Rita Ditaranto For Ward 7

Time for a change. Time for a real voice for Ward 7.

Rita Ditaranto is running for council in Ward 7: Cookstown, Gilford, Churchill and every concession road in between.

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Vote October 16 to 26, 2026
Rita Ditaranto seated, smiling, in a yellow striped blouse
Rita Ditaranto, Cookstown
ritadward7@gmail.com Facebook

01 · About Rita

Why I'm running

I live in Cookstown. I have watched our grocery store close, with little sign of it coming back. One of the most basic things a community needs, gone, and nobody could tell me why or when.

The Shell station is the same story. When it closed, I didn't wait for rumours. I called the company myself in April and was told the station would reopen September 1, 2026. That date came and went. The pumps are still closed, and nobody has told residents anything different. That is the pattern that pushed me to run: residents doing the chasing, and still no answers.24

Every time I went looking for answers I found rumours, half-information and people arguing online, and very little that was clear. When I finally did dig into the reports, I saw that so much of this could be fixed if Ward 7 were a real priority at the council table. That is what I intend to make it.

I am also a parent. My kids have started working, and there is no bus and no safe way for them to get anywhere on their own. Our highways are fast and aggressive, and a young person on foot or on a bike is taking a real risk. That is not how a town should treat the next generation. Kids here should be able to grow up, play, find a job and build a life without having to leave, or without their parents driving them everywhere until they can afford a car.

I am not a career politician. I am a resident who got tired of waiting for someone else to ask the questions. If you elect me, I will read every report, ask those questions out loud and tell you exactly what I find.

Every figure on this page was checked against a public record. That is the standard I would like to be held to.

02 · Three commitments

The case for a change

What changes the day Ward 7 has its own voice at the table.

A change now

Four years of the same approach has left Ward 7 with the leftovers. New voice, new priorities.

Ward 7 gets its share

Cookstown, Gilford, Churchill and every concession road in between pay the same taxes as the lakeshore and deserve the same attention.

Not a rubber stamp

Read every report, ask for the numbers, bring forward motions and answer for every vote I cast.

03 · The plan

The plan for Ward 7

Four planks, in the order they get argued about: the money, the people it is for, the communities it lands in, and how I intend to work.

01 · Plank one

The money

A town on the road to its debt limit.

In June 2026 the town's independent consultant, Hemson, delivered a 20-year financial plan. Its findings were blunt: billions of dollars in capital needs over 20 years, property tax increases averaging about 7% a year for the next five years under current plans, and Innisfil reaching its legislated debt limit within about a decade.3 The town's share of your tax rate is already up roughly 21% since 2022,1 and this year's increase was held to 4.2% only by drawing on reserves and last year's surplus, a level of reserve use the town's own staff report calls "not sustainable."2

This is not a crisis yet. It becomes one if the next council keeps approving new projects the way the last one did.

A clear rule for new spending

No new major capital projects until the town is off the path Hemson describes. Core services come first: roads, drainage, water, fire and winter maintenance. Everything else must be paid for from money we already have, such as the capital levy, OLG revenue and properly managed reserves, and it must use the buildings and land the town already owns.

Maintain what we own before we build

Council found $12.3 million, largely OLG and development-charge money, for Phase 1 of a $48 million beach plan in Alcona,4 while the Stroud arena, flagged in 2024 as needing $23.5 million of work, got under $800,000 in the five years before it closed. It is still closed today.5 Priorities are a choice, and council made the wrong one. Cookstown's main-street program still sits unfunded.6 Fix what we already own before building something new.

No resident tax dollars for the GO station

The Orbit station is now estimated at $140 million, there is still no final financing commitment from the Province or Metrolinx, and the County is studying a new charge to help pay for it.7 Developers promised to pay for it. Hold them to that promise. The cost should not be shifted onto your tax bill.

Answers on the sports complex

Residents were promised a new sports complex. In January, about $13 million for it was pulled from the 2026 capital budget pending the Official Plan review.8 Residents deserve a plain answer: what has been spent on this project so far, what the town owns for it, and what the plan is now. I will ask for those numbers at the council table. Anything the town already holds for this project stays a town asset; it does not get sold off at a loss.

What InnPower returns to you

Innisfil owns its own electricity company, and it started as Cookstown's hydro system in 1917. In 2025 InnPower took in $65 million and paid the Town a dividend of $500,000.23 That number is buried on page 17 of the Town's audited statements, and most residents have never seen it. You own this company. You deserve to know what it earns, what it pays the Town, what it owes, and whether you are getting full value for owning it. I will ask for those numbers at the council table.

The numbers behind that dividend are on the Ontario Energy Board's own scorecard. InnPower's total cost per customer has risen from $897 in 2021 to $1,340 in 2025, up about 49% in five years. Its debt-to-equity ratio is 1.59, above the 1.50 the regulator assumes when setting rates. Customer satisfaction has slipped from B+ to C+, and only 58.5% of calls were answered on time against a 65% target. In 2025 InnPower earned a 4.87% return on equity against the 9.21% it is allowed, outside the regulator's permitted range.27 Its next full rate reset, for January 1, 2029 rates, will be built during the next council term.28 That is when a councillor needs to be in the room asking why costs keep rising and what residents get for them.

7%3

average annual tax increase planned for the next five years

21%1

rise in the town's share of your tax rate since 2022

10 yrs3

until Innisfil reaches its legislated debt limit on current plans

02 · Plank two

Who I will stand up for

Ward 7 is the rural and small-town side of Innisfil. The people who built it and keep it running have specific needs, and they have been treated as an afterthought for too long.

Farmers

Farmland stays farmland. No settlement-boundary expansion onto agricultural land; developers already asked for it at the January 2026 Official Plan meeting.9 Rural roads, ditches and culverts maintained to a standard that farm equipment and trucks can actually use. No forced municipal servicing bills on properties with working wells and septic systems.

Seniors

People who have paid taxes here for forty years should not be taxed out of their homes. That means holding the line on increases, keeping snow clearing reliable, fighting the July 2026 switch to distance-based Innisfil Transit pricing that makes the long trips west-side residents actually need cost more,22 offering regular programs in the halls we already own in Cookstown and Churchill, and partnering with the volunteer board of the community-owned Gilford Hall to bring Town-funded senior programming to Gilford, with the hall paid a fair rental that helps keep its doors open.

Long-term residents

The people who have lived here longest have watched the money go to the lakeshore and the Orbit while their own roads, drainage and facilities waited. They deserve a councillor who knows the history, reads the reports and fights for their share.

Local businesses

Fill the empty storefronts. Council approved a Community Improvement Plan in June 2026 that names Cookstown as a target area for façade, signage and vacant-storefront grants, but it will not start unless council funds it in the 2027–2028 budget, at about $4 million over ten years.6 I will fight to fund it, cut the red tape that makes small projects take months, and give local contractors a fair shot at town work.

Homeowners on wells and septic

Review the $142 septic re-inspection fee and what residents receive for it. No surprise servicing charges. Clear answers on any plan to extend water or sewer lines, including who pays.

Families

Safe roads near schools, recreation space that is actually open, and a town that does not price the next generation out of the community they grew up in.

03 · Plank three

Our communities

Each part of Ward 7 has its own problems. These are the ones I will take to council first.

Cookstown

Bring back the grocery store

The Cookstown Foodland has been closed since the fire of July 5, 2024.16 More than two years later, a community of thousands still has no supermarket, and seniors and families without a car are driving to Alliston or Barrie for groceries. The building is private, but the permits, inspections and approvals run through Town Hall, and in two years nobody has explained to residents what is holding this up. Two years without a grocery store is not normal, and nobody at the town seems to treat it like the problem it is.

Reopen the gas station

Cookstown lost its Shell station on top of its grocery store: two basic services gone from a community of thousands. When I called the company in April, I was told the station would reopen September 1, 2026. That date came and went, and the pumps are still closed, with no explanation to residents. I will find out what is actually holding it up, whether it sits with the company, a landlord, or approvals at Town Hall, put the answer in front of council, and treat it like the priority file it is. A village where you cannot buy groceries or gas is a village being left behind, and I won't accept that.24

Open for business

A councillor cannot recruit a grocery chain or order a gas station to open. What a councillor can do is make Cookstown the easiest place in the area to say yes to. That means four things. Fund the Community Improvement Plan: council approved it in June and named Cookstown a target area for façade, signage and vacant-storefront grants, but it is worth nothing until it is funded in the 2027–2028 budget. I will fight for that funding and for Cookstown's fair share of it.6 Give builders fast, predictable answers: published turnaround standards for permits and one staff point of contact for small commercial projects, so an investor is not left guessing for months. Publish where servicing capacity actually exists in and around the village, in plain language, so builders know where the Town can say yes before they spend a dollar. And treat our heritage main street as the asset it is: pair the Heritage Conservation District with the CIP's restoration grants so fixing up a historic storefront is a good investment, not a burden.10 Certainty attracts investment. A town that answers its phones and keeps its agreements is a town people build in.

There is also a hard limit nobody talks about. The Cookstown sewage plant was built in 1986 for 825 cubic metres a day. In 2025 it ran at 75% of capacity on an average day and hit 130% of its design peak in April, with two bypass events. An environmental assessment to expand it started in December 2023 and is still in Phase 3 of five.29 Until that plant is expanded, the Town cannot say yes to much new business in the village. I will push to get the assessment finished and the expansion funded, and publish plainly where servicing capacity exists today.

Protect the heritage core

Defend the Heritage Conservation District around Queen Street and King Street.10 Growth should occur only where servicing already exists.

Keep the Cooks Manor promise

In 2021 the Town signed a Heritage Preservation Agreement requiring that the historic Cooks Manor on Highway 27, also known as Hindle Manor or Ravenscraig and built around 1868 by the son of the village's founder, be retained, rehabilitated and restored before the condominium development on the surrounding lands proceeds.25 Five years later the house sits fenced off and visibly deteriorating, and residents who ask about it cannot get answers.26 A deal made to get an approval has to be kept. I will ask, on the record: what is the status of the developer's obligations, what work has been completed or scheduled, and what enforcement steps the Town has taken.

An accessible South Simcoe Theatre

The old Cookstown Town Hall on Hamilton Street, home of the South Simcoe Theatre since 1983 and now in its 60th season, still has no wheelchair access; the only way in is two flights of stairs.15 Meanwhile, the current Town Hall is being redesigned. Fix the buildings residents actually use first.

Fire protection west of the 400

Cookstown's Station 4 relies on volunteer firefighters, while the Big Bay Point station opened in 2020 with full-time firefighters on duty around the clock.11 I will put response-time data on the table and push for a plan.

Safer streets

Speeding on King Street North and truck traffic on Highway 89 through the core call for real traffic calming near the school: lower posted limits, better signage and physical measures that actually slow vehicles down.

Transit that actually stops here

Every Ward 7 household pays for Simcoe County transit, yet not one LINX route enters Innisfil.12 The Alliston–Bradford bus already stops at Highway 88 and County Road 27, eight kilometres south of town.13 I will bring the motion asking the County for a Cookstown stop and push the delayed Barrie–Innisfil–Bradford route to serve the west side.14

Gilford

Flooding that happens every spring

Gilford Road and the 13th Line are on the town's own list of chronic flood areas,17 and the Bayshore Road drainage project has been in the town's plans since 2021, with construction promised for 2026.18 Residents across Innisfil said again this spring that flooding is not getting proper attention.19 The town promised this work. I will make Gilford's drainage a priority at the council table and hold the town to its promise, in public.

Cook's Bay water quality

Cook's Bay receives the heaviest phosphorus load on Lake Simcoe, mostly from the Holland River, which feeds weed growth and algae.20 In 2020 the health unit warned residents not to use the water during a toxic algae bloom.21 The town cannot fix the lake alone, but its councillor can push the conservation authority, the County and the Province, and can make sure town drainage and septic policy stop adding to the problem.

Shoreline access

A proper look at public access to the shoreline that residents have asked about for years, and a regular ward night every quarter so Gilford residents are heard at the council table.

Senior programs at Gilford Hall

Gilford Hall has been community-owned and volunteer-run since 1925.30 The Town can still do its part: fund regular senior programming and partner with the hall's board to deliver it there, with a proper rental paid to the hall. Seniors get programs close to home and the hall gets steady support.

Churchill and the concessions

Rural roads, ditches and winter maintenance

Grading, drainage, culverts and plowing done properly on the sideroads and concession roads, instead of "we will look into it." The roads that connect Churchill, Fennell's Corners and the farms between them are the ward's main streets, and they deserve to be treated that way.

Churchill Community Centre

Another building the town already owns. Keep it maintained, keep the seniors' programs running and make it a regular stop for ward meetings so residents do not have to drive to Alcona to be heard.

The Stroud arena lesson

The 2024 facilities plan flagged $23.5 million of work at Stroud; under $800,000 was spent in five years, the arena closed in January, and it is still closed.5 Every facility in Ward 7 gets preventive maintenance before small problems become closures.

04 · Plank four

How I will work: not a rubber stamp

Council needs to lead. Ward 7 deserves a councillor who reads everything, asks the hard questions and gives you straight answers. That is the representative I will be.

Read every report and ask for the numbers

Before I vote on anything, I will know what it costs, who benefits and what it means for Ward 7. If the answers are not there, I will not vote yes.

Bring the motions

I will put Ward 7's priorities on the council agenda myself, in writing, and follow every one of them through to a vote.

Transparent on every vote

You will always know how I voted and why, in plain language. No spin, no jargon, no surprises. I vote for the people of Ward 7, and I will answer for every vote I cast.

Surveys with a "no" option

Resident surveys should allow you to disagree, and written comments should be reported alongside the charts.

Show up when something breaks

Water shut-off, road closure, arena closure: you will hear from me with information and practical help.

04 · Get involved

Talk to Rita

Whether you have a question, a road that needs attention, a lawn sign request or a few hours to help at the doors, please get in touch.

Email ritadward7@gmail.com. Door-knocking, sign delivery and phone calls are all welcome. Your details are used only for the sign delivery and are never shared or sold.

  • Oct. 16–26: Voting period
  • Oct. 26: Last day to vote

Check your voter registration and find your ward at innisfil.ca/elections.

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05 · Before you vote

Are you registered to vote?

Voting runs October 16 to 26, 2026. It starts with being on the list. Check your registration and confirm your ward on the Town's voter list; it takes about a minute.

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"Ward 7 pays its share. I will make sure it gets its share."

Rita Ditaranto, Ward 7

07 · References

Sources and references

Every figure on this page was checked against a public record on September 25, 2026: Town of Innisfil reports and news releases, council agendas, provincial disclosures and Simcoe County documents. Local news coverage is cited where the underlying town document is not available online. Select any reference number above to view its source.

View all references
  1. Town of Innisfil budget adoptions: 5.25% (2023) and 4.95% (2024), adopted Feb. 8, 2023, InnisfilToday, Feb. 13, 2023; 5.5% (2025), adopted Jan. 29, 2025, Town of Innisfil news release; 4.2% (2026), adopted Jan. 14, 2026, Town release via InnisfilToday. Budget documents: innisfil.ca/budget.
  2. 2026 revised budget: reserves and 2025 surplus used to lower the increase to 4.2%; recorded vote 8–1; staff report quote on reserve use, InnisfilToday, Jan. 19, 2026.
  3. Long Range Financial Plan, Hemson Consulting, Staff Report DSR-081-26, presented to Council June 3, 2026, Council agenda, June 3, 2026 (PDF); summary: InnisfilToday, June 8, 2026.
  4. Innisfil Beach Park: $47.9M total plan, $12.3M Phase 1, funding split (OLG, development charges, ~$774K tax-supported), Town of Innisfil master plan page; BarrieToday, Aug. 2026.
  5. Stroud arena: 2024 Facilities Master Plan identified ~$23.5M of work over five years; $791,540 spent in prior five years; more than $1M in emergency repairs reported to council Feb. 11, 2026; reopening delayed beyond November 2026, InnisfilToday, Aug. 2026. BarrieToday, Jan. 21, 2026; InnisfilToday, Feb. 25, 2026; Town of Innisfil news release.
  6. Community Improvement Plan bylaws enacted June 3, 2026; Cookstown named a target area; $4M funding not yet secured, BarrieToday, June 11, 2026.
  7. Innisfil/Orbit GO station estimated at ~$140M; Simcoe County considering a Transit Station Charge; County to proceed only once provincial and partner contributions are confirmed, BradfordToday, Aug. 2026; Town Orbit page: innisfil.ca.
  8. About $13 million for the new sports complex removed from the 2026 capital budget pending completion of the Official Plan review, InnisfilToday, Jan. 19, 2026.
  9. Official Plan review public meeting, Jan. 2026: developer requests to add lands near Cookstown to the settlement boundary, BarrieToday, Jan. 30, 2026.
  10. Cookstown Heritage Conservation District, Town of Innisfil.
  11. Fire stations: Station 4 is 23 King St. N., Cookstown; the Town recruits volunteer firefighters for all stations, Town of Innisfil, Fire & Rescue. Big Bay Point station opened in 2020 staffed by four full-time firefighters around the clock plus volunteers, BarrieToday, Feb. 9, 2020.
  12. No Simcoe County LINX route enters Innisfil, LINX Routes & Schedules; BarrieToday, Aug. 30, 2022.
  13. LINX Route 5 (Alliston–Bradford) stop at County Road 88 / County Road 27, Simcoe County, Route 5 schedule.
  14. LINX Route 7 (Barrie–Innisfil–Bradford) postponed 18–24 months due to bus delivery, Barrie 360, May 14, 2025.
  15. South Simcoe Theatre accessibility: "not wheelchair accessible… accessed via two sets of stairs," thesouthsimcoetheatre.com.
  16. Cookstown Foodland fire, Queen Street plaza, July 5, 2024; store closed indefinitely; no reopening date as of early 2025, InnisfilToday, July 5, 2024; InnisfilToday, Feb. 12, 2025.
  17. Mayor Dollin identified the 13th Line, Gilford Road and Park Road among the town's chronic flood plains, Global News, Jan. 2020.
  18. Bayshore Road (Gilford) drainage improvements: 2021 phase of the Town's Drainage Improvement program; design 2022–2025, construction expected 2026, Get Involved Innisfil.
  19. Spring 2026 flooding and resident concerns, InnisfilToday, Mar. 13, 2026; road closures, Town of Innisfil, Apr. 14, 2026.
  20. Phosphorus inputs to Lake Simcoe, largest from the Holland River into Cook's Bay, Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority.
  21. 2020 Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit warning regarding a toxic algae bloom in Cook's Bay, Canada's National Observer, Oct. 4, 2023.
  22. Innisfil Transit moved to distance-based pricing July 1, 2026: base fare $3.25, Town subsidy up to $10, longer trips cost more, InnisfilToday, June 4, 2026; Town of Innisfil, Fares and Routes.
  23. InnPower Corporation 2025 results: revenue $65,134,413; operating expenses $63,157,177; dividend to the Town $500,000 (2024: $425,179); net assets $38,870,496. Town of Innisfil, Draft Consolidated Financial Statements, Dec. 31, 2025, Note 4, page 17 (draft dated July 23, 2026), innisfil.ca, Financial Statements (see "2025 Financial Statements"). Cookstown origin: InnPower, About Us.
  24. Shell station reopening date of September 1, 2026: personal communication between Rita Ditaranto and Shell Canada customer line, April 2026. The station remained closed as of September 1, 2026 (personal observation).
  25. Heritage Preservation Agreement for 34 King St. S. ("Hindle Manor"/"Ravenscraig") between the Town of Innisfil and Bomar 3 Inc., requiring the home to be "retained, rehabilitated and restored" before the plan of condominium for six single-detached homes and 11 townhomes proceeds, InnisfilToday, Sept. 25, 2021.
  26. Condition of Ravenscraig/Hindle Manor, fenced within the construction zone; developer Colony Park Homes states the historic building will be incorporated into the project, BarrieToday, "Then and Now: 'Splendid' Ravenscraig hosted lavish parties," Dec. 10, 2023; earlier council and heritage committee concerns about deterioration and "demolition by neglect," InnisfilToday, June 10, 2020 and InnisfilToday, Aug. 15, 2020.
  27. Ontario Energy Board, Scorecard – InnPower Corporation, 2021–2025 (dated September 17, 2026), with the 2025 Scorecard Management Discussion and Analysis: total cost per customer, leverage (debt-to-equity), customer satisfaction survey results, telephone calls answered on time, and regulatory return on equity (deemed vs. achieved), OEB, Scorecard – InnPower Corporation (PDF).
  28. InnPower Corporation, 2026 IRM Rate Application, EB-2025-0027, filed with the OEB August 14, 2025, p. 48 (rebasing for January 1, 2029 rates), InnPower, 2026 Rate Application.
  29. InnServices Utilities Inc., Cookstown Water Pollution Control Plant Annual Performance Report, Reporting Year 2025 (ECA #9741-B4GRWZ): plant constructed in 1986; design capacity 825 m³/day; 2025 average daily flow 620 m³/day (75.15%); maximum daily flow 3,435.8 m³/day on April 3, 2025 (130% of design peak flow); two unplanned bypass events; Schedule C Class EA (five phases), Notice of Commencement December 4, 2023, Phase 3 consultation held June–July 2025, InnServices, 2025 Cookstown WPCP Annual Report (PDF); all reports: InnServices, Annual Reports.
  30. Gilford Community Hall, 257 Bells Lane, Gilford: community-owned and volunteer-run, governed by local trustees since 1925; receives no operational subsidies from the Town and pays its own property taxes, insurance and utilities, gilfordhall.ca; InnisfilToday, "Gilford Community Hall a labour of love for more than a century," Aug. 11, 2025.

Corrections. If you believe any statement on this page is inaccurate, please email ritadward7@gmail.com with the supporting document. Confirmed corrections will be made promptly and noted on this page. Town council agendas and minutes are public at innisfil.civicweb.net.

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