‘Proper debate’ needed
Dear Editor:
A little more than a year ago, my wife-to-be and I began our search for where we wished to settle down, build a life for ourselves and raise a family. One day, on a whim, our search brought us to Fergus. We walked the town and talked to as many people as we could. We ended up buying our first home that same day. In fewer words, I have loved you from the moment I first laid eyes on you. This is my home.
Now, I, alongside you, stand at a critical juncture for the future of our homes. Centre Wellington’s population is projected to increase by roughly 71 per cent between 2021 and 2051, with increases of approximately 81% in Elora/Salem and 90% in Fergus.
At this fork in the road, we also find ourselves in another election cycle. The people we choose to navigate the issues we face in these coming years will lay the foundation for this future and define who we are. We must be sure that the candidates have the best interests of our homes and families in their hearts and minds.
In Elora and Fergus, I watched the candidates for the office of mayor speak highly of themselves and extoll the virtues of democracy, and yet fundamental to any democracy is debate. I have yet to see the candidates publicly challenge one another on their platforms, their records, their conflicts of interest, their political ambitions beyond mayor or their relationships with provincial political parties.
Once, long ago upon a hilltop in Athens, the birthplace of democracy, when the Assembly was called, the herald would open the session with the words: “Who wishes to speak?”
From the Assembly of ancient Athens onward, the foundational idea of democratic government itself has been that public decisions should be preceded by public argument. Democracy is more than the right to cast a ballot. It is the right and the duty of the public to seek out and hear competing arguments, to question them, and to judge best between them. It is well past time that the candidates answer to our community and are challenged by each other in a proper public debate with fair moderation.
This is our duty to one another, so that we, the public, can decide who amongst us should lead during this time. So now I ask the candidates, who wishes to speak?
Nicolas Menzies,
Fergus