Christine Cooper: Welcome to the Conversations with the Candidates, Midland Votes 2026. I am Christine Cooper and I am the host here at Conversations with the Candidates. And I'm also one half of the awesome duo known as the Resistors. Today in our studio at No Ostriching Here, I am so pleased to welcome candidate Frances Toopy.
Frances Tupy: Hello, Christine, and thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and this opportunity for people to get to see who I am, you know, running for Midland Council.
Christine Cooper: I'm so glad that you could join me today, Frances, because I don't know anything about you at all. People are saying, Who's Francis Tooby? So here's your chance, Francis. Why don't you take a couple of minutes and tell us a little bit about yourself and then tell us why you've decided to run in this election?
Frances Tupy: Okay, well, I'm a country girl at heart, you know, and I love the outdoors. You know, I grew up on a family farm, you know, that had the Bruce Trail and fishing and swimming and hiking all right there. but now I'm a PSW. I work in the bid the Barry and the Midland areas. And but before that I worked in Toronto's downtown financial district managing trade settlements, you know, which know, I needed to have like strong fiscal oversight and you know skills such as being detail oriented and working in a high-risk, time-sensitive environment. And of course, growing up on a farm, I learned the value of hard work early. I have lived in the Greater Toronto U area for many years, you know, and then Barry for about 18 years. And I moved to Midland about four years ago, you know, bringing my mother and my sons with me. And this was actually in part an a affordable housing decision, you know, I knew then that there was gonna be something, you know, going on with the real estate market. So I knew that my grandmother grew up in Midland, but I didn't know until my father told me after I moved here that we're actually descendants of an original founder from and also an early settler from eighteen twenty eight. So that was very interesting. I've researched some of that. And there's just such a you know deep sense of history here and that's just one of the reasons that has influenced my decision to run for council here, you know, to follow in their footsteps. you know, that they've done things to make, you know, Midland grow back then, you know, with land and, you know, things like that. You know, and just making, you know, Midland a wonderful place to live.
Christine Cooper: It is a wonderful place to live, isn't it? we've been here for ten years, my husband and I. And like you, I was down in the city and this is where we ended up and we have never regretted coming here. We absolutely love
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: it. Anyway, enough of my infomercial moment. Francis, quick question. Do you know what the voter turnout was in the last election here in Midland?
Frances Tupy: Well, I think it was probably like around maybe six or seven thousand, you know, 'cause it seemed like the I I looked at the mirror, you know, split and I think that I think it was about like Can't remember that one. I was looking at all the council ones and it seemed like you know 2,500, you know, was about what you needed to get in. And
Christine Cooper: Mm.
Frances Tupy: so the turnout, you know, of 18,000, I'm thinking it was around six or seven thousand people that came out.
Christine Cooper: the turnout was 35% of the
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: voting population in Midland. It also was the lowest turnout in Midland's history. Now, to be fair, it was during the pandemic, but on that side of it, it was the first time that Midland had moved into online and telephone voting. And and they're doing it again in this election. And one of the reasons I sort of took this. conversations with the candidates up was because I'm trying to push the needle back a little bit and get people
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: to come aboard and engage. Do you have any thoughts why there's so much apathy around voting these days? we're seeing particularly in Ontario, both the the municipal and the provincial election turnouts were just terribly low. I just wondered if you had any thoughts about Why people are tuning out from voting?
Frances Tupy: Well, I mean, they don't really feel like the it makes a difference, you know, sometimes, you know, which party you vote for, you know, that they feel like if there's something that's that is an item that's gonna be, you know, put through, it doesn't really matter which, you know, party is in there and and that you know, so that's like a big part of it. And
Christine Cooper: Right. Well, you know what, Francis? Actually, it's funny because when people say to me, my vote doesn't count. For me, at the municipal level, your vote has more clout than any
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: other level, because at the provincial and the federal level, those seats are won by 10,000, 20,000 votes. In the municipal level, because you had mentioned like you need 2,500, pretty much 2,500 votes. At the municipal level, three or four votes will get you could win you a like more
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: can win you a seat. So that one vote has a lot of kick to it. So can you tell me the municipality is responsible for certain things and the county is the county of Simcoe is responsible for certain things. Do you know who is responsible for what?
Frances Tupy: Well I'm just you know crash current crash learning everything right now because I haven't been in a political, you know, arena. But you know, things like you know, the infrastructure, the you know, the roads, the the water systems, you know, our parks and things like that are you know of municipal and you know county. I'm, you know, or definitely would be, you know, the highways between towns, I guess, would be, you know, county and I know that there's definitely things that the county will bring down that they want, you know, council to look at. But I think that being on council, you know, you need to always make sure that we're not forgetting that things should be coming from the people up as well. But I know I don't know. And I guess I'll have to, you know, research more into what is county and what is municipal.
Christine Cooper: Well, as you said, this is your first time running and I would highly encourage you to make sure that you understand who has what responsibilities because there's been a lot of conflating by different people online about, you know, who's gonna do what and people saying, Well, well, I when I if I'm on council I'm gonna do this and you're like you know that the municipality isn't responsible for these things. So I just to give you a quick insight. The county is social services and assistance, health care, long term care, senior care, waste management. You're our garbage pickup. That's county. and you mentioned the road network. And regional culture and tourism is big because tourism is big for us, right? And high level planning. So those are planning applications that are, as I said, much higher level. And for the municipality, Water and sewage, I think you had maybe mentioned that. Emergency and protective services. Protective services are police, fire, the ambulances are managed by the county, parks and rec and culture, local roads and infrastructure. Again, you mentioned that, and zoning and land use, land planning. So there's that. It's always good to know the who does what thing, don't you think? Yeah, I always think so. Anyway, Francis, do you have some priorities? platform, what you feel should be a focus for this council? could you share those thoughts with me?
Frances Tupy: Sure. well, anything to do with the environment, you know, because like I said, I enjoy, you know, doing things outdoors. So, you know, to make sure that the that our parks and our forests and our hiking trails and things that are, you know, that we all like to use here, you know, being residents here, you know, in our green spaces, you know, you know, anything that we can do for our water and you know, and the air that we breathe, you know. Those are all things that are important for, you know, our future, you know, and you know, I had lots of people that I went to, you know, door to door, you know, which I enjoyed doing that as well. you know, want to be able to use Little Lake again, you know, and there's, you know, you know, is there anything that we can do to try and, you know, help out some of these things? You know, does that fall under, you know, municipal, you know, worrying about our parks and things like that? And yeah.
Christine Cooper: Yeah, absolutely it does. And you mentioned Little Lake and and I I'm not sure if you're aware, but they've done quite a few projects in Little Lake. They've done
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: all sorts of things over there. And actually Bill Gordon mentioned that what they're really gonna focus on in Little Lake right now is the geese problem because the
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: the geese poop is causing so much damage and is causing the algae blooms in the water so they're gonna deal with that. So I'm glad that you mentioned it. so environment, parks and recreation, anything else?
Frances Tupy: well, you know, the safety, because you know, Little Lake again, you know, has come under scrutiny for you know, vandalism happening in the park, you know, and also just safety downtown Midland, you know, I did some, you know, reading to see what's been on council's agenda and you know, lately and and even just talking to my neighbors, you know, like just little things like neighborhood kids, you know, you know, cutting through your yards or people hanging out in your yard at night, you don't know who's there and I'm sure it's not the homeless people, you know, it's just, you know, I guess maybe just neighborhood kids. That's enough to make people feel insecure. So, you know, I think doing something like a neighborhood watch, you know, even if I don't get to counsel, it's still something that, you know, I would like to see our neighbors, you know, connecting more, you know, to you know share, you know, our the same concerns that we have with each you know with each other. And So, you know, and like how do we take care of that, you know? you know, we like to I I call the police, you know, if I need something. So we like to know that the OPP will be there and maybe, you know, since the town police aren't there anymore, you know, just to make sure that the OPP are, you know, fulfilling what they should be doing as well. And you know, and I just, you know I would like to be part of, you know, the discussions, you know, finding out what my neighbors want and the people that live here want, you know, making sure that, you know, those voices are heard, which is another platform item is, you know, just being there, you know, to talk to the people and bring forward, you know, the items that, you know, that we all want to have counsel, you know, listen to us, you know, and you know, it's very interesting to find out what the neighbors want. You know, and then I go back and I look it up, you know, and just see, you know, the you know, the news items and things like that, you know, seeing if other, you know, people complete strangers in the community are voicing the same things, you know. So I found it, you know, really interesting, you know, going door to door and talking to the people. And that's
Christine Cooper: Right.
Frances Tupy: just a few houses just to get signatures.
Christine Cooper: thank you for sharing that. I wanna ask you, you had mentioned earlier about some of the skill set you had developed in in your work
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: when you were in downtown Toronto. Can you share with us what you feel is the skill set that you can bring to council? And maybe quickly expand on what sort of lived experience or community engagement, volunteerism, any boards or committees that you've been a part of that could be helpful in bringing a perspective or even a different lens to this incoming council?
Frances Tupy: Okay, well, I you know, my job is a PSW, I am out in the community, you know, and as part of my job and talking to just really amazed at the at the people that that we call you know like that are elderly and completely functioning like great, wonderful people, you know, listening to the stories that they have to say, you know, have a lot of perspective to to myself. And any places that I have served. Well, I've I've done volunteer work you know, with with the church. You know, I did a mission trip. That doesn't I'm not sure if that brings anything back to, you know, municipal, but skills that I have, you know, if I was to just Yeah.
Christine Cooper: Well, empathy, it bring it teaches you empathy. And I think empathy is a skill that we need, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but when you said that about doing mission work, and then you said, quickly because it's people in need, People who need
Frances Tupy: For sure.
Christine Cooper: help and support and are these are crazy times right now, Francis. The world feels like it's on
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm, very crazy times.
Christine Cooper: fire. So having a good soul or a good heart is a
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: good skill to have, to be honest about that. again sorry for interrupting you. Let go ahead, let
Frances Tupy: No that's okay. But you're deaf but you're definitely right. You know, like if I was to describe myself, you know, and I bosses before have told me, you know, that I have, you know, like high integrity, that I've got a good moral sense, you know, and you know, brought up with common sense as well. And and I always seem to be able I would describe myself as a big picture thinker. When I look at an issue, you know, my mind is like going and I, you know, usually can see where that's going way down the road, you know, before other people I'm talking to are going like, what are you talking about? It's like, no, no, I can see where this is going, you know, like I'm a big picture thinker and and and just having a you know a good moral compass and listening, you know, listening and you know really hearing what somebody is saying or what they're trying to say, you know, and and not being afraid to come forward, you know, and and speak. that's something that you know wasn't always a skill. I was very shy child growing up and you know being not very confident but you know growing up one of the skills I think I got was you know more confidence you know and doing different jobs. I never thought I'd ever be a PSW and here I am you know for almost 10 years and and just you know I regularly have you know the people that I I'm taking care of or the nurses, you know, would say, you know, I had that one of the first compliments I got was a nurse saying to me, you know, you're like one of the only people here I would trust to take care of my own mother. And it's like, what are you talking about? I feel like an idiot here. And they're going, No, no, no. Because they could see something, I guess, that, you know, that I have. And, you know, just, you know, good communicator, you know, and you know, and I'm somebody that you know Definitely in the business and in the PSW field where you know I'm okay with being, you know, a good right-hand you know person, you know, being someone that let someone else be, you know, like the leader. But you know, if there's ever, you know, where it's needed, you know, I can instantly jump into being the leader. You know, an example, I'm doing a PSW shift and I'm you know casual, so I'm doing, you know, working for another floor. know, there's regular staff there. So, you know, I follow their lead because it's their floor, it's you know, they know the people, you know, I go there and I don't wanna step on anybody's toes. But I've also had shifts where I've shown up and I'm the only person that knows anybody there that they're all agency. So I've had to take the leadership role immediately and just, you know, run with it. So, you know, I can I'm I'm good at being in, you know, in both those roles. So I, you know, see that
Christine Cooper: Okay.
Frances Tupy: I, you know would be I think
Christine Cooper: Okay.
Frances Tupy: I would be good. And I've had people tell me that they thought that I would be good on council. It's like, you know.
Christine Cooper: Well, you know what? Here's your opportunity. And I I have to
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: say that it's a tough thing to run an election and it's an even
Frances Tupy: Mm.
Christine Cooper: tougher thing for a woman to run an election because women and running in politics is a whole different creature of its own. let's talk about some fiscal responsibility and budget management. since you're running for council, I'm going to assume that you're familiar with the current operating budget.
Frances Tupy: Well I saw that they said that we're running a balanced budget with a small increase. So I guess it's not exactly balanced. We're gonna have a small increase. but as far as
Christine Cooper: Yeah, I think it's less than one percent
Frances Tupy: So you know, so that's all good news because I know neighboring, you know areas, you know, don't have such a low rate of increase. but All of the exact things of what's going to what, I haven't opened up the budget and looked at all of the exact things.
Christine Cooper: Okay, so let's let's just talk about that for a moment because we hear a lot of people blathering about, you know, my taxes and fiscal responsibility and you know you know, they sort of try to hang this on council at times, but it's so it's a forty two million dollar operating budget, and fifty percent of that operating budget is public works and protective services, which is police and fire. And though those Those numbers are pretty hard and fast. They they won't
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: there's no flex. And then the rest of it as I break it down, community services and parks, which you mentioned, transit
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: and environment. You also mentioned environment,
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: corporate administration, agencies and boards, capital reserve transfers and planning and building. And I just wondered, do you think the current council is being fiscally responsible managing that budget?
Frances Tupy: Well, I guess I'd have to look at to it, you know, much more deeply, you know, like 'cause when if I do something, you know, research, I like doing research, but I haven't had a chance to research. I've been, you know, very busy since I decided to run and and looking at more of the the issues that I was gonna put as my platform. fiscal responsibility was something, you know, that I was putting on my plate to research more later. are they being res well, I mean, there's certain things that you know, reading what's gone on in the last bit, I would have liked to ask some questions. So I should have been paying more attention to what council was doing. you know, I don't know, is this a good strategy, you know, selling our what they call not used municipal properties? at this time. I'm you know, I would wanna know more information about, you know, all of that and I you know, I'm supposed that they did, but I mean these are all like in after the fact now, you know, things that I'd like to know about you know, the infrastructure that they're putting in, you know, where's the funding coming from, you know, you know, and differential
Christine Cooper: provincial, the the major infrastructure yeah, the major infrastructure projects right now, the wastewater, the water mains, that's being provincially funded to the tune of
Frances Tupy: Okay.
Christine Cooper: I think about thirty, thirty-two million dollars. They got some provincial grants. Otherwise there's no way that that infrastructure could have been looked after. Francis, when people are elected to office,
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: they often bring with them the things that they hold near and dear to their hearts. When I went to public office, I I was all about housing and mental health and addictions and long-term care and libraries because I love my library and I love
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: public spaces. but th certain things drive us to certain committees like when you sit on a council you sit on committees along the way. So I wonder, and they're often a reflection of your core value because you drift to the committees that you you want to be on, So
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: what would you bring to public office that would fall into that near and dear to your heart category and what matters to you personally that way?
Frances Tupy: Well, I think for me, the issues of the environment. So I was looking at different committees that they had and the the Severn Sound you know, looking at something like that. of course, you know, nursing care, you know, for our elderly, you know, I I work
Christine Cooper: that's a county responsibility.
Frances Tupy: That's a county thing.
Christine Cooper: Yes, municipality does not deal with long-term care. I didn't want to interrupt you, but I didn't want you to go out on it because it is not a municipal responsibility. It is a county responsibility. Long-term care, homes, senior
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: care, that's that's county. But however, with that being said,
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: I'm pretty sure there's some committees on the in the town that have are related to, you know, age accessibility and safer living and that type of thing. Because, you know, Midland's got several seniors organizations. The first one that comes to mind is the Ascanonia, right?
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: So as a counselor, when you're out there, you can sort of lean into the things that you really like and It helps to bring awareness to things as well. So anything else besides the seniors?
Frances Tupy: Well, I mean the homeless has always been, you know, a
Christine Cooper: Yeah.
Frances Tupy: place that I've you know, given thought to, you know, 'cause I always just had this opinion like for years that a person doesn't realize that they're usually only maybe sometimes two or three paychecks from being homeless. And it's always
Christine Cooper: Well, it's one paycheck away from being homeless these days for many people, right?
Frances Tupy: Yeah well the you know and I just just it's like a personal thing for me as well. And just you know that you know we're just always on that fine line. So I've always
Christine Cooper: Mm.
Frances Tupy: been caring for, you know, the homeless, you know, like when I was in Toronto, I did whatever I could, just you know, passing by I would, you know, hand out and just be observant of if it's the same ones and break my heart seeing a know, like a young girl. She looks like she just left home and then seeing her, you know, two months later and seeing
Christine Cooper: Right.
Frances Tupy: that she's definitely still not gone home. Then you know, it breaks my heart and trying to help, you know, what can I do? You know, then that was you know, that was long time ago. And, you know, and Barry mm.
Christine Cooper: Again though, Francis, homelessness is a county issue. They handle social services.
Frances Tupy: is it? Okay.
Christine Cooper: I think it would really right. Yeah, there are issues at they are issues
Frances Tupy: Well, I was just looking at the issues that I saw, you know, I went to the Midland site, you know, and I was looking at what, you know, k people were about. So mm hmm.
Christine Cooper: with no question, okay? And they are issues in many towns from coast to coast, right? It is probably
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm. But it's a county.
Christine Cooper: it's a difficult challenge. But I just wanted you to understand, I think it's really important for you if you're gonna run for council that you need to understand who's responsible for what. Okay. So
Frances Tupy: No, you're right.
Christine Cooper: with that being said, this council has implemented several things that I found absolutely interesting and absolutely forward thinking. And one was they released a five-year tourism strategy Have you had a look at any of that material? Because tourism
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: in a town like Midland will soon become tourism like in places like Collywood and you know the waterfronts of Berry and Aurelia. These are really important things right now. So I think tourism strategy, that was a very forward thinking move. And then they have their master plans. Are you familiar with any of the master plans in Midland?
Frances Tupy: Yeah, well, when I looked at the the website there, I I w agree. I saw like a lot of things that, you know, that looked, you know, very, you know, interesting, going, you know, maybe they've got everything, you know, to you know, taken care of, right? You know, of course there's always more information, you know, under, you know, the surface level. but I was like when I one of the first things I found when I moved here was just talking to people, you know, the fishermen on the the dock there at Midland Bay that You know, they were telling me that that there's a move to have visitors come from all over the world to, you know, the port there and actually be like a like a border crossing, you know, and then people would disperse from there to all places and yeah, that was something
Christine Cooper: What? What?
Frances Tupy: that they had talked about on yeah, the fishermen were talking about. So I don't That's not part of anything? okay.
Christine Cooper: Okay, I'm sorry, but you know what? No, no. No, there's the cruise ships that come in, that sail out of, I think it's Chicago, actually. and Midland has become a stop. And they're trying
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: to, I think they're trying to get Midland on the list for a couple more cruise. ships to come in because they bring money. People get off
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: of them. They're here all day and they go to the restaurants. They go to the the shops and the American dollar has you know, it's got some clout, that type of thing. So I wasn't really sure what you meant there about, you know, a port and a crossover and everything. It sounded like we were trying to smuggle people across the border there for a moment.
Frances Tupy: Yeah. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, no, no. No, like I know about the one in 'cause I saw the boat there, I think it was today or yesterday, you know, the boat there and I s
Christine Cooper: Yeah, the boat comes in like six times a year,
Frances Tupy: and then I see buses, you know, kind of regularly that are there and they're taking, you know, them around. but yeah, I mean I guess that's just what's something I heard. Yeah.
Christine Cooper: I would I would highly yeah, I would highly encourage you to read the tourism strategy it is actually a really good
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: document. And then the master plan has five documents underneath it, five separate ones, and there's The waterfront master plan, you know, you were talking about the waterfront, the waterfront and the shoreline, the downtown
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: master plan, downtown and the community improvement plan, the transportation master plan, the parks, trails, and recreation master plan, which I really would want to encourage you to take a look at since you were talking about the parks and the trails, and the wastewater and water master servicing plan. And these were all documents that were basically brought through this council. So, in my opinion, this
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: council has done a very good job about starting to
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: lay down that foundation thinking about the next few years. Now, speaking about the next few years, and I'm keeping my eye on the time I have been finishing up some of these chats with asking candidates what I call the rapid fire questions, where it's like, give me a yay or a nay. term limits and sunset clauses on counselors, yay or nay.
Frances Tupy: I guess nay.
Christine Cooper: Okay. The deputy mayor seat. Should it be eliminated in the incoming council, reducing the council seat by one sitting member? Yay or nay?
Frances Tupy: I guess nay.
Christine Cooper: Okay, speed cameras. Ford tanked on us. do you support speed like the speed cameras in the community? Do you support that?
Frances Tupy: No, nay.
Christine Cooper: do you have a library card?
Frances Tupy: I used to, I don't have one right now, no. Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: Okay, well you should get yourself a library card because the library is a happening place. do we need a bylaw for scooters? those have they're motorizing those kick scooters a bit. Do we need a bylaw for that?
Frances Tupy: I think so.
Christine Cooper: Okay. AI data centers. We're hearing a lot of talk about AI data centers. Does this council need to maybe put a moratorium in place so they fully understand the long term ramifications of data center applications, yay or nay?
Frances Tupy: they need to definitely understand everything to know yes.
Christine Cooper: Right. Do you know what Robert's rules are?
Frances Tupy: Robert's rules, no.
Christine Cooper: lastly, there's been a lot of talk on, local Facebook, everybody's got an opinion. should the Midland Butter Tart Festival, which is in downtown Midland, should it find a different location in Midland?
Frances Tupy: I never thought about that. I'm not sure who wants to have it in a different location, but
Christine Cooper: there's some people who think it needs to be in Little Lake Park.
Frances Tupy: I guess that would be an interesting place for sure.
Christine Cooper: Yeah. Anyway
Frances Tupy: No.
Christine Cooper: Francis, you gotta thirty seconds to tell us why we should elect you to council.
Frances Tupy: Well, you know, I'm a fast learner, you know, I definitely have much more research to do, which is something I love to do. So I will get to the bottom of all these issues that you brought forward and I will have have integrity, I will be honest, you know, and they is somebody that I can trust, you know, to continue on, you know, working as a team with, you know, the council that we have.
Christine Cooper: Okay, Francis Huby, thank you for your time. And
Frances Tupy: Thank you.
Christine Cooper: I wish you the best of luck in the upcoming election. You've been listening to Conversations with the Candidates, I'm Christine Cooper and we'll catch you on the flip side.
Frances Tupy: Hello, Christine, and thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and this opportunity for people to get to see who I am, you know, running for Midland Council.
Christine Cooper: I'm so glad that you could join me today, Frances, because I don't know anything about you at all. People are saying, Who's Francis Tooby? So here's your chance, Francis. Why don't you take a couple of minutes and tell us a little bit about yourself and then tell us why you've decided to run in this election?
Frances Tupy: Okay, well, I'm a country girl at heart, you know, and I love the outdoors. You know, I grew up on a family farm, you know, that had the Bruce Trail and fishing and swimming and hiking all right there. but now I'm a PSW. I work in the bid the Barry and the Midland areas. And but before that I worked in Toronto's downtown financial district managing trade settlements, you know, which know, I needed to have like strong fiscal oversight and you know skills such as being detail oriented and working in a high-risk, time-sensitive environment. And of course, growing up on a farm, I learned the value of hard work early. I have lived in the Greater Toronto U area for many years, you know, and then Barry for about 18 years. And I moved to Midland about four years ago, you know, bringing my mother and my sons with me. And this was actually in part an a affordable housing decision, you know, I knew then that there was gonna be something, you know, going on with the real estate market. So I knew that my grandmother grew up in Midland, but I didn't know until my father told me after I moved here that we're actually descendants of an original founder from and also an early settler from eighteen twenty eight. So that was very interesting. I've researched some of that. And there's just such a you know deep sense of history here and that's just one of the reasons that has influenced my decision to run for council here, you know, to follow in their footsteps. you know, that they've done things to make, you know, Midland grow back then, you know, with land and, you know, things like that. You know, and just making, you know, Midland a wonderful place to live.
Christine Cooper: It is a wonderful place to live, isn't it? we've been here for ten years, my husband and I. And like you, I was down in the city and this is where we ended up and we have never regretted coming here. We absolutely love
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: it. Anyway, enough of my infomercial moment. Francis, quick question. Do you know what the voter turnout was in the last election here in Midland?
Frances Tupy: Well, I think it was probably like around maybe six or seven thousand, you know, 'cause it seemed like the I I looked at the mirror, you know, split and I think that I think it was about like Can't remember that one. I was looking at all the council ones and it seemed like you know 2,500, you know, was about what you needed to get in. And
Christine Cooper: Mm.
Frances Tupy: so the turnout, you know, of 18,000, I'm thinking it was around six or seven thousand people that came out.
Christine Cooper: the turnout was 35% of the
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: voting population in Midland. It also was the lowest turnout in Midland's history. Now, to be fair, it was during the pandemic, but on that side of it, it was the first time that Midland had moved into online and telephone voting. And and they're doing it again in this election. And one of the reasons I sort of took this. conversations with the candidates up was because I'm trying to push the needle back a little bit and get people
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: to come aboard and engage. Do you have any thoughts why there's so much apathy around voting these days? we're seeing particularly in Ontario, both the the municipal and the provincial election turnouts were just terribly low. I just wondered if you had any thoughts about Why people are tuning out from voting?
Frances Tupy: Well, I mean, they don't really feel like the it makes a difference, you know, sometimes, you know, which party you vote for, you know, that they feel like if there's something that's that is an item that's gonna be, you know, put through, it doesn't really matter which, you know, party is in there and and that you know, so that's like a big part of it. And
Christine Cooper: Right. Well, you know what, Francis? Actually, it's funny because when people say to me, my vote doesn't count. For me, at the municipal level, your vote has more clout than any
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: other level, because at the provincial and the federal level, those seats are won by 10,000, 20,000 votes. In the municipal level, because you had mentioned like you need 2,500, pretty much 2,500 votes. At the municipal level, three or four votes will get you could win you a like more
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: can win you a seat. So that one vote has a lot of kick to it. So can you tell me the municipality is responsible for certain things and the county is the county of Simcoe is responsible for certain things. Do you know who is responsible for what?
Frances Tupy: Well I'm just you know crash current crash learning everything right now because I haven't been in a political, you know, arena. But you know, things like you know, the infrastructure, the you know, the roads, the the water systems, you know, our parks and things like that are you know of municipal and you know county. I'm, you know, or definitely would be, you know, the highways between towns, I guess, would be, you know, county and I know that there's definitely things that the county will bring down that they want, you know, council to look at. But I think that being on council, you know, you need to always make sure that we're not forgetting that things should be coming from the people up as well. But I know I don't know. And I guess I'll have to, you know, research more into what is county and what is municipal.
Christine Cooper: Well, as you said, this is your first time running and I would highly encourage you to make sure that you understand who has what responsibilities because there's been a lot of conflating by different people online about, you know, who's gonna do what and people saying, Well, well, I when I if I'm on council I'm gonna do this and you're like you know that the municipality isn't responsible for these things. So I just to give you a quick insight. The county is social services and assistance, health care, long term care, senior care, waste management. You're our garbage pickup. That's county. and you mentioned the road network. And regional culture and tourism is big because tourism is big for us, right? And high level planning. So those are planning applications that are, as I said, much higher level. And for the municipality, Water and sewage, I think you had maybe mentioned that. Emergency and protective services. Protective services are police, fire, the ambulances are managed by the county, parks and rec and culture, local roads and infrastructure. Again, you mentioned that, and zoning and land use, land planning. So there's that. It's always good to know the who does what thing, don't you think? Yeah, I always think so. Anyway, Francis, do you have some priorities? platform, what you feel should be a focus for this council? could you share those thoughts with me?
Frances Tupy: Sure. well, anything to do with the environment, you know, because like I said, I enjoy, you know, doing things outdoors. So, you know, to make sure that the that our parks and our forests and our hiking trails and things that are, you know, that we all like to use here, you know, being residents here, you know, in our green spaces, you know, you know, anything that we can do for our water and you know, and the air that we breathe, you know. Those are all things that are important for, you know, our future, you know, and you know, I had lots of people that I went to, you know, door to door, you know, which I enjoyed doing that as well. you know, want to be able to use Little Lake again, you know, and there's, you know, you know, is there anything that we can do to try and, you know, help out some of these things? You know, does that fall under, you know, municipal, you know, worrying about our parks and things like that? And yeah.
Christine Cooper: Yeah, absolutely it does. And you mentioned Little Lake and and I I'm not sure if you're aware, but they've done quite a few projects in Little Lake. They've done
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: all sorts of things over there. And actually Bill Gordon mentioned that what they're really gonna focus on in Little Lake right now is the geese problem because the
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: the geese poop is causing so much damage and is causing the algae blooms in the water so they're gonna deal with that. So I'm glad that you mentioned it. so environment, parks and recreation, anything else?
Frances Tupy: well, you know, the safety, because you know, Little Lake again, you know, has come under scrutiny for you know, vandalism happening in the park, you know, and also just safety downtown Midland, you know, I did some, you know, reading to see what's been on council's agenda and you know, lately and and even just talking to my neighbors, you know, like just little things like neighborhood kids, you know, you know, cutting through your yards or people hanging out in your yard at night, you don't know who's there and I'm sure it's not the homeless people, you know, it's just, you know, I guess maybe just neighborhood kids. That's enough to make people feel insecure. So, you know, I think doing something like a neighborhood watch, you know, even if I don't get to counsel, it's still something that, you know, I would like to see our neighbors, you know, connecting more, you know, to you know share, you know, our the same concerns that we have with each you know with each other. And So, you know, and like how do we take care of that, you know? you know, we like to I I call the police, you know, if I need something. So we like to know that the OPP will be there and maybe, you know, since the town police aren't there anymore, you know, just to make sure that the OPP are, you know, fulfilling what they should be doing as well. And you know, and I just, you know I would like to be part of, you know, the discussions, you know, finding out what my neighbors want and the people that live here want, you know, making sure that, you know, those voices are heard, which is another platform item is, you know, just being there, you know, to talk to the people and bring forward, you know, the items that, you know, that we all want to have counsel, you know, listen to us, you know, and you know, it's very interesting to find out what the neighbors want. You know, and then I go back and I look it up, you know, and just see, you know, the you know, the news items and things like that, you know, seeing if other, you know, people complete strangers in the community are voicing the same things, you know. So I found it, you know, really interesting, you know, going door to door and talking to the people. And that's
Christine Cooper: Right.
Frances Tupy: just a few houses just to get signatures.
Christine Cooper: thank you for sharing that. I wanna ask you, you had mentioned earlier about some of the skill set you had developed in in your work
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: when you were in downtown Toronto. Can you share with us what you feel is the skill set that you can bring to council? And maybe quickly expand on what sort of lived experience or community engagement, volunteerism, any boards or committees that you've been a part of that could be helpful in bringing a perspective or even a different lens to this incoming council?
Frances Tupy: Okay, well, I you know, my job is a PSW, I am out in the community, you know, and as part of my job and talking to just really amazed at the at the people that that we call you know like that are elderly and completely functioning like great, wonderful people, you know, listening to the stories that they have to say, you know, have a lot of perspective to to myself. And any places that I have served. Well, I've I've done volunteer work you know, with with the church. You know, I did a mission trip. That doesn't I'm not sure if that brings anything back to, you know, municipal, but skills that I have, you know, if I was to just Yeah.
Christine Cooper: Well, empathy, it bring it teaches you empathy. And I think empathy is a skill that we need, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but when you said that about doing mission work, and then you said, quickly because it's people in need, People who need
Frances Tupy: For sure.
Christine Cooper: help and support and are these are crazy times right now, Francis. The world feels like it's on
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm, very crazy times.
Christine Cooper: fire. So having a good soul or a good heart is a
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: good skill to have, to be honest about that. again sorry for interrupting you. Let go ahead, let
Frances Tupy: No that's okay. But you're deaf but you're definitely right. You know, like if I was to describe myself, you know, and I bosses before have told me, you know, that I have, you know, like high integrity, that I've got a good moral sense, you know, and you know, brought up with common sense as well. And and I always seem to be able I would describe myself as a big picture thinker. When I look at an issue, you know, my mind is like going and I, you know, usually can see where that's going way down the road, you know, before other people I'm talking to are going like, what are you talking about? It's like, no, no, I can see where this is going, you know, like I'm a big picture thinker and and and just having a you know a good moral compass and listening, you know, listening and you know really hearing what somebody is saying or what they're trying to say, you know, and and not being afraid to come forward, you know, and and speak. that's something that you know wasn't always a skill. I was very shy child growing up and you know being not very confident but you know growing up one of the skills I think I got was you know more confidence you know and doing different jobs. I never thought I'd ever be a PSW and here I am you know for almost 10 years and and just you know I regularly have you know the people that I I'm taking care of or the nurses, you know, would say, you know, I had that one of the first compliments I got was a nurse saying to me, you know, you're like one of the only people here I would trust to take care of my own mother. And it's like, what are you talking about? I feel like an idiot here. And they're going, No, no, no. Because they could see something, I guess, that, you know, that I have. And, you know, just, you know, good communicator, you know, and you know, and I'm somebody that you know Definitely in the business and in the PSW field where you know I'm okay with being, you know, a good right-hand you know person, you know, being someone that let someone else be, you know, like the leader. But you know, if there's ever, you know, where it's needed, you know, I can instantly jump into being the leader. You know, an example, I'm doing a PSW shift and I'm you know casual, so I'm doing, you know, working for another floor. know, there's regular staff there. So, you know, I follow their lead because it's their floor, it's you know, they know the people, you know, I go there and I don't wanna step on anybody's toes. But I've also had shifts where I've shown up and I'm the only person that knows anybody there that they're all agency. So I've had to take the leadership role immediately and just, you know, run with it. So, you know, I can I'm I'm good at being in, you know, in both those roles. So I, you know, see that
Christine Cooper: Okay.
Frances Tupy: I, you know would be I think
Christine Cooper: Okay.
Frances Tupy: I would be good. And I've had people tell me that they thought that I would be good on council. It's like, you know.
Christine Cooper: Well, you know what? Here's your opportunity. And I I have to
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: say that it's a tough thing to run an election and it's an even
Frances Tupy: Mm.
Christine Cooper: tougher thing for a woman to run an election because women and running in politics is a whole different creature of its own. let's talk about some fiscal responsibility and budget management. since you're running for council, I'm going to assume that you're familiar with the current operating budget.
Frances Tupy: Well I saw that they said that we're running a balanced budget with a small increase. So I guess it's not exactly balanced. We're gonna have a small increase. but as far as
Christine Cooper: Yeah, I think it's less than one percent
Frances Tupy: So you know, so that's all good news because I know neighboring, you know areas, you know, don't have such a low rate of increase. but All of the exact things of what's going to what, I haven't opened up the budget and looked at all of the exact things.
Christine Cooper: Okay, so let's let's just talk about that for a moment because we hear a lot of people blathering about, you know, my taxes and fiscal responsibility and you know you know, they sort of try to hang this on council at times, but it's so it's a forty two million dollar operating budget, and fifty percent of that operating budget is public works and protective services, which is police and fire. And though those Those numbers are pretty hard and fast. They they won't
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: there's no flex. And then the rest of it as I break it down, community services and parks, which you mentioned, transit
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: and environment. You also mentioned environment,
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: corporate administration, agencies and boards, capital reserve transfers and planning and building. And I just wondered, do you think the current council is being fiscally responsible managing that budget?
Frances Tupy: Well, I guess I'd have to look at to it, you know, much more deeply, you know, like 'cause when if I do something, you know, research, I like doing research, but I haven't had a chance to research. I've been, you know, very busy since I decided to run and and looking at more of the the issues that I was gonna put as my platform. fiscal responsibility was something, you know, that I was putting on my plate to research more later. are they being res well, I mean, there's certain things that you know, reading what's gone on in the last bit, I would have liked to ask some questions. So I should have been paying more attention to what council was doing. you know, I don't know, is this a good strategy, you know, selling our what they call not used municipal properties? at this time. I'm you know, I would wanna know more information about, you know, all of that and I you know, I'm supposed that they did, but I mean these are all like in after the fact now, you know, things that I'd like to know about you know, the infrastructure that they're putting in, you know, where's the funding coming from, you know, you know, and differential
Christine Cooper: provincial, the the major infrastructure yeah, the major infrastructure projects right now, the wastewater, the water mains, that's being provincially funded to the tune of
Frances Tupy: Okay.
Christine Cooper: I think about thirty, thirty-two million dollars. They got some provincial grants. Otherwise there's no way that that infrastructure could have been looked after. Francis, when people are elected to office,
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: they often bring with them the things that they hold near and dear to their hearts. When I went to public office, I I was all about housing and mental health and addictions and long-term care and libraries because I love my library and I love
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: public spaces. but th certain things drive us to certain committees like when you sit on a council you sit on committees along the way. So I wonder, and they're often a reflection of your core value because you drift to the committees that you you want to be on, So
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: what would you bring to public office that would fall into that near and dear to your heart category and what matters to you personally that way?
Frances Tupy: Well, I think for me, the issues of the environment. So I was looking at different committees that they had and the the Severn Sound you know, looking at something like that. of course, you know, nursing care, you know, for our elderly, you know, I I work
Christine Cooper: that's a county responsibility.
Frances Tupy: That's a county thing.
Christine Cooper: Yes, municipality does not deal with long-term care. I didn't want to interrupt you, but I didn't want you to go out on it because it is not a municipal responsibility. It is a county responsibility. Long-term care, homes, senior
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: care, that's that's county. But however, with that being said,
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: I'm pretty sure there's some committees on the in the town that have are related to, you know, age accessibility and safer living and that type of thing. Because, you know, Midland's got several seniors organizations. The first one that comes to mind is the Ascanonia, right?
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: So as a counselor, when you're out there, you can sort of lean into the things that you really like and It helps to bring awareness to things as well. So anything else besides the seniors?
Frances Tupy: Well, I mean the homeless has always been, you know, a
Christine Cooper: Yeah.
Frances Tupy: place that I've you know, given thought to, you know, 'cause I always just had this opinion like for years that a person doesn't realize that they're usually only maybe sometimes two or three paychecks from being homeless. And it's always
Christine Cooper: Well, it's one paycheck away from being homeless these days for many people, right?
Frances Tupy: Yeah well the you know and I just just it's like a personal thing for me as well. And just you know that you know we're just always on that fine line. So I've always
Christine Cooper: Mm.
Frances Tupy: been caring for, you know, the homeless, you know, like when I was in Toronto, I did whatever I could, just you know, passing by I would, you know, hand out and just be observant of if it's the same ones and break my heart seeing a know, like a young girl. She looks like she just left home and then seeing her, you know, two months later and seeing
Christine Cooper: Right.
Frances Tupy: that she's definitely still not gone home. Then you know, it breaks my heart and trying to help, you know, what can I do? You know, then that was you know, that was long time ago. And, you know, and Barry mm.
Christine Cooper: Again though, Francis, homelessness is a county issue. They handle social services.
Frances Tupy: is it? Okay.
Christine Cooper: I think it would really right. Yeah, there are issues at they are issues
Frances Tupy: Well, I was just looking at the issues that I saw, you know, I went to the Midland site, you know, and I was looking at what, you know, k people were about. So mm hmm.
Christine Cooper: with no question, okay? And they are issues in many towns from coast to coast, right? It is probably
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm. But it's a county.
Christine Cooper: it's a difficult challenge. But I just wanted you to understand, I think it's really important for you if you're gonna run for council that you need to understand who's responsible for what. Okay. So
Frances Tupy: No, you're right.
Christine Cooper: with that being said, this council has implemented several things that I found absolutely interesting and absolutely forward thinking. And one was they released a five-year tourism strategy Have you had a look at any of that material? Because tourism
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: in a town like Midland will soon become tourism like in places like Collywood and you know the waterfronts of Berry and Aurelia. These are really important things right now. So I think tourism strategy, that was a very forward thinking move. And then they have their master plans. Are you familiar with any of the master plans in Midland?
Frances Tupy: Yeah, well, when I looked at the the website there, I I w agree. I saw like a lot of things that, you know, that looked, you know, very, you know, interesting, going, you know, maybe they've got everything, you know, to you know, taken care of, right? You know, of course there's always more information, you know, under, you know, the surface level. but I was like when I one of the first things I found when I moved here was just talking to people, you know, the fishermen on the the dock there at Midland Bay that You know, they were telling me that that there's a move to have visitors come from all over the world to, you know, the port there and actually be like a like a border crossing, you know, and then people would disperse from there to all places and yeah, that was something
Christine Cooper: What? What?
Frances Tupy: that they had talked about on yeah, the fishermen were talking about. So I don't That's not part of anything? okay.
Christine Cooper: Okay, I'm sorry, but you know what? No, no. No, there's the cruise ships that come in, that sail out of, I think it's Chicago, actually. and Midland has become a stop. And they're trying
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: to, I think they're trying to get Midland on the list for a couple more cruise. ships to come in because they bring money. People get off
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: of them. They're here all day and they go to the restaurants. They go to the the shops and the American dollar has you know, it's got some clout, that type of thing. So I wasn't really sure what you meant there about, you know, a port and a crossover and everything. It sounded like we were trying to smuggle people across the border there for a moment.
Frances Tupy: Yeah. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, no, no. No, like I know about the one in 'cause I saw the boat there, I think it was today or yesterday, you know, the boat there and I s
Christine Cooper: Yeah, the boat comes in like six times a year,
Frances Tupy: and then I see buses, you know, kind of regularly that are there and they're taking, you know, them around. but yeah, I mean I guess that's just what's something I heard. Yeah.
Christine Cooper: I would I would highly yeah, I would highly encourage you to read the tourism strategy it is actually a really good
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: document. And then the master plan has five documents underneath it, five separate ones, and there's The waterfront master plan, you know, you were talking about the waterfront, the waterfront and the shoreline, the downtown
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: master plan, downtown and the community improvement plan, the transportation master plan, the parks, trails, and recreation master plan, which I really would want to encourage you to take a look at since you were talking about the parks and the trails, and the wastewater and water master servicing plan. And these were all documents that were basically brought through this council. So, in my opinion, this
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: council has done a very good job about starting to
Frances Tupy: Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: lay down that foundation thinking about the next few years. Now, speaking about the next few years, and I'm keeping my eye on the time I have been finishing up some of these chats with asking candidates what I call the rapid fire questions, where it's like, give me a yay or a nay. term limits and sunset clauses on counselors, yay or nay.
Frances Tupy: I guess nay.
Christine Cooper: Okay. The deputy mayor seat. Should it be eliminated in the incoming council, reducing the council seat by one sitting member? Yay or nay?
Frances Tupy: I guess nay.
Christine Cooper: Okay, speed cameras. Ford tanked on us. do you support speed like the speed cameras in the community? Do you support that?
Frances Tupy: No, nay.
Christine Cooper: do you have a library card?
Frances Tupy: I used to, I don't have one right now, no. Mm-hmm.
Christine Cooper: Okay, well you should get yourself a library card because the library is a happening place. do we need a bylaw for scooters? those have they're motorizing those kick scooters a bit. Do we need a bylaw for that?
Frances Tupy: I think so.
Christine Cooper: Okay. AI data centers. We're hearing a lot of talk about AI data centers. Does this council need to maybe put a moratorium in place so they fully understand the long term ramifications of data center applications, yay or nay?
Frances Tupy: they need to definitely understand everything to know yes.
Christine Cooper: Right. Do you know what Robert's rules are?
Frances Tupy: Robert's rules, no.
Christine Cooper: lastly, there's been a lot of talk on, local Facebook, everybody's got an opinion. should the Midland Butter Tart Festival, which is in downtown Midland, should it find a different location in Midland?
Frances Tupy: I never thought about that. I'm not sure who wants to have it in a different location, but
Christine Cooper: there's some people who think it needs to be in Little Lake Park.
Frances Tupy: I guess that would be an interesting place for sure.
Christine Cooper: Yeah. Anyway
Frances Tupy: No.
Christine Cooper: Francis, you gotta thirty seconds to tell us why we should elect you to council.
Frances Tupy: Well, you know, I'm a fast learner, you know, I definitely have much more research to do, which is something I love to do. So I will get to the bottom of all these issues that you brought forward and I will have have integrity, I will be honest, you know, and they is somebody that I can trust, you know, to continue on, you know, working as a team with, you know, the council that we have.
Christine Cooper: Okay, Francis Huby, thank you for your time. And
Frances Tupy: Thank you.
Christine Cooper: I wish you the best of luck in the upcoming election. You've been listening to Conversations with the Candidates, I'm Christine Cooper and we'll catch you on the flip side.
