HaltonHillsToday is profiling every candidate in the upcoming municipal election. Up next - candidates running in Ward 2 (rural Halton Hills, Glen Williams and Norval).
Ward 2 candidate Peter Snow wants like to bring a little bit of healthcare into municipal affairs. A psychotherapist by trade, he would like to put an emphasis on mental health care not just for those in the urban area, but for the rural parts of Halton Hills as well.
Due to his background in social work, the Limehouse resident said he feels he can articulate what matters and serve as a “representative voice for the rural part of the town.”
One of the ways he hopes to tackle the issue of mental health is by focusing on development. Snow said he feels connection to one’s environment benefits good mental health. Adequate housing, for example, is vital to him marrying development with psychological resilience.
“You need to have a place where you feel like it's yours,” he said. He gave an example of a woman he used to counsel who lived in community housing, which stressed her out greatly. When the stress got too high, she decided one day to stretch her income and get a place of her own.
“It was like night and day,” he said about her improved mental state. “It just speaks to how important having a place of your own that you feel happy with and safe in and comfortable with."
Snow said he's opposed to endless sprawl on rural lands, which creates more roads and infrastructure for the Town to maintain. Instead, he supports intensification within the urban boundary, including the creative use of existing under-developed land and mixed use development.
He said he would like to see low and medium-rise buildings constructed that could make affordable home ownership a greater possibility for local residents, and create a more reasonable rental market.
On the transportation front, Snow is calling for improved speed limits and safety initiatives in rural areas. He said he also supports an expansion of GO bus service and increased commuter service on the GO train line to connect people with employment and reduce the environmental impact of car traffic. He's opposed to the construction of Hwy. 413.
In the community, Snow previously served as board secretary of the Canadian Mental Health Association-Halton Region, and as a volunteer with the North Halton Distress Centre.
