The platform

A Stronger Rideau Lakes, Together

Rideau Lakes needs a council that works respectfully, plans responsibly and remains focused on serving residents.

My platform is built around six priorities: restoring effective governance, managing public money responsibly, maintaining infrastructure, supporting appropriate growth, protecting our rural character and improving accountability and public service.

These priorities are connected. Council cannot make responsible financial decisions without long-term plans. It cannot attract appropriate investment without reliable infrastructure and predictable municipal processes. It cannot earn public trust without respectful debate, clear decisions and honest reporting.

As mayor, I would work with council, staff, residents and community partners to establish a clear direction for the next four years while preparing Rideau Lakes for the next 20.

People at a lookout above the lakes and autumn woods

Restore Respectful, Effective Council

Rideau Lakes council must return to orderly, respectful and professional governance.

The mayor’s role is not to dominate council. It is to chair meetings fairly, help council work through disagreement and keep elected officials focused on municipal business.

As mayor, I would:

Apply the procedural bylaw consistently and fairly.
Ensure every councillor has a reasonable opportunity to ask questions and participate in debate.
Keep discussion focused on the motion before council.
Address personal attacks, dismissive conduct and disruptive behaviour when they occur.
Work with councillors to resolve serious conflicts before they prevent council from functioning effectively.
Respect the different roles of council and professional staff.

Council sets direction and makes policy and budget decisions. Staff provide professional advice, manage municipal operations and carry out council’s decisions. Respecting those roles is essential to good government.

I would also work to restore in-person council meetings as the norm while retaining virtual options when needed for accessibility and flexibility.

Council meetings are public meetings. There is value in having elected representatives sit around the same table, hear directly from staff and work through difficult issues face to face.

During my 25 years with Parks Canada, I received workplace training in conflict resolution and communication. That experience taught me that conflict rarely improves when people avoid it. It improves when people listen, understand the problem and work toward a solution.

After four years, residents should see a council that can disagree professionally, make decisions and continue working together.

Plan and Spend Responsibly

Municipal government must live within the means of the people who pay the bills.

Responsible spending is not about cutting for the sake of cutting. It is about setting priorities, demanding value for money and understanding the long-term cost before council commits taxpayers’ dollars.

As mayor, I would work with council and staff to:

Develop a long-term financial outlook connecting taxation, reserves, debt, grants, service levels and major capital needs.
Look five, 10 and 20 years ahead instead of confronting expensive decisions one project at a time.
Make the expected cost and tax implications of major projects clear before decisions are made.
Pursue efficiencies, partnerships and provincial and federal funding without allowing grants to drive the township into projects it cannot afford to operate or maintain.
Protect essential services and maintain the infrastructure residents rely upon.

Today’s decisions must account for their effect on tomorrow’s taxpayers. Residents should be able to see what the township plans to do, what it is expected to cost and how council proposes to pay for it.

Maintain Roads, Bridges and Municipal Assets

Roads, bridges, culverts, buildings, recreation facilities and other municipal assets are among the township’s largest responsibilities and expenses.

Council needs reliable information about what the township owns, the condition of each asset, when repairs or replacement will be required and what the work is expected to cost.

As mayor, I would work to ensure the township’s asset-management and infrastructure plans clearly identify:

What must be repaired or replaced.
When the work will be required.
What it is expected to cost.
The risk and cost of delaying it.
How the township proposes to pay for it.

Those plans must be connected directly to annual budgets. Not every project can happen at once, but foreseeable work should not be allowed to become an avoidable emergency.

The township should also keep properly planned projects ready so it can pursue suitable provincial and federal funding opportunities when they arise.

Changing weather patterns must be part of infrastructure planning. Heavy rainfall, flooding, drought, heat and winter storms can place added pressure on roads, bridges, drainage systems and emergency services. Infrastructure built today must still serve the municipality in the decades ahead.

Support Responsible Growth and Economic Development

Rideau Lakes should be a place where existing businesses can succeed, entrepreneurs can get started and appropriate new investment is welcomed.

The township can help by providing clear and predictable processes, reliable infrastructure and a willingness to work with people who want to invest in our communities.

As senior marketing manager with RTO 9, South Eastern Ontario, I work in tourism and destination development every day. I have seen how communities can use their natural, cultural and heritage assets to create economic opportunities.

Rideau Lakes has distinct strengths: tourism, agriculture, the Rideau Canal, lakes and waterways, outdoor recreation, small businesses, skilled trades, professional services and proximity to larger regional centres.

I would support:

Existing businesses and entrepreneurs navigating municipal processes.
Tourism and hospitality development that complements our communities.
Value-added agriculture and local food production.
Skilled trades, professional services, remote-work opportunities and small-scale enterprises suited to a rural municipality.
Stronger connections among the Rideau Canal, villages, businesses, accommodations, restaurants, trails and recreation experiences.
Village and hamlet revitalization based on local needs, not development for its own sake.

Responsible growth also requires planning for housing. Rideau Lakes needs realistic options for young families, workers and seniors who want to downsize.

The township should identify where residential and commercial growth can be supported by infrastructure and where land should remain primarily agricultural or rural.

Growth should fit the community, respect neighbouring properties and avoid imposing unsustainable costs on taxpayers.

I want Rideau Lakes to be a place where young people can see a future, not somewhere they feel they must leave to find one.

Protect Our Rural Character, Lakes and Waterways

Our villages, farms, lakes, waterways, rural landscapes and heritage are central to the identity and economy of Rideau Lakes.

Growth is important, but we should not sacrifice what makes the township special to achieve it.

I support responsible development that considers its long-term effects on agricultural land, waterways, infrastructure, the environment and existing communities.

The township must plan for:

Water quality and watershed health.
Shoreline development and septic systems.
Wetlands, stormwater and drainage.
Invasive species.
Flooding, drought and other climate-related risks.
The protection of agricultural land and viable rural communities.

Environmental protection and economic development are inseparable in Rideau Lakes. If we fail to protect our lakes and waterways, we damage tourism, recreation, property values and quality of life.

We can welcome new residents, businesses and investment while protecting what people value about Rideau Lakes. Those goals do not have to compete if council plans carefully and makes thoughtful decisions.

Improve Openness, Accountability and Public Service

Residents should be able to understand what council has committed to doing, what progress has been made and what major projects have cost.

If council establishes five or six priorities for its term, it should report publicly on them.

As mayor, I would propose a concise annual State of Rideau Lakes report explaining:

What council committed to accomplishing.
What has been completed.
What is underway.
What has not been completed and why.
What major projects have cost.
What challenges affected budgets or timelines.
What council’s priorities are for the coming year.

If something did not get done, council should say so.

The township should also continue improving online services, communications, permitting, payments, access to information and public engagement.

Technology should make municipal government easier to access and understand, but it should not replace the human connection.

Residents need meaningful opportunities to see, hear from and speak with the people they elect.

Good municipal government also depends on recruiting, training and retaining skilled employees. The township needs workforce and succession planning so institutional knowledge is not lost as staff change over time.

After four years, residents should not be left wondering what council accomplished. They should be able to see where the township is going, what progress has been made, what remains to be done and what it has cost.

Where I Stand on Current Issues

ALTO

I do not support the proposed ALTO high-speed rail corridor through Rideau Lakes.

I support investment in transportation and economic development, but those investments must make sense for the communities they pass through.

In Rideau Lakes, that means considering rural character, agricultural land, the environment, the Rideau Canal World Heritage Site buffer zone, property owners, infrastructure and residents’ long-term interests.

As mayor, I would ensure Rideau Lakes has a strong and credible voice while working professionally with other municipalities, Indigenous communities, senior governments and other partners.

My position is clear: I would advocate firmly and respectfully against the proposed corridor through Rideau Lakes.

Lower Beverley Lake Park

Lower Beverley Lake Park is an important municipal and tourism asset, and its future should be secure. Municipal ownership does not exempt the park from environmental, public-safety or regulatory requirements.

The township must determine what work is required, what it will cost, which approvals are needed and how long the work will realistically take.

Council should not make decisions based on assumptions or incomplete information.

I do not believe the answer is to close the park or undermine an asset that has served the community for generations.

I would work with council, the park management board, staff, park users and the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks to establish a compliance and financial plan with realistic timelines and regular public progress reports.

The goal should be clear: protect the park and the environment, meet all applicable requirements and use taxpayers’ money responsibly.

Strong-Mayor Powers

I believe in consensus and democratic decision-making. My preference would be to build agreement and make decisions collectively with council.

Strong-mayor powers are not a blanket authority to override council. They may be used only within the legal framework established by the province.

I would not make an absolute promise never to use those powers. They are part of the office. However, I would not treat them as a shortcut around council or a tool for imposing a personal agenda.

Any use of strong-mayor powers should be necessary, legally sound, transparent and clearly explained to residents.

I want to be a mayor who leads council, not one who rules over it.

Municipal Office

I believe Rideau Lakes needs a new municipal office, but the township must live within its means.

The current Chantry office has documented functional and building deficiencies. Immediate health, safety and operational needs must be addressed so staff can continue working there while a long-term solution is developed.

I do not believe the township should continue investing large amounts in a building that is not the right long-term solution.

A new office must serve the entire municipality, not one community. Council must consider location, future growth, the needs of residents and staff and the full financial and operational implications.

My position is to maintain the Chantry office so it remains safe and functional in the short term, develop a responsible plan for a new municipal office and proceed when the township can do so without placing an unreasonable burden on taxpayers.

The Result I Want After Four Years

Not everything can be finished in one term, but residents should see measurable progress.

I want council to have restored professional governance, established a clear long-term financial and infrastructure direction, supported appropriate housing and economic development, protected the township’s rural and environmental assets and improved public reporting.

That is how council earns trust: set priorities, do the work, report the results and be honest about what remains unfinished.

Learn about the man behind the mission.

Meet Steve Donate