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Amanda Pulker-Mok has only been living in Almonte for 3 1/2 years but she has already made her mark. When a council seat came open in April of last year in Mississippi Mills township after a tragic death, she was one of 11 applicants for the position. All of the applicants appeared before Council and made their pitches, and voting began. Three ballots later, she was declared the new member of council from Almonte ward, no mean feat for a newbie in small town Ontario. It was a result that surpassed her expectations.

“Being new to the area, I applied for the position in order to improve my name recognition, as I intended to run for Council in 2018,” she said, when interviewed last week in her parked car, while preparing to drive from one municipal meeting to another one.

She tries to schedule many of her responsibilities, which include sitting on three committees as well as council itself, around the days when her young children are in daycare. She may still run for council this coming fall, that is if her attempt to wrest the new Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston riding from the Conservative Party proves unsuccessful.

On December 20, 2017, she was confirmed as the Liberal candidate at a riding association meeting in Perth. She will remain on Mississippi Mills Council until the writ is dropped and the election starts up in earnest, around the beginning of May, at which time she will be taking a leave of absence from council to contest the election.

In the meantime she will be spending time attending riding forums that are being organised by the Liberal Riding Association.

She said that she will be taking advantage of those forums, as well as other opportunities to meet people in the riding.

“It is a very large riding. I don’t want to be going into different parts telling people this is what I think needs to be done, I would rather build on what people are saying,” she said.

Her commitment to the Ontario Liberals comes from what she calls “my political inclination towards the party, which has made me a supporter. More recently, I have come to feel strongly about the Premier’s messaging around opportunity and fairness.”

She said that she will be considering all the issues that are important in the riding between now and May so she is ready to answer questions at public events, during door to door campaigning at all candidates forums, but one thing about her candidacy that is already in place is her attitude towards politics.

“I think I need to be who I am, and my feeling is that the people of this riding are ready for a change, a positive fresh change, and that is what I am offering.”

The issues that she thinks will be top of mind for many voters in the coming election, particularly in this riding, will be education, child care and health care, “three areas that touch on everybody’s lives. Dealing with the urban versus rural reality will also be a challenge,” she said.

And she is happy to be representing the current government, and representing some of the initiatives they have undertaken.

“I feel the current government has done some really great things, such as OHIP Plus and changes to the Ontario Student Aid program.

“It would be good to have someone who comes from a younger demographic sitting at the table.”

Pulker-Mok went to Trent University, where she studied Business Administration and Cultural Studies. Before moving to Almonte, she was working in Newmarket in health administration as a cancer screening co-ordinator at the South Lake Regional Health Centre.

Published in General Interest
Wednesday, 10 January 2018 12:36

Election Year

The last time we all went to the polls was for the Federal election way back in the fall of 2015, when the 10 year old Steven Harper led Conservative government was tossed out in favour of the Liberals under Justin Trudeau. This year the 14.5 year run of the Ontario Liberals, during which time Dalton McGuinty was elected 3 times and current Premier Kathleen Wynne one time, will be on the line on June 7th. Riding redistribution, which came into effect federally in that 2015 election, will be mirrored at Queen’s Park after this coming election. Lanark Frontenac Lennox and Addington Conservative MPP Randy Hillier will be contesting the new Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston riding against Amanda Pulker-Mok of the Liberals, Anita Payne of the Green Party, a still un-named NDP candidate, and perhaps other independent or small party candidates who may come out of the woodwork in the run up to the election.

Our readers in Addington Highlands will be part of the new provincial riding of Hastings, Lennox and Addington (HL&A). Former Conservative Federal Member of Parliament Daryl Kramp, who lost the Federal election in the HL&A riding to Mike Bossio in 2015, was chosen last August as the Conservative candidate in the new provincial riding, and has been campaigning ever since. The other parties have not selected candidates as of yet.

While the local election will not heat up until the writ period, which starts in early May, on a provincial level the contest has been under way for at least a year, perhaps longer.

The thinking as recently as 3 months ago was that the Liberals were headed to certain defeat to the Conservatives, but the polls have tightened since then. We will be watching the provincial election over the next few months, reporting as the candidates surface for the various parties, and trying to get a sense of how riding redistribution will affect the local race.

In the 2015 Federal election, The Lanark Frontenac Kingston riding went to Scott Reid, the long serving Conservative Party incumbent from the former Lanark Frontenac Lennox and Addington riding. While Reid’s margin of victory decreased from earlier elections, that could have been more a reflection of dipping Conservative Party fortunes nationally than the impact of riding redistribution. In Frontenac-Hastings, the riding swung from the Conservative to the Liberals, leading to a surprise victory for Mike Bossio over Daryl Kramp.

We will look at the candidates as they are announced and will provide coverage of the local election in May and early June, when we will publish profiles of the candidates and will hold all candidates meetings at two locations.

The municipal election will be the subject of our attention at the Frontenac News over the summer and into the early fall. There will certainly be a good number of current council members who will be running again, and a smaller number who will be stepping away from municipal politics at the end of the year. The first thing to watch for after May 1st, when the nomination period opens, is whether any current members of council decide to take a run at the incumbent mayors in Frontenac County. If any do it will open up the council vote and create a more competitive race overall. And if the previous election is any indication, running for council as an incumbent can be anything but a sure thing. In Central Frontenac the last time around, only two of the 7 incumbents who sought re-election kept their place. An incumbent lost in each ward, as did the sitting Mayor, Janet Gutowski. The other townships were not as volatile, but there were hard fought races in many wards, and in the mayoralty races. We will also be closely watching Addington Highlands. If Reeve Henry Hogg does indeed step down, the race for Reeve will be pretty wide open, and it will be interesting to see if any of the current members of council decide to step up to the plate.

We began our early coverage of the election this week by polling incumbent heads of council (reeves and mayors) as to their intentions. We will continue to report on the intentions of current members of council and others who are ready to declare their candidacy as they come forward over the winter and early spring. After May first we will report on nominations as they are submitted in the townships, and our coverage will swing into higher gear after nominations close on July 27th. In the run up to the election we are planning to hold all candidates meetings in each ward where our paper is delivered, as we have done in the past, and we will profile the candidates in September and early October. We will also look at the issues that will be contested in the election, from development pressures in South Frontenac, to the septic inspection issue in Central Frontenac, to the fallout from the rebuild of the township office and the onset of the One Small Town initiative in North Frontenac. The underlying issue of taxation and service levels in all townships is another concern will will address in our coverage.

Published in Editorials
Wednesday, 27 January 2016 20:24

Bossio named chair of Rural Caucus

Mike Bossio, who won election over long-time incumbent Daryl Kramp by 225 votes to become the MP for the new Hastings, Lennox and Addington riding, has taken on a new role.

Earlier this week he was elected as chair of the National Rural Caucus by 50 of his fellow Liberal MPs.

“We need to take a holistic approach to rural Canada. Rural Canada includes agriculture, forestry, and fishing of course, but it also includes access to high-speed Internet, cellphone coverage, tourism, small business development, mining and many other issues. There are common issues in rural Canada, but no rural riding is completely alike,” he said in response to his appointment.

Bossio, who lives in Tyendinaga Township, located between Belleville and Napanee in Hastings County, has visited the northern townships in his new riding since the election, including Addington Highlands. He has set up a riding office in Napanee and has a satellite office in Bancroft.

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY

Liberal candidate for the newly formed Lanark-Frontenac-North Kingston riding, Phillipe Archambault, said that Perth Mayor John Fenik omitted some details when he announced he was seeking the NDP nomination for the riding.

Last week, Fenik announced that he is leaving the Liberal Party because of his concerns about party leader, Justin Trudeau, and will be seeking the NDP nomination at a nomination meeting in Perth on May 31.

While Fenik described himself as a “well known Liberal” in his media release, Mr. Archambault filled in some of those details this week.

Archambault said that he first met Fenik a year ago when both of them, along with Phil Somers, were invited to a number of Liberal riding association sponsored events aimed at introducing prospective candidates to the membership.

“In September John decided not to seek the nomination, but to run for mayor of Perth once again. After that I asked him if he would endorse my candidacy and he said yes.”

At the two Liberal candidate nomination meetings last October, one in Sydenham and one in Perth, Fenik was one of the speakers who introduced Archambault to the voters.

After Archambault was chosen over Phil Somers, John Fenik offered his services as campaign manager, and the offer was accepted.

While he would not go into details, Phillippe Archambault said that in early February, he decided to relieve Fenik of his duties as campaign manager.

“Things were not working out so I had to let John go from the campaign,” he said. “I am still on good terms with him and I look forward to debating the issues. We texted each other about that just this morning.”

The Liberal campaign in the riding has been underway for months now, and according to Archambault there is an appetite for change.

“I am hearing from a lot of people who want to unseat Mr. Harper, and I think the Liberals are in the strongest position,” he said.

He added that even though the NDP finished second and the Liberals third in the previous Federal election in Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington (LFL&A), the riding that makes up most of the territory in the new riding, a Liberal survey of voter intentions that was done in February shows them to be in a solid second place position with over 30% support, with the NDP a distant third at “under 15%” and the Conservative Party still leading but with less than 50% support".

In the most recent federal election, Scott Reid polled 57% in LFL&A.

As for John Fenik's chances when the NDP nomination meeting comes up next week, there are no other candidates who have come forward thus far, and at least one un-named long time riding association member expressed little concern about John Fenik's Liberal past, describing him as a popular mayor who is strong on community developing, and suggesting he will be welcomed with open arms on May 31. Later this week, it was confirmed that the nomination period has pased and John Fenik has been acclaimed as cndidate. The nomination meeting will become a campaign kickoff event, and MP Paul Dewar will be delivering the keyonte address.

It all speaks to a lively pre-campaign between the two opposition parties during the summer, perhaps joined by incumbent Scott Reid, followed by a lively exchange of views during the campaign proper, which will likely take place in late September and/or early October.

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY

By Jonathan Davies

Former Parliamentary House Speaker and longtime Kingston MP Peter Milliken was in Sydenham Sunday to speak to a group, primarily Liberal party members from the riding, receiving plenty of questions and insights from those in attendance. Milliken's address was introduced by Federal Liberal candidate for Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington, Philippe Archambault.

The event was entitled “Why elections matter: Being citizens in a healthy democracy,” and covered topics ranging from the growing mismatch between issues raised in parliament and the actual concerns of constituents; to the increased use of “in camera” sessions, which limit public access to parliamentary discussions, including recommendations by experts on a given issue; to the role that media plays in bringing the grit of legislative negotiations to the public in an honest and thorough form.

The discussion had a partisan flavour to it, and Milliken was not shy about condemning the Harper government, charging that they have despoiled question period of its substance and forced opposition parties to follow its format: ask a scripted question that the party has approved and is of general, national interest, and respond with an attack.

Whichever party or parties is most to blame for the current state of parliamentary discourse may not be the point so much as what this means for democracy. As Milliken put it, the public lost interest.

“Diversity made the House of Commons a more effective place,” he said.

Voter apathy may be further stoked by the fact that the media has not been reliable in reporting a comprehensive picture of legislative developments. The Harper government has been criticized for its engagement with media. Milliken suggested that news organizations critical of the government are restricted from attending press conferences.

His comments recall NDP MP Charlie Angus' lament that Harper “ran on a campaign of open and accountable government [only to then] bar access to the doors.” Or, as University of Alberta academic Graham Darling writes, “Mr. Harper has not placed any legal restrictions on what can be published, but he has limited what information is given to the press and has restricted the opportunities the press has to gather information.”

As for the use of “in camera” sessions, Milliken noted that for any detailed study of a public bill, there is little reason to hold discussions in camera unless there is sensitive information, such as details related to state security. The practice, in his view, had come to be used too liberally in recent years.

Finally, the infamous omnibus bill, where various disparate pieces of legislation may be bundled together, was discussed as an item that could be used more judiciously, and thereby more democratically. Milliken suggested that the House of Commons could adopt rules around ensuring that no bill could adopt more than a given number of statutes unless all of the statutes were related to a single subject.

Partisan interests aside, the takeaway from Sunday's gathering was the importance of citizens following politics, and engaging through party involvement as a means of combating apathy.

This, Milliken noted, was especially true for getting younger people involved in politics (it should be noted that among the politically-savvy attendees, few were under 50 and no younger voters attended.)

“Get them to participate in the election doing canvassing...if you get somebody who's keen and doing it, he or she can go to friends and tell them. Once they learn how to do it, they enjoy it and it's terrific.”

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

Gerry Fast, president of the new federal Liberal riding association, was all smiles at an event at Sydenham Grace Centre on April 27. Fast said the event was “a birthday party of sorts” to welcome Liberal supporters from in and around the community to celebrate the creation of the new Lanark Frontenac riding, which now includes all of Lanark County and stretches south in Frontenac County to the 401 just north of Kingston.

Fast said he is excited with this new fresh start. “Things are changing and the Liberals are high in the polls right now and we're hoping to see a Liberal MP here after the 2015 federal election.” In attendance were numerous local politicians sporting their red colors including provincial Liberal candidate Bill MacDonald along with other municipal candidates from the area seeking office this October.

The two current federal candidates vying for nomination in the riding were also in attendance. Phil Somers of Sydenham is one who is seeking the federal Liberal nomination. Somers, a retired air force pilot, spent 28 years in the Canadian Air Force. He also worked at the Royal Military College in Kingston and at the National Defense Headquarters as a staff officer for space plans, and also with NATO for six years on ballistic missile defense. Somers said he has become increasingly concerned politically about "what is happening to our government and economy.” Somers cited a survey of residents in the former riding showing that their number one concern was “the state of our democracy”. “My main thrust will be first to help fix the democracy in Ottawa and then to address the specific issues of Lanark and Frontenac."

The second candidate, Philippe Archambault, lives with his wife and three young children in Inverary. Originally from Montreal, Archambault worked for years in Britain and now works at SLH Transport in Kingston as their performance analyst

Archambault has been attending local municipal council meetings and has plans to visit every single one in order to get acquainted with the councilors and with the current local issues. On that subject he said he is aware of the need for affordable housing and better health care for those living in rural communities. He believes that his youth and young family are representative of the new excitement that the Justin Trudeau Liberals are currently experiencing.

Lastly, association president Gerry Fast announced the new table and board members of the association.

Small packets of red stringer beans labeled “seeds of hope” were handed to guests as they enjoyed homemade baked good and beverages.

 

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY

The Federal Liberals are just getting the riding association up and running for the new Lanark Frontenac riding, which was created after last year's federal riding redistribution process. It will be contested for the first time in the fall of October 2015 when the next federal election is scheduled.

The new riding includes all of Frontenac and Lanark Counties (with the exception of Frontenac Islands) as well as rural Kingston north of Hwy. 401. It will have two population centres, the largest being Lanark County, and a secondary centre in the South Frontenac/North Kingston area.

Even though the date of a nomination meeting has not been set, two candidates have already emerged, both South Frontenac residents, Phil Somers and Philippe Archambault. Although both candidates come from different parts of the country, Archambault from Montreal and Somers from PEI, they have both settled locally. Phil Somers moved to the Kingston area as a student at RMC and remained in the region after retiring from the military in 1994. Philippe Archambault moved to Kingston four years ago, and to Inverary 18 months ago. He has lived in the United Kingdom as well as his native Quebec, and when he moved back to Canada with his Welsh wife, they decided to live in Kingston so she could speak English and they could still be close to Quebec. The couple have three young children, and Philippe, who has a background in business consulting, is currently working as a performance analyst at SLH Transport in Kingston.

The two men will present contrasting styles to the riding association membership. They agree on one thing, however. Like all good Liberal party members they do not like the direction in which Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper has taken the country.

Carleton Place-based Scott Reid, who represents the soon to be forgotten Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington riding and has been a sitting MP for 15 years, representing both the Canadian Alliance and Conservative parties, has not announced if he will be running for re-election. Reid was instrumental in the design of the new riding, which re-unites his home county into one riding. In the 2011 election, he received 57% of the votes, his highest percentage to date.

Published in General Interest
With the participation of the Government of Canada