On October 24, I was elected to Council in the Township of Baldwin. My sincerest thanks to everyone for their support.
I will continue to post updates here. In the meantime, you can contact me here.
Hello everyone,
My name is Jason Cote, and I am running for Council in the Township of Baldwin.
I was born and raised in rural Northern Ontario. When I turned 18, I could not wait to get out of here. I pursued advanced degrees in engineering and business, and built a career in Ottawa and then Toronto. For these past 30 years, my efforts have always been in service to the community. I run a nonprofit organization that provides technology services and support to nonprofits and charities.
I spoke at our candidates debate on October 4, and also attended the debates in Nairn and Hyman, Sables-Spanish, and Espanola. We clearly have some of the same issues and concerns as our neighbours, and fortunately we are already working together in many ways to address them. If elected, I will certainly do my best.
One of the issues that is important to me is good Internet connectivity. Many of us working and schooling from home in recent years have no doubt found this difficult. I support a local fibre infrastructure project that aims to build a high-speed Internet network from Sault Ste. Marie to Nairn, including Espanola and Manitoulin Island. This network is important to our economic growth, and to provide access to health and educational services for everyone that lives here.
I returned home, in part, for the relative peace and fresh air, and because you can see the stars at night. In the relatively short time that I have lived in the Township of Baldwin, I have seen the strength of unity, and also division. In my experience, I know all too well how challenging it can be to meet the needs of everyone in a community, especially when there are so few resources.
Fall is now upon us, and it is a visual reminder that the world around us keeps changing. Many small and rural communities are surviving, but not thriving. Our representation is shrinking because Southern Ontario is growing faster than Northern Ontario. It is more and more important that we speak with a strong and unified voice.
Let us work together, with our neighbours in the Township of Baldwin, and with our neighbouring LaCloche communities, to protect and enhance everything that is great about living in rural Northern Ontario.
Please vote (for me).
Sincerely,
Jason Cote