Meet the Candidates: Bruce Baker
Municipal Elections are taking place in October. As one of the main media outlets in the City of Cornwall, The Seeker is always eager to getting to know the candidates. As such, we send each candidate a questionnaire requesting for them to give their position on the most pressing issues near and dear to you, our readers. During the upcoming weeks, we will be publishing the answers from each candidate who choses to respond. Every candidate was sent 11 questions, penned by our own, Jason Setnyk. They can chose to answer as many as they want. We will post them online as they come in. Here are Bruce Baker’s Questions and Answers. Click on any question to reveal the answer.
1 – Please give us a brief biography / tell the readers about yourself.
(e.g., work/family/education/experience)
My name is Bruce Baker and I am a lifelong Cornwallian. I recently completed my BAH at Queen’s University in Politics and Economics. I have experience both in and out of politics, holding leadership roles in several campaigns and working in private-sector Program Management. I live in town with my partner of 6 years and our new puppy Nova. I believe in helping people and serving on council is how I hope to do it.
2 – If you were on Council the previous term, tell us about your accomplishments during the past four years. If you were not on City Council this last term, please tell us why you are running and what you hope to accomplish.
I am running because Cornwall is at a crossroads. COVID changed the world we live in, and we need to change with it. We cannot afford to go back to doing things like we used to. We need fresh ideas and fresh voices, and that is what I offer. I want to make Cornwall a place developers want to build in, and people want to live in, and I have the tools and policy know-how to help get us there. Ultimately, I am running to give back to the community I love.
3 – With rents skyrocketing, what can City Council in Cornwall do to prevent renovictions like those at Cumberland Gardens that have impacted many in our community?
In my view, the answer to this lies in basic economics. We have too much demand, and not enough supply. Cornwall needs to build more projects like the 9th street build. As a council, we need to make it easier to do that while still keeping our environment in mind. That’s where 2 of my proposed policies come into play. First, by overhauling our zoning system, we can make bigger zones that can build more units, and have affordability built into them. Second, we create a city code of environmental standards to ensure all projects are environmentally conscious and responsible.
4 – In 2018, the City of Cornwall purchased the old Bank of Montreal building in our downtown for $450,000 as the future home of Cornwall’s Art Centre. In 2019, Council heard a report that renovations would cost an additional $4 to $6 million dollars. In addition to the fundraising already being done, will you support some public tax dollars going towards a Cornwall Art Centre, or should the municipality pause any additional financial support?
The success of investments is measured against their return. Investing 1$ for a 0.50$ return is a bad investment, but if that same dollar yields a 2$ return, it was a worthwhile venture. The returns for the art centre are measurable in revenue earned from tourists and locals visiting the centre, and the far less tangible increase to our city’s culture. With this philosophy, it is reasonable to assume that eventually, at some point in the art centre’s life, it will be a worthwhile investment. Because of this, I would be open to supplying the centre with public funds.
5 – Post-pandemic, what can Council do to improve Economic Development for the city and support existing businesses?
Coming out of COVID-19, the best way to build and grow our economy is from the bottom up. While cities like Cornwall do not have a lot of power with taxation policy, we do have some. With that power we do have, we need to make the path to business ownership as easy as possible. By using our ability to exempt property taxes, we can incentivize entrepreneurs to start in Cornwall, and by doing so investing in our city’s future. The business benefits by getting a head start on competitors, and Cornwall benefits by having the consumption occur in the city.
6 – What are your thoughts on the McConnell Medical Clinic closure? Although health care is a provincial issue, is there anything Council can do to attract more doctors and nurses to our city?
Like many in our community, I was extremely disappointed when I heard of the Medical Clinic Closure. Besides reducing the city’s capacity to care, it also exacerbated emergency room wait times during a province-wide crisis, leaving Cornwall and its people struggling. To attract more doctors and nurses to help alleviate this capacity problem, Cornwall needs to transform itself into a place that people want to live in. This starts by making Cornwall accessible and affordable, which we can do by reforming our zoning by-laws and making it easier to build homes in the city.
7 – While climate change is a global issue, what can the City do locally to keep our neighborhoods cool and protect natural resources like the St. Lawrence River?
One of the key pillars in my platform is the Environmental Code of Standards that I want to implement. Essentially, it would be a series of requirements and consultations that any city-led project or by-law would need to conduct in order to move ahead. This enshrines sustainability at the core of our city, making Cornwall a leader in combatting climate change by ensuring the environment is considered at every turn in the city’s policy agenda.
8 – Many City businesses are open on Sundays, and many events happen on Sundays. Do you support Sunday service for Cornwall Transit?
While I agree that there is a need for Sunday service, the city must first modernize our local transit to increase ridership. The argument against Sunday service is that it would cost more than it would generate, and so to combat that narrative we need to show that people are taking the bus. To do that, we need to set ourselves up for success. This starts with updating the city routes to ensure high traffic areas are consistently covered, and each major residential area is serviced. Once ridership picks up, then we can move forward making these new routes run 7 days a week.
9 – What can we do to improve social services in Cornwall? Examples include but are not limited to Cornwall Transit, childcare spaces, or LTR spaces.
The short answer to this question is make more services, period. For example, Cornwall is in desperate need of increased accessibility to mental health care, and the benefits to providing it are numerous. When people are in better mental health, they are more likely to move out of poverty. Further, proper mental health lowers crime rates, which reduces the cost associated with law enforcement. It is universally beneficial for everyone in Cornwall to have access to the mental health support they need, and this holds true for many other social services that the city is lacking in right now.
10 – Do you support keeping tax increases to a bare minimum? If yes, where would the savings come from, and would you support reducing some services? If you do not support keeping tax increases to a minimum, explain your reasoning why.
When studying economics at Queen’s, one of the core lessons our professors reenforced was that government debt and household debt are not the same. Governments like Cornwall have an ability to hold onto higher amounts of debt whilst still being financially healthy. This grants us flexibility in our spending, and I would more likely pursue this avenue than raise local taxes. That said, I will never risk reducing our municipal services to avoid raising taxes.
11 – How can candidates contact you? Please provide a phone number and/or email and/or one website (or one social media link).
If you would like to reach out with any further questions, or to request a lawn sign, I can be reached by email at [email protected]. Additionally, if you’re interested in following my campaign, please consider liking my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084244137050.
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