Latest news with #PhilipBrown
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Clinic in Charlottetown reminds Islanders to remember their helmets this summer
Islanders are being reminded to wear proper head protection while riding bicycles, skate boards and e-scooters, which were introduced to Charlottetown just a few years ago. Charlottetown Mayor Philip Brown was in attendance at Big Brothers, Big Sisters on Saturday when Kenneth Murnaghan with Injury Free P.E.I. hosted a helmet-fitting clinic. Brown said that he's seen many in the city not wearing helmets while riding bikes and other modes of transport. "It's very important to wear your helmet …cycling, skateboarding, rollerblading … and now you have your e-scooters, a lot of those people are riding those scooters without helmets," Brown said. Murnaghan is a longtime advocate for helmet use. He had an accident when he was 10 years old that left him with a brain injury. Since then he has created organizations, and has advocated for brain-injury awareness. Brown said he might have had a serious head injury if not for a helmet. He crashed while riding to a friend's house a few years ago. He said he takes helmet safety seriously. Even though there are already laws in place regarding helmet use, he thinks more can be done. Another person who stopped by at the event was retired teacher Peter Harrison. He said he has also seen more people around without helmets. "There seems to be a fad around Charlottetown of people just not thinking a helmet is important," he said. "They might think it will affect what they look like, or they look silly, and that's so stupid." Harrison used to coach baseball and insisted his players had the proper equipment. He said that translates to proper equipment for bikes, and more. "It doesn't matter what you do, you dress for the thing," he said. "Every part of your body is valuable."
CBC
11-06-2025
- Automotive
- CBC
Euston Street site of Irving Oil station dating from the 1930s is now owned by City of Charlottetown
The old Irving Gas station in downtown Charlottetown is about to get a facelift. Irving Oil has donated the site to the City of Charlottetown. Mayor Philip Brown says the location will be turned into a charging station for EVs and e-bikes, as well as a community hub where municipal and provincial officials can work out of.
CBC
11-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
More funding first, says Charlottetown police about joining new P.E.I. joint enforcement unit
Social Sharing Charlottetown police Chief Brad MacConnell says he's seen the province fund various policing initiatives, but that funding is often not sustained, leaving police departments on the hook for commitments made by the province. Last month, a letter sent by MacConnell and Charlottetown Mayor Philip Brown to Justice Minister Bloyce Thompson was made public. It outlined some of the reasons why the Charlottetown Police Services would not be joining a new Joint Enforcement Team aimed at tackling the illicit drug trade and organized crime. The team is made up of members from Summerside Police Services, the Kensington police agency and RCMP. The province is spending $800,000 on the project. MacConnell has seen similar initiatives in the past and they haven't worked out, he said, such as when the previous provincial government created a similar group to tackle biker gangs. "The government had certainly the best intentions to form a task force to deal with outlaw motorcycle gangs, but I can tell you logistically it broke down. Partners retreated. Bikers are still here. And Charlottetown police were left with expectations to try to manage that," he said. "We certainly realize drug enforcement and drug issues are at the forefront of Islanders' minds. While we agree in the spirit of this initiative, we have concerns over logistics, over sustainability of the model." 'We'd like those core issues addressed' MacConnell pointed out despite Charlottetown police not being part of the program, there is still a lot of collaboration such as Charlottetown aiding with technology and digital forensics. "There are some core fundamental policing issues that have to be addressed in regarding the funding of policing here on Prince Edward Island, especially in the capital area, and Charlottetown in particular," he said. "So, we'd like those, you know, core issues addressed before we jump into a situation where we're increasing public expectation and we're not going to be able to deliver." The province had previously provided funding for four Charlottetown police officers to help patrol the area around the Community Outreach Centre on Park Street. There were two more which were going to be funded, but because of city council voting against keeping those services running, that money never came through, MacConnell said. MacConnell also thinks Charlottetown police aren't being recognized for the role they play in drug enforcement already, he said. "Our drug enforcement teams are out pacing any of the other drug enforcement units, I think, in Atlantic Canada. Certainly, I think there is a lack of recognition for that, for the great work Charlottetown is doing," MacConnell said. "I think it is quite unfair for the province at this point to cast any shadow over the city of Charlottetown and our police services when we are just trying to meet the demands of our own mandates." Council questions lack of consultation The issue came up during the regular meeting of Charlottetown's city council on Tuesday night. Coun. Terry Bernard wanted council to have a role in deciding if the city's police would be part of the program. "Decisions are being made that we know nothing about. That's not the way council is supposed to operate. It's more of a concern for me that the process here is you have a level of government asking another level of government, 'Will you join us?' And so, it is not up to staff or the mayor alone to make that decision to say, 'No, we're not.' It's council as a collective," Bernard said during the meeting. Deputy Mayor Alanna Jankov backed up Bernard's position, saying she would have liked to know about the letter and that it could be "politicized" in the P.E.I. Legislature before Thompson made it public. Brown didn't think the letter he signed would be made public by Thompson, he said. "I thought there was a breach there between the two offices," Brown said during the meeting, adding that he thought the correspondence was going to be private. "The chief assisted with the response because of his background in this field." MacConnell believes the matter was operational in nature and didn't need to come to council for approval, though he acknowledges more information should have been provided on what the province was asking city police to do.
CBC
12-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
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."
CBC
01-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Federation of P.E.I. Municipalities offers to step in to mediate Park Street dispute
Social Sharing The Federation of P.E.I. Municipalities is willing to step in as a mediator between the province and the City of Charlottetown when it comes to the future of the emergency overnight shelter and Community Outreach Centre on Park Street. There have been heated political debates recently about whether the shelter and outreach centre should continue operating at their current location near the Hillsborough Bridge in P.E.I.'s capital. Last week, city council voted to reject the province's request for a zoning change that would have let the operations stay on Park Street. Two days later, P.E.I. Housing Minister Steven Myers said the province would use its powers under the Planning Act to set up a special zone in the area that would remove any city role in planning decisions, effectively overriding the Charlottetown council's decision. Mayor Philip Brown has told CBC News he would be talking to the Federation of P.E.I. Municipalities about the possibility of taking the province to court over the issue. "We're never interested in launching a court challenge, because that costs everybody," said the federation's president, Bruce MacDougall, who has been a city councillor in Summerside for three decades. "We have been talking with our member of Charlottetown, and we need to come together, talk with the City of Charlottetown, talk with the province, and come up with a solution for the vulnerable people that this issue is all about." Charlottetown mayor wants Federation of P.E.I. Municipalities to step in on Park Street dispute 4 days ago Duration 6:42 'This is not just about Charlottetown,' Mayor Philip Brown warned as he responded to the P.E.I. government's move to give itself planning power over the Park Street parcel of land that hosts outreach services for vulnerable Islanders. That followed a vote by Brown's council to deny the province a variance to let the services stay in that part of Charlottetown. Brown spoke with Louise Martin of CBC News: Compass about the standoff. MacDougall said the federation will reach out to the province to discuss a mediation process. "I'm sure they'll be willing to accept a mediator," he said. "Collaboration is the way forward. Confrontation gets nobody nowhere." MacDougall said the federation has previously helped municipalities resolve issues involving the province, often working behind the scenes to facilitate solutions. 'A precedent-setting issue' MacDougall said he's concerned over the province's decision to create a special zone, effectively overriding Charlottetown council's authority. That represents an unprecedented intervention that could set a precedent affecting municipal decision-making, he fears. His concern is that the province could simply bypass established municipal planning processes and impose special planning zones at will. Typically, the creation of a special planning area by a municipality involves a thorough process, including council meetings and public consultations, MacDougall said.
