BIOGRAPHY
I’m Marc Noordam, and I am proud to be a Wallace Ward councillor candidate. I currently have the pleasure of farming with my loving wife, Corinne, alongside my parents Rien and Anja Noordam. Together we operate a moderate-size dairy operation with some crops and a small herd of sheep. The past five winters I have been working for the municipality operating snow removal equipment out of Wallace. I have really enjoyed my time working for the municipality and also with municipal staff. I am now looking to serve the community in a different way. Some people might think I’m too young for this job. But I disagree, council should be a representation of all ages – I will bring the younger perspective to the table when we talk about taking on debt or investing in capital projects or even roads. In 20 years I will still be 44, and what decisions are made now can make a huge impact on the life of all Wallace and North Perth residents down the road. I’ve grown up in this community, going to Wallace Public School and LDSS, which prepared me for college. And I’ve learned is it takes a community to raise the next generation.
ISSUES
When I first started looking into running for council, I sought advice from a family friend who is a councillor in a neighbouring community. The first thing she asked was, ‘Why do you even want to run?’ Many people just run because of one or two issues they have and want to change. After that, they don’t care about the rest of the job. I told her I don’t plan on being a one-issue councillor. The reason I’m running is because I have a spot in my heart for the triangle-shaped township of Wallace and the people that live here. As a young farmer in the municipality of North Perth, along with many others, who are starting to feel the pinch of inflation. If there is one issue that I believe that will be critical in the next few years for the municipality, it would be that. Municipalities are not immune to inflation. We all see it coming as it eats away at our bottom line. We are starting to see more municipal projects come in with bids well over or more than double of what they were budgeted at. For example, a road grader that was priced out at under $400,000 a couple of years ago would cost more than half a million dollars today! Another project that was recently approved as part of the Northeast Master Plan was budgeted at $4 million. The bids were over $8 million! Truth be told, a hundred dollars, one hundred thousand dollars, or even a million dollars doesn’t get you what it once did. But we all know this from the past few months of going to get gas or groceries. We are going to have to find ways to do more with less. We are a growing community and we need to support growth and development in the industrial, commercial, and agricultural sectors to be as recession-proof as we can be. The Municipality of North Perth has a strong and vibrant agriculture sector, which is a firm foundation in the municipality’s economy. When we look around the countryside and in town, a lot of the dealerships, manufacturers, and businesses are in some way connected to the agriculture sector. This means stable and well-paying jobs. It’s always smart to hope for the best but also plan for the worst. Many people that are in our community or want to join are having a hard time finding an affordable house or even a house in general. From 2018 to the present, we have seen a significant increase in housing costs. Many young friends of mine are moving to communities further away just because they can’t find a house within their budget. We are losing our future community members. Council will need to work on bringing more affordable housing to the area, while being careful not to pave over some of the best agricultural land in Ontario.
