{"id":4166,"date":"2015-09-20T19:57:43","date_gmt":"2015-09-20T23:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=4166"},"modified":"2015-11-06T18:12:06","modified_gmt":"2015-11-06T23:12:06","slug":"listen-up-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/listen-up-2\/","title":{"rendered":"LISTEN UP! Doppler and the political debate"},"content":{"rendered":"

DOPPLER AND THE POLITICAL DEBATE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most people who know me, know that I am a Conservative, not a right wing extremist, but a Conservative all the same. Because I have spent much of my life in political circles, I have made many friends of all political stripes. To many of us, it is as important that we have<\/strong> political opinions, as it is what<\/strong> they are.<\/p>\n

I remember one family Christmas Dinner some years ago, where at the same table was the former Executive Assistant to Pierre Trudeau, the Chief of Staff to I believe, Audrey McLaughlin, then Leader of the Federal NDP and the Chief of Staff to Conservative Premier Frank Miller. (That would be me!) It was a dinner to behold and in retrospect had we sold tickets to it, we would have paid for the dinner! I treasure having friends on all sides of the political spectrum, like Ken Black, Andy Mitchell, Robin Sears and Hugh Segal.<\/p>\n

And so, it was with some sadness last week, that I heard a couple of comments, one very polite, and the other downright nasty, to the effect that Huntsville Doppler, as a result of my commentary, was effectively a Tory Rag sheet. Not so!!<\/p>\n

One thing that will separate Doppler from other mainstream periodicals is that our news and community pages will be completely neutral. As Joe Friday said in Dragnet, \u201cJust the facts Ma\u2019am.\u201d Our stories will not be slanted to affect public opinion.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, our Opinion Page is intended to provoke debate and discussion. It will not be neutral. Nor will it be one sided. Certainly, my commentary in Listen up, will carry my perspective, which most often will be right of centre. That is who I am. But the whole purpose of it, is to attract debate and other points of view as well. We will publish respectful opinion pieces on any topic as long as we know who it is from. We will encourage diverse opinion and new ideas.<\/p>\n

And speaking of debates, I found The Globe and Mail\u2019s Leaders Debate last Thursday\u2026dull\u2026.. dull\u2026dull! First of all, it took me 10 minutes to find it, finally on CHCH in Hamilton. The major TV networks boycotted the debate, probably in a sulk as they were not allowed to control it. I guess that self interest comes ahead of public interest.<\/p>\n

Second the ambiance and backdrop was about as exciting as watching paint dry. No imagination went into this setting. In addition, the Moderator was terrible; inarticulate, argumentative and acting like a school teacher with his little bell going ding ding ding throughout the debate. As a senior Executive of the Globe and Mail, he should have recognized this was not his shtick and hired a professional to do the job<\/p>\n

The debate itself was lack lustre and I didn\u2019t really see a clear winner. There was a lot of over talking and finger pointing, especially by Trudeau and Mulcair when Harper had the floor. As to substance, it was same old same old, with Trudeau defending deficit financing, Mulcair promising all sorts of new programs as well as a balanced budget and both of them promising higher taxes. Harper defended his economic record especially the Government\u2019s ability to keep Canada as the strongest economy in the western world during tough global financial times.<\/p>\n

The problem with the debate is that it was all offensive and defensive with little substance to excite Canadians about the future. Canadians deserve better. They want to feel positive about their future. They want to hear about opportunities and not handouts. They are more interested in a positive vision for the future than a constant critique of the past. There is about a month left in this election campaign. All we can do is hope that we see that from at least one of the Leaders.<\/p>\n

No political leader is perfect or without warts. Next week I will write about why I will vote for Stephen Harper in the Federal Election\u2026warts and all. In the subsequent two weeks, I will invite guest writers from Huntsville who support other political parties to make the case for their leader to become Prime Minister.<\/p>\n

In the meantime you can enjoy what I hope will be a better political discussion than the debate last Thursday, albeit on a much smaller scale. Tomorrow night (Monday) Ken Black and I will be guests of Mike Provan on Cogeco Cable TV. We will be discussing issues important to Parry Sound Muskoka as they relate to the federal election. Neither of us are known to be shy and retiring. It should be a good discussion. Tune in!<\/p>\n

REFORM DISTRICT GOVERNMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n

Someone else who can never be accused of being shy and retiring is Bob Young, the Mayor of Lake of Bays. In fact he can be a maverick at times and never hesitates to say it as he sees it. By profession, he is an engineer but if he ever had to take one of those tests that helps to determine which jobs you would do best, a diplomat would be at the very bottom of his career choices! Because of all of that, he is also one of my favorite politicians!<\/p>\n

This week, in concert with Georgian Bay Mayor Larry Baird, Mayor Young has called for a review of District Government specifically to reduce the number of elected representatives on that body and to provide equal representation between the Townships and the Towns. He is dead right on both counts.<\/p>\n

The Towns in Muskoka, have the largest permanent populations and the Townships, because they have a large number of seasonal residents, have the largest assessment and therefore pay the greater share of District costs. I have long argued that assessment and population should be treated equally but in Muskoka the Townships have a total of 10 seats to the Towns 12. This effectively means that whenever there is a debate about the distribution of District costs, such as policing costs, the Townships lose by default.<\/p>\n

On a personal note, as I was the only candidate for District Chair last year that promised to address this issue of equality, I am happy to see that an attempt is being made to do something about it. As to reducing the number of Councillors at the District level, this is also way overdue. We have more elected officials in Muskoka than the City of Toronto. Too many with too little to do\u2026a recipe for incompetency.<\/p>\n

I have little hope that Mayor Young can pull this reform initiative off. There are too many District Councillors (certainly not all) that enjoy the status quo and the double salary that goes with it. As well, he would have to get at least two votes from the Towns to succeed and that may be a cold day in Hell. It may be tilting at windmills but it is important to get the ball rolling and bring public attention to the need for electoral reform in Muskoka. And my maverick friend Bob Young, may be just the one to pull it off!<\/p>\n

Hugh Mackenzie<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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