Editorials - Nov. 15, 2024
A local solution
Late last week, Bruce Power announced that it will be working together with the provincial government to begin processing medical isotopes nearby in Bruce County. Currently, the isotopes are produced here and shipped to Germany for processing. By building a facility to do its own processing, Bruce Power will be saving time and money.
When economic development can save lives and reduce the cost of health care, that is a win-win scenario for Ontario. Bruce Power CEO Eric Chassard predicts that with a local processing facility, they will be able to bring the cost of a single dose of isotope lutetium-177, used primarily to detect and kill prostate cancer cells, from $60,000 to just a couple thousand dollars. Canada has gone from importing most of its medical isotopes in 2022 to now producing most of what it needs.
Nuclear energy tends to get more negative press than positive, especially in recent years as the area decides on how to manage the waste from the process. In addition to the power that is required for our modern society, the medical byproducts remind us of how reliant we have become on the elephant in the area. – DS
Why bother asking?
Under Chief Administrative Officer Brad McRoberts, Huron East has seemingly ushered in a new era of public outreach and input. Be it the Huron East Asks Residents (HEAR) platform or regular public surveys, it seems like the municipality is asking more questions than it ever has before. And yet, upon receiving those opinions, Huron East Council has made a regular practice of not listening to them.
The municipality, through marketing firm Cinnamon Toast, engaged residents in its rebranding work, asking residents what they thought was important, which of the three potential new logos they preferred and more. As noted by Councillor Justin Morrison, 50 per cent of those asked voted for Option C, while 47 per cent voted for Option A, so it only made sense to put forward Option C. Not to Huron East Council. Several councillors voiced their personal admiration for Option A, so, Option A it was. Now, there’s something to be said about the fallible nature of standard, garden-variety democracy (any first-world nations elect any fascists recently?) but, in this case, the people have spoken.
Of course, an elected body of councillors is always going to have the last word when it comes to spending taxpayers’ money, however, if the plan was always to move ahead with whatever council preferred, engaging soliciting meaningful public input feels like an illusion. It’s reasonable to look at the process and think that professional time and resources were wasted and that people’s time was wasted.
This has happened before in Huron East, with public input and even an ad hoc committee recommending changes to council’s composition, only for council to then ignore that feedback and go its own way. If this continues, the municipality runs the risk of becoming The Boy Who Cried Wolf and the next time council wants input from its residents, those same residents might wonder why they should even bother. – SL
It is happening again
Much ink has been spilled on the re-election of Donald Trump last week, the apparent return of fascism and American voters looking past numerous transgressions (felony convictions, sexual abuse liability, two impeachments, inciting an insurrection, efforts to undermine democracy and the list goes on and on and on) to elect their next leader. And while Americans have seemingly made their bed and now they’re readying to lie in it, because the United States of America has firmly established itself as the world’s police force, worldwide reverberations abound.
Aside from the irreparable damage that’s sure to be done to the United States of America and the rights and freedoms of its residents, what does it mean to live in a world in which Trump is fairly elected a second time? And what does it mean for Canada, which has been a bee in Trump’s bonnet since his first time? Canada may face its own changing of the guard soon enough. Does that mean that a change at the top will improve Canada’s relationship with the United States? Or, with someone more conservative and, frankly, “Trumpy” in office, will Canada be even more vulnerable as the conservative besties make googly eyes at one another and pass heart-stickered notes that read “You + Me = Fascism?”
Only time will tell, but the Canadian/American relationship is one of the most important and civil in the world and, with erratic, unpredictable change in the air, that could all be quite easily disrupted. The people of the United States have spoken loudly and clearly that they want Trump to lead them for the next four years (at least). How that decision will affect the rest of the world will be profound regardless of how it plays out. The United States has made it its business to inject itself into the affairs of others, stomping around the world lunch room, knocking other countries’ books onto the ground and stealing others’ lunch money. Is Canada destined to be a friend in the school yard, or will our heads be on their way to the toilet bowl with Trump holding us by our ankles? – SL