Short-term rentals
I have a personal interest in this issue and I say so plainly. The question for council is a fiscal one: what the enforcement program costs, what it collects, and whether that is the best use of the money.
Read this first
I own lakeshore property and have been in a dispute with the Township over short-term rental by-laws and Administrative Monetary Penalties. The STR by-law is broken and has placed Wainfleet at risk for severe damages based on the current litigation. I will not partake in any conflict of interest in this matter: I will have a third party from the province make recommendations on what I can and cannot do. Full details on the Disclosures page.
I have a positive and simple solution to improve the botched STR by-laws that I will present to the mayor and the other councillors for their consideration. The STR by-law was not designed in good faith. It was designed to eliminate short-term rentals and punish 95 percent of the honest operators, as stated by Councillor John MacLellan. This caused loss of income to Wainfleet residents and businesses. Restaurants, chocolate shops, ice cream parlors, mini-putts, farm stands, cleaners, landscapers, handy people, real estate agents and more were harmed financially by this by-law, and it needs to be fixed.
The fiscal facts
The 2026 budget carries $100,000 in by-law legal fees, $84,100 in STR program wages and $28,620 in STR benefits. STR fines collected in 2024 were $277,155 against a $30,000 budget. By-law legal fees over 2023 to 2025 were about $458,000.
What I will say, and what I won't
I will say that an enforcement program that costs this much and is feared by residents deserves the same line-by-line review as every other program. I will not vote on it, and I will not use a council seat to pursue a personal matter. Residents who disagree with me on STRs can still trust that I will recuse where the law requires it.