JCT: And I hadn't been invited and I hadn't attended.
Dominic Gravel didn't get out of jail on Tuesday morning so
I had no ride to the Caledon East Community Centre meeting
that I had also not been invited to attend.
I also decided to skip the third meeting I had not been
invited to attend at Wellington Heights Secondary School,
Mount Forest on Thursday March 10th. Actually, this is only
the second "High School" meeting I was ever not invited to.
The other was in Hamilton West decades ago. Tough. Maybe
they lost more by not getting a chance to hear the Guinness
Record candidate than I lost by not getting a chance to make
another Guinness Record speech.
So here's the Orangeville Citizen re****t:
>http://www.citizen.on.ca/
>Orangeville Citizen - Your Community Newspaper
>Vol. 31 No. 25 Thursday, March 10, 2005
Candidates queried on greenbelt, farming, health care
By John Edwards
JE: The first all-candidates night for the March 17 byelection
was a good-natured, tightly managed affair that generated
heat if not light, and was served up by two of the seven
participants with a generous dash of humour.
JCT: They call it an "all-candidates" meeting without the
organizers having invited all the candidates.
JE: The laughs were mostly courtesy of Bill Cook, a Grey
County farmer who's running for the Representative Party,
and Jim MacIntosh, representing Phillip Bender, candidate
for the Libertarian Party.
JCT: And the winner in the "Who got the most laughs"
category (without Turmel) are..." Jim McIntosh is one of the
Libertarians I tried to explain LETS provincial bonds but
who, after I had announced I wanted to re-register the
Libertarian party, came together with the other older
members to re-register it before I could and thus prevent me
from taking it into the last general election. He can boast
he helped his party stay impotent in the last election.
JE: Seven of the eight candidates who will be on the ballot
March 17 showed up for the debate: John Tory of the
Progressive Conservative Party; Bob Duncanson of the Liberal
Party, Lynda McDougall of the New Democratic Party, Frank de
Jong of the Green Party, Paul Micelli of the Family
Coalition Party, Mr. Cook and Mr. Bender.
The Abolitionist candidate, John Turmel, 54, of Brantford,
says he wasn't invited to the debate. His party wants to
abolish "interest rate slavery" and substitute a barter
system.
JCT: Turmel "says he wasn't invited." Didn't they check with
the organizers to see if it was so?
JE: Monday night's event, organized by the Greater Dufferin
Area Chamber of Commerce, gave each candidate five minutes
to state his or her case, then allowed for questions from
the audience, which was heavily laced with "planted"
questions from partisans, most directed at Mr. Tory.
Measured by applause, the nod had to go to him, although by
the end of the evening, they were all doing pretty well.
JCT: This could have probably caused trouble. We don't know
if all candidates got to comment on every question or not.
If not, then all the questions went to the major candidates
while the minors twiddled their thumbs. My standard practice
is to insist on the option of commenting on all questions or
I'll leave the stage of debate and go pass out my flyers
telling people "I'll go back when I can answer too." Every
time a question is not addressed to me, I'll leave the
stage. While the other minor candidates sit there like lumps
on a log. Last time I did that was in the Hamilton West
provincial byelection won by Andrea Horvath last year.
JE: The greenbelt seemed to be the most pressing issue for
those present, at least those asking questions. Mr.
Duncanson defended the legislation, holding that it was
"great vision for the province." "We need to have viable
farms as a piece of the greenbelt vision," he said.
JCT: "We need to have..." but no "how."
JE: "The Tories would pave it, we want to save it." He noted
that David Suzuki, perhaps Canada's most prominent
environmentalist, was in favour of the plan. Audience
response to that statement was less than warm: "Where does
David live?" someone yelled.
Mr. de Jong, on the other hand, felt the greenbelt didn't go
far enough: "It should extend right from Ottawa to Windsor,
and include all of southern Ontario," he said.
JCT: "It should"... but no "how."
"If things continue the way they are going now, we are going
to pave over all of the land from Toronto to Collingwood."
Mr. de Jong also suggested land-planning decisions should be
made by local governments and the Ontario Municipal board
should be abolished.
Mr. Cook, who lives near Owen Sound, says the greenbelt
should be scrapped: "It's not going to save prime number one
and two land at all," he said. "We need an Ontario
constitution that enshrines the rights of landowners."
JCT: "should be" and "we need" but no "how."
For the Libertarians, Mr. Macintosh said he also opposes the
greenbelt plan.
Mr. Tory felt the legislation should include a sup****t
program for farmers and should have given them the right of
appeal. He said the protect area was based on political
science, not physical science. "Your lands are in the
greenbelt before a dinner party, and mysteriously, after the
dinner party, your lands are out of the greenbelt," he said.
"It strikes me as strange that cemeteries and Keg
restaurants are included. It looks at best like it was made
up as a game of pin the tail on the donkey."
Ms. McDougall, for the NDP, was skeptical of the
government's actual intent: "The piece of land is going to
be locked there, and used later for development," she said.
"That's what it is - it's got nothing to do with political
science at the moment, or physical science. In about 10
years, when they decide they're going to let the ruling
slide, we're going to see development creep up this hill."
Mr. Duncanson jumped right on that statement: "I can't
believe you just said that," he said.
Mr. Micelli, for the Family Coalition, said the greenbelt is
another example of bad government planning.
Next to the greenbelt, the viability of Dufferin farms was
the crowd's next major concern.
Mr. Duncanson said he'd met with many farmers during the
campaign and plans a round-table discussion with Minister of
Agriculture Steve Peters next week. He said the Cabinet has
to *****s whether current policies are helping farming's
viability, or hindering it, but "farm viability is
critical."
Mr. Tory said farmers don't need plans, they need action,
and a level playing field, to compete. "They weren't there
(at the Queen's Park protest) because they needed a field
trip or there was nothing to do on the farm, they were there
because they need help now," he said.
JCT: An expert on what's "needed" with no expertise on
"how."
JE: Mr. Cook said the farmers need a subsidized system like
Quebec's. "All three of the traditional parties are full of
bull-nutrients," he said to everyone's amusement.
JCT: He knows what's needed too.
JE: Mr. MacIntosh, whose party believes government should
get out of the decision-making business altogether, feared
for the future of food production in Ontario: "I sure as
hell hope government doesn't take over our food supply," he
said. "Could you imagine the waiting lines for a loaf of
bread?"
Mr. Micelli felt farmers need tax breaks.
Ms. McDougall, who was raised on a farm near Alton, said
Dufferin-Peel-Wellington-Grey's next MPP has to make some
sort of commitment to help its farmers. "We have a
government here that does or doesn't take farming as a
priority," she said. "If research money is slashed, if
systems that sup****t drainage are slashed, if hydro bills
are increased, and if BSE money is not where it needs to be,
we need to make sure we have someone in place that is going
to make sure they do have that kind of commitment to the
farmers in this area."
JCT: She knows what "we need to make sure" of.
Next on the crowd's agenda was health care. Mr. Tory, asked
if the PCs plan to privatize health care, replied that the
existing system just needs to be run in a more business-like
way. "Of the $31 billion we are spending right now, there's
a lot of money being wasted," he said. "I want to see
competition in the delivery of services, but you always pay
with your OHIP card."
JCT: Shortage of money due to it being wasted. Bull. Too
many committees carefully budgeting. All the politicos say
this, then get in and can find no waste to cut. Note no
actual proof of wastage, just the allegation.
JE: Mr. Duncanson said he wants to see health care remain
public
JCT: It's they're not experts on what's needed, they're
visionaries on what they want to see.
JE: and attacked Mr. Tory for comments he made in an
interview last year. "In the Guelph Mercury, this January,
Mr. Tory said using 407 toll highway as a model, he would
involve the private sector in all government projects from
health care to highway construction," he said. "I don't want
my health care run like the 407."
JCT: Doesn't like how Tory would deal with not enough money
but doesn't offer any alternative himself.
JE: Mr. Micelli said his party has a system that would make
health care providers more accountable. "The Family
Coalition Party has a system called medical savings accounts
which would make Doctors and hospitals more accountable for
what they do," he said.
JCT: That's what's missing. Not money but accountability.
JE: Mr. de Jong was in favour of preventive medicine,
including chiropractors and homeopaths. "Instead of arguing
about waiting lists and how much money we spend in health
care, we should start looking at prevention," Mr. de Jong
said. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to get sick
in the first place."
JCT: That's my favorite line. We don't need more doctors,
nurses, hospitals; we need less sick people.
JE: Both Mr. Cook and Mr. MacIntosh called for more
competition, on the basis that monopolies rarely serve
consumers well.
JCT: Since monopolies rarely serve well, ergo, the solution
must be more competition. Har har har har.
JE: "The government can't solve all of our problems - they
are the problem," Mr. Macintosh said. He said everything the
government runs has problems, so it should not be running
our health care system: "We pay more and get less for what
we spend than any other developed country."
JCT: Sure knows the problem if not the solution.
JE: Next was the matter of commitment to the riding: "People
in this riding are tired of politicians coming in, cutting
ribbons and kissing babies and expecting to get elected," a
Shelburne man told Mr. Tory. "Will you commit to running in
this riding in 2007 and sign a pledge confirming this
promise?"
JCT: The big issues in selecting the best candidate.
JE: The PC leader stuck to his position: "Whether it's right
or wrong, I made a commitment when I was running for the
leader****p, when I didn't know where I was running," he
said. "The commitment was to run in the City of Toronto,
where I live. I made that commitment to thousands of people
who voted for me as leader on the basis I could help restore
the party's fortune in Toronto. I would not go back on that
commitment. That's what politicians have done far too often
- say one thing and do something else. I think the Liberals
have no lesson to teach me about saying one thing and doing
another."
Mr. Cook was perhaps the only, but certainly the first, to
point out that Dufferin-Peel-Wellington-Grey would no longer
exist by the next election in 2007: "I unfortunately can't
run in 2007," he said, "because this riding will not exist
in 2007, it will be called Dufferin-Caledon," he said to a
round of laughter.
Citing the Liberals' well-known record in office, Mono
resident Bob McCrea asked whether a vote for the Liberal
candidate was a vote in favour of broken promises.
To a chorus of jeers, Mr. Duncanson reminded him and the
rest of the crowd that the Liberals inherited a $5.6 billion
deficit. He said the government has introduced a policy that
will see Ontario's finances of the province open to parties
and taxpayers before an election. "That $5.6 billion was
larger than we had been led to believe," he said. "Mr. Tory
even admitted, in a radio interview last fall, that was
deceitful of the Ernie Eves government to have
misrepresented the size of that deficit," he said. "In order
to not inflate further deficits, we had to make some tough
decisions."
JCT: We only stink because we inherited the stink.
JE: Mr. Tory said he would hold the Premier accountable:
"I'm going to fight to hold this man to account, to do the
things he said he was going to do, to stop the promise-
breaking and get on with making some decisions and stop
blaming the previous government," he said. "He's in
government now."
JCT: He promises to "fight to hold McGuinty to account."
Fight?
JE: Another humorous moment was provided when a member of a
Dufferin organization asked Mr. Tory about social
prosperity. "Fifty-four community leaders came together and
explored how they could ensure the highest quality of life
for residents in this county," the questioner said. "The
group highlighted a number of strengths this county has, but
highlighted a number of im****tant challenges. The most
significant of those were the effect of becoming a bedroom
community, the need for a regional economic development plan
and the need for for some co-ordinated human service
planning to parallel infrastructure planning, so we can have
the services that we need in this community for the growing,
aging and ailing population. "What do you see as the key
ingredient needed to improve the social prosperity of
Dufferin County, and if elected, how will you ensure these
ingredients are put into play?"
JCT: More money with a LETS provincial bond currency.
JE: Mr. Macintosh was the first to respond, as a hush fell
on the audience. He tried to get his bearings, then asked
"Could you repeat the question?" Then, on second thought,
added, "I suspect you really don't care what my answer is,"
and passed on it.
JCT: The Libertarian who prevented me from resurrecting the
Libertarian party to handle this question flubs it. Har har
har har. He stopped the only person who could handle the
question he couldn't even remember.
JE: The GDACC is slated to host its second meeting Monday at
Grace Tipling Hall in Shelburne at 7:30 p.m.
JCT: The GDACC must be the Chamber of Commerce who ran last
Monday's meeting to which I wasn't invited. Any bets on
whether I get invited to the meeting? Or since it looks like
they call it an "all candidates" meeting, maybe I should go
give them a taste of the Guinness Record show they missed so
far.
--
Abolitionist Slave Leader John C."The Banking Systems Engineer" Turmel
for UNILETS interest-free time-based currency in U.N. resolution C6
to Governments in the http://www.un.org/millennium/declaration.htm
http://www.cyberclass.net/turmel
519-753-0645 USENET: can.politics
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