Queens County Transit says the success of a recent fundraiser will help them keep their vans running. (Rick Conrad)
A recent fundraiser for Queens County Transit roared past all the group’s expectations.
The rural transit charity based in Liverpool held its first major fundraiser last Saturday. They teamed up with the Yuk Yuk’s standup comedy tour for a show at the Astor Theatre.
Gil Johnson, chairman of the Queens County Transit board, said it was a “huge success.”
“We had a good turnout and everybody seemed to enjoy the show and now the end result was is that we made a little over $13,000.”
Organizers were hoping to raise $10,000 from the show and a 50/50 draw. Johnson thanked the sponsors and community for their support. And he credited fellow board member Tara Smith with making it all happen.
“Tara Smith has been the driving force behind this fundraiser and if it wouldn’t have been for her, it wouldn’t have happened. She put a team together of volunteers and made this the success that it is, so the rest of us were just along for the ride.”
The service began seven years ago with one used accessible van and a team of volunteers. Its fleet has grown to eight vans, five of which are accessible. It also employs 11 people. Nine of those are drivers.
It’s one of 23 rural transit services in Nova Scotia.
Johnson says the success of the fundraiser shows people appreciate the services that Queens County Transit provides.
“It is now part of the infrastructure of Queens County. That service of moving people, keeping people connected one ride at a time. And people are starting to understand that we are there to serve.”
Johnson says the money raised will go toward their vehicle replacement fund.
“Right now, we have an immediate need to replace one of our older vehicles that’s costing us as much in the garage as it does to get it down the road.”
If you need a ride on Queens County Transit, they ask that you contact them at least 24 hours in advance by contacting them at 902-356-2670, by email at info@queenscountytransit.ca or message them on Facebook.
Donna Croft and Gil Johnson of Queens County Transit in Liverpool are gearing up the group’s Yuk Yuk’s fundraiser at the Astor Theatre on Saturday. (Rick Conrad)
Queens County Transit got on the road seven years ago with one used wheelchair-accessible van catering mostly to seniors in Liverpool.
“When we started out, we had one old used wheelchair-accessible van that we got from over in Clare. And I think it was in the garage more than it was on the road,” says chairman Gil Johnson.
Now, the community organization based in Liverpool provides affordable transportation around Queens County and beyond.
It’s one of 23 rural transit services around Nova Scotia.
The Queens County Transit fleet has grown to eight vans, five of which are accessible. And it employs 11 people, nine of whom are drivers.
Ridership is up too, by almost 30 per cent over the past two years. In 2023/24, the service completed 8,218 trips. About three-quarters of those were for seniors. Ridership so far this year is up by more than 1,000, with only half of overall passengers seniors.
But with increased popularity come increased costs.
“Without community support we would be dead in the water, we wouldn’t be operating,” Johnson says.
“Seven years ago, Queens County was one of four counties in the province that did not have a transit system. Today, we’re one of the leaders and we’re proud of that and we want to be able to keep going but we can’t do it without funding partners, fundraisers. ”
That’s why Queens County Transit has organized its first major fundraiser at the Astor Theatre for this Saturday, May 3. They’ve teamed up with the Yuk Yuk’s standup comedy tour for a show at the historic theatre at 7:30.
Comedians Francois Weber, Andrew Evans and Ian Black are set to hit the Astor stage.
“That’s going to be a good event,” Johnson says. “It’s going to be something new. Yuk Yuk’s haven’t been to Liverpool in quite some time.”
They’re also planning a silent auction at the event.
Queens County Transit gets about 35 per cent of its operational funding from the province and some other funding from the Region of Queens.
That funding and community support are vital so that the service can continue to offer rides to residents at reasonable rates.
A round trip within Liverpool, Brooklyn or Milton costs $10. That goes up to about $15 for longer rides to other areas of the county.
But the service also offers much-needed subsidized rides for medical trips to Queens General Hospital in Liverpool or to Halifax.
Manager Donna Croft says that through funding from the Queens General Hospital Foundation, it can offer a round-trip to an appointment in Halifax for as little as $100. The full cost is usually $160.
“It’s not only the seniors we’re catering to,” Croft says. “We’re catering to all ages. Say a mom with an infant has to go to the city to the IWK and she has no means of getting there or she has to wait for an ambulance to take them through. We have the monies through (the hospital foundation) that we can do that drive for them to get her to the IWK.”
“That’s a huge piece of the mandate of community transit, is to be able to get people to those appointments in an affordable fashion because it goes back to our funding partners,” Johnson says. “They’re the ones who help us subsidize those rides. But if you wanted to rent Queens County Transit to go shopping just on your own or to go for a drive, that’s available as well. It wouldn’t be subsidized. It would be fully funded out of pocket.”
Tickets are still available for the Yuk Yuk’s comedy fundraiser through the Astor Theatre box office or Ticketpro.ca.
And if you need a ride on Queens County Transit, they ask that you contact them at least 24 hours in advance by contacting them at 902-356-2670, by email at info@queenscountytransit.ca or message them on Facebook.
Campaign contribution disclosure forms are missing from the Region of Queens website for some candidates in October’s municipal election. (Rick Conrad)
Mayor Scott Christian got the most campaign contributions of any candidate in October’s municipal election in Queens County.
He received just under $10,000 ($9976.44) from 49 declared donors, some of whom are local small business owners and landlords.
The biggest donation to Christian’s campaign was $1,000 from Chad Clothier, who co-owns Rumclo Developments. They’re behind the already approved housing development The Point on the Mersey. They plan to build up to 146 detached houses and townhouses, as well as 82 rental apartments just outside Liverpool.
Christian told QCCR he believes his campaign raised just over $10,000 in total, including small donations that don’t have to be declared.
“I’m really proud of the amount of money that my team was able to fundraise and it did come from a pretty diverse swath of people. There were a lot of dribs and drabs contributions as well. I think my biggest contribution was $1,000 and my smallest contribution I think was a toonie.”
Christian said Clothier is a friend. He said he and his team began fundraising early, seeking donations first from the people they know, including personal and business connections.
“It shouldn’t come as a suprise to anyone who knows me that a lot of my social network includes a lot of people who are members of the business community. … I didn’t shy away from the notion that I was a ‘grow Queens’ candidate.”
Former Queens MLA Kerry Morash and former Region of Queens mayor Chris Clarke also contributed to Christian’s run.
Clarke gave $250 to Christian and to his opponent Terry Doucette.
Doucette declared $2,550 in donations from seven donors. The largest were $1,000 each from J. M. Reynolds Pharmacy, the company that owns Reynolds Pharmasave in Liverpool, and Mitchell Nauss of construction and consulting company MC Nauss Holdings.
Under Nova Scotia’s Municipal Elections Act, candidates had 60 days after the Oct. 19 election to file their contribution disclosure statements, even if they accepted no donations.
Everybody who runs must declare any donations over $50, or check a box confirming that they received no contributions.
Failure to do that can result in a fine of up to $2,500 or six months in jail.
Also, if candidates don’t submit a disclosure form, they forfeit their $200 deposit.
Disclosure statements from only 11 of the 19 candidates are posted on the Region of Queens website. Christian and Doucette were among the candidates who filed their disclosures on time. All other councillors except Jack Fancy met the deadline.
When QCCR recently asked Fancy about it, his disclosure form was posted the next week. He had no contributions over $50 to declare.
The region says all forms that were submitted have been posted.
QCCR reached out to the candidates whose forms are missing. Those who could be contacted said they had no contributions to declare, but said they filed the necessary paperwork with returning officer Ian Kent.
Kent is an employee with Elections Nova Scotia, who was seconded to the municipality for the election. He could not be reached for comment.
Paul Deveau, who ran against Fancy in October’s election, said he filed the necessary paperwork and got his deposit back. But his disclosure form is not on the site.
“That’s kind of weird because I found it very professional and I found that Ian took his job quite seriously,” Deveau said.
“We had an exit meeting. And with the exit meeting, we had to return the voter list … and sign a declaration that we were going to remove all of our signs and we had to fill out that contribution sheet.”
Most candidates contacted said they were told they had to submit a campaign contribution disclosure form.
But some said they either couldn’t remember what forms they signed after the election or they didn’t submit a form because they had no donations to declare.
Candidate Gil Johnson said he got his deposit back, so he thought he did everything that was required.
“The reason I didn’t file was because I didn’t receive any contributions and didn’t know I needed to check the box.”
Coun. Stewart Jenkins, who was acclaimed in his district, said returning officer Kent had a checklist of the things he was required to submit.
“I was told to file a form, which I did, even though I didn’t have any contributions to claim,” Jenkins said.
A spokesman for the Department of Municipal Affairs said in an email that it’s up to the municipality to make sure candidates comply.
“It is the municipality’s responsibility to address situations where an elected municipal official is not in compliance with requirements surrounding disclosure statements, and the province expects candidates to comply.”
Under the Municipal Elections Act, the municipal clerk is supposed to keep track of all documents related to the election.
Mayor Scott Christian told QCCR he asked about the missing documentation and was told by now former municipal clerk Pam Lovelace that everything that was submitted to the region has been posted to their website.
He said he was unsure why not all forms are posted, though he added that the region’s deputy returning officer has been on leave for some time.
Here is a list of the candidates whose campaign contribution disclosure forms aren’t posted yet to the Region of Queens website:
