Dwindling Numbers Celebrate Team Cornwall AGM – Gilles Latour is Happy, are you? By Jamie Gilcig

jg tcCORNWALL Ontario – Team Cornwall held its annual AGM.  Team Cornwall President Gilles Latour, who doesn’t reside in Cornwall; but in nearby Long Sault in South Stormont led the way in ….what I’m not sure.

Other media headlines stating “Dozen’s Attend Team Cornwall AGM”  are surely not something to be proud of.   Gone are the days of filling the big room at the Galaxy theatre or Aulstville theatre as seen from a video we shot below of a promo video shot by Liberal Provincial candidate John Earle that drew a bunch of ahems as the sound was missing from a large chunk of it (the education segment starting at the 6:25 point.)

From another very well paid media outlet in Cornwall:

Well over 100 community members and guests attended Team Cornwall’s annual general meeting, on Wednesday, at the Ramada Inn and Conference Centre.

“I can’t tell you enough about the great people we have here supporting and speaking positively about our great city,” said Team Cornwall chair Gilles Latour, summing up the luncheon meeting. “We’ve got some money in the bank, some great ambassadors, so life is good.”

Team Liberal Lovefest  Cornwall is something now that pretty much only a dwindling number of the clique belong to.  If you are not under the thumb of the machinery that runs the town most people don’t really want anything to do with the group which pretty much gives out hockey cards and brings in retired athletes.

The group boasted 444 members in a city of 46,000 and many of those members are not living in Cornwall (or paid members)

Team Cornwall also refused to participate in our 100 Letter event which the city also crapped on with Mayor Kilger in open council stating that by having the event on the City’s facebook page would be a security issue.  The event was to have people write in a letter to the editor about why they thought Cornwall was amazing and awesome with the top 100 entries winning prizes from local merchants.

Disclosure:  I myself resigned from the group until they cleaned house which they haven’t to date.

The Community Action Group shared data on Cornwall at a recent all candidates event.  Cornwall has stopped participating in the BMA Study.   In the last results from 2011 our city frankly….stunk.

We finished with the lowest per capita income by far.   With people like Mr. Latour and most of the Sunshine listers sucking off the tax payer’s teat the incomes of South Stormont and South Glengarry were nearly 50% higher than Cornwall.   When you have a small pool of numbers it doesn’t take a lot of movement to shift results.   Hotelliers Scott Lecky and Paul Lefebvre recently left Cornwall to build lovely homes outside of the city.

Essentially the reason to leave Cornwall comes down to taxes.  While I can understand why some give up and move to more pleasant and better fiscally run surroundings the hypocrisy comes into play when high level city management live outside of our boundaries while refusing to address the taxation issue that has sky rocketed under the Kilger regime.

Some other numbers from the 2011 BMA study:

Assessment per Capita – Cornwall is the lowest

Building Permit per Capita – Cornwall is the lowest

Fire Costs per $100K assessment – Cornwall was second highest in the 20,000- 49,900 group.

Police Costs were highest in the same group.

Transit – second highest, highest for special needs/disabled.

Parks – 4th highest

With a 5.25%  municipal tax burden Cornwall ranked higher than 50 of the other municipalities in the group.

Instead of focusing or tackling some of these issues the City of Cornwall stopped spending the $1,500 per year and participation in the study.  In some circles that’s called “Ostritching” .  It’s a petty and uneducated reaction to an issue, but then both Mr. Latour & Mayor Kilger refuse to state whether either actually graduated high school or received a GED?

Cornwall has a lot going for it; we really do, but we won’t be able to truly evolve and capitalize on it until we look hard in the mirror and take steps to move forward and that will mean cleaning out the corruption and clique.

Love fests are great things; but dishonest love fests not as much.   But pointing to great events not happening in Cornwall while we don’t have the same event is frankly…sad.   Pointing out to construction projects from 1,2, or 3 years ago as though it was last year’s accomplishments are sad.

We’re not Nero plying his fiddle while Rome burns, but we certainly are not changing our ways as noted in the latest Chem Tank scandal where the City is refusing to divulge what happened with the Trillium Distribution Cornwall Inc. disclosure of the lease to Economic Development in JUNE 2013 only to act surprised once construction had started in December.

I think not.  What do you think Cornwall?  You can post your comments below.

Can any city our size move forward when we pump so much money outside of our city and expect good results from those shouldering the costs?

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41 Comments

  1. Like Jamie said gone are the days of Team Cornwall AGM meetings at the Galaxy Theatre. How far will they fall before they implode?

  2. I saw the entire film and I will tell you what I think and it is something that we speak about a lot here at home in Ottawa. We sat down and talked about the future of Cornwall and for what I saw in this film it would take no less than 20 to 25 or more years down the road for this to happen. If this does happen down the road Cornwall will be extremely expensive to live and so much so that a lot of people will have to get up and leave since they will not be able to afford it. What we think here at home is that Cornwall will be connected to Ottawa just like what Milton, Orangeville and other towns are connected to Toronto by the subway and good roads. This is a dream and it takes very well educated people to make that happen and entrepreneurs and will no longer be a welfare town at all. I think that some of this can happen over time but it will take many long years before it does and taxes will go through the roof. I do know from all what I have been reading and listening to utilities, food, etc. are going to continue to rise and that there will be no more middle class – only the super rich and the working class and no more middle. These are great ideas but it takes big bucks. There is big hardship on the horizon and that kind of project will be many years down the road.

  3. I said it before to all of you that Bare Ass and his gang of thugs – clique are only for themselves and for the rich and they are not the ones footing the bill but you are. I remember so well when I saw the video that Jamie took at City Hall and when one lady who was with social assistance or social housing was asking for money and Bare Ass made funny faces about that. Bare Ass hates poor people and what he doesn’t know or doesn’t let on to the people is that there will be only two classes of people and that he will be one of the lower classes if he lives that long since there will be no middle class and people who are just millionaires at the lower levels will be one of the poor working class. There is a currency (a world currency) coming up in 2018 from what I read since the US dollar will be gone bye byes. The way that these rich crap has Cornwall set up you might as well be living in the burbs of TO and it will be unaffordable for the vast percentage of people. I don’t kid you on that at all. This is something that my husband has been saying around here for years that the ordinary little people will be booted out of Cornwall and will be geared only to the haves. People are going to have to wake up and fight for their rights or else they will lose them and I am not just typing this out but I mean that fully and it comes from all of us here.

  4. I find it amazing that you keep coming up with these doom and gloom predictions. A world currency in 2018?? Really!! There is no way a world currency would work. The EU had enough trouble getting the Euro introduced. There is no way some countries would agree to using a currency besides their own. The U.S. would never agree to it. And considering how many countries use the U.S. dollar as their currency or as a basis it would be too far a swing for economies to handle. I remember when the metric system was introduced to Canada. They said the U.S. would follow. They didn’t and never will go to the metric system. Agreed, we have to fight for what is ours. But some of us get tired of being told what to do by former residents who think they know what is best for us.

  5. Sweet King Cole! The only truth in that video, that was not a bold faced lie, was from those so bemused by themselves that they believed it. Jewellers in Toronto, come on. Mark Owen…..”crickets.” Lecky “picking” Cornwall….please. And great videogopher! Good job sucking mother St. Lawrence College milky bosom. This town is a shithole. If you don’t have family here or some form of oligopoly, earned or not, (Kanebs) screwed.

  6. Wow you and I and many others know that Cornwall is a real shit hole and I have never denied that one. If you ever listened to an elderly man in Cornwall by the name of Pat Finnerty look for his video on youtube.com which was filmed by Jamie Gilcig. This man tells the truth about the rich people run Cornwall and a lot of children go hungry. You all have to listen to it. This man starts off with one of his jokes but where he leads he tells you the truth. Pat has been in Cornwall since 1956 and like he said the town hasn’t grown one bit since then. What these rich people want to do is to build the town for themselves and if you take a good look at the marina 500 and take a good look at the ones who keep on pushing for those condos in the park that belongs to the people but they will not listen to any of us and are being dictatorial about it all. The problem is that the people of Cornwall are not awake at all about anything and are asleep in from of the idiot box aka the TV and don’t give a damn as long as their welfare cheques come in. Jamie is one who is out there trying to help you and the rich are pushing Jamie down. You will all pay being that you live in that shit hole but I no longer live there nor will I ever. People will be driven out with mighty high taxes that will be beyond your dreams and that I guarantee if they do get their way.

  7. The dollar is almost dead and nobody around the world wants it. Russia is going to be one of the countries who will bring it down. The countries of the Middle East are not trading in US dollars and nobody wants it. Even Australia is trading with China. Brazil doesn’t want it either nor does India. Yes there is a world currency coming and there will be trouble on the horizon but everything is very true. You will see global hardship like never before happening very soon. That global currency is their only hope. Everything has been tried so far and not successful at all. The rich people in Cornwall know how to manipulate all of you and it is so funny and sad at the same time. You all have no idea what they are pulling off and you will pay the humoungous taxes while they live in their ivory towers outside of the calamity that will take place.

  8. ALL cities have bad reputations for one reason or another. Try to name one city that doesn’t have problems one way or another. It can’t be done because all cities have problems. As Cornwall is a small city the problems are magnified. Some of us like it here, some don’t. It gets tiresome hearing the same stories over and over again from former / current residents on what is wrong with Cornwall. Personally I’d rather live in the country. But I won’t due to a few bad experiences with wells and septic systems. I’ve accepted Cornwall for what it is, my home now.

  9. @ Hugger. Too bad you had some bad luck with wells and septic systems. I’ve been in the boonies over forty years, and love it.
    God bless. 🙂

  10. Over 12 years of issues with wells and septic systems. I never want to do that again.

  11. Jules
    Pretty much any country can devastate the economy and the task is a pretty simple one. All they need to is incorporate a gold standard and print only enough to cover the amount. It is a little more detailed than that, but in principal it works.

    If you read Currency Wars by Jmaes Rikards it explains how in the new age war games, which are economical, a situation where team Russia decided to work with China to use a gold standard in a war game and it was disqualified. It was simply because it would flat line the rest of the world and the game was also disqualified at that time.

  12. There was a man related to well known people in Cornwall (not rich people but well known) and he moved out of Cornwall into the boonies after all the hell that he and his family went through. He had a good paying job in town before it closed and he told us that he would never move back in to Cornwall ever again. He was a young man at the time in his late 30’s to early 40’s and found hell for him living in Cornwall. Gee and I thought that it was only us older folks (my husband and I) that found Cornwall bad until I spoke with him and others. We became friends. Many people hate Cornwall and for very good reasons and yes it is a shit hole. Cornwall is well known throughout Ontario and the country and no not all towns and cities have a terrible reputation. As for living in the boonies I would take that over any day compared to living in Cornwall. As for septic tank and well water you have to have them entirely separate from one another and the septic tank has to be cleaned out every so often at least every 6 months to a year. The well has to be inspected as well as the septic tank. Well water has to be examined where you take a sample of the well water to the ministry of health to be examined and the well has to be filled. There is a great deal of responsibility and sometimes those things have to be replaced which is very costly. The life in the boonies is the best life there is.

  13. Author

    Just a reminder to all to try and please stay on topic. Thanks

  14. I have to object to what some former and current residents are calling Cornwall. I really have problems with the term s**thole. I wonder how they’d like their city called that. Like I’ve said before some people like Cornwall, some don’t. The same can be said for any town or city in the world. Personally I don’t like Ottawa, it’s too big. To me Cornwall is just the right size and located in just the right place, not to far from Ottawa / Montreal / Toronto if I feel like for visiting or going shopping if I can’t find it here. I’ve learned to accept the good with the bad, no matter where I hang my hat.

    As for wells and septic systems we did everything we could, everything that Jules pointed out. But nothing worked. C’est la vie.

  15. Jumpin Julie
    Can you knock off the Cornwall bashing

    ” septic tank has to be cleaned out every so often at least every 6 months to a year” Jules
    Sorry old girl but this isn’t right!!!!
    Many experts advise a family of four with a 1,000 gallon septic tank to have the tank pumped after 3-5 years of full time use

  16. I have recently received a comment from a friend that I made while living in Heshey, PA. I was talking about how disillusioned I have become about how I though South Stormont was a little piece of peaceful paradise.

    “Regarding small town politics – it must all be ugly. Having grown up in a town of 350, moving to Boston then Chicago, and now in Hershey – it is ugly everywhere, its just that you are always closer to it as it is more visible in small towns.”

    Perhaps ignorance is bliss and the closer you look at local politics and businesses the less blissful you become. Is it better to bury your head in the sand and hope that the powers that be do the right thing or jump into the fray and try to make your community a more equitable place to live for all, not just the privileged.

  17. Author

    It depends on the community and its core values. While there will always be egos and alphas, there’s a right and wrong issue that some communities don’t respect. It’s never really about the “bad guys” or “bad girls”, you’ll always have them. It’s about what the “good people” do, IE do they duck and hide or do they call those crossing the line out and correct the balance.

    What I find in Cornwall is that through fear, cronyism, and utter corruption we don’t have those checks and balances; otherwise we most likely would not have chem tanks on our waterfront.

  18. Jamie if you listen to that video again that you made of Pat Finnerty you would hear what he said that it is the “fat cat’s that run Cornwall” and believe me Jamie that is so mighty true indeed. The ordinary people have no say at all and people are mighty fed up which is true and others do have their heads buried in the sand and wish that everything would go away but it doesn’t not without a very good fight and get rid of those “fat cats” for good. As long as things stay the way they are the worse things become. Don’t forget this as well but that smuggling and pedophilia has brought the town down considerably as well. As for chem tanks and condos, etc. that these fat cats want to do they are doing it anyway and who is going to stop them when most of the town is unemployed and collecting their welfare cheques and sitting down in front of the boob tube with their case of beer and don’t care about what is really going on around them. Only those of us who are awake and want change care. I left because I saw people were not caring and just as I described and so did others of my generation – we lost all hope and it is the same feeling that I have today – no hope in changing Cornwall if the people do not stand up and demand it as well as to change themselves. I can tell you first hand that Cornwall was a great deal better in past years and that is the truth.

  19. As we have said many times….our Company will never support Cornwall. All movie credits are listed as “Seaway Valley!” Cornwall is blacklisted from any notice of any major film productions. Says a lot about this little unknown town.

  20. Okay, enough is enough. This constant bashing of Cornwall by former and current residents has to stop. Let’s put a few things to rest. Cornwall’s unemployment rate is about 12% which dispels someone’s claim that most of the town is unemployed and collecting welfare. Cornwall’s unemployment rate is the same as Kingston’s. I truly don’t understand people who constantly bashes their former city. We get it, you don’t like Cornwall, move on. There is no need to include a put-down in almost all of their posts. Cornwall would love to move on, but the continual bashing does not do the city or others any good.

  21. I do believe people need to be politically and morally educated before you get real change.
    On another site I pointed out it was a conflict of interest for the Mayor’s son to be hired.
    The response was maybe he was the best person for the job and why shouldn’t he be hired.
    Until people understand conflict of interest the “insider” hiring will continue. This isn’t meant to pick on this young man because he is a blank slate to me..but..in my humble view this hire was wrong.

    Its something like the RCMP under tight control of Justice Minister. When they announce no charges against Nigel Wright everybody “thinks” the fix is in.It is huge conflict to have RCMP under such tight control of Prime Minister Office

  22. @ Reg. You nailed it. Politics has devolved even at the municipal level to a blood sport. It would take a special kind of person to willingly jump into small-town or township politics. It doesn’t pay much, and you inevitably wind up with a bunch of people pissed off with you and your efforts. Good luck to you if you pursue a seat on council.

  23. Author

    Hugger why are you bashing right now? You are doing exactly what you are complaining about. You can’t remedy a situation unless it’s acknowledged. We have just gone through a term where our mayor hit the panic button because he didn’t like a t shirt – he covered up for his “good friend” who was allowed to retire instead of being investigated – we have the cover up the chem tanks, three whistle blowers, a net loss of jobs, an economy so anemic that the city is trying to hide it by not participating in ranking reports, giving out corporate welfare while attacking small business via brutal permitting and cronyism, and a media and public that hides their heads in the sands. While some commenters may be extreme in their opinions at least they are trying to communicate. Remember this is a city that actually attacked a program to have the public write in how amazing Cornwall is.

  24. So, just because I complain about posts I am bashing someone? I am not bashing anyone. I am just tired of Jules and others continuing to bash Cornwall with the same info in almost all of their posts. Can’t they post anything positive? It gets tiring reading over and over again about the same bad things that happened in Cornwall and the supposed bad things that will be coming to Cornwall and the world between 2016 and 2018. As for corporate welfare that happens everywhere. Look at the sweetheart deal the Ottawa Senators got from the city of Ottawa on reduced taxes for the Canadian Tire Centre. Small businesses have hard time in any city, not just Cornwall. Red tape abounds in government, whether it’s federal, provincial or municipal. Some businesses know how to cut the red tape others don’t. Cornwall needs to move on from its past. The chem tanks are here, so we might as well make the best of a bad situation. The panic button t-shirt incident was over a year ago. WE need to move on and make Cornwall better so we can hopefully retain some youth and get new jobs coming to Cornwall.

  25. Author

    Hugger we just posted a warm and fuzzy happy story. It was well read with some amazing comments. If you want good news it’s out there amigo 🙂

  26. I wasn’t referring to CFN posting warm and fuzzy happy pieces. I was referring to Jules and others perhaps from time to time saying something positive about the city and area.

  27. Hugger Bare Ass wasn’t the only one who got his son into the city and believe me there are others who got in with high paying jobs through “daddy deep pockets and name” and we all know them and one was Mayor Martelle’s son and that was during a three year hiring freeze. He wasn’t the most qualified and I can assure you that there were others and they were turned down for the mayor’s son. There is an elderly woman in Cornwall who can bring down the entire town and her son was on the Barney Fife PD and now he has another job in the city and I won’t name the name but we all know him. There are 3 other sons as well on city payroll. Croynism has been going on for a mighty long time now and it hasn’t changed one bit. Cornwall will never change until the entire population of Cornwall changes for the better. Cornwall is “little Chicago” and everything is swept under the rug. You cannot just say “oh that was a year ago or five years ago or whatever” the reputation stays and believe me it sure does stay as a stigment. Jobs are not going to Cornwall and most of the jobs have gone overseas and are not coming back at all and anybody with any intelligence and education knows that. I don’t know if you heard about this thing happening here in Canada lately but jobs at MacDonald’s and other places are being given to “people from third world countries on an H1B type visa” like what is happening in the US. Oh but you haven’t heard anything about that since “the toilet paper of record – SF” doesn’t talk about any of that. When you live in a village like Cornwall you hear nothing and all the real news is hidden from you including what does go on in Cornwall. People are more than lucky to have a very fine man like Jamie who is trying his best to get the word out. He too likes Cornwall for some odd reasons and is trying to improve things as best as he can by trying to wake up the masses who are asleep. You won’t hear me talk about much of the good things because the good things are gone and so is the vast majority of the good people and only a small percentage are left.

  28. Jules, yes I know about the croynism in Cornwall, I do not have my head stuck in the sand after all. Croynism is not a feature exclusive to Cornwall. It runs rampant in other municipalities, provincial and federal governments. Look at Kathleen Wynne’s brother-in-law being appointed head of e-Health Ontario. It happens everywhere. It continues to happen it the federal PS, as people have learned how to do end runs on the rules. Cornwall has to try and move away from previous scandals and try and repair it’s reputation. That will not be easy and will not be accomplished overnight. Anyone who thinks it’s a quick fix is sadly mistaken. As for the foreign worker program, yes, I know about it. But it is being abused by employers. It is supposed to be for jobs that Canadians can’t be found for. There is no reason for McDonald’s, Timmies, etc. to be using that program to underpay and / or abuse the rules. Perhaps we won’t hear you say good things about Cornwall, but perhaps try cutting back on repeating the same stories over and over again.

  29. I sincerely hope that Cornwall moves forward in a positive fashion. Unfortunately living well in a bankrupt have not province is a contradiction. The continuing increase in personal taxes, fees, and debt at the hands of the provincial Liberal Party ( not to forget the high cost of energy ) has bastardized my original plan to remain in Cornwall. I quite simply am financially better off just about anywhere else. Cornwall is following the Liberal legacy, which is not sustainable, tough decisions have to be made regarding services/demands and taxes need to consume less of our incomes. Less unproductive government and more accountability. Most people however really don’t care so success with these issues is questionable.

  30. Hang in there David. Andrea Horwath will be the Ontario premier soon, and all will be well.

  31. OMG I am in shock when I read Mr. Oldham’s post. I was wondering where this man went to since I haven’t seen his posts in a while. We are all feeling the pinch of McGuinty’s insane antics and this crazy woman Winnie the nutcase is continuing in his path of bankruptcy. There are people (the young people) going west to work on the pipelines and it is the only job around. The cost of renting a house in Alberta is $5K/month not counting utility bills so you have to make a bundle to afford it. The east coast has no jobs and that is why housing is affordable. California is bankrupt and people are leaving in herds going to wherever they can find work. Little Cornwall is situated in the best place where they have access to the bigger cities and yet no work. Canada is having a very hard time with trade with other countries. The cost of doing business is way too high and so are salaries and the only people buying homes in big cities are the very rich Chinese and such people. Canadians are left in the cold and the same is true in the US.

  32. I have to say something here and Mr. Oldham is not alone in this. Some years ago when I read the “toilet paper of record – SF” there was a gentleman from Milton Ontario (outside of Toronto) and he came to Cornwall thinking that he will be able to save money on buying a house in Cornwall. Well to his surprise he was in shock (he called himself Mr. Smith on the paper) and he said that he would have to look for employment to afford the taxes, etc. He didn’t do his homework to find out the cost of the taxes that the previous owner was paying and was left in shock. Now with so many years past things are a great deal more expensive and there is nothing in Cornwall for employment either and people cannot keep up with the expenses. Even here in Ottawa there are no jobs. The cost of things shocks everyone and people cannot afford a home of their own. You would be surprised how many single homes are rented. Many houses are for rent and for sale and have been like that for over a year and no takes. The cost of food alone breaks the budget. When you see cops like the Barney Fife PD and those of little Hawkesbury and other places here in Ontario making $100K and other people have nothing at all it goes to show you that plenty is wrong with this government and it has to be tossed out pronto.

  33. Jules……on your post from May 1, 2014 at 8:15 pm I agree. We have to stop this agreeing thing.

    As for the post May 1, 2014 at 8:58 pm I have to disagree. We recently bought a house here and I find the taxes reasonable, but maybe that’s just me. It’s not that there are no jobs. It’s the jobs that are available people don’t want. The way I see it is if you’re unemployed take any job until you can find one in your field or the one that you really want. That’s part of the problem nowadays; no one wants to take the lower level jobs. As for police officers making over $100k a lot of that is due to overtime. If there were more front-line officers or more officers willing to do the overtime I don’t think we’d see as many on the sunshine list. The same goes for firefighters, nurses, doctors, etc. But that’s best left for another discussion as we’re getting into budgets, service levels and tax levels. Municipalities must get creative in ways of maintaining service levels and not raising taxes. It can be done, I’m just not sure how.

  34. Author

    Hugger from what I’m seeing also certain services are over providing in certain instances. IE the amount of staff responding to certain instances.

  35. Admin, agreed. In Ottawa I sometimes see three trucks with five workers. BUT only 1 or 2 actually working. Probably the same in a lot of municipalities.

  36. Furtz did you forget that it was the NDP, lead by Bob Rae that started this province into the financial death spin that the Liberals under McGuinty/Wynn have so masterfully completed.

  37. It seems that Gilles is well practiced at painting a picture that is rosier than its subject.
    Whether the following link is related to his current status with respect to the law and regulators, who knows? (but methinks it is)… LINK

  38. I just visited Cornwall for a week and yes it’s a shithole all right. What a dump. I must say I went to half a dozen restaurants and never had worse food in my life. Does absolutely everything in Cornwall come with greasy french fries? The main street is a joke and that mall with the Sears outlet has nothing in it. Wow. I hope your taxes are low. If not get out of there now.

  39. Hugger the taxes are way too high for Cornwall and that is the truth. With all the law suits going on taxes keep rising as well as those in jobs who want more and more income and people cannot afford that at all anymore. Hugger Ottawa is now gang central and we are thinking of leaving but don’t know where to go it is that bad. We heard gun shots this evening as well.

  40. Marcie…if you don’t like Cornwall stay away. With attitudes like that we can do without all that negativity.

    As for Jules moving anywhere is better than Ottawa.

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