HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2014-04-02, Page 66 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, April 2,2014
Fair elections coming to an end with Fair Elections Act
A few weeks ago, I printed
a series of questions I had
for our MP, Ben Lobb
regarding the Fair Elections
Act.
The day after that paper
came out, and weeks after
my initial call, I got a call
from Mr. Lobb and to be
honest, I don't know why. I
got answers to some of my
questions, but I may as well
have referenced the Minis-
try of Democratic Reform
home page.
They were one and the
same.
I tried to write the story,
and even had most of it
done and ready for print.
But I couldn't in good faith
pass off a piece of propa-
ganda about something so
serious that generations of
Canadians would have their
right to participate in
democracy stepped on for
the sole benefit of the Con-
servative Party of Canada.
One of the widest -
Column
Gerard Creces
reaching effects the Act
would have is removing
voter cards as valid pieces
of identification and doing
away with vouching at the
polls. Youth who are away at
school, seniors living with
their children or in homes,
aboriginals, the homeless,
anyone who doesn't have
mail in their name, or a
driver's license would be
turned away - in other
words, those least likely to
vote Conservative.
Harry Neufeld, author of
the infamous Neufeld
Report, which the Conserv-
atives have been using to
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justify the vouching change,
has said publicly there is no
evidence to support the
idea of such voter fraud
problems and that his words
were taken out of context.
Similarly, Conservative
MP Brad Butt has admitted
he lied about seeing first-
hand voter card fraud.
But what struck me hard-
est - and the reason I've
been reluctant to write this
- is I mentioned a Leadnow
petition to stop the act, as
an example of one of many
attempts by regular folks to
get rid of this bad legisla-
tion. Tens of thousands of
people have signed it
already, so there is obvi-
ously a healthy amount of
concern.
I wish I had never men-
tioned it.
The response I got from
the MP could be called a
scoff. Unsurprisingly Lead -
now is calling on the Lib-
eral, Green and NDP parties
to step up - enemies of the
state.
The thing is, and we've
seen this time and again
with the Conservatives, is
that you can site all the con-
cerns you have based on
what you glean from the
media, political parties,
political organizations and
even Elections Canada now,
and you will be written off
because you are sourcing a
partisan organization.
In that regard, anyone
other than a Conservative
supporter has an agenda
that discredits their opin-
ion. It's one of the reasons I
personally don't trust my
MP anymore.
In 2011 the Conservatives
were fined for exceeding
maximum spending limits
and filing records that did
not set out all spending
requirements. That is
changing in the Fair Elec-
tions Act, but for all the
wrong reasons.
Parties won't have to file
expenses for calling people
who donated to the party in
the past. Contributions are
being increased. For the
party with the wealthiest
donors, this is great, as is
the unaccountability for
solicitation expenses. And
guess who gets to pick the
most important electoral
oversight people at the
polls? You got it - the sitting
MP.
Still think this act is fair?
The line that got the most
airplay, however, was that
this bill - which takes power
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away from both voters and
Elections Canada - was to
strengthen the integrity of
elections.
Rather, it will strengthen
only the Conservative base
and disqualify many who
might vote otherwise.
Chief Electoral Officer
Mark Mayrand has ripped
the bill a new one, almost to
the letter. There are too
many criticisms to site in
one column. If you have the
opportunity, please look up
and read his whole testi-
mony. A simple google
search will bring you there.
For the above reasons
and so many more, I hon-
estly could not print a story
based on misinformation
and talking points.
I apologize to readers that
were expecting more, but
again, I don't want to pre-
tend to defend something
that should not pass. Rather,
if you have questions or
concerns, call your MP and
talk about it. Just don't men-
tion any criticisms from the
press, the Opposition, or
NGOs if you want your
opinion to matter.
Lots to learn at St. James
St. James school
news
Taylor Rolleman, Grade 4
Here are some things St.
James School is learning
about. Some of the things
are pretty interesting so you
might want to read ahead.
The junior and senior
kindergarten class is learn-
ing songs and about help-
ing friends. They had a visi-
tor, Miss Mathonia, who
played the accordian. Mrs.
Ducharme, the music
teacher, will be visiting
them soon.
The senior kindergarten/
grade 1 class is busy
writing and acting out new
Pokemon characters and
learning new tricky sight
words.
The grade 2/3 class is
learning about comparing
and Lent.
The grade 3/4 is learning
about the Nile river and are
loving Fraction Fridays.
The grade 4/5 class went
curling and are learning
about bar, pie, line and pic-
ture graphs..
The grade 7/8 class is
learning about integers
and doing a novel study
about The Giver.
That is what we are doing
at St. James School, tune in
next week.
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Karen Melady, Dream Worker
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Frank lhrig, Hessenland Country Inn
"Fresh Cooking Ideas"
Trish MacGregor, emcee
Tickets $10. At Pete's Office Pro Blooms n' Rooms
Marita's Fashion Boutique Dauphin's Country Store,
Seaforth Agricultural Society 519-527-1321
Limited tickets at door
Proceeds benefit The Lung Association
and Seaforth Agricultural Society, Home Craft