Young_geoff_turner
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December 8, 2005. | Navigate | .
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Gray MerriamLegaleseGeneral information and opinion on legal topics by Rural Legal ServicesNature Reflectionsby Jean GriffinNight Skiesby Leo Enright
Young Geoff Turner to carry Liberal Banner in LFL&A
by Jeff Green
At a lengthy nomination meeting in Sharbot Lake on Saturday afternoon, Perth’s Geoff Turner won the Liberal nomination for the Federal riding of Lanark, Frontenac Lennox and Addington, defeating one other candidate, Irene Backholm.
After commencing at one o’clock with speeches from the candidates, voting took place throughout the afternoon.
As the afternoon wore on and a steady stream of people wearing Geoff Turner buttons arrived at the North Frontenac Telephone Company, it became clear that the membership drive Mr. Turner had undertaken over the past few months was paying off.
“Since the summer I have signed up over 200 members,” Turner offered. “Many of them are former members of the association who, for one reason or another, haven’t gotten around to renewing their memberships in the past couple of years.”
Geoff Turner submitted the new memberships to the riding association just days before the nomination meeting, swelling the local association to around 500 members.
Irene Backholm, who seemed unaware that Geoff Turner was undertaking a membership drive, signed up around 50 new members herself.
When it was announced that Geoff Turner had indeed received the support of the majority of voters, Irene Backholm threw her support behind Turner.
Geoff Turner, who is not yet 25, attended high school at Perth Collegiate and graduated from Wilfred Laurier University with a Political Science Degree in 2004. He spent a year travelling the world after that, spending most of that time in Southeast Asia.
“When I returned to Canada last spring I moved to Ottawa because of my interest in federal politics. This summer I saw the opportunity to seek the nomination in a riding that I am familiar with, since I am from Perth, and being young I have been able to devote myself full time to getting the nomination and carrying on the campaign.”
Turner will have quite a challenge if he hopes to overcome Scott Reid. Reid received a shade under 50% of the votes in the election of 2004, beating Hastings, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Liberal incumbent Larry McCormick by over 10,000 votes in the newly created Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington riding.
“In order for us to defeat Scott Reid, and I think we are the only credible opposition to the Conservatives in this riding, we need to attract people. Hopefully, voters will see that with a new, young face, and an energetic campaign, we can challenge Scott Reid on his record.”
Turner was not prepared to comment on policy issues this week.
“It is premature for me to talk about policy, but I have heard from a lot of supporters and other people I’ve met on the street that Scott Reid has been sort of invisible since the last election. If we do a good job on outreach we can challenge Scott Reid.”
Seen_his_glory
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ChristmasEdition
December 15, 2005. | Navigate | .
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Gray MerriamLegaleseGeneral information and opinion on legal topics by Rural Legal ServicesNature Reflectionsby Jean GriffinNight Skiesby Leo Enright
We have seen His Gloryby Fr. Joseph Machaj,St.John the Evangelist,Flinton
Scripture tells us that certain people were filled with great expectation when Jesus was about to be born. Both Mary and Joseph knew this child was very special. Anna and Simeon were in the Temple, waiting eagerly for the Messiah. Zechariah and Elizabeth and the baby John were excited about the coming birth of Jesus as well as their own role in this amazing act of God. Each of these people in their own way had a sense that God was about to do something very important.
None of these people wanted to miss what God was going to do; rather, they wanted to be part of it. So to prepare themselves, they gave the Holy Spirit the freedom to work in their hearts and minds and they were rewarded richly for it.
When Jesus was born, they all saw the glory of the Lord, even though Jesus was nothing but a little baby. How could this be? How could they possibly recognize that this infant was born of God? How could they tell that he was their long-awaited Messiah?
Because they had all had their spiritual eyes opened by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The best way to see the Glory of Jesus is to yield ourselves to God and to ask Him to open our spiritual eyes.
Road_warrior
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December 15, 2005. | Navigate | .
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Gray MerriamLegaleseGeneral information and opinion on legal topics by Rural Legal ServicesNature Reflectionsby Jean GriffinNight Skiesby Leo Enright
Logan the lonely road warrior:Central Frontenac Council ends the year as they started it -- arguing about roadsby Jeff Green
Back in January, at the first Central Frontenac Council meeting of 2005, Council heard complaints over how the roads department had dealt with icy road conditions resulting from a series of mini-ice storms over New Year’s.
At a packed meeting in Mountain Grove in mid-January, icy roads and how the township deals with them was a hotly debated issue.
While Council dealt with many issues throughout the year, roads issues continue to surface from time to time. Under pressure from Councillor Murray, the township even established a roads committee this year. Yet, at their final meeting of 2005 this past Tuesday, roads issues dominated again, with Councillor Murray complaining about how the roads department reacted to snowy roads in Kennebec district following the first snowfall of the 2005-2006 winter season.
Logan Murray said he received phone calls on the morning of Thursday, November 24, after a snowfall on the previous evening, from people in the Elm Tree region of Kennebec, asking if the roads were going to be plowed. He brought forward the concerns, via phone and email, to the township office, about how constituents in the region were upset that the roads were not plowed, and were again not plowed by the time they left for work on the following morning, November 25.
A series of e-mails between Councillor Murray and Township CAO Heather Fox ensued. Councillor Murray told the News that he wanted to know “what the roads crew was doing on November 24.”
Through e-mail CAO Fox informed Murray that the amount of snow that fell on that day did not exceed the amount that requires plowing on secondary roads according to the minimum road standards that the township has adopted, but nonetheless gravel roads were plowed on the following day.
“That did not satisfy me,” Logan Murray told the News, “I think we can do better. People want a fairly high service level and I think they should get it.”
Again through email, Murray asked Heather Fox if he could see the timesheets of the township’s road crew for November 24.
A motion to grant Councillor Murray access to the timesheets was brought forward to Council this week, and was soundly defeated, with several councillors saying it is not the job of council to interfere in the workings of the roads department.
“We are here to set policy, not to micro-manage,” said Councillor Bob Harvey.
“I keep getting complaints about roads,” Murray said, “and I think it is my job to bring these complaints forward.”
This prompted CAO Heather Fox to say, “You keep saying you receive complaints, Logan, but we need to receive those complaints in the office in order to respond to them. If we don’t hear directly, there’s not much we can do.”
For the record, Mayor MacDonald asked Public Works Manager Bill Nicol to tell Council what procedure the roads department had followed on November 24.
Nicol said, “Road crews started plowing the hardtop roads at 10:00 am [Thursday Nov. 24], the snow stopped at around 2:00 pm, and crews kept working on the hardtop roads until 8 pm. I then sent them home, and they started again at 4 am [Friday morning], and then we did everything.”
Roads Committee disbandedLater in the meeting Council considered a motion by Councillor Harvey that the Roads Committee, which was set up in the spring and has met about six times, be disbanded.
“We’ve accomplished nothing,” Harvey said.
Councillor Frances Smith said the committee “was supposed to review and set policy. It’s turned out to be basically about which roads should be worked on, and that’s not what we are elected to do. I think we under mine staff at these meetings.”
Councillor Bill Snyder disagreed: “We finally had our first meeting at Piccadilly recently, and I think a lot of important things were discussed, and even though the location of the meeting wasn’t advertised there were quite a few people there to find out what is going on.”
Councillor Murray said “I believe we have a large problem with roads, which is the most expensive and most important function of the township. I don’t believe we have any system for managing the roads and I believe it is Council’s fault. That’s why we need a Roads Committee.”
By a vote of 6-3, the Roads Committee has been disbanded. Councillors Murray, Snyder and Gutowski voted to retain the committee, and Councillors Harvey, Nicolson, Guigue, Smith, Deputy Mayor Putnam and Mayor MacDonald voted to disband it.
Later, Councillor Murray told the News, “This Council has refused to take the tiniest step towards improving the road maintenance situation. I think we are wasting a good amount of money in the roads budget”.
With the Roads Committee having been disbanded, Murray said he will be encouraging members of the public to bring roads problems to the Council table.
Nightskies_dec_1
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Night Skies
December 1, 2005. | Navigate | .
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Gray MerriamLegaleseGeneral information and opinion on legal topics by Rural Legal ServicesNature Reflectionsby Jean GriffinNight Skiesby Leo Enright
The Night Skies of December:Brilliant Venus leads a December parade of planets
by Leo Enright
Locally, during the whole month of December, the time of sunset varies by only about 8 minutes. On December 1, sunset is at about 4:25 p.m., and it occurs only a few seconds (not minutes!) earlier each evening until December 10, when it is at 4:24 p.m., locally the earliest sunset of the whole year. Then sunset is only a few seconds later each evening until by the end of the month it is at 4:33 p.m. Meanwhile, sunrises are occurring a little later each day – from 7:25 a.m. on December 1 to 7:47 a.m. on December 31. The latest sunrise of the year does not occur until January 3. (Most people do not realize that, at this latitude, the date of earliest sunset is over 3 weeks EARLIER than the date of the latest sunrise.) People who have a good view of the horizons (southwestern and southeastern), can easily see that the most southerly positions for both the sun’s setting and rising are on December 21, the date that is called the Solstice, which literally means “the sun standing still.” Since late June, the sun’s setting and rising positions on the horizon have been moving southward, and now they stop that movement and begin to go northward again. Just as the sun, from this latitude, appears to be weaker and further south in the month of December than at any other time of the year, the December Full Moon is at the opposite extreme. The Full Moon on the nights of December 14 and 15 (the exact moment of Full being a bit before local noon on the 15th) is the northernmost Full Moon of the whole year. Weather permitting, on those two evenings, it may be seen rising, not in the East, but in the northeast, and it appears almost straight overhead by midnight. When it sets the following mornings, it will be seen not in the West, but in the northwest.
This is the month to enjoy winter’s bright star patterns in the southern sky when there are more bright stars than at any other season. Foremost among them is the easily recognized constellation Orion the Hunter marching across the sky, followed by his faithful dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor. In a straight line leftward from the three bright stars in Orion’s Belt, we can easily see Sirius, the brightest star in the whole sky, marking the eye of the big dog. The smaller dog nearby has Procyon, the sixth brightest star, to mark its location. Orion himself has very bright stars to mark his head, shoulders, and knees, as well as the famous trio that marks his belt. Below his belt, in what is sometimes called the Sword of Orion, is what astronomers call the Orion Nebula, a vast area of hydrogen gas with many new stars emerging – young stars that are only a few million years old! Though easily seen with the naked eye on a clear moonless night, this nebula is a truly wondrous sight in large binoculars or a small telescope. Orion is well up in the southeast by 8p.m., and his canine companions are easily seen in the same direction by 10 p.m. Also, noteworthy in December are the bright stars forming the constellation Cygnus, the Swan, or the Northern Cross, standing above the northwestern horizon in the evening.
The parade of planets is quite remarkable this month. In fact, all five of the very bright planets are easily visible. The parade starts right at sunset, or maybe even before, if people remember where and when to look, because Venus is now bright enough to be seen in daylight. Though it is as bright this month as it ever gets, it is still fairly low in the southwest and may be seen from sunset until it sets about two hours later, and less than two hours later in the last week of December. Observers with a small telescope will notice that the planet’s disk appears larger from night to night, and at the same time the illuminated part becomes thinner, like a Quarter Moon changing into a slender crescent. Reddish Mars, which has appeared fabulously bright over the past two months (as it came unusually close to the planet Earth, and as Earth was “passing on the inside of its orbit” making it appear to move in retrograde motion), is the planet that we should observe the most carefully of all. Several things occur this month. First of all, as Earth pulls away from Mars and the distance between them increases, it will begin to appear slightly fainter. Careful observers will notice that, though it is still very bright, as December progresses, it will no longer be brighter than Jupiter, or even than the star Sirius. Very careful observers may also notice that the apparent westward, or retrograde, motion will end on December 10, and Mars will begin to move in its normal, or eastward, path across the sky. As it does, it will appear to get closer to the famous star cluster called the Pleiades. Saturn, which rises in the east at about 9 p.m. in early December and much earlier by late December, is unusually bright and has just begun its retrograde motion. Careful observers on moonless nights will be able to see the planet in its slow “left-to-right” (or retrograde) movement very near the group of stars called “the Beehive Cluster”. On nights with a moon in the sky, use binoculars to observe Saturn among the stars of this famous cluster. With a small telescope, the disk and the amazing rings of Saturn will appear larger than usual. The remaining two planets are in the morning sky. Jupiter, still bright enough to dominate its part of the heavens, may be easily seen in the southeastern sky from one to two hours before sunrise. Mercury, a planet which many people have rarely, if ever, seen, will be easily found for the entire month by those who have a fairly good view of the southeastern horizon and look down and to the left from Jupiter, over a period from 30 to 60 minutes before sunrise, and (Remember this!), if the weather cooperates, Mercury may be found at those times ANY day of the month. With this in mind, it would be a good month to try to see all five planets, especially for those who have never seen Mercury!
The moon and planets give us several beautiful conjunctions this month. After sunset on December 4, the moon and Venus have a beautiful pairing in the southwestern sky. In the early evening on December 11, the gibbous moon and Mars are a beautiful pair in the eastern sky. On the night of December 18, the moon appears close to Saturn. On December 27, in the southeastern sky at about an hour before sunrise, the waning crescent moon is slightly below Jupiter; on the 28th at the same time, it is about half-way between Jupiter and Mercury; on December 29, the very slender crescent moon is slightly to the right of Mercury. Be sure to take out your binoculars to see that one; the lunar crescent will be very thin.
Two meteor showers reach their peaks in December – the Geminids from December 12 to 14 and the Ursids on December 22. Even though bright moonlight will interfere somewhat, clear nights for the Geminids almost guarantee some bright and memorable “shooting stars”. It is often best to look southeastward for the Geminids and northward for the Ursids. Try spending an hour in order to catch some of the “fireworks.”
More information about observing the winter sky is available in the book The Beginner’s Observing Guide, which is now available at Sharbot Lake Pharmacy. It might be a good Christmas gift suggestion. I wish all readers a blessed Christmas and a safe and very happy holiday.
Letters
Feature Article
January 26, 2006
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Letters to the Editor
Polygamy being considered?Thank you once again for your great little paper that has become my window on back home happenings!
I read of so many peoples names I remember from my early life in Mississippi Station. However, those mentioned are no doubt some of the children of the actual people I knew.
As I remember, I do believe while the debates were in parliament about whether same-sex marriage would pass, I wrote a short letter in response to others on this issue. I suggested that if these rights were given because of our charter of rights and freedoms it would not be long before others of faiths who believe in polygamy would step up taking their demands for their “rights” to the Supreme Court. That is exactly what is being talked about now in the circles of our constitutional lawyers. And it will be happening soon!
Is it possible that our desire for fairness and equality in our laws can go too far? Is it possible that some would use these rights to make it legal to do things we simply don’t believe in or practice because to do so would be a backward step, even to create a society we did not want, was oppressive, and one we long since left behind? On first glance these possibilities seem to be what’s now happening. Who knows: on January 23, 2006 things may change and perhaps for the better. Thank you.
- Bill Deacon
No one considers CF road crews
Reading past issues of the Frontenac News, letters to the editor, the Central Frontenac council minutes, as well as hearing the frustrations of the public concerning the maintenance of icy roads makes me very angry about how vicious and heartless people are. To begin - no one stops to consider how the public works management and work road crew get themselves to work at 3-4 o'clock in the morning on the icy roads. There is no one out there sanding their paths for them to report to work. Individuals have ridden their ATV's to work in the pouring rain and then worked for 8 -12 hrs in soaking wet clothes. People don't stop and think of the many young families that spend holidays alone and the many late nights worrying if their husband/family member has made it into work safely or worrying that they might have slid down an embankment with a big truck and are hurt. Many of the employees have very young children and it would be nice for people to consider them when they are making their vicious comments. Just because they are employees of the township does not mean that they are not human. It is stressful enough for the employees to manoeuvre the big trucks over the icy roads, let alone be answering calls from people who are cursing and carrying on because their road has not been sanded.
For you individuals who are doing all the complaining, it's plain to see that you are not looking at the whole picture. There are over 600 kilometres of road in Central Frontenac to be maintained and every household wants their road done first. This is impossible; for this to be done, more equipment would have to be purchased and more bodies hired to operate the equipment. As for sanding the roads in the rain - this is very wasteful, as the sand just washes off and more would have to be applied, therefore increasing your taxes to pay for services which you are complaining about and then you will be complaining about the increase in your property taxes. Remember, before you make your next rude phone call, it is your choice where you live and if you don't like your service, you are free to move to another township; or, if you feel that you can do a better job, it is high time that you apply for these positions and quit your complaining.
For you, Mr. Murray -- you stated that you have received many phone calls concerning the road conditions and as you were told, you should be directing these individuals to call the Hot Line so that these complaints can be handled by the Public Works department. It is very unfair of you or any other council member to be calling the Public Works management and telling them how to do their job. They were hired as educated trained professionals and know more about and how to do the job. If you or any other council member has a problem with how the Public Works Department handles its job, it is something that should be discussed at a council meeting and not addressed by you alone. I believed that all council members should do a ride-along in the big trucks during an ice storm so that you can experience first hand the thrill and stress that these drivers are under; maybe then you would be more supportive to the road works department.
Thank you to the individuals who take the time to call or stop by the office or garages to say thank-you or that they have done a good job. This shows that there are individuals who do understand and care. It gives support and encouragement to these people who are already over stressed.
- Tammy Scott
Letters
Letters to the Editor
January 12, 2006Return to Home
Letters to the Editor
Letters must be signed
We would like to remind our readers that all letters to the editor must be signed, with a phone number for verification.-The Frontenac News Staff
Liberal TrackRecord
An examination of some of Paul Martin's, and Agriculture Minister Andy Mitchell's, voting record on some vital farming issues over the past few years, exposes the lamentable Liberal record in standing up for Canadian farmers.
In 2005 both Martin and Mitchell voted against a motion to remove the deposit requirement from the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization Program. In 2004 both
voted against providing assistance to farmers hit hard by the mad cow crisis. In 2003 both Martin and Mitchell voted against sending an all-party delegation to Washington to work to reopen the border to Canadian beef. In 2002 both voted against a motion to provide assistance to Canadian farmers to support them against foreign subsidies. In 2001 both Martin and Mitchell voted against a motion to provide $400 million in emergency aid to Canadian Farm Families.
This is a shocking track record. Canadian farmers should not support the Liberals because the Liberals have not supported the farmers. It's time to give Stephen Harper and the Conservatives - who have always cared deeply about agriculture - a chance to put their plan for committed support for farming and farm families into effect.
- Eldon Hamilton
Re: Mayors consider their futures
Mayor Lake is running again? This is a surprise considering the turmoil and controversy South Frontenac has endured over the last two years. There was the trailer issue, the ATV issue, Mitchell Creek bridge, and the obvious territorial infighting among the councillors resulting in Council’s own admission of not functioning as an amalgamated council.
In spite of this, not only does the Mayor feel so confident to run again, he expresses pleasure that the most controversial, publicly opposed decision this township has encountered, the Sydenham water project, is coming to fruition. What a good example of the Mayor’s lack of sensitivity towards the citizens of Sydenham. Once again, after reading the Mayor’s comments, I’m left with more questions than answers.
The Mayor reports that he tells people who are unhappy about the project (this is 92% of the people affected according to the last petition!) “Talk to me in five years, you might think differently then.” This begs the question ‘What good things are in store for us in five years and why haven’t we heard about them yet?’ We already know that we will be thousands of dollars poorer, some of us will be forced to move, our taxes will be higher AND we will have ridiculously expensive water bills. It seems to me the Mayor’s paternalistic attitude of ‘I know better than you’ is old school and degrading to the people he is supposed to be representing.
I wonder, IF re-elected, will Mayor Lake continue to make questionable in-camera decisions while ignoring the wishes of the people? And is the rest of this township satisfied with this status quo old school mentality? Considering the Mayor is on record as saying that Sydenham is just the first community to receive a water system, I imagine the folks in other communities including Battersea, Inverary, Harrowsmith and Verona are wondering if they are next in line to be forced to pay for an excessive ‘Cadillac’ solution to their water problems.
So, the Mayor (and a handful of others) may be pleased to see the Sydenham water project come to fruition, but this is at the expense of NOT LISTENING to the vast majority of people. If South Frontenac is going to function as a prosperous amalgamated township, we need leadership that values the people who elected them. Gone are the days of the ‘old boy’s club’. It’s time for fresh, progressive leadership that puts THE PEOPLE’s needs first.- Cathie Waugh, Sydenham
All Candidates Meeting
Myhusband and I recently attended one of the Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington All Candidates’ Debates.Over the years we have found these to be both interesting and enlightening, and sometimes they even contribute to how we will vote. It is always informative to hear and watch the candidates perform, and assess if they are just grandstanding for the election, or if they are actually communicating with the constituents they hope to represent. When watching and listening to the candidates, it is the depth of their commitment to us, the voters, that matters most to myhusband and me.
Thus we emerged from the recent All Candidates’ Meeting reassured that our best interests will continue to be well-served by our current Member of Parliament, Scott Reid.Scott Reid has a sound track record and he continues to talk with, not at, his constituents, regardless of their political persuasion.Scott Reid's integrity, sincerity, and commitment are exactly the qualities we need in our federal representatives.
- Sheila Lee
Political Signs
Why am I being subjected to Geoffrey Turner, grinning at me from the roadsides? I've read letters in this paper about the MTO, via Cruickshank Construction, threatening people with fines and prosecution for erecting yard sale signs for a day, citing safety issues. Perhaps drivers craning to find a deal might leave the road, or these signs block the driver's view on corners. Why are electoral candidates, whose signs will remain in place for weeks, treated differently? When will MTO goons wipe Mr. Turner's smarmy Liberal grin from the road allowance.
Scott Cox
Support for Leo Ladouceur Re:Letter to the Editor, January 5, 2006 by Leo Ladouceur Re:Letter to the Editor,December 15, 2005 by Leo Ladouceur
A few of us would like to say thanks to Leo for saying itlike it is:
Roger and Sharon Lyons; Phil andBev Chapman; Bob and Bev Jones; Martha Brouse; Tony and Tanya Lyons; Gerry and Joy Martin; Andy and Linda White; David and Betty McKittrick; and Harold and Pearl Lyons.
- Sharon Lyons
Construction_course
Feature Article
January 19, 2006
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Construction course leads to jobs in Arden
Mark Bedard, Jeff Connor, and Gordon Cota
Mark Bedard, who lives and works in the cottage country around Arden, loves what he does. A recent graduate of Sharbot Lake High School and an eight-week construction craft course, Mark helps build, winterize, renovate, enlarge, deck you name it cottages. Since landing a job with J & J Construction and Design of Arden, he has also enrolled in the Ontario Apprenticeship Program and is now working towards his certification as a General Carpenter.
His career path is set, he says. “I hadn’t planned to be a carpenter, but I always liked working with my hands. I just love everything to do with carpentry and all the tools. It’s very interesting. I think I’ve found my life’s work.”
The construction course was offered free to residents of the County of Frontenac willing to work hard for eight weeks, six hours a day. The goal of the course was to provide participants with skills that would enable them to find employment in areas where jobs are few for unskilled people but the demand is great for people with skills or a trade.
The course was funded by the Eastern Ontario Development Fund through the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation in partnership with St. Lawrence College. Other community partners included the Northern Connections Adult Learning Centre, the North Frontenac Telephone Company, which provided classroom space, and Sharbot Lake High School, which provided shop facilities. Of the 15 people who started the course, 11 finished and at least three-quarters are employed, including Mark.
J & J Construction hired two of the course’s graduates. “We really needed the help,” says Julie Connor, one of the firm’s partners. “We are at the point in the business that we’ve expanded where we need people we can trust to leave on site and work and maintain our level of what’s expected.” The boys are young, she says, but they’re very keen and willing to learn and work, which is very good.
Bob MacCallum, who was in charge of St. Lawrence’s corporate training, is very satisfied with how it has turned out. “It was a good use of funds with an excellent return. We are pleased with the number of students who completed the program. Now it’s exciting to see those who completed the program get jobs and start apprenticeships in North Frontenac while giving the community the skilled workers that it needs.”
Meanwhile, Frontenac CFDC continues to provide bursaries to graduating high school students enrolling in apprenticeship programs from Limestone and Algonquin school boards. More information about the nomination process is available on the Frontenac CFDCwebsite.
Photo Mark Bedard (left), Jeff Connor and Gordon Cota
Helen_forsey
Feature Article
January 19, 2006
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Helen Forsey:Another form of Activism
by Jeff Green
Helen Forsey has never aspired to be a politician, even though she has been a political activist all her life.
In a sense she was drawn into the current election because Ross Sutherland decided not to seek the NDP nomination this time around. Sutherland carried the banner for the NDP in the Ontario election in the fall of 2003 and in the Federal election in June of 2004.
“Ross was an excellent candidate, and without him running this time I thought I should,” Forsey said.
There is also a parallel to the political career of her father, and political mentor, Eugene Forsey. “It’s kind of neat. My dad ran for the CCF, also against a popular Conservative, George Drew, in Carleton County.”
Eugene Forsey was a founding member of the CCF party, and he left the Party when the NDP was formed. He was named to the Senate in 1970 by Pierre Trudeau, and for nine years did a tremendous amount of work in Senate committees.
For her own part, Helen studied Agriculture and then worked for CUSO and OXFAM in Ottawa, South America and West Africa. She later lived in Enterprise, where she was part of a craft co-op and farmed as well. In 1991 she moved to her present home near Ompah to become a full time writer and translator. She worked for the National Farmers’ Union between 1999 and 2003, where one of her duties was to edit their quarterly publication.
Although Helen Forsey writes mostly about agricultural and environmental issues, her background as a feminist remains a force in her thinking.
“My feminism informs my entire world view,” she says.
Helen Forsey has a history as an activist, most recently in the anti-globalization movement, but her involvement with the New Democratic Party, and with electoral politics is quite new. “I’ve got things to say, and talking to the media or speaking at all-candidates meetings provides a good opportunity to be heard.”
She is not impressed with the way the leaders of the other parties have conducted the campaign. “The campaign has been full of pablum,” she said, “but the local campaign has been much better. In fact, if the seven people running in this riding had a chance to get together and work on local problems, I think we could do a good job at finding solutions.”
As a resident of one of the smallest, most vulnerable communities in the riding, Helen Forsey has a different attitude to some issues than some of the other candidates.
At an all candidates meeting in Verona, she responded to a question about high gas taxes, by saying “The owner of the former store in Ompah once told me that the store could survive if gas went up to $2.00 a litre. Then people would see the value of shopping locally.”
Although she is an outspoken advocate for farming families, she does not take the view that it is access to foreign markets, and subsidies for agri-business that are needed. Rather, she argues that a re-ordering of priorities around production and consumption of food are needed. She concluded a recent article called “Farm Crisis, Food Crisis, or both,” in this way:
“Farm families and their allies across the country and around the world are finding more and more ways to resist this destructive corporate model and kick the multiple dependencies that have entangled us in its net. Resistance is not an easy road to take, but it is creative and exciting, and we are not alone.
“And it really is our only choice. Literally and figuratively, farm families carry with them on that road the seeds of the future - a future where, if we can stay the course, the farm crisis and the food crisis will both be vanquished.”
Geoff_turner
Feature Article
January 19, 2006
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Geoff Turner:Youthful exuberance from an old line party
by Jeff Green
Geoff Turner might be the only Liberal candidate in the country that is campaigning with the slogan “Positive Change Starts Here”, but 24-year-old Geoff Turner is running a campaign against the incumbent Conservative and is promoting himself as someone who is fully committed to the people within the riding.
“We don’t just need a representative in Lanark Frontenac Lennox and Addington,” Geoff Turner told the News, “We need somebody who is not just an advocate but we need a champion; we need somebody who is going to be dedicated to people and who will ensure that they will receive the best from their government.”
Turner also thinks it would be a major advantage for a young person to be chosen for that role. “My campaign is going very well,” he said, “people are responding to the young, energetic new face coming in, someone who does not see this as simply a step in a political career.”
Although he is campaigning as a fresh face, Turner maintains that the Liberal government has done a lot in the past 13 years.
He points out that the federal budget has been in surplus for eight years; unemployment is at a generational low; and the Canadian economy is the envy of the world. “Things are very, very good, right now in Canada,” he said.
He also says the government has been a positive force in this riding.
“There are a lot of things that the federal government already does for this riding, through programs that apply directly to the riding. Through the funding of Community Futures Development Corporations, the Eastern Ontario Development Fund, and infrastructure funding, the government has been very positive for the people of Lanark Frontenac Lennox and Addington.”
Geoff Turner is a graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University, where he received a Bachelors Degree in Political Science. He then completed a trip to far-flung regions of the world, where his interest in international development issues was peaked. When he returned to Canada, he decided that throwing his hat into the political ring would be a good idea.
“As a young person, I don’t have family concerns to stop me from expending all my energy in this campaign,” he said.
The key local issues in this campaign are the Environment and Agriculture, according to Geoff Turner. While he agrees that agriculture is the backbone of the economy in the riding, he cautions against seeing farming as the only economic engine in the riding.
“The rural lifestyle can move beyond the agricultural lifestyle, through the vibrancy of our small towns as places to visit and places to live. That is not to say there aren’t vibrant and successful farms or that farmers don’t need support, but the economy of this riding is more diverse than that.”
Election_primer
Feature Article
January 19, 2006
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2006 Federal Election Primer
With the federal election just days away, the Frontenac News is providing information about each of the seven candidates that are contesting the Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington (LFL&A) riding. The candidates represent a wide political spectrum.
Four of them have written extensively, publishing books and articles on political, environmental, and even financial themes, making this an unusually bookish crowd for a rural riding. Although several of them have studied agriculture, none of them make their living off the land. Five of them reside in Lanark County, and two in Frontenac County.
LFL&A is an entirely rural riding, encompassing several medium sized towns and many villages and hamlets, but it is split by region. People from the riding migrate in different directions for work, shopping, and entertainment. When people in Lanark County say, “I’m going to town”, they most often mean Ottawa. In Frontenac County they likely are referring to Kingston, and in Lennox and Addington they could easily be talking about Belleville. Unlike other ridings, LFL&A does not have a common centre. There are people in Napanee who have never set foot in Perth, and vice versa.
The riding itself is only 18 months old, and the riding associations for all the larger parties are still developing.
The campaign that has been waged has been more extensive than many in the past, with no fewer than 14 all-candidates’ meetings, coverage by daily newspapers from Ottawa, Kingston, and beyond, along with weekly newspapers, TV and radio. Interested voters have had ample opportunity to get information about the candidates.
The seven candidates have conducted a polite, even considerate campaign. At the two all-candidates’ meetings that the Frontenac News has sponsored, there was little or no sniping between candidates. They were willing to acknowledge the strong points of their opponents, and even hinted at parts of their own parties’ platforms that they were less than comfortable with.
As was the case in 2004, the LFL&A candidates this time around were a credit to the political process.
In this special issue of the News, there is a story about an election prediction website, an editorial about daycare policy, letters, and candidate profiles. (see index page for complete list of candidate profiles).
