Ont. Green Party leader backs residents fighting to stop plans for new administrative building

Karen Zulynik and her neighbours refuse to give up their fight to stop the town's plans for a new administration building.

“I don't know if they’re surprised but the people are empowering me to continue on to be their voice,” Karen Zulynik, Tiny Township resident.

Zulynik has led a campaign to stop the $25.6 million build.

She led a protest in July with hundreds in attendance, and a petition calling for a referendum garnered more than 7,000 signatures.

“The enthusiasm is only getting larger, we don’t feel defeated at all - we feel more united and that’s the most powerful thing is giving people information,” Zulynik.

The situation caught the attention of Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Shreiner, who tabled a petition at Queen’s Park on Tuesday requesting a referendum on the town's new administrative building.

“On behalf of the residents of Tiny Township who are bringing forward concerns about the financial environmental cost of a local administrative building. They sound like their voices are not being heard, and I wanted to make sure their voices were heard in the legislature,” said Shreiner.

• Download the CTV News app free to get local news alerts
• Don't miss breaking news - Sign up for the CTV Newsletter

Currently, the town's staff operate under different roofs, many in aging facilities that need urgent attention, according to the mayor. The Town wants to create one centralized administrative building that would include council chambers.

Tiny Township Mayor David Evans is adamant that he wants the project to move forward. He met with residents on Thursday asking them to remove signage reading 'Stop the Build' to be removed from the town's property.

“As far as the minister involving themselves in the affairs of the municipality, I'm a little disappointed and frustrated. First of all, MPPs, members of provincial parliament, should respect municipal autonomy. We are a vessel of the provincial government. But just like we don't tell them what to do, they shouldn't be telling us what to do,” said Evans.

The province is expected to respond to residents who started the petition by the end of November or early December, and that’s when they will find out more about potential further conversations.