Danielle Ward - South Dundas Councillor

03/09/2025

Happy International Women’s Day to all:
- the women paving the way into the future
- the women pioneering new ideas, new perspectives, and cultures
- the women not just pushing the glass ceiling, but shattering it
- the women building bridges, mending fences, and putting down stepping stones
- the women who are killing it in the business world
- the women teaching the future that there is no such thing as you can’t or you won’t
- the women working in every field, undiscouraged and untamed
- the female athletes and coaches pushing boundaries and setting records
- the women nurturing our young, old, and sick
- the women who have or are raising men who admire, appreciate, and support women
- the women working tirelessly to make this world a better and more equal place for everyone

To all the women in my life- the ones i know, the ones who have touched my life and forever changed it, and the ones im about to meet and learn from- cheers to us, cheers to our future, and cheers to being a Woman! 🍻🌹🌺🪻🌷

03/06/2025

Talk about a developer working with a community- to help it build itself- to help it become its own sense of place and belonging!

These students will get the opportunity to learn real world skills while building our community and helping us grow!

Pride in workmanship and sense of place will certainly be huge benefits- maybe they can tell their kids about the time they helped frame a house or laid a shingle on a roof in this sudivision- or maybe they will even be able to buy one one day and raise their family in a house they built!

Thank you to everyone involved in thinking outside the box, thank you for including and involving our youth- and thank you for investing in us!

We can’t wait to see you grow ❤️

03/04/2025

We are entering difficult times.

Times I thought I would never see in my lifetime, times I had hoped my children would not experience.

Times where we look for answers or reasons and there are not any or if there are some- they are non sensible to us.

Times where we look to our leaders, friends, and neighbours, to step up and help us manage.

If you find yourself on hard times, or need someone to talk to i’m here, your community is here, and we will work together toward brighter days

South Dundas is the best place to live- and we will make it through this. We may not escape unbruised or unscathed….. but bumps, bruises, and scrapes build character right?

01/21/2025

Today there was a good session about recruitment!

And no not staff recruitment…. Recruitment for future leaders (which could be you!).

The session talked about the need for “good people to run for office”.

It discussed mentorship for councillors and mayors, training, education, and even mental health supports for tough choices/ consequences.

It was a good session as it discussed how we (the current leaders) need to spend more time talking about what we do, why we do it, and what we are learning.

We need to spend more time showing the public what is involved (the good and the bad), the investments, the partnerships and the creation of relationships.

We need to encourage people to run- encourage them to learn- encourage them to grow- so that we can continue to benefit from good leadership- because during tough times we could all use a good leader!

Imagine if everyone in Ontario, Canada, and the World all had the very best versions of our ideal leader… what a world of collaboration, innovation, and growth we’d live in.

Let’s make that happen!

01/20/2025

Today we had some ⚡️ “electrifying” ⚡️discussions with hydro one!

Why are we meeting with Hydro One?

💡 Rural areas in South Dundas are supplied by Hydro one- villages (Morrisburg, Iroquois, and Williamsburg) are serviced by Rideau St Lawrence Distribution (RSL)

⚡️Mayor Jason Broad sits on the RSL board- as our Municipality owns shares in the service! This also means service requests and upgrades happen a little more quickly!

🔌 New developments (residential, businesses, and industrial) are coming and they want to be in South Dundas! But we of course need power….

⚡️Hydro is an in demand service (due to the growth of housing in the province, electrification of transportation, and the overall demand for energy from the private sector)

💡We want to get ahead and plan servicing to ensure when the houses, businesses, and industries turn a switch on- the lights come on! (Planning for the future to ensure future success- and no black or brown outs!)

🔌The faster we can lock in resources to help us grow, the better it is for all (growth = growth in the tax base = less dependency on increasing taxes for the same services)

01/19/2025

I’m back….

After a long break from social media (for many reasons), I’m back to share my final years with the public in hopes it encourages/ inspires others to run for council in 2026!✅

🧳This week Council is off to the ROMA conference (Rural Ontario Municipal Association)

👩‍💼SDG Counties is well served by zone 7 representative from North Glengarry- Carma Williams!

📢ROMA serves as our advocacy group to the provincial and federal government!

South Dundas is meeting with 3 ministry’s/ agencies over the course of the next two days:
- Ministry of Infrastructure
- Hydro one
- Ministry of Natural Resources

After tough Council discussions for budget- we continue to advocate for our community-as it after all is the best place to live!

I’ll be sharing some of the things we learn and new things coming to Ontario over the next few days. You might even seen some familiar faces from other local municipalities- as we continue to work together to grow SDG!

12/20/2024

What a great opportunity to win a free pair of tickets!

We have a pair of tickets to give away!!!!

What a perfect gift these would make- a pair of two tickets generously donated by a local family!

In order to win two tickets to the best party of the year you need to:
1. Like Earl Baker Park Recreation Fund page
2. Tag the person you’d bring with you (friend, sweetheart, ball and chain, stranger- whatever makes you happy)
3. Share this post
3. And Tell us who your favourite sports team is below in the comments (don’t worry we won’t hold it against you!)

We will draw a winner on December 26th!

10/29/2024

Friday night we celebrated many community hero’s. Nominated by the community at large, these leaders are creating real change and growth in our community.

These hero’s helped make a postive difference in the community, some were businesses others individuals, and some just a group of like minded individuals.

Everyone that was celebrated had a story where they began and their vision to make South Dundas a better place, and all were able to celebrate with friends and family that helped them get there.

Please if you see these individuals in the community congratulate them, thank them, and if you’re able ask how to help. Together we are making South Dundas the best place to live!

10/22/2024

We want to continue to invest in our community and its volunteers because we know that’s what makes South Dundas a better place! If you or an organization you know is looking for grants or a donation for next year send them our way!

Each year, the Municipality of South Dundas recognizes the contributions of the community and volunteer groups and the benefits they provide to residents, by offering an opportunity to request financial and in-kind grants and donations from the Municipality.

The South Dundas Municipal Grants and Dollar for Dollar Capital Funding Programs are now accepting applications! Please submit by December 23, 2024.

To find the application forms and guidelines, visit: https://www.southdundas.com/municipal-centre/finance/financial-programs

06/22/2024

Today we spent the day learning about fire trucks, how to use a hose to put out a fire, and of course played bucket brigade!

We also were lucky to be alongside the Morrisburg Station as they received their newest truck! The truck will serve the community for 20+ years allowing an existing fire truck to roll into a much earned retirement!

Thank you to South Dundas Fire & Emergency Services for a great community event that many enjoyed- and thank you for making such a welcoming atmosphere for the entire community so they could learn about fire safety, enjoy a free lunch, and celebrate a great tax based investment in the community.

Rhett will see you in 18 years! 🚒🧯🧑‍🚒

06/19/2024

Tomorrow night is the night to give us your feedback on the Stategic Plan for South Dundas!

It’s a public meeting so you can speak up and share your ideas to build a better community!

In case you didn’t have time to read the strategic plan, here are photos of the three pillars and their contents to help you think of anything we may have missed! If you want the full package here’s the link:

https://pub-southdundas.escribemeetings.com/FileStream.ashx?DocumentId=13340

06/17/2024

This is your opportunity to:
✅ share your ideas
✅ voice your concerns
✅ make sure we are representing what you would like in the community
✅ be a bigger part of the community

Please know that we are genuinely seeking feedback- five alone cannot dictate the future of our Community- but all together we can make it a great place to live and grow!

📢Public Meeting Re: Strategic Plan📢

The Municipality of South Dundas have developed a draft Strategic Plan to help guide decision-making over the next several years.

Public participation is encouraged! This is your opportunity to ask questions and make recommendations.

The meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 19th, and will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the South Dundas Council Chambers (34 Ottawa St., Morrisburg).

Agenda: https://www.southdundas.com/municipal-centre/council/council-meetings