Friday Harbour resident wants to be voice of Ward 6

Lisa Maxwell didn’t initially know if she would run for the Ward 6 Councillor position, but when she felt there wasn’t a candidate in her area that represented her, she decided to take matters into her own hands.

The Friday Harbour resident is now hoping to be the voice of Ward 6 as she prepares for the fall election.

“I went and listened to the candidates at Big Bay Point,” she said. “I just went as an observer to listen to their platforms and after it was over, I decided we need more of a voice here in Friday Harbour. We need to represent our community because Innisfil is one community, but it doesn’t always seem like it—it’s Innisfil as its own community and then there’s Friday Harbour. At the end of listening to the candidates I decided to run, so we wouldn’t feel so separate, and we can try and bring everyone together.”

Maxwell and her husband decided to move to Friday Harbour five years ago and quickly felt the support of the community in Innisfil.

“In 2017, we saw Friday Harbour and fell in love with it and purchased a place that day,” she said. “It was tough because just before COVID hit my husband got very sick and I didn’t know very many people. My husband went into a coma, and it was a very tough time—I couldn’t go to the hospital, and he was in the hospital for two months. We met two couples and I tell them all the time they saved my life. The community was so helpful, they left food at my door. I just love all the people; they didn’t even know me that well and they were very caring.”

Over the last five years, Maxwell has seen the different issues impacting Friday Harbour and the larger community of Innisfil.

“It’s just a beautiful community and there’s a lot of issues that are sitting here in Friday Harbour,” she said. “There are issues with taxes and recreation and I feel we need someone to take those issues to council. It’s not to separate Friday Harbour and Innisfil because I feel a lot of the issues are the same. In Friday Harbour we pay taxes twice basically because we’re self-sufficient and pay taxes here but we’re also paying municipal taxes with Innisfil but we don’t get anything for those taxes—it’s like a double payment. When I talk to the people of Innisfil they have a similar issue because many people in Innisfil are farmland and they’re on septic and are on wells and they still pay the same as if they weren’t. Innisfil taxes are high too, and they’ll only get higher.”

Along with taxes, Maxwell wants to see more focus put on development that allows for affordable housing.

“With all the new buildings and developments going in, you’re not seeing the $400,000 homes anymore, you’re seeing $800,000 homes,” she explained. “It’s just not affordable. Affordability is huge”

Parks and recreation are also on Maxwell’s agenda and ensuring the taxpayers money is going towards facilities the town is in need of.

“At Friday Harbour the amenities haven’t come in yet, so everyone is upset at the fact that they’re paying but nothing is built yet,” she said. “We don’t have a community centre to meet, so we have nowhere to get together. It’s the same thing when I talk to Innisfil residents outside of Friday harbour, they’re basically saying they need parks, recreation, and more for their children to do.”

As Innisfil grows, Maxwell wants to ensure there’s a focus put on residents needs and health.

“Safety, traffic, healthcare delivery, expanding lake access, all those things are important,” she said. “A huge one is bike lanes. A lot of people ride bikes in Innisfil and there’s no bike lanes. It’s very dangerous. I can’t understand why there’s not more bike lanes, we have new roads going in and still no bike lanes.”