Editorials - Oct. 25, 2024

Port Elgin hosts two pumpkin-themed events each October. The first is the internationally-renowned Pumpkinfest, where growers from across the continent compete to grow the largest pumpkin and assortment of other vegetables. The festival extends the tourism season, bringing an economic boon to the town and raises money for more than 30 community groups, charities and non-profit organizations.

 

The second event is a little newer and not as well known... yet. The Saugeen Shores Community Church has developed a fundraiser by hauling the leftover giant pumpkins and gourds to the top of a four-storey crane and dropping them to watch them explode as they hit the ground.

 

Kudos to the church for coming up with a unique way of piggybacking off the Pumpkinfest’s success. Fundraising is always hard and finding new ways of catching the public’s attention can quickly tire out committees. 

Maybe in Blyth we could toss rutabagas off of Howson’s Mill or the bell tower at Memorial Hall at the end of the Rutabaga Festival! – DS

As Canadians in British Columbia and New Brunswick have gone to the polls, with Saskatchewan soon to follow, not far from here, residents are being asked to cast a very different vote in South Bruce. 

 

Voting for the public referendum on hosting a deep geological repository for nuclear waste in South Bruce opened last Monday and will close this Monday, Oct. 28. South Bruce and the Township of Ignace, a Northern Ontario community that voted in favour of hosting the facility earlier this year, are the two remaining potential sites for the repository. In Ignace, over 77 per cent of voters voiced their support.

 

In South Bruce, there are very strong opinions on both sides of the argument, with one touting the economic benefits of the site and a need to find a solution to storing Canada’s nuclear waste, while the other is critical of the process and wary of the perceived dangers of nuclear. 

 

Both are sure they have the right answer and yet, Canada cast its vote years ago by using nuclear power in the first place. With that choice came the inevitability that waste would need to be properly and safely disposed of one day. Now that day has come and a long-term solution is needed. Whether this is it is up for debate and, by Monday, the residents of South Bruce will make it clear where they stand as part of a voting system whose inner workings are clear and transparent. 

 

And yet, years and years of jockeying for position and well-staffed campaigns to win the hearts and minds of residents could amount to nothing with local First Nations groups, rightfully, being given veto rights, regardless of the will of the voters. It’s a wonder that the First Nations communities, given their veto power, weren’t asked first, then saving the need for a referendum if they choose to vote it down. 

 

However the vote shakes out, it has been just that: a vote. People have been given the choice and they will decide their community’s fate. For that, we should always be grateful. – SL 

As provincial elections sweep across Canada, there’s a distinct air of uncertainty and potential change in the air - except in Ontario, where Premier Doug Ford appears ready to manipulate the political landscape for his own personal gain. While British Columbia, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan have engaged in hard-fought contests over policy, reports suggest Ford is taking a more cynical route: buying votes with taxpayer money and calling an unnecessary election.

 

Rumours abound that as part of his fall economic statement, Ford’s government will issue rebate cheques of at least $200 per person, at a staggering cost of $3.2 billion. This blatant vote-buying scheme mirrors his previous move, when he refunded licence plate sticker fees ahead of his second election victory.

 

Ford is betting that Ontarians’ memories are short and their votes can be cheaply bought. But his past scandals haven’t faded from public consciousness. The Greenbelt scandal, in which protected land was opened for development against the advice of experts, has left a deep scar on Ford’s credibility. The Ontario Place scandal - where public land is being handed over for private development - and the ill-advised Science Centre relocation have only compounded the public’s distrust. In addition, there is also the mounting cost of fast-tracking alcohol sales in convenience stores, a blatantly populist move with questionable, dubious benefits.

 

Provincial elections in other parts of Canada are being fought over issues like housing, healthcare and the economy. Yet, in Ontario, Ford is turning elections into transactions, reducing politics to a cynical exchange in which voter loyalty is purchased with their own tax dollars. 

 

There are no real consequences for Ford choosing to call an election early - perhaps as soon as March - more than a year before the mandated date. And the troubling part is that he may get away with it. – SBS