PEI weekend roundup & fall updates 🍂

IN THIS ISSUE

• Bill introduced to cancel 2023 rental increases
• Med school project moving through city hall

• Mayoral debates this week 

QUICK HITS

🚔 1,500 Miles from Hollywood: Two Island men living out west have found themselves on the wrong side of the law, big time. Brandon Condon-White (24, Montague) and Kendell Marie Hardt (29, Charlottetown) were arrested following a high-speed chase in a stolen vehicle that resulted in two RCMP cruisers being written off. The dramatic chase began Sunday morning in Swift Current, SK and continued until police used a spike belt to stop the vehicle. The two men are scheduled to appear in court today (Wednesday) to answer to a laundry list of charges, including flight from police and possession of stolen property.

🏠 No Rental Increases for 2023: Did you get a rental increase notice recently? Well, you can throw that out. Government introduced a bill Tuesday that will set aside the record-high rental increase approved in September by the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission, and will freeze rental increases at zero per cent for 2023 for all units. During debate on the bill, Housing Minister Matthew MacKay acknowledged that landlords, too, are impacted by rising costs, and hinted that the government will be announcing support programs to help landlords cover increased costs without burdening tenants.

🔌 Generators: Government will announce funding to equip all provincial seniors housing buildings with a generator. Housing Minister Matthew MacKay made the announcement Tuesday in the legislature when responding to questions from opposition members about the state of seniors housing during post-tropical storm Fiona. MacKay did not announce a dollar value for this project, but he said it will be significant, especially because some of the complexes require extensive renovations to electrical systems before generators can be installed. Money well spent, in my opinion.

🛍️ Free Bags, Maybe: The province introduced an amendment to the plastic bag reduction act Tuesday that will remove the requirement for merchants to charge 15 cents for a paper bag. If approved by the Legislative Assembly, the decision will be left up to businesses if they want to charge a fee for paper bags, or provide them free of charge. PEI in 2019 became the first province in Canada to ban single-use plastic bags. The ban keeps an estimated 16 million plastic bags out of the waste management system each year.

HEALTH & EDUCATION

Med school moving through city's planning process

The rush is on to break ground on the University of Prince Edward Island's Faculty of Medicine. 

An application has been received by Charlottetown’s planning department for a five-story building on the now undeveloped north campus, which sits between Royalty Crossing (Charlottetown Mall) and the university’s athletic track. City council will vote this evening at a special meeting to send the project to public consultation.

To save a roll or two of red tape, the public will be presented with what’s expected to be the final plan for the building. Typically these meetings show the public a preliminary plan that is then amended to include any accepted feedback from the public. Planning staff with the city said that as long as what’s shown to the public does not change, then the project should be able to move forward for a final approval by council without needing to loop back through the planning board. This process will help the university meet its tight timeline to get construction started.

The university expects that construction will be complete near the end of summer 2024, and be ready to accept students that fall.

But aside from receiving a nod from the city in terms of the building, the university also needs to submit a proposal to the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission. In a CBC report on this project last November, UPEI said they would submit a proposal for the medical faculty this fall. As of yesterday, the Commission had not received a proposal.

#PEIslandEdition

Big City Vibes 🌆

I had to take a closer look at this photo by Apurva Patel showing Charlottetown's bright lights. At first glance, I didn't recognize the city. There are two more shots from this shoot on Apurva's @exploringpei Instagram page.

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

MUNICIPAL ELECTION

Mayoral Debates 🥊

The Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce will hold two debates this week for candidates running for mayor in the Island’s two largest municipalities, Charlottetown and Startford. Both debates will be moderated by Chamber President, Bill DeBlois.

Startford

📌 Stratford Town Centre, 245 Shakespeare Drive
📅 Wednesday, Nov. 2
⌚ 6:30PM - 8:00PM
❓ More Information / Registration

Charlottetown

📌 Florence Simmons Performance Hall, 140 Weymouth Street
📅 Thursday, Nov. 3
⌚ 7:00PM - 8:45PM
❓ More Information / Registration

Registration is required to attend in person. Both events will be also livestreamed on the Chamber’s Facebook page.

WHAT'S GOING ON? 

Wednesday

🤔 Music Jeopardy / 7:00 PM: Join host Mitch Chaisson at The Hive, 119 Grafton Street, for some music trivia.

🎥 See How They Run (2022) @ City Cinema / 7:00PM: In the West End of 1950s London, plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after a pivotal member of the crew is murdered. Buy tickets | Watch Trailer

🤔 Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? / 7:00 PM: Join host Owen at The Fox & Crow, UPEI Student Centre, to test your knowledge on questions from the elementary days.

Thursday

🎄 Christmas Market @ The Shops at St. Peter's Landing: Four day event, running Thursday to Sunday. More Info

🎥 See How They Run (2022) @ City Cinema / 7:00PM: In the West End of 1950s London, plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after a pivotal member of the crew is murdered. Buy tickets | Watch Trailer

🤔 Entertainment Trivia / 9:00 PM: Join host Darcy Campbell at Hunter's Ale House, 185 Kent Street, for some entertainment trivia.

🎶 Jesse Roper @ Baba's Lounge / 11:00PM

WEATHER

Wednesday

🌞 H10°C 🌡️ L2°C 
💨 NW 32 km/h, gusting 65

Thursday

🌤️ H12°C 🌡️ L9°C
💨 W 17 km/h, gusting 35

THANKS FOR READING!