Our population is aging and growth has been stagnant for years. In order to bring wealth and opportunity back to our small towns, we must offer strong incentives to young people to remain here, start families, and plant their roots in North Glengarry.

Cody’s action plan to stop the stagnation:

– remove municipal barriers to affordable housing. minimize property tax increases to lower cost of living. within the bounds of the ontario building code allow for the construction of and provide permissions for tiny homes, mobile homes, and multifamily homes

– secure stable income opportunities: offer Supports for small businesses and self-employed families, reach out to and incentivise medium and large sized employers to come here and remain in north glengarry

– attract, support, and incentivise community events for our youth. reach out to local talent to organize more concerts and events in our parks and community centers. promote existing community events across all township channels with a renewed strategy and energy. Launch a live community calendar as a one-stop resource for everything going on in north glengarry

– strict on keeping a clean and safe community: remove all graffiti with permission of property owners. clean the poop at island park. dutiful enforcement of yard maintenance bylaw. diligant upkeep of all sidewalks, bridges, and public grounds

– A real stake in their future: attract and keep youth by encouraging their orderly participation in council meetings and town halls. They won’t be heard in a big city… but they will be heard in north glengarry

– Launch a mass marketing campaign to encourage families to move to and remain in north glengarry. spread the word that we have opportunity, we have things to do, we are safe, we are affordable, we are family oriented, and we are growing

We haven’t seen population growth in North Glengarry for years. We are increasingly seen as an aging retirement region, however the quality of life for our retirees is at stake if we don’t attract new working age people to keep our local economy strong and support our seniors.

The growth plan of our current establishment is this: work with a major developer to create thousands of new construction homes. But who can actually afford these cookie-cutter homes? This approach is putting the cart before the horse… if we provide real opportunities and incentives for our working age residents they will construct new homes one-by-one and renovate existing homes naturally as they can afford them. This is called organic growth.

Far too often our youngest and brightest minds leave for larger cities in order to find more opportunities for employment and quality of life. The key to healthy growth of a community is a natural growth: when people are given a safe place to work, play, and socialize they’ll naturally plant their roots and start families.

There’s a key reason why housing is so unaffordable for our struggling families: prioritizing housing as a vehicle for profit instead of a home to build a family. If somebody is willing to live in a smaller and more affordable home, the Township has no right to tell them no. If we combine an alleviation of building restrictions with lower property taxes, we can restore the bottom rungs of the property ladder. We need to do this not because it’s profitable – but because it’s the right thing to do.

In order to protect and create jobs we can sit down with existing major employers to ask one question: what would it take to safeguard these positions and potentially create brand new ones? And if we receive an answer, we should bring it before the people in a public meeting to weigh the pros and cons in order to come to a consensus together as a community.

If we can stop the stagnation and achieve two measurable demographic shifts, lowering the median age and increasing our population, we can build a strong case for new major employers to bring their businesses here and create new jobs in North Glengarry.

For example, people ask for a brand new affordable grocery store all the time. It’s not within the direct power of the Township to bring a new business into existence. However with the right strategies and resulting demographic shifts we can lay the foundation to make it a no-brainer for new businesses to open here.

One thing’s for sure – the current strategy isn’t working. It’s resulted in stagnation at best and at worst… gradual decline. It’s time for a new approach in North Glengarry.

It’s time for north glengarry to grow again – the right way!

Cody has three kids and a small business rooted in North Glengarry.

Now it’s time for hundreds more young families to do the same!

but it all depends on the township to set the stage for organic growth and opportunity.

If you would like cody to stop the stagnation and get glengarry growing again, invite two friends or family members on election day to triple the impact of your vote.