Letters: January 22

Letter to Mayor Gutowski & Central Frontenac Council, Edie Cairns

Kudos to the Snowplow Drivers, Rick Brown

Scott Reid wrong on Prorogation, Helen Forsey

Letter to Mayor Gutowski & Council

As premiers and mayors across the country anticipate the forthcoming economic stimulus dollars, I have a "bright idea". What if a homeowner who committed to installing an entry-level solar power micro-generation system was to have $1000 deducted from their property tax for each of the next ten years?

This would give great incentive to engage in this green power generation. As more installations were requested, our local business would require more workers. More panels would be in demand and the price would fall. More transport would be needed to deliver the components and more truckers would have work. Who knows, maybe some of the new employees needed to meet demand would chose to move to this area. They would buy a house, shop in this area and send children to our local schools. If the council chose to make this a major focus, Central Frontenac could become known as the solar capital of Ontario. Even the township offices could sport a system. New homes built in the area equipped with such a system would be forgiven the cost of a building permit in addition to the ten years of less property tax. More people would want to move here to be part of such a forward thinking community. One could drive along our roads admiring the mini-power-plants sprinkled atop the roofs. Each system would mean 1.9 tons less CO2 entering the atmosphere.

Yes, this would mean a drop in property revenues, but that could be budgeted using the aforementioned stimulus dollars.

Just give it some thought. We would not only change our present, we would change the future!

Edie Cairns

El Bees are the best!

Thank you for your article about Laura Baldwin and Dave Limber's web-based cloth diaper business. It is great to see The Frontenac News featuring local
business people whose product is conscientiously produced and so relevant to our global situation. Every disposable diaper a child uses sits in a landfill for years. Cloth diapers present a wonderful opportunity for parents to save money in an environmentally responsible way. There are many types of diapers available and they are made from a wide variety of materials, so cloth diapering can really be tailored to suit individual needs. Speaking from experience, El Bees are the best!

Niki Putnam

Kudos to the Snowplow driver

At the half-way point of a pretty snowy winter, we would like to pass along our kudos re the good job the crews are doing on the roads in the Arden area. It means a lot for us to be able to drive around the village safely.

Rick Brown

Scott Reid wrong on Prorogation

Scott Reid is a nice fellow, but his recent letter to local electors accusing the "three-party" (not) coalition of trying to "seize power without an election" is pure hogwash. And it's poisonous hogwash.

Scott knows better. He has a copy of the landmark book by my father, the late senator and constitutional expert, Eugene Forsey, on dissolution of Parliament and the role of the Governor General in protecting Canadians from government despotism. My father and other constitutional authorities of all political stripes have made it crystal clear that Mr. Harper had no business asking the Governor General to suspend Parliament last December to avoid a vote of non-confidence.

Envisaging a similar situation, Eugene Forsey has a Governor General respond to such a request this way:

"Prime Minister, responsible cabinet government means government by a cabinet with a majority in the House of Commons. I don't know whether you have such a majority. No one knows. The only way to find out is by summoning Parliament and letting it vote... It is not for me to decide who shall form the Government. But it is for the House of Commons. I cannot allow you to prevent the House of Commons from performing its most essential function. To permit you to do that would be to subvert the Constitution. I cannot allow you to usurp the rights of the House of Commons."

He goes on: "The only protection against such conduct is the reserve power of the Crown, the Governor General, to refuse such prorogation or dissolution, and, if necessary, to dismiss the Government which advised such prorogation or dissolution."

But even with his knowledge of constitutional facts, Scott has chosen to promote partisan falsehoods, aiding and abetting his leader's shocking betrayal of our democratic parliamentary system. He should be ashamed of himself.

Helen Forsey, Ompah