HAGERSVILLE—Business owner and former lawyer Albert Marshall believes the instincts that helped him to grow his company, Hear Right Canada, to more than 80 locations would make him a good fit for Ward 4 councillor.
Marshall has been married 36 years, has three kids and a grandson, and has lived in Haldimand his whole life, born in Cayuga.
“I think actually we live in a very good place and we’re very, very lucky, but can things be a little bit better?” he asked. “There are a lot of families that are having a very hard time, partly because of inflation, but the economy is not as strong as it should be and the cost of everything is just unbelievable.”
He criticized the recent 4.46% tax increase by the County, calling the constant cost of life increases “relentless”.
“I mean, a lot of people just take it for granted that these taxes have to go up and I don’t think they do. I think there’s all kinds of ways to create efficiency,” said Marshall.
He also criticized what he called “frenzied growth” in the municipality: “It feels like it’s changing without even a discussion, sort of just being forced on us.”
He said that while one councillor may not be able to stop a development from proceeding, it’s their job to “make sure that it fits as well as it can fit” while improving the area, suggesting one under-review development proposal should use the Hagersville quarries as a public swimming area as an “amazing asset” for residents and potential tourists.
“People that live in Hagersville shouldn’t have to climb all over a fence. Why not turn it into a place for the kids and the adults can go and picnic and swim and throw a canoe in?”
Marshall is no stranger to working on projects to better the community, noting he spent almost 10 years pushing for a trail over the river in Cayuga, ultimately purchasing and donating the needed land to make it happen.
For the quarry, he envisions a low-cost scenario with accessible entry, parking, and “over time you can make it fancier, but it does not have to be a horribly expensive thing.”
On business growth, he believes that bylaw and zoning restrictions often hamper businesses trying to establish themselves, citing his own experiences trying to open Hear Right locations in areas that were not properly zoned for such a business.
He believes fewer regulatory restrictions, such as dropping any yearly business license renewals, would encourage more businesses to get started. He also would like to see fewer consultants and studies involved in Council decisions.
“Politicians are afraid to make decisions and so they ask for a study or a consultant. Hmm, you know you were elected to apply common sense? Stick your neck up, make a decision, and you know in the next election, if they don’t like your decisions, they’ll vote someone else in.”
Marshall also wants to see the Land Acknowledgment removed from the start of Council meetings, calling it performative and unhelpful, “like a dance.” He advocated for an “honest, open relationship” with Haldimand’s neighbouring Indigenous communities.
Like all Ward 4 candidates, Marshall acknowledged the impact of increasing traffic in downtown Hagersville, advocating for the use of existing roads infrastructure to create a bypass.
“You need to direct that … heavy traffic out of the town,” he said. “It really affects the quality of life in town.”
He urged for a “common sense” approach to improving infrastructure, calling it a “benefit of that growth” for greater amenities like trails.
“There’s more to it than, you know, water and sewer,” said Marshall, praising the Hagersville Active Living Centre and Library spearheaded by fellow candidate Tony Dalimonte as a “great asset” in line with his own vision for infrastructure growth aligning with development growth.
Ultimately, Marshall said his current career is proof of his desire to make people’s lives better.
“I think that my experience in business puts me in a position where I can bring some common sense to the council,” he said.
He concluded, “I’m very honest, like if something is wrong or something is dishonest, damn the consequences, I’m going to speak the truth and some people are gonna like and some won’t, but I’ve found in my life that when I speak the truth, the trouble that I suffer then is smaller than the trouble later if I’m dishonest.”
