Fiscal responsibility and a willingness to listen to the people
When Bill Morrison Jr. was appointed to a seat on the Fort Frances Town Council during the last term, he didn’t take it lightly. Morrison went in hoping to review town finances and ensure responsible spending of taxpayer dollars, and that remains his top priority as he runs again.
Morrison believes fiscal responsibility should be a focus for council. Frivolous spending and making decisions without carefully weighing each option is unfair to people in town, he said. This is why he immediately threw his hat in the ring on the day nominations opened.
“We owe it to taxpayers to give them the best service possible for the amount of money they’re paying,” Morrison said. “I think we’re paying a lot for what we’re getting, so my biggest thing is to make sure we’re spending our money responsibly for infrastructure and improvements in our services.”
When it comes to utilizing that money responsibly, Morrison said the best place for council to start is by looking at long-term infrastructure and how to sustain pieces that are up to standard, while upgrading those that aren’t.
“I believe it’s about 60 per cent of our streets that still have clay sewer pipe underneath them, and it’s a huge problem because the clay pipes are actually leaking,” he said. “Groundwater is coming back and going into the sewage disposal, and I hear from residents all the time that there’re tree roots growing in them.”
“We’ve invested millions of dollars into roads, sidewalks, buildings, vehicles, equipment and water systems—all our infrastructure—but these assets all belong to the taxpayers, and we have a responsibility to look after them.”
But infrastructure is just one thing that Morrison thinks needs to be targeted by the next term of council. If Fort Frances is to grow its economy, he says it needs to do two things: Make Fort Frances easier to invest in and forge stronger relationships with Indigenous neighbours.
As Morrison was looking at growing his own business in the 1990s, he faced lots of administrative obstacles or “red tape,” as he calls it. This led him to look at how council can minimize the difficulties for businesses to run in town and work alongside them to make the process as seamless as possible.
“We actually moved to Alberton only because it was so difficult to do business in Fort Frances at the time,” Morrison said. “When you try to open up a business, I want as much information given to them as possible. Give people the resources they need to help start a business and point them in the right direction for possible grants.”
“I want to minimize confusion for any business that wants to reasonably set up shop here in Fort Frances.”
Looking at possible Indigenous partnerships, Morrison said that during his time working at Weechi-it-te-win Family Services, and even his time spent at Giishkaandago’Ikwe Health Services, where he recently started, he has seen nothing from nearby Indigenous leaders but an eagerness to do business with the town.
“I know lots of chiefs and councillors, most of the local elders, I’ve worked with two of the local agencies, and I know a lot of community members. Everywhere I go, everyone wants to work with us. Even after the litigation was done with the town of Fort Frances and Agency One, leadership came up to me, we shook hands, and they were glad it’s all behind us. They want to work together.”
“I want everybody to know we’re open for business. Especially with our cheap power, being on the border and hopefully First Nation partnerships.”
When it comes to actually making a decision or bringing forward a motion in council, Morrison noted how important it is to first listen. “Bizindan,” he said. “Listen to the people.”
Whether it’s during a discussion with fellow councillors, a piece of correspondence during a meeting or just as he’s walking into the coffee shop and is stopped by a resident, hearing people out and learning concerns from direct communication is what he believes to be a huge part of staying informed in council decision-making.
“The number one thing I’ve learned from elders, leaders and our cultural coordinator, is to just listen,” he said. “I don’t think that I know better than anybody else. If I have an idea that I think is good, I run it by people. For example, the procurement policy, I ran it by a few different people and my hiring local motion, I brought by probably 10 different people to see what they thought. I like to hear what people say.”
“Good government is taking care of your taxpayers, respecting their dollars and listening to what they’re telling you.”
