LTE – Mike Bedard is not Happy With Cornwall City Council Performance & More – January 16, 2013

Mike Bedard
Mike Bedard

Cornwall Council Losing Support

Cornwall City Council could NOT do a better job of losing support from those in the community.  City Council has done a wonderful job of letting down so many in the community and this year’s budgeting process is no better!
Here is a short list of those who may feel slighted and/or left wanting more from our current Council and Mayor:

  • Cornwall Community Hospital – We need an MRI machine and due to the large funding initiatives brought forward for the construction and renovation of the Hospital the community could not afford to give anymore.  If council would have seen that the community was going to be affected by the recession and that the government was going to soon reduce transfer payments then it could have easily have afforded to support the hospital further by donating to ensure Cornwall gets an MRI machine!   I love the Benson Centre but it blows my mind to see how much we spend on a hockey arena vs. health care!   …But then again nothing surprises me with this council!   This council has the potential to perform anywhere in between Amazing and WTF……unfortunately I find myself saying WTF far too often!

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  • Language Fairness for All – Although I fully agreed with supporting the hospital and not for withdrawing or holding on to funds.  Council could have communicated better and tried to find common ground and have supported both sides of the debate instead of one!   Politically speaking these are very difficult times but nothing is impossible if believe and strive to achieve the goal!  Sometimes getting involved behind the scenes and bringing two sides together is easier than you would have thought!   However, staying neutral and doing nothing may reduce risk and work but you will be never become great unless you work harder than everyone else!

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  • Cornwall Free News – after creating a special bylaw stating that it would not advertise with any on-line media firm who allows anonymous post; Cornwall continued to spend money with all its current media outlets but one (The Cornwall Free News); who allowed anonymous post!  Why?

 

Only one logical reason would explain this action, the Cornwall Free News had placed articles and posted questions that highlighted or made the community aware of certain things the Mayor and Council wanted to hide behind closed doors!

 

  • The General Public – Council Andre Rivette won a small battle vs. the rest of council and more importantly the Mayor by proving that the Mayor was out of line when he allowed councillors to attack him personally in a closed door meeting!  The general public where angered and unfortunately not a single councillor other than Mr. Rivette even addressed the public.

 

Why, in an effort to remain transparent, where council and the clerk not informing the public of closed door meetings?  Is this not mandatory or at least shouldn’t it be if you truly want to be transparent?  Was this intentional and more importantly why?  Should you be ostracized for asking these questions?

 

Why didn’t anyone on council make an attempt to respond – ex. “Council (I) would like to thank you for attending but unfortunately we cannot discuss any details at this time.  We (I) would like to ensure you that we (I) are acting accordingly and cannot answer any direct questions to protect the integrity and relationships with all of those involved!  When council has further information we will provide you with as much detail as possible!”……………………………Oh, wait I forgot!  You would have to care and put some effort forward to do something as frugal as a proper media release!   Wait don’t we pay someone to do this?  Why are we paying someone to respond for our elected municipal councillors?  Do they not get paid to perform as a politician?  Can we cut costs by eliminating the position?

 

  • Leslie O’Shaughnessy – Resigned after he could NOT deal with all of the scrutiny involved with so many closed door meetings……….or so we think!  We were promised a reason from Leslie a long time ago but to this day Mr. O’Shaughnessy has not released anything!   I respect his decision to step away from such a regressive council but he must realize his supporters deserve answers!  Good Luck Leslie and I hope eliminating the work load and stresses of the position have improved your quality of life!

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  • The Cornwall Community Action Group – Was formed by a leadership of Gerry Benson, Sandy Cameron, Dr. Michel Dubuc, Roy Perkins and a few others.   The group claims that City Council has burdened the community with high taxes and claims that our community would benefit from a tax freeze or reduction in the tax levy.  Currently we are going to see a big tax increase and despite the advertised tax rates we are paying more than the 2.9% advertise!  A few years ago our average assessed home was near the $100,000 mark and now we sit around $160,000!

 

Due to increased assessments and continuous tax rate increases, the burden to the tax payer constantly rises unless the tax rate is decreased!  Please do not be confused by this since it is very simple!  Your assessed value of your home times the tax rate gives us your property taxes (not including education, water and other taxes)!   If your house assessment continues to rise and the tax rate did not change (or saw a 0% rise – this is what would be advertised) you would still pay more in taxes!

 

Ex. 2010 – $100,000 (assessed home value) x .018 (Tax Rate) – $1,800

2011 – $120,000 (assessed home value) x .018 (Tax Rate) – $2,160

2012 – $140,000 (assessed home value) x .018 (Tax Rate) – $2,520

In a perfect world council would maintain and look for savings by holding division managers to tight budgets and ensure the community is not over burdened with taxes!  Ensure our Seniors and less fortunate do not need to visit the AGAPE or use Ontario Works as frequently and continuously work to reduce the number of people on assistance by ensuring our quality of life and employment is better than any other community!

South Stormont vs. South Glengarry

Congratulations to South Glengarry for showing true brilliance!  If there is no problem present then there is no need to address a negative and (for lack of a better term) useless proposal!

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Although, South Stormont had a different amendment they still didn’t catch such a clearly stated point in South Glengarry!  Due to Robert’s Rules of Order you cannot reaffirm a current position and also negative positions such as “Not Mandate” are clearly out of order!

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Here is why:  You cannot reaffirm a bylaw or position.  What if it loses?  Then you have a motion with no solution.   A motion must be to make a change!  Furthermore, it cannot bind future councils therefore cannot state what people cannot support!  For example a sign bylaw can state dimensions and can state what languages it must be written in but cannot say that no future council can ever change the bylaw.  Also, if there is no bylaw stating which language must be written on signs then you are FREE to do as you please!
Mr. Galganov wasted supporter’s money by not properly preparing nor presenting a suitable motion to council……………………..but really the only people upset with this:

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1) The Hospital Protesting Language Activist and

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2) Everyone else because we are sick of hearing this small group complain about Quebec and other counties!!!!!   Stick to our current issues and trying to provide valid solutions to improve our community!

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Change the things you feel are wrong by going to those communities and stop wasting tax payers dollars by tying up our Council’s who obviously have more important things to do after coming out of a recession and staring a potential new one in the face!

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Thank You,
Mike Bedard

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Cornwall Free News

209 Comments

  1. @ stella

    But opinions stella. are not facts, and therefore are not nesessarily true.

    They are open to interruptation, questionable bias and just plain fabrication.

    This is why, people research, to be sure, that what they are saying is fact, becAUSE IT CAN BE PROVEN, AND THERE IS NO DOUBT.

    YOU SAY FOR EXAMPLE THAT MR. GALGANOV, DOES NOT REPRESENT THE MAJORITY.

    I SAY HE DOES AND I CAN PROVE IT.

    How? just look at the cities and people in them that have overwhelmingly rejected bilingualism across Canada.

    You live in an eastern Ontario , Canada is much more than SG and surrounding areas.

    The tax base in canada is 84% anglophone, stella, A FACT

    using your term, common sense, how long do you think English taxpayers, ( 84%) are going to put up with this notion of forced bilingualism?

    Would you, if you were against it and were paying the majority of the freight?

    Come stella, think , its only a matter of time.

    stella, since its inception ( 1969) and billions of dollars later, bilingualism in Canada stands at 17% and dropping.

    Even the canadian, government , eventually, will have to take along hard look at this.

    The west, particularily in light of the oil sands ( Alberta) and major Potash in Saskatchewan, not to mention the Hibernia fields in Newfoundland, will not tolerate this nonsense much longer. people from across canada are now just starting to realize the futility of it. It is these three provinces that are carrying places like quebec via transfer payments.

    How long do you think they will tolerate marois and her gang?

    As you say , common sense.

    Add to that the fact that quebec is ever inchng toward separation on its own.

    Who do you think will win the next referendum stella ?

    there are barley enough no votes now to make up less than 40% ,again that is fact baesed on anglophone population.

    Stella, please do your homework, if for no other reason that to make yourself look half way crediable.

  2. peter wrote: But opinions stella. are not facts, and therefore are not nesessarily true. HELLO!!!! DAH!!!! Oh ok..LMAO

    peter also wrote: This is why, people research, to be sure, that what they are saying is fact, becAUSE IT CAN BE PROVEN, AND THERE IS NO DOUBT.

    You are truly comical….I couldn’t begin to count the times the english freedom fighters were proven wrong with their facts…..and yet you keep dishing out your so called facts like they are gospel.

    Again Peter in his great wisdom said……YOU SAY FOR EXAMPLE THAT MR. GALGANOV, DOES NOT REPRESENT THE MAJORITY

    ROFLMAO!!!! Thanks so much for the laugh!!!! OH MY SIDE HURTS…..LOL

    As for the g, Peter please come out of your fantasy world and face reality. Hey….if the g can save you from the fires of hell and from the terrible french people….count yourself blessed. However, the majority showed their lack of confidence and their dislike of his extremist views when he ran for office. Trust me on this one……their views haven’t changed one iota **smile**

  3. @ stella

    So please prove me wrong with concrete facts,

    Ranting, your side hurts. roflmo daah, ok, what the hell is that?

    Not one iota of fact just again, blah, blah, blah

    Please count the number of times, I’d love to see it.

    Proof, stella proof, not ** smile, OMG, LOL

    You say NOTHING stella, NOTHING

    No one will or can take anything you say seriously, because you say NOTHING

    OMG, ** smile, My side hurts,

    i can prove you wrong, ** smile OMG

    Then please prove it *** smile ****

    LOL OMG wow OMG ***SMILE OMG

  4. @ stella

    the entire country, is against bilingualism.

    This includes quebec.

    the federal government in its attempt to force bilingualism on everyone has failed miserably.

    canada outside quebec is only 4% francophone, stella.,are you aware of this.?

    So when i say that Canadians are against biingualism, the proof is in the stats.

    You have a few bilingual signs in russell, cassleman ,etc, but how many people is that?

    4000, if that, what about the 28 million that do not have, nor will they ever have, bilingualism??

    Stella, THEY ARE THE MAJORITY, not SG and surrounding area.

    LOL, *** smile OMG *** smile and like that, my side hurts you are comical OMHG

    *** Smile***

    LOL *** smile LOL OMG *** smile

  5. I like chocolate ice cream. How can I prove that fact? And why should I even try? I get it that yous freedom-fighters hate Quebec, Quebecois, Francophones, and bilingualism. Have fun with that, if that’s what turns your cranks. I, and most Canadians, so far, want Canada to remain intact. That should be obvious to even yous guys.
    I hear no more chatter about the July 4th Ottawa demo. Are yous considering a flag-stomping tour instead?

  6. Hey Ed, stop wasting digital ink, will you?

    You write:

    “I like chocolate ice cream. How can I prove that fact?”

    Well, if you admit that you like it’s texture, colour and eat it too! Then I would say that it’s a fact that you like chocolate ice cream. And yes, I get the fact that this was a rhetorical question. I felt the need regardless to answer it…

    Don’t generalize, it’s why your kind (ethnocentrists) are in trouble to begin with. For instance, thinking that we all want forced bilingualism and all the ugliness it entails.

    “I get it that yous freedom-fighters hate Quebec, Quebecois, Francophones, and bilingualism.

    No……………………..

    We hate the Parti Quebecois and the fact that our tax dollars are paying to support a national political party who’s mandate is to separate one of the provinces from Confederation. Next, we hate the separatist mentality (not Quebecois). Next, we don’t hate Francophones (I’m married to one). And we probably would like bilingualism if it wasn’t forced, coerced and pushed on a sleeping Canadian populace as a sort of Key of Solomon recipe for the chance of a good job in Canada.

    Even you Ed can come up with better propaganda for the good viewers of CFN against what you term are these ‘freedom-fighters.’

  7. @ ed,

    A fact is anything that can be proven eg. 2+2=4

    fact: canadains have not embrced bilingualims the Proof:: 17% are bilingual over the 43 years ( 1969) years since its inception

    There is a difference between “disagreeing” with frencophones and hating francophones.

    Please prove to me or anyone else, where it was ever written any one of us hates francophones?

    If anything we have stated the opposite. People can disagree without hate. Maybe you can’t and are relating everyhing to the way you think and act, but we certainly aren’t.

    That is why ed, when you are asked to baCk up anything you fold like a deck of cards.

    Your statements have no foundation or substance.

    The maJority of canadians are dead set against bilingualism.

    When 17 % of the population is bilingual, that represents about 5.7 million people, including quebec. tHIS NUMBER IS ALSO DROPPING

    So, bilingualism policy does not work, particularly since it started some 43 years ago.

    When the francophone population outside quebec is a mere 4% , whay would anyone want or need it, especially in light of the costs, 3-4 billion per year of our tax dollars.

    These monies woiuld better spent on health, education, poverty,
    and the like.

    So where did I say I hated the french here ?

    Any way frutz, most who are logiccal and know the difference betwen a fact and an opinion will realize this. it is why your views are in a ,excuse the pun ,” DICTINCT MINORITY HERE”

  8. Cory and Perter, your last 3 or 4 arguments say it all. Thank you for your passion, facts backed by evidence and honing in on the real overblown fact that Anglo’s intent here is not discrimination, simply respect for ‘being’ English.

    These reasons are why I for one have concluded that we would mostly get along so much better if Quebec did separate formally.

    Heck, Quebec has in essence been defacto separated from the get go from the very day they refused to sign on at Meech Lake to the Canadian Constitution, nor our Bill of Rights and Freedoms so they would NOT be ruled and controlled by provincial and now Canadian rules and regulations.

    To top that off they shove it in our faces by providing their own representations internationally as a viable Quebec Embassy and WE do nothing formally to prevent it. They even have the gall to whine to the United Nations whenever they have disagreements with the ROC and the Canadian Parliament….which happens to be a puppet to them anyway.

    To top that off they jumped to grab the gimme when P.M. Harper declared (paraphrased) ‘you want to be called a nation? Okay so you are a nation!’. So folks, what more do we want…a vote of 50 plus 1 %? Hell, why bother wasting there money on a cause that has already been won. They’ve grabbed the bull by the horns and all we whine to do is use the tweezers on the balls, bitch and whine flailing our swords like it hasn’t happened already.

    What fools have we been. What kind of dump frigged up idiots are we anyway. Time to get a life on that number.

    But hey, like I like your passion just the same….and even those like Ed and Stella and sure, even Mike, though he’s been pretty quiet lately on this one……….bitch is good,,,just be sure of your direction and don’t waste your time on Quebec as it’s already happened..simply ignore them and let’s move on.

  9. After reading the articles of the job situation in SDG area, i asked an old man of Gaul background if the French are responsible for the lack of jobs.He said no, the invention of the tractor.

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