inclusive, with Indigenous communities having a meaningful voice in determining who represents them.

As I examined how the proposal had come forward, I discovered that our own First Nations, Métis and Inuit Advisory Committee had neither discussed nor voted on the proposal before it was brought to the Board. To rectify this and restore the integrity of the process, I brought forward a motion to refer the matter back to the FNMI Advisory Committee so its Indigenous members could formally consider and vote on the issue. The motion carried.

Ensuring that Indigenous committee members had a direct voice and a formal vote on a matter affecting their interests remains one of my proudest achievements as Trustee.

That experience reinforced my belief that Truth and Reconciliation must be measured by more than words, ceremonies and institutional programming. Institutions can devote significant public resources to reconciliation, but those efforts ring hollow when they fail to follow through on the actions that matter most.

Good Governance means respecting the rules and bylaws that give people a voice. It means ensuring consultation is genuine rather than procedural. It means following through on commitments once they are made. And it means being willing to speak up when minority voices risk being overlooked.

Truth and Reconciliation must be reflected not only in what our institutions say, but in how they govern.

That is the standard I sought to uphold as Trustee, and it is the standard I continue to believe in today.

On October 26 vote Joshua Glover for Peace, Order, and Good Governance.

www.voteglover.ca

The Art of Governance

In modern times the difference between governance and administration has become confused. Members of council are expected to represent the local community and act on its behalf. They exercise a policy making role through which they determine services, approve budgets, enact rules and regulations, and generally shape the local community and the quality of life within it.

A third general role of councillors is managerial, and it involves providing oversight of municipal operations to ensure that policies are implemented as intended. Administration manages day-to-day operations, but Governance—the role of an elected Councillor—demands independent judgment and a willingness to champion the community’s needs.

When I first took office at the school board, Clarington had not had a new Catholic school built since 2007. In fact, one of our schools in Ward 2 (St. Elizabeth) housed over 700 students in a school built for 386. The school board had tried for many years to secure funding for a new school, but always to no avail. I made a point to visit the school early in my term to better understand the ground conditions that parents, students and staff were enduring.

After seeing the effects of overcrowding firsthand, I initiated a plan for the board to invite MPP Todd McCarthy directly to St. Elizabeth for an on-site visit. It was unorthodox but I concluded that Mr. McCarthy had a vested interest in seeing the conditions of the school. Mr. McCarthy accepted the invitation and upon visiting the school he saw what I saw and agreed something needed to be done.

The MPP’s tour of St. Elizabeth gave our cause the fresh momentum it needed, and months later the Provincial Government announced a nearly $27 million investment in a new 493-student Northglen Catholic Elementary School.

When governance and administration work in sync—each respecting the role of the other—communities achieve extraordinary things. But true collaboration starts with knowing where administrative routine ends and elected leadership begins.

I have that experience, I understand the distinction, and I am ready to bring that collaborative, results-driven approach to Council.

On October 26th, vote Joshua Glover for Ward 2 Councillor.