Dennis Doyle takes on Frontenac County warden role amid endless COVID.

Jeff Green | Jan 05, 2022

Dennis Doyle was the winner of the pre-arranged Frontenac County Warden election at the December 15 Frontenac County Council meeting. He talked about a few of the priorities he would like to see council pursue in the final year of the current council term, which he expects will be his last as Mayor of Frontenac Islands and a member of Frontenac County Council.

Three weeks later, most of those initiatives are a bit less at the forefront of his thinking as he has been immersed in his other major public role, that of the Chair of the Board of Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington Public Health, a position he has held for the past 5 years.

“When I first became the chair, it was not that hard of time consuming a job, but for going on two years now, it's been a lot more work.

“I to Piotr [Medical Officer of Health Dr. Piotr Oglaza] just about every day now, because of Omicron and what it's implications have been for Kingston, for Frontenac County. It has required public health to change our focus, and it has been really hard on the staff at public health, who have been working flat out for a very long time now. But I think we are at over 50% of the population getting boosters in the region, in just a few weeks. It's been a remarkable effort.”

Dolyle said that there is a lot overlap between his role on the Public Health Board and Warden of Frontenac County, because two of the major operations that the county manages as Frontenac Paramedic Services and Fairmount Home.

“From the county perspective, as we realised how transmissible Omicron is, we understand that if it gets into the paramedic services and we start having trouble filling shifts, what it could mean, and those are similar concerns as we have at Public Health as well.”

In terms of County initiatives, he has a long list even though he recognises that 2022 is an election year and progress on a lot of fronts may be limited.

He said that major priorities for the county were to implement the final stages of the communal services project, work towards four hours of care at Fairmount Home, look for novel ways to attract and maintain staff at Fairmount Home and Frontenac Paramedic services, work towards improved broadband and cell coverage across the Frontenacs, support and find ways to do more regarding protecting the environment, and maintain good relations with all of our partners.”

He also wants to see the county develop plans to attract more residents and encourage environmentally friendly ways to grow and support businesses.

Finally, he said that as members of council, “Our role is to set a tone for leadership, stewardship and respect, as colleagues who have been entrusted to make decisions on behalf of Frontenac County we do not have to always agree, but we need to listen to each others opinions in carrying out our responsibilities.”