In his book A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens wrote “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair …”
Much the same can be held true about elections in general – municipal, federal, or in the current case, provincial.
Having watched two of the recent provincial debates – Wellington-Halton Hills and Perth-Wellington on back-to-back nights, one can clearly see how it brought out both some of the best and the worst of the season.
Perth-Wellington
In Arthur, the spectre of a full-fledged protest led to a decision to cancel a planned candidates meeting Sept. 14.
In the wake of that decision, Wind Concerns Ontario chose to “uncancel” it by acting as the sponsoring organization.
However, having watched the YouTube clip of the protest rally by Wind Concerns Ontario at John Wilkinson’s Stratford campaign office, one can clearly understand his hesitancy at walking into a lion’s den.
In a release sent out to media outlets prior to the Perth-Wellington debate, Wilkinson stated “This is my fourth election. I have never missed a debate organized by non-partisan organizations serving to inform voters in my riding. I have never accepted an invitation to attend an event organized by any group that has endorsed just one candidate.”
“Free, fair and open debates are a hallmark of our democracy. It’s important for the organizers of debates to be non-partisan.”
Various News article and blog entries regarding WCO also appeared to make the group’s overall intent abundantly clear.
Wind Concerns Ontario aligns with Ontario PC Party – Kincardine News, Sept. 7.
“Wind Concerns Ontario (WCO), a grassroots coalition of … has officially aligned itself with the Ontario Progressive Conservative (PC) Party for the upcoming fall election.”
Perth-Wellington has a message for John Wilkinson – Sayonara! – John Laforet blog, Sept. 1.
In a similar vein, during a rally in Stratford, the Beacon Herald reported Laforet stating “It’s the beginning of a process that will result in John Wilkinson being finally evicted from office.”
The local promo poster for the event, with a man wearing boxing gloves stating that candidates would be “duking” it out.
To its credit, Wind Concerns Ontario operated the meeting with civility and decorum – much in the spirit of the meeting traditionally hosted by the Wellington Federation of Agriculture.
One should also give NDP candidate Ellen Papenburg a number of kudos during the debate.
She recognized the tradition of the Wellington Federation of Agriculture in running the Arthur meetings, and fairly asked that candidates not voice attacks on someone (Wilkinson) who was not present.
Although WCO attempted to be fair, no mention was made regarding its support of any political party.
I truly believe the tactics might have been significantly different had the WFA not pulled out or if Wilkinson had shown up at the meeting.
Simply put, the original cancellation of the meeting left WCO in a precarious position.
On one hand, it could not hold a protest rally if there was no venue to protest at.
On the other hand, if the WCO rally resulted in the cancellation of any part of the local democratic process, it would leave a sour taste everywhere.
Even as it was, some noted people who slowed down to attend the meeting drove off upon seeing scores of protestors in front of the building.
One has to wonder what was going through Laforet’s mind as he had to ask one of the protesters to leave the protest outside the building.
It just proves it is much simpler to be the protester, than to take the responsibility of running the show.
The only sad part here was a distinct lack of recognizable faces in the crowd. True, there were some familiar faces, but is seemed at least a third of those in the crowd were from the protest rally prior to the debate – including those not from the Perth-Wellington riding.
Wellington-Halton Hills
In comparison, I was rather dismayed at certain points of the Wellington-Halton Hills debate – with the audience and the candidates on stage.
What was refreshing however, was the general spirit of camaraderie between PC candidate Ted Arnott and NDP candidate Dale Hamilton.
Both are from Wellington, and were friendly rivals on the campaign trail a number of years back. At that time, Arnott won his riding, but the NDP came into power.
To be up front, I personally vote for the person – not the party. A character flaw perhaps, but it’s not about to change.
Nonetheless, while I can see the concern regarding the perceived apathy of younger voters, I’m not entirely convinced it is something new.
But the question from the floor telling candidates “Impress me” seemed audacious and inexplicable.
Whether residents agree with the concept, we live with a representative government – where the best candidates strive to serve all of constituents – not to impress one individual in an audience – or to curtail activities to please a specific interest group or lobby.
Perhaps most distressing were boos that emerged from the audience upon hearing comments they did not agree with.
It was sad … really.
It’s amazing how people think they can act in a darkened room with a lesser chance of being recognized.
On the plus side, moderator Cindy Lindsay did her level best to keep such comments from the floor to a minimum.
For the most part, candidates did their level best to rise above the jibes of the audience, and from other candidates, but irritation did slip through.
Misinformation being presented as fact caused the most distress.
Without a doubt wind turbines are an issue for many people in Wellington County – but it certainly it is not the only issue.
To elect or defeat a government based on a single issue is foolish and well informed voters should possess the simple wisdom to find out as much as they can about all the issues affect their area and the province. If one cares to, there are many windmills to tilt at, but at the end of the day, there is still real work to get done.
The next government faces numerous challenges, and must do what is right for all of Ontario, not just the ones who elected them.
