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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 www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com YO Re&tau rant S7eaqast Special Serving Monday — Friday from 7:00 — 11:00 am Just...$6.25 ALL DAY BREAKFAST AVAILABLE Weekend Specials 7zidati Special Fish Friday $10.00 Sat uMati Spectats Rib Dinner $14.99 Rib and Wing Dinner $17.99 Wings and Fries $8.99 c Sunday Special Roast Beef Dinner $12.99 DELIVERY SERVICE AVAILABLE 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM • INTOWN ONLY STARTING MONDAY APRIL 7th 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 .34.i=g1 SHOOT2SCORE HOCKEY CAMP Seaforth Community Centre August 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th & 8th 9:00 - 1:00 pm 519-525-9954 • mwildfong@sellingseaforth.com Age Groups 6-8,9-10, 11 and up. Led by Pro Coach, Dan Wildfong 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. Dessert & Silent Auction Seaforth Agriplex Wednesday, April 16 6:00 pm Speakers begin at 7:00 pm Mike Falconer, Falhaven Farm & Nursery "Hobby Gone Wild!" Karen Melady, Dream Worker "The Dream as Guide" 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