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Home My WebLink AboutClinton News Record, 2014-01-22, Page 44 News Record • Wednesday, January 22, 2014 www.clintonnewsrecord.com Clinton News Record VOL. 153 – ISSUE 00 PUBLISHED WEEKLY — EST. 1860 53 Albert St. P.O. Box 39 Clinton ON NOM 1L0 (519) 482-3443 www.clintonnewsrecord.com SUN MEDIA A Quebecor Media Company NEIL CLIFFORD Publisher nei l.clifford@sunmed ia.ca GERARD CRECES Editorial cl inton.reporter@sunmedia.ca MAX BICKFORD Advertising Manager max. bickford@sunmedia.ca DAWN JOHNSTON Sales Representative clinton.ads@sunmedia.ca CHRISTY MAIR Front Office clinton.classifieds@sunmedia.ca Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged but that balance of advertisement wit be paid for at the applicable rate. 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Canaa'a )4cna Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association and the Ontario Community Newspapers Association column Diversity needed on the county political front Studies have shown that women are in the minority when it comes to high profile positions at the top of companies, boards of directors and, arguably the most important, as elected offi- cials at various levels of government. The latter is a tricky one because there should be diversity in the halls of democracy. We currently have a female premier in Ontario, and whether you agree with the Liberal machine or not, Wynne's presence at Queen's Park is a massive move in the right direction and will motivate manyyoung women to reach leadership positions in provincial politics and other pursuits. The decision to run for office is ultimately up to the individ- ual and then it's up to voters to put them in there. A look around the table at our own Huron County council, for example, is the worst kind of example of male -dominated politics going. There are 16 members representing lower tiers and all 16 of them are men. Before we jump to conclusions about old boys clubs, backroom handshakes, and the like, I believe they capa- bly and professionally attempt to move the county forward while keeping the best interests of the municipalities that they represent in mind. Mind you, some are overdue for retirement or a fresh start elsewhere and at least one needs to make more meetings. But the majority is in the right place. No blame for a lack of diversity can be placed on any of the men sitting at the council table last week during a budget meeting. They are the mayors and deputy mayors and at large repre- sentatives of the smaller communities they represent and were duly elected by residents. There is certainly diversity in the ranks of Huron County council when it comes to how each councillor approaches his role. Almost all take a business approach, as they should, because the county is big business. Some are more concerned about farming and agriculture than others. Some keep the environment in mind more than others when making deci- sions. Some micromanage to an extent while others see the big picture and leave small concems to county staff. Yet, you can't help but wonder how a council would run dif- ferently if there were more representation from females. Female politicians have proven they are as intelligent and capa- ble as their male counterparts at all levels of government in Canada. And they do it in a male -dominated environment. "Politics is exhausting," my friend Kerry told me recently. Kerry is a high school teacher and a rookie city councillor. She has championed numerous environmental causes over the years. One of the things I admire about her political career is her willingness to seek feedback and begin discussions with residents. She is very active on social media and often asks for comments after meetings. After she stood alone recently, a no vote on a big raise for hydro board members in Stratford, I wondered how someone like McManus would fair at the county council table. She is just one example of bringing a different viewpoint to the discus- sion, a different way of looking at things, a different perspective - as an educator and environmentalist. We can only wonder, because it is ultimately up to the indi- vidual to decide if they want to run at the lower tier level and balance out a county government that many feel could use a woman's touch. —Paul Cluff letter Reader disagrees with local MP's assessment of the nation To the Editor; I could not let the opportunity pass by to respond to the article that dominated several local papers last week from our MP. It certainly painted an overly rosy picture of the workings of the present fed- eral govemment, and spun the facts in a very favourable light, leading to the con- clusion that Canada is "moving in the right direction." Political doublespeak in action, my friends! As millions of Canadi- ans can attest and the polls are saying loud and clear, Canada is definitely not moving in the right direction. Canadians, in good faith, entrust the government to use our tax dollars for the betterment of society. The Harper government has been anything but accountable. Our MP is dismissive of this fact, noting that an inordinate amount of time was spent on the Mike Duffy issue. Truth is, had Senator Duffy and his com- padres acted with a sense of the public trust, and not with a sense of entitlement, they would never have spent public dol- lars in a dishonest way. This issue is symptomatic of a much deeper ill in a government led by a man who once preached accountability and now allows such travesties to happen under his watch. The most recent example is the government spending of $2.5 million, at a cost of $95,000 per 30 -second spot, on distracting economic action plan ads in the height of the Senate scandal and the NHL playoffs to advertise job creation opportunities, which, to this day, do not exist. So Mr. Lobb should not be dismissive about spending issues; he should be apologetic. Canadians deserve better. Every one of us would wish the Senators had spent with integrity so real govem- mentwork could have been done. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Europe was touted as a Conservative triumph in the article. We have yet to see whether this will bring jobs or destroy them. We have witnessed the long-term fallout from NAFTA specifically the outsourcing of jobs to Mexico, and the loss of those jobs from Canada and the US. While the removal of tariffs on Cana- dian goods exported to Europe could be a good thing, one major concem is around the protection of supply management agriculture. (Harper's past attack on the Wheat Board is an example of his philos- ophy on this.) There are also major concems about what impact CETA, like NAFTA, will have on buy local policies and sovereignty of Canadian resources. One Canadian CONTINUED > PAGE 5 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The News Record welcomes letters to the editor. All letters must be signed and include a daytime phone number for verification purposes. Letters can be sent care of the Internet at clinton.news@sunmedia.ca, sent via fax at 519-482-7341 or through Canada Post care of The Editor, P.O. Box 39, Clinton, ON NOL 1LO. 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