Kingston News, March 6, 2018

Hotel Room Tax

Kingston City Council will discuss a 4% tax on hotel, motel and bed and breakfast rooms when it meets tonight.

The new Municipal Accommodation Tax would be mandatory for guests staying in Kingston for less than 30 days.  It would replace the current 3% tax on rooms imposed by the marketing group Kingston Accommodation Partners.  That tax has been disputed by many guests and people don’t actually have to pay it…but it still raised more than $1.7 million last year for tourism marketing.  The new tax is expected to generate 3.7 million a year and would be collected by the city.  It would be shared by Tourism Kingston and Kingston Accommodation Partners.

The city is also looking at ways to apply the tax to Airbnb accommodations in Kingston.

Airbnb

The City is considering regulations to manage Airbnb rentals…and how to include them in the new 4% tax.

It is asking for people to complete a survey on the city’s website and the city will hold a session for the public on March 15th in Memorial Hall.

A recent review showed 390 active Kingston hosts offering rooms for rent through Airbnb.

Inuit Speaker

The national voice of Canada’s 60,000 Inuit is speaking on Canada’s renewed relationship with Indigenous People at Queen’s University this afternoon.

Natan Obed is president of Inuit Tapirit Kanatami.  Obed is guest speaker for the Tom Courchene Distinguished Speaker series.  His lecture takes play starting at 4 p.m. in Robert Sutherland Hall.

Protest at Queen’s

A woman has been arrested after a protest by about 50 people over a controversial speaker at Queen’s University.

University of Toronto Professor Jordan Peterson was promoting his book and his opinions about gender and political correctness.  Kingston Police say a woman was arrested outside Grant Hall yesterday and faces charges for breaking a window in Grant Hall and kicking out a window in a police cruiser.

Caroline Mulroney – Kingston

The campaign to elect Caroline Mulroney as the leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party stops in Kingston today.  Mulroney will be at the Grizzly Grill at 11 this morning to meet with supporters and speak about her vision for Ontario.

Yesterday she had her father, Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, helping her campaign in Ajax.  He told the audience his daughter’s lack of political experience shouldn’t stand in the way of her leading the party.

Former Tory M-P-P Christine Elliott, former Toronto city councillor Doug Ford and parental rights activist Tanya Granic Allen are also vying to replace Patrick Brown, who resigned in late January amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

Crash – Highway 15

A collision on Highway 15, just north of Joyceville Road, sent one person to hospital with serious injuries.  Frontenac OPP say a northbound vehicle crossed the centre median into the southbound lane and collided with the side of a southbound tractor trailer around 9am yesterday.

Traffic on Highway 15 was detoured at Joyceville Road and Sand Hill Road while the OPP investigated the crash.

Electrical Workers Donation

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers…Local 115 has been recognized for a $10,000 donation for Kingston General Hospital. The University Hospitals Kingston Foundation held a recognition ceremony for the donation yesterday afternoon.  The funds will be used for beds in the Admission Transfer Unit at KGH.

The labour group has 570 members in the Quinte St. Lawrence region.