Making Grimsby More Affordable

For many Grimsby families and seniors, affordability isn’t an abstract political idea. It’s something they feel every time they pay a grocery bill, a utility bill, a mortgage payment or their property taxes.

The economic reality we’re living in demands that governments take a hard look at how they spend taxpayers’ money.

In July 2026, Canada’s annual inflation rate was 3.0%. Food purchased from stores was up 3.1%. When the cost of living is rising faster than people’s incomes, households are forced to make hard choices.

In that environment, government shouldn’t simply accept that its own costs must keep going up. It should look for ways to reduce them.

Reduce. Reduce. Reduce.

That philosophy isn’t new to me. I learned it during one of the most difficult economic periods of my professional career — the Great Recession of 2008–2009.

What I Learned in 2008–2009

During the recession, I worked in the automotive industry as a project manager and department lead responsible for both investment and expenses.

The economic conditions facing our business were serious. The message from senior management was clear: we had to control costs and protect the long‑term viability of the company.

As department leaders, we couldn’t simply say our budgets were necessary because they had been approved the year before. We had to go back and challenge our spending.

We examined investments. We examined expenses. We looked for efficiencies. We questioned priorities.

We delayed or eliminated spending that wasn’t essential. Every dollar had to earn its place.

The goal wasn’t to destroy the business or cut everything that was valuable. The goal was to make the business stronger and more sustainable by controlling what we could control.

That experience shaped the way I look at financial management today.

Government Should Work the Same Way

Municipal government is different from a private business, but the fundamental responsibility is similar:

You have limited resources, and you have to make choices.

Grimsby taxpayers don’t have an unlimited ability to absorb higher taxes.

• A senior on a fixed income can’t simply increase their income because property taxes went up.

• A young family can’t always find another few hundred dollars in its budget every year.

• A small business can’t simply pass every increase in its operating costs on to its customers.

Government shouldn’t automatically pass every increase on to taxpayers either.

Before increasing taxes, we should be asking:

• Can we reduce the cost?

• Can we operate more efficiently?

• Can we eliminate unnecessary spending?

• Can we delay something that isn’t essential?

• Can we get better value from an existing investment?

• Can we negotiate better?

• Can we do the job differently?

And are we getting the results we should expect from the people and organizations we pay to deliver those services?

What About Municipal Leadership?

This connects directly to the salary discussion we were developing.

Grimsby employs experienced professionals to lead its departments, manage its finances, plan our community, operate our infrastructure and deliver municipal services.

I believe experienced professionals should be properly compensated.

But compensation also creates an expectation.

When taxpayers invest significant dollars in senior leadership, they should expect those leaders to bring the expertise needed to:

• Identify efficiencies

• Control expenses

• Evaluate investments

• Find opportunities to reduce costs

High levels of responsibility should produce high levels of accountability.

My question isn’t simply, “What does this person earn?”

My question is: “What value are we receiving for that investment?”

My Approach Would Be Simple

If elected, I will bring the same mindset to municipal spending that I learned during the difficult economic conditions of 2008–2009.

• Don’t automatically spend because the money is in the budget.

• Don’t automatically increase the budget because costs went up.

• Don’t automatically raise taxes because that’s the easiest solution.

First, reduce.

Look at the expense. Challenge the expense. Find the efficiency. Measure the return. Protect what residents actually need.

And then make the decision.

I believe Grimsby can provide excellent municipal services while working much harder to control the cost of providing them.

Residents shouldn’t have to choose between affordability and good municipal services. Good financial management should give us both.

Reduce. Reduce. Reduce.

That’s how we make Grimsby more affordable.