New: Facebook has blocked all Canadian news. Join our mailing list to stay in the loop.

New: Facebook has blocked all Canadian news. Join our mailing list to stay in the loop.

The Green Party is the first national party to name a candidate to attempt to unseat 5-time incumbent Conservative Lanark Frontenac Kingston MP, Scott Reid, in the coming federal election.

The candidate is Stephen Kotze, who operates In Balance, an accounting company specialising in small business and not-for profit corporations out of his home in the tiny hamlet of Elphin. He has a long history in social and environmental activism.

Kotze was one of three Lanark County residents vying for the nomination, and won the nomination in the first round of counting the ranked ballots, at a meeting last Thursday (April 11), at McMartin House in Perth.

The other nominees were Doug Barr, a Tay Valley Township musician and advocate of sustainable living, and Kelvin Hodges, a resident of Perth who owns and runs a solar energy and storage business.

In a telephone interview this week, Kotze said that the other two candidates gave very strong presentations at the meeting.

“They were both very good candidates. I did not feel that confident coming into the vote.”

Kotze was born in South Africa, where his parents were prominent anti-apartheid activists. He moved to Europe when he was a young man and eventually made his way to The Farm, an intentional community in Tennessee.

With his wife Rosemary, he moved to the Elphin-McDonald’s Corners area in the early 1980’s to work at Plenty Canada. The Kotzes worked on a project in Lesotho, a country surrounded by South Africa, in the mid 1980’s.

In 1994, Stephen became a Canadian citizen. He worked at the Canadian Environmental Network in the mid 1990’s, eventually serving as the Executive Director. He established In Balance in 1998. The Kotzes have 7 children and two grandchildren.

In a telephone interview this week, he said that the Green Party is ready to take a larger role in Canadian politics.

“[Party leader] Elizabeth May has done an incredible job, but she can’t do it all on her own. We need more Green Party members in parliament to help influence policy.”

As to his motivation to seek the party nomination this time around, he pointed to the urgency surrounding climate change.

“We are in a crisis, people realise that and they also realise that our leaders are not responding appropriately,” he said. “The Liberals are floundering. Trudeau has signed the Paris accord, saying thathe takes climate change seriously, but not really, in my opinion, doing very much.”

As a long-time Lanark County resident, Kotze is certainly aware of how entrenched the Conservative Party is in the riding, but sees an opening this time around.

“There are a lot of people who don’t support the Conservatives in this riding, and I want to give them a voice. Scott Reid does a good job representing his constituency but not representing all of the people in this riding. It’s time to get people into power who will represent the broader public.”

He also argues that the greening of the Canadian economy does not mean the end to economic prosperity.

“As Greens, we don’t want our economy to lose jobs just because we are getting rid of fossil fuels. We are interested in maintaining a strong economy. There are things we can do that are concrete and are based in reality. Other countries have led the way in this area, and we need to make changes in order to catch up.”

(Editor’s note – Stephen Kotze provides accounting services for the Frontenac News)

Published in Lanark County
Wednesday, 18 October 2017 17:10

Local Greens nomination meeting

The local Greens have set Thursday, October 26 for their candidate nomination meeting for next year’s provincial election, for the riding of Lanark-Frontenac- Kingston. The meeting, which takes the theme: “You can send a message to the Liberals without voting Conservative”, will be held at McMartin House in Perth, starts at 7 pm. (McMartin House is on the north-east corner of Gore and Harvey streets, Perth.) The local riding has been changed by Elections Ontario since the 2014 provincial election, losing Napanee and area and adding the Mississippi Mills area.

The riding of Lanark-Frontenac- Kingston, now comprises the towns of Carleton Place, Mississippi Mills, Perth, and Smiths Falls, and the townships of Beckwith, Central Frontenac, Drummond- North Elmsley, Lanark Highlands, Montague, North Frontenac, South Frontenac and Tay Valley, as well as the northern part of the City Of Kingston. The next Ontario election is scheduled for June 7, 2018.

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY

The local Greens are getting ready for next year’s provincial election, and are seeking potential candidates for the riding of Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston.
A candidate nomination meeting has been set for Thursday, October 26 at McMartin House in Perth, starting at 7 p.m. (McMartin House is on the north-east corner of Gore and Harvey streets, Perth.)

Potential candidates must be at least 18 years old, a Canadian citizen and a resident in Ontario for at least 6 months prior to the election. More information of the candidate process is available by emailing the local constituency association at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The deadline for applications is October 12, 2017.

At the nomination meeting on October 26, each potential candidate will have the opportunity to speak to the members present prior to the vote taking place.

The local riding has been changed by Elections Ontario since the 2014 provincial election, losing Napanee and area and adding the Mississippi Mills area. The riding of Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston, now comprises the towns of Carleton Place, Mississippi Mills, Perth, and Smiths Falls, and the townships of Beckwith, Central Frontenac, Drummond-North Elmsley, Lanark Highlands, Montague, North Frontenac, South Frontenac and Tay Valley, as well as the northern part of the City Of Kingston.

The next Ontario election is scheduled for June 7, 2018.

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY
With the participation of the Government of Canada