Re-Elect Jake Ennis
For Loyalist Township Councillor Ward 3
(Amherstview - Odessa - Mainland Rural)
Proud husband and parent
Born, raised and lives in Ward 3
Odessa Public, Ernestown Secondary and Queen’s University Graduate
MBA
20+ years finance & strategic planning experience in both the public & private sectors
Board Member at the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority
Current Ward 3 Councillor in Loyalist Township
Born and raised on Clark Road in the rural area of Ward 3 outside of Odessa and graduated from Odessa Public and Ernestown Secondary Schools.
Went on to earn a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Queen’s University and an MBA from York University, with a focus on finance and strategic planning.
Over 20 years experience working in both the private and public sectors: as a human resources and strategic planning consultant to both business and government clients, as a senior analyst for a large insurance company and currently as a senior financial consultant for OHIP.
Jake and his wife Rebecca live in the rural part of Ward 3, near Odessa, where they are raising their two young children (both of whom attend Amherstview Public School).
When not tending to his children or fixing up his old farmhouse and property, Jake works hard to get Loyalist Township to treat the residents of Ward 3 fairly.
"While limited progress has been made, Ward 3 residents are still not treated fairly in Loyalist Township. I will continue to fight for fairness"
- Jake Ennis
Why I am running
I have worked hard to make some advancements during this term of Council but there is much more work to be done
Keeping property tax levels reasonable, while meeting rising municipal infrastructure and service demand.
New houses/subdivisions being built all around? Property taxes going up? Service and amenity levels the same (or worse)? If the idea is that all of the growth is supposed to be a money maker for the Township, why do property taxes and fees continue to go up while at the same time service levels and amenities are the same (or in some cases worse)? As one of the fastest growing communities in Eastern Ontario, we need to ensure our residents actually see benefit from this growth; whether that is moderating tax levels or improving the services and community amenities that residents care about (and ideally, both). With my background in financial analysis and strategic planning I work to make sure we grow and invest the right amount, in the right way, a way which benefits residents now and over the long-term.
In many ways, despite all the growth, infrastructure in Ward 3 is not any better (and in some cases worse) than it was 30 years ago.
Loyalist, and Ward 3 in particular, has experienced significant growth, but what net new recreation amenities or other infrastructure are there in Ward 3? In some cases, despite all the growth, the infrastructure in Ward 3 is worse than when I was growing up here in the 80s/90s. If growth does not lead to reduced tax rates, growth must lead to new amenities and infrastructure that benefits residents, otherwise, why support significant growth? Whether you think we need a splash pad, improvements to rural gravel roads, some pickleball/tennis/multi-sports courts, a gym to replace the shuttered Leisure and Activity Centre, some accessible walking and cycling trails or something else, the bottom line is that with all of the growth in Odessa and Amherstview, recreation and other infrastructure should be better than it is. I voted against the closure of the Leisure and Activity Centre and I pushed for inclusion of infrastructure investments that would benefit Ward 3 in Loyalist's Infrastructure Master Plan and updated Parks and Recreation Master Plan. And this doesn't mean that there should be a blank cheque for infrastructure improvements, but it does mean that the state of recreation and other infrastructure in Ward 3 should improve in line with growth (and certainly be better than it was 30 years ago).
The residents of Ward 3 are severely under-represented in the current Loyalist Township Ward system.
If you live on the mainland in Loyalist Township, particularly Ward 3, your vote is worth significantly less than the votes of residents living in the rest of Loyalist Township. I have been fighting for fair voting rights for the residents of Ward 3 since 2022. Before I was elected to Council, I submitted a petition signed by over 200 fellow Ward 3 residents demanding fairness and change. The petition led to Loyalist Township conducting a Ward Review this Council term. The expert Watson Consultants hired by Loyalist Township to conduct the Ward Review found that the Loyalist Townshp's current Wards are "problematic" and "do not ensure effective representation". The right to effective representation is a protected democratic right under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In response to the Ward Review, Loyalist Township Council, in a 4 to 3 vote, passed a By-law which largely upheld the status quo.
The By-law was then appealed to the Province by one of the petitioners (Grant Amyot, a retired Queen's University Political Science Professor).
A Tribunal of the Province found that the Ward By-law passed by Loyalist Township undermines the principal of effective representation and ordered that the Ward By-law be repealed.
Media coverage:
The current Loyalist Council then voted 4 to 3 to defer any further work on the Wards until 2027. Meaning that the Wards remain status quo for this election and any changes to the Wards will be left for the incoming Council to consider.
Your views on taxes or what your taxes should be spent on will not be appropriately represented at Loyalist Council until the Wards are changed to ensure fair and effective representation for all residents in Loyalist Township.
Media coverage: