The Citizen, 2008-03-13, Page 11The weather held, and an
enthusiastic crowd was on hand as
the Huron Bruce NDP elected its
new executive at the annual general
meeting held at the Lucknow Legion
on March 6.
President Willi Laurie thanked the
members for all their hard work over
the past year and reflected on the
initiatives of the party. Efforts made
on behalf of the referendum and
gains made in the election were
particularly noteworthy.
Laurie indicated that despite a rise
in Green Party support the NDP vote
in the riding increased by over three
per cent and the membership to 132
per cent of the previous year.
Laurie also outlined several goals
for the riding association as it moves
into the future, and encouraged
members to become more involved
in the party, in their community and
in other organizations where NDP
ideas can find a voice.
Long-time NDP activist Len Hope
took the chair to conduct the
elections. Executive board members.
were elected as well as nine
members-at-large. Willi Laurie
agreed to act as president for a
second term. Other executive
members are: past-president, Grant
Robertson; Bruce vice-president, Jan
Johnstone; Huron vice-president and
membership secretary, Alexandra
Beasse; secretary, Brent Bowyer;
federal treasurer, Fran McQuail;
provincial treasurer, Mike Dunn;
provincial council delegates Sarah
Slater and Grant Robertson;
membership, Diane Klopp and
ONDYouth Rep, Tanner Ward.
Members-at large include Ben
Haynes, Joe Laurie, Klaas Smidts,
John Beardsley, Ross Hemingway,
Donald Andrew and Paul and
Heather Klopp.
The guest speaker for the evening
was long-time NDP stalwart Tony
McQuail. He was also celebrating
his 56th birthday, which meant that
he had officially been in the party for
half of his lifetime.
He recalled his first foray into
politics in the 1980 election and the
vast changes that have occurred in
the electoral process and in the size
of the riding executive and
membership since that time. As
McQuail remembered early NDP
locals he stated: “We owe them a
great debt. They kept the ideals of a
progressive, co-operative and caring
society alive.”
McQuail became involved in
politics because, after involvement
with local farm organizations he
“had come to the realization that
decisions made in Ottawa and
Queen’s Park had a way of affecting
me and my neighbours on our side ofthe farm gate.”During the early 1980s many willrecall concerns about sustainableenergy, the price of fuel and inflationas well as the government policy of a
high-interest rate to maintain the
economy.
McQuail recalled that in the 1981
Provincial election the NDP wasn’t
“big on the ground...
“We had 15 people on the
membership list and all but two of
them were lapsed members.” Yet
they continued to attract new
members and to run in the next four
elections until “we surprised even
ourselves” by winning when Paul
Klopp was elected in 1990.
McQuail next revisited history as
he compared the modern age to a
number of past civilizations which
eventually collapsed. “When a
society burns out its resource base it
can’t sustain itself and collapses. In
the past, when a society collapsed, it
was a relatively local event and
humanity and societies redeveloped
in other locations which had not
been despoiled.”
McQuail quoted Ronald Wright,
author of A Short History of
Progress to point out the lessons of
the social collapse of the
Mesapotamians, the Mayans and the
Easter Islanders. He spoke of
“progress traps” – civilizations
getting so good at something that
they destroy the resource base they
depend on. The Mesapotamians
(think Iran and Iraq) got so “good” at
irrigating that they salinated their
fertile farmlands. The Mayans got so
“good” at growing corn on steep
slopes that their topsoil washed
away. The Easter Islanders got so
“good” at moving and erecting great
stone images that they cut down all
the trees on their island to make
rollers and cranes and their islandbecame a bare and inhospitablespot.” And in Newfoundland, amodern “progress trap”, an“abundant cod fishery lasted for overfour centuries of European fishing
and thousands of years of native
fishing but only survived a couple of
decades of industrial trawler
exploitation.”
McQuail warned that we must “be
wary of our modern progress traps
because today, as we are so
glowingly told, we are becoming a
“Global Civilization”, we must
become part of a “Global
Economy”. This is our last chance to
get Civilization right. If a global
civilization collapses then the whole
globe will have been despoiled – not
just some remote part of it.”
McQuail also observed that the
“power elites in collapsing societies
are the last folks to change. Their
power and elite status depend on the
existing structure of society. It is
very hard for them to accept that it is
failing and needs to change. To
change would undermine their
power and privilege. Elites deny the
problems and promote the status quo
until it collapses rather than make
the necessary changes to avoid it.
This means that change must come
from the grass roots up and not wait
for the elites of society to make the
necessary changes.
“But that is where change has
always come from,” McQuail
concluded on a positive note. “So
there is no need to despair. We have
changed a lot as a human family in
the past couple of centuries when we
were adapting and creating in an era
of abundant land and oil. We have
some new adaptations to make to a
full planet and declining oil
availability and an overloaded
atmosphere.”
THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2008. PAGE 11. Huron-Bruce NDP hold annual meeting
Newly elected
The Huron-Bruce NDP elected the executive at the annual general meeting. Back row, from
left: Klaas Smidts, member at large; Mike Dunn, provincial treasurer; Diane Klopp,
membership; Fran McQuail, federal secretary and Ross Hemingway, member at large. Front:
Heather Klopp, member at large; Willi Laurie, president; Brent Bowyer, secretary; Tanner
Ward ONDYouth Rep. Absent: Grant Robertson, past president; Jan Johnstone, Bruce vice-
president; Alex Beasse, membership secretary and Huron vice-president; John Beardsley,
Donald Andrew, Paul Klopp, Joe Laurie, members at large. (Photo submitted)
Looking for local heroes
There are so many people out there who do
so much to improve their community.
Now you have a chance to say thanks.
Nominate that special person for the 23rd
Annual Citizen Citizenship Awards.
Each year a committee chooses an outstanding citizen from each of the Blyth and area
and Brussels and area communities to receive an award for contribution to the
community. If you know someone you think should be honoured, please fill in the ballot
and send it in. You may attach a longer explanation of why you think your nominee
should win, if you like. If you have nominated someone before and he or she didn't win,
please feel free to try again.
I nominate
as Citizen of the year for
I feel she/he deserves this award because
Nomination Deadline March 31, 2008.
Name and phone number of nominator
❑❑Blyth
& area ❑❑Brussels
& area