Gary first drew public attention last summer, when for several days he lived the life of a homeless person. Using a pseudonym, he approached the authorities for help – basically he was offered $100 to “get out of town.”
A Cornwallite for 11 years now, Gary has a keen perception of what’s right and what’s wrong. Cornwall has not grown for over 20 years, and under present policies, the population will stay static. The reason? Too many of Cornwall’s young people, when they graduate from school or college, have to move out of town to find a decent job. He promises to push Council to recognise and encourage not only seniors, but also our youth, our newcomers, and all who make up our community. It is time to bring in good jobs for everyone, not just minimum wage jobs with no benefits and no future.
Poverty is a major issue in many parts of the city. Many people are sick and unhealthy because of poverty, unemployment, or the substandard housing they are forced to live in. Over 12% of Cornwall children live below the poverty level. The new Council needs to realise how poverty impacts our city, and we must push them to work on solutions to fix this now, rather than worrying about the comfort of their backsides when in a Council session.
Gary’s platform can be summed up in 4 points:
- Job creation to retain our youth;
- Employment and training programs to help those looking for work but who need more skills;
- Affordable, safe housing for our singles, young families, the elderly, and the working poor who cannot afford to pay the average rent, plus food, clothing, utilities, and other basic necessities;
- Become serious about energy conservation and work to ensure that we take better care of our environment, and support healthy food programs so everyone can enjoy better eating and health.
“Council must stop wasting time and money on selfish issues such as awarding themselves pay raises, more comfortable chairs, or a modular setup for council chambers. I will push Council to tackle the issues that are important to the city’s population. If Council votes itself another pay raise during my term, I will donate my portion to a local charity.”
Gary sounds like he has a good heart,
How can you have job creation for today’s youth if the majority of today’s youth are uneducated or minimally so?
What about the mentality of current local industry which claims earning $70,000 is something not achievable in Cornwall?
Employment and training programs to help those looking for work but who need more skills. We already have a multitude these programs for people in Cornwall. Would adding more not cost more in tax dollars for funding for the same service? The only people benefiting are teachers and building owners.
How will we pay for the affordable, safe housing for our singles, young families, the elderly, and the working poor who cannot afford to pay the average rent, plus food, clothing, utilities, and other basic necessities.
What about the people that are currently abusing the system. Will Gary challenge those people as a method of bettering services for the truly needy, or is it simpler to let a sleeping dog lay and hope for more?
Not a personal attack Gary, I have asked the same questions of everyone else
And…time to take smee to task again.
Ok smee, in one of my earlier posts I asked where you got your education. I just have to know because where do you find these amazing facts? I’d really like to know everything too so please educate me.
For example you claim that a majority of youth is uneducated or minimally so. Where are the numbers to support this? I have to admit that all I see each year in the newspaper around June is the hundreds of graduates listed from the area schools but I guess they are only “minimally” educated right? Please tell me what qualifies you to know this? Did you test all of these students? Or are you talking about youth as in really young because I guess technically they would uneducated because they are still in school. Remember you did say majority which means most and I just don’t have the census numbers of the kids who did not graduate but I’m sure you know so can you show me where I can look this up for myself?
Now your next comment about the mentality of Cornwall. Wow. I didn’t know that this was the way Cornwall thought. I don’t remember anyone asking me but if you say it is so smee then perhaps it is true. Again I must ask you where you got the figures? Did you ask a lot of people? Is there a survey I can view? I’d love to put my say in that survey as well.
Next, your comment about employment training. Again, I have to admit ignorance. Can you name some of the programs that already exist? And then, once you have done that can you please list the enrollment numbers and show me why this is indeed a waste of time and money.
If it only benefits teachers than have I got a deal for you! You should become one! I’m serious! With all the ranting you have done on this site it is obvious you are jealous of teachers and their pension for a “part time”job. If there are teacher jobs out there where you get paid for doing nothing then sign me up! And you could get one of those jobs so easy smee because you can just tell them your handle on this site and show them that you know everything! They’ll be glad to have you!
Then you could fix the system and educate all of those uneducated youth that you mentioned at the beginning of your post.
So please, show me how you know all this and make me a believer too.
Until then smee, just keep buying shirts with high collars so they can’t see your neck.
Good luck Gary. You should have smee on your election committee. He does after all, know everything.
Stand up such well spoken wisdom, where did I got my education *lol*
I have worked with the local youth, and I have been served by the youth in local businesses. There is no need to test the youth just talk to them. Yes we have hundreds of kids graduating from High School. Now that is a stellar achievement of you want to work in a telemarketing service.
Again with the stellar verbiage *l*” where I got the figures from”. The mentality of Cornwall is and has not changed for years. Just look at what Gary and new candidates are trying to change the reputation of Cornwall. Like one of our mayors use to say, “Cornwall is run by mill workers and bus drivers.”
Employment training programs. We have government sponsored programs at the college, we have institutions such as T.R. Leger, Job Zone, Ontario, Employment Ontario Apprenticeship Office, Cornwall just to name a few.
I am not jealous of teachers, quite the contrary it is a very commendable career. What I am not fond of is the money wasted on the education system, or as Meat Loaf would put it, a patent of useless lies.. Opening more and more of the same facilities and offering the same services is only duplicating and costing more in taxes. . What I dispise about our education system in the 1 billion dollars / yr provincial contribution for a pension plan that has $96.4 billion in net assets. Personally I think the money the province donates could be better used in health care or other more public institutions.
Anything else standup?