Fall colours & small business spotlights 🍁

IN THIS ISSUE

• People will not be locked inside emergency shelters as some have speculated.

• Port House apartment project could be back on track, but the city holds the key.

• Islanders will have a new option to see pharmacists for some health care needs and prescription renewals.

QUICK HITS

🔓 Shelters Not Locked: The first of 12 modular housing units for the planned temporary emergency shelter on Park Street have started arriving in Charlottetown. These units, when assembled together, will make up two complexes with space for 50 people, and will include showers and laundry. They’re designed to withstand extreme temperatures. A photo shared online of one of the units had some people speculating that units would lock from outside, effectively locking people in. I confirmed with the province that no one will be locked inside rooms or the facility, and that the complex will have appropriate fire exits, as well as windows.

📕 No One’s Fool: Less than eight years after leaving office, former MLA Ron MacKinley is now the subject of a 203-page book. No One's Fool: Stories of a PEI Politician acts as an almanac of MacKinley’s life. The book was co-authored by Sam MacPhail and Bill Hogg, and includes a foreword written by MacKinley himself. It’s filled with historical information, statistical data, entertaining cartoons and photos, and the odd Ronnie-ism. The project has been in the works over the last four years, taking approximately 1,500 hours to complete. Proceeds from sales will go to a charity or community group of Ron’s choosing.

🏢 Municipal Nomination Deadline: Islanders with something to offer have until Friday to get their name on a ballot for next month’s municipal elections. The deadline to submit nomination papers to Elections PEI is 2PM Friday. Elections PEI has started posting the names of nominated candidates. You can find your candidates here: Charlottetown,  Cornwall,  Stratford,Summerside, and Three Rivers.

⚕️ PEI Pharmacy Plus: Islanders seeking routine health services and some prescription renewals could be doing so at their community pharmacy. Through the PEI Pharmacy Plus program, pharmacists can assess and prescribe treatment for 32 common ailments. The program will also allow pharmacists to renew eligible prescriptions. Government says that this new program could divert up to 27,000 visits per-year from other areas of the health care system. Check out the PEI Pharmacy Plus website for a full list of participating pharmacies, ailments, and eligible prescriptions.

🍿 Cineplex Closed: Islanders looking to watch blockbuster hits this fall may have to look for a streaming option or make a night out of it in Moncton. Both Cineplex locations on the Island are closed due to damages from Hurricane Fiona. The company confirmed to me that it expects the Summerside location to open in November, but the Charlottetown location will be closed for up to six months. Damages to the Charlottetown location included partially collapsed ceilings and extensive water damage. 

Note: Brackley Drive-In is still open and playing some of the big hits. Their online schedule lists showtimes right up to the end of this month.

DEVELOPMENT

Port House Back on Track?

The developer of a proposed 84-unit apartment building in downtown Charlottetown anticipates that the city will finally sign a development agreement this week, allowing the project to get back on track.

Tim Banks, CEO of APM, announced the Port House project in February 2021. At that time, Banks said construction would begin in the Summer (2021) and would be ready for people to move in by January 2023. The building would be located in the parking lot of the Polyclinic.

But since announcing the project, changes to the city’s affordable housing incentive policy have put the development on hold. Banks blames the city’s former chief administrative officer for getting in the way by changing the policy, which offers reduced tax rates, as well as things like reduced parking requirements and bonus height allowances.

The policy change has to do with how a project is defined as affordable. Before the change, a project had to meet either the province’s definition of affordable, or the definition set by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. After the policy was changed, a project had to meet both definitions, something Banks said wasn't feasible due to the province’s definition not taking into account things like the cost of land in the city and the added expense of meeting parking requirements.

Banks told me that the city has received a legal opinion that it must follow the policy as it was written at the time of the application. Banks anticipates that the pending development agreement will confirm the project is again eligible.

The delay caused by this policy change has increased the overall cost of the project by an estimated $7.4M, bringing the total project cost to just under $30M. If the development agreement is signed this week, Banks said construction would begin in April 2023.

IRAC Appeal Dismissed

The project was also appealed to the Island Regulations and Appeals Commission by a local resident, but that appeal was dismissed last week. Appeals of this nature are not uncommon to the developer, and he said work typically progresses as he navigates his way through them. Although these appeals do not delay projects, they do increase overall costs due to the expense of defending the project at IRAC hearings.

In the IRAC decision, the developer raised the question of costs. IRAC stated that legislation would need to be changed to give the commission authority to award costs on appeal. Banks said he has been asking for this change for years.

Copy to share the story:

https://islandedition.ca/read/port-house-back-on-track

BY THE NUMBERS

Consumer Price Index

⬆️ 8.4%: Life on PEI isn't getting cheaper. The Island's inflation rate rose to 8.4 per cent in September, up from 8.3 per cent in August. PEI continues to experience the highest rate of inflation in the country.

⬇️ 6.9%:  Nationally, inflation hit 6.9 per cent in September, down from7 per cent in August.

📢 SHOUT-OUTS 

🎂 Happy birthday to Brighton Clover Farm's Norman Sahely! Norman turned 80 last Saturday.

Island Edition Shout-Outs are paid messages. Buy one to help support the sustainability of this newsletter. Max three-per-issue, 20-word limit.

#PEIslandEdition

Falling for PEI 🍂

Devon Bernard shared this photo of Forestview Trail showing the full colours of fall. Head on over to Devon's Instagram for more great shots: @visualsofdev

Tag @PEIslandEdition or use #PEIslandEdition to get your post featured in Island Edition!

WEATHER

Wednesday

🌧️ H19°C 🌡️ L7°C 
💨 SE 32 km/h, gusting 65

Thursday

🌤️ H14°C 🌡️ L6°C
💨 SW 17 km/h, gusting 45

Island Edition Storm Watch

🌀 Nothing to keep an eye on this week in terms of tropical storms, but the Island is under a special weather statement: 30-50 mm of rain is expected Wednesday night, with amounts as high as 70 mm in some areas.

THANKS FOR READING!

STILL READING?

Contest Announcement

I am going to give away a copy of the book I mentioned above about Ron MacKinley. I'm tucking the contest down here to reward those of you who scrolled all the way to the bottom.

If you want to win, send me a quick email telling me which premiers served our province during Ron's time in office. I'll pick a winner tomorrow morning.

Hint: Ron was first elected in 1982.