Ward 7 candidate focuses on affordability and mental health

Brooke Rouse grew up in Uxbridge, but after marrying her husband she moved to Cameron. The couple relocated for a few years and then two years ago moved to Lindsay where they plan to stay. Being a newer member of the community, Rouse decided to run for council in Ward 7.

Rouse put her name in after realizing the current council doesn’t represent her. “When I look at council, I don’t see any representation of that demographic of young, working families, which is a growing demographic in Kawartha Lakes.”

On top of that, the 37-year-old (who works in real estate administration) wants to set a good example for her three children. “I’ve always told my kids, if we see things we don’t like we can just sit there and complain about it or do something about it.”

Her biggest priority is to make Kawartha Lakes more affordable for residents. Rouse said while she can’t change the price of groceries, “(council should) do everything in their power to work on affordability and not just raise taxes. They should look at where that money is going and what’s going to help the greatest number of people.”

As a content creator, Rouse can be seen online sharing the realities of what her family of five spend on everyday things like groceries.

Rouse also wants to address mental health and addiction. Five years ago, she lost her sister to an accidental fentanyl overdose, and it’s something she doesn’t want any other families to go through. “Addiction and mental health don’t care who you are, they don’t care about what your socioeconomic status is. It affects everybody.”

She wants to work with Kawartha Lakes Police Service to adapt a compassionate approach to this issue, noting that KLPS already does good work with their mental health and substance abuse outreach teams.

“Council needs to work with the police, different programs, and different levels of government to not just solve these issue where they’re at now, but to figure out the root causes,” Rouse said.

If elected, Rouse wants to work with the local school boards to get more sustainable food programs in schools. “There are the odd breakfast programs, and my kids all have snack baskets in their classrooms, but we need something more predictable and that helps more people.”

Rouse believes that Kawartha Lakes is ready for more voices to be represented around the council table. “The number one thing I’ve heard from talking to people is that they want change…I’m not going to sit here and say that I’m an expert and I have all the answers, but I’m not afraid to ask the hard questions.”

Kawartha Lakes Weekly is reaching out to all candidates running in the October 26 municipal election to give readers a broader view of the people seeking a seat on council. Additional candidate profiles will be published as interviews are completed.