Kyle Thomson was born in 1972 and grew up in Belleville and the surrounding areas, spending most of his first 21 years in the area. He is running as a candidate for mayor in the City of Belleville in the 2022 municipal election, filing his nomination papers last-minute on the deadline day. He is the owner of Park Provisioners Barbershop and Haberdashery in downtown Belleville.
2022 election priorities
Thomson’s website highlights 4 “priorities”:
- Integrity matters & house cleaning: highlights his concerns regarding incumbent municipal leadership. Also details a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from local Medical Officer of Health, with commentary alleging that “they and no other health institution or scientific institution have a gold standard purified isolation to the virus [SARS-COV-2]” and that studies of lockdowns “point to the many years of social destruction, public disruption and worst [sic]”
- Health care & essential services: indicates he will add content regarding current health care and service provider issues locally
- Homelessness & social issues: identifies “Homelessness, addiction and mental illness” as current areas of concern
- Collaborative & cooperative communities
Store defying lockdown rules controversy
In January 2021, he kept his men’s store open contrary to state of emergency rules imposed by the Government of Ontario, which ordered non-essential stores to close for 28 days, allowing only for curbside pickup. He was fined $750, receiving a pair of court summons tickets from HPE Public Health Enforcement Officers and Belleville Police.
“I don’t think it’s fair, I don’t think they (Ontario government) know what they are doing,” Thomson said. “The lockdown is 10 times worse than the virus could ever be.”
Thomson says he received more than $2,000 in donations in a large jar on his cashier countertop to help pay down lawyer fees from shoppers who offered well wishes.
Political career
Thomson appears to be a newcomer to politics.
Personal life
Kyle is married to wife Lisa and has a daughter Lauryn.
Contact
Open Council commentary
Thomson appears to be drawn to politics for good reasons. He wants to use his experiences, including his disillusionment with the way governments have been run in recent years, to be a part of the solution. This is commendable.
Unfortunately, the problems he identifies are not in keeping with the mainstream. While his website identifies four priority areas, by far the most detail and energy has been put into a tangential section that seems to doubt the authenticity of the SARS-COV-2 virus. If this is fuelling Thomson’s run for mayor, we anticipate it will be out of touch with the lived experience of many citizens who have been deeply affected by the very real implications of the ongoing pandemic, as well as the collateral damage to the healthcare system.
Generally, Thomson’s platform is thin on specific details as to how he hopes to remedy the issues he identifies.
Over to you
What do you think of Kyle Thomson as a mayoral candidate for Belleville?
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