Tiny Township is situated about two hours north of Toronto. It is what you would call “cottage country” and the township lives up to its name with a population of only 13,000 permanent residents.

Tiny is typically a tranquil place. But not these days.

Residents are outraged by a new, $28 million administration complex, which critics deem unwanted, unneeded, and too costly. Including interest, the total price could exceed $50 million.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the facility took place last Friday morning featuring the mayor and members of council. Even though this edifice is being paid for by taxpayers, residents were informed they were persona non grata at the groundbreaking. Translation: only politicians, bureaucrats, and members of the media were invited – not the people who are footing the bill.

Not surprisingly, dozens of demonstrators gathered at the entrance of the construction project, displaying signs and voicing their concerns about the lack of accountability and transparency.

Rebel News dropped by to chronicle the groundbreaking and spoke with Tiny Township Mayor David Evans. He said the public was excluded from the ceremony due to “safety concerns.” Yet, it should be noted that while the area is indeed an active construction site, construction ceased and trucks did not enter or leave the facility while the groundbreaking ceremony took place. It did not seem unsafe to us.

The mayor also said the new building is necessary because of the subpar conditions of the existing administration facility. However, Dave Brunelle, the lone councillor at Tiny Township who voted against the project, brought Rebel News to the current facility to tour the building. It did not seem to be in a dilapidated condition to us.

So, the question arises: what is the need for such a mega-project – at least by Tiny Township standards? Many at the protest say this is merely a vanity project of the mayor, a vanity project being funded by the taxpayer.

Things got heated after the ceremony when Mayor Evans left the site behind the wheel of his Ram pickup truck. He endured the wrath of the angry demonstrators, some of whom swarmed the pickup truck. One man claimed that his foot had been run over, which prompted emergency vehicles to respond. Meanwhile, the Ontario Provincial Police say they are investigating the incident.

If the goal was to anger the mayor, the demonstrators succeeded. Mayor Evans briefly exited his truck to give the protesters some choice words as well as the middle finger.

Tiny Township faces an election next October, with many predicting the mayor and councillors (excluding Brunelle) will be voted out over the controversial development. A petition opposing the project has nearly 8,000 signatures. 

Demonstrators believe a "regime change" could halt the project, but this would incur millions in contract cancellation penalties for the township.

Stay tuned for further developments.

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