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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGoderich Signal Star, 2017-02-22, Page 22 Signal Star • Wednesday, February 22, 2017 'Make Every Vote Count' Vigil held at Huron -Bruce MP's office Voters in Huron -Bruce joined the National Day of Action for Electoral Reform which took place across Canada on Feb. 11. They held a candle light vigil Saturday evening at the office of Ben Lobb, MP, in Goderich. Lobb was unable to attend because of family commit- ments but he provided a statement which read in part "send my best wishes and if there is anything I can do to - help the cause, please let me know." A vigil organizer, Tony McQuail, has been doing presentations on Electoral Reform for Fair Vote Canada. He said to the group that when people learn how the current "First Past the Post" system fails Canadians, 85 to 95 per cent want to change to a proportional system. There is a Parliament of Canada e -petition that has taken off since Prime Minis- ter Trudeau announced he would break his election promise to "Make Every Vote Count': It now has over 115 thousand signatures and can he found by googling Petition e-616. Over half those at the vigil wore duct tape on their mouths to represent over 50% of Canadian voters whose ballots earn no representation with "First Past the Post." Those at the vigil hope Prime Minister Trudeau will follow through on his elec- tion promise to "Make Every Vote Count': Some gatherers with a sign. Contributed photos Gatherers wore tape across their mouths during the National Day of Action for Electoral Reform during a 'vigil' to mark the occasion at Huron -Bruce MP Ben Lobb's office in Goderich on Feb. 11 2017. GODERICH 524-7811 Fri &Sat 8:00 Sun - Thur 7:30 mil Gory Sone. > 71.- 0 Graphic Violence wase l,np ege Feb. 24 - Mar. 02 KEANU REEVES dOHV ICE; ninsommonmpowrownossmim Fri & Sat 8:00 Sun - Thur 7:30 Sat & Sun Mat 1:30 Violence Some Scary Scones www.movielinks.ca long distance'l'800-265-3438 THE _�LIVEBY Historic theatre and home of culture & the arts LIVERY FILM FEST with TIFF Film Circuit presents MANCHESTER BY THE SEA About a self -punishing, depressive loner who slowly comes back to life after enduring a series of brutal losses. THURSDAY FEB 23 at 7 pm at Park Theatre S 10 Livery members/$12 general 519 524 6262 - www.thelivery.ca -35 South St Goderich Dutch Princess Margriet invited to Goderich 111k Group is "positively optimistic" about Air princess visiting, but either way, commemoration event is in store Justine Alkema Postmedia Network Goderich has invited a special visitor for their Dutch Liberation Commemoration - the Netherlands's Princess Margriet. The event is being organ- ized by locals Jim Rutledge and Sid Bruinsma. They have been working on the event for almost four years. More recently, Patrick Nagle from the Rural Busi- ness Network in Clinton joined to work on the website. Nagle said that, "Prin- cess Margriet, over the years, has been at the forefront of remembrance, and has maintained a presence that continues today." Princess Margriet was born in Ottawa and was regarded by Canadian troops in the war as "Canada's Princess". "Her passion is the veter- ans and youth," said Rutledge. Although no such visit has been confirmed at this time, organizers say they are in touch with the embassy and are "positively optimistic" about it. Although the event will likely be in May, no date has been set at this point. "There's a lot of moving parts in this thing," they said. When a date is set, they will let the community know. Regardless of if there is a royal visit or not, the event will be a very special day of commemoration. Veterans from all over Ontario will be invited. The 7,600 Canadians who lost their lives in the push to liberate the Nether- lands will be honoured and especially the 20 men from Huron County. "I have 396 contacts with veteran organizations where we might [be able to invite) some veterans that liberated Holland," said Jim. The event is also about the deep-rooted Canadian - Dutch friendship. "There's that goodwill that has been a lasting element here and a lasting connection to Holland." There is a local goodwill because "10% of the population in Huron County is Dutch," said Nagle. The organizers pointed out that MPP Lisa Thompson and MP Ben Lobb have been very supportive along the way as well. Lobb took the organizers to Global Affairs Canada to be interviewed by people there. The event will take place at Liberation Memorial Park in Goderich on Highway 21 and Nelson Street. A press release said the event will "include the unveiling of a commemora- tive/memorial plaque, the unveiling of new signage at the park, the re -dedication of Liberation Memorial Park, a parade that will include many military vehicles of the WWII era, a Canadian mili- tary presence and a recep- tion with our veterans and youth to close out the day. In addition, we are planning to have a concert involving the Royal Regiment of Canada with members of the 48th Highlanders of Canada per- forming their Liberation of the Netherlands concert." The event also involves students from the Huron Perth Catholic District School Board partnering with classrooms in the Neth- erlands. The program is to develop friendships and ulti- mately result in student exchange programs. The website taken on by Nagel is an evolving piece of the event. It describes what has happened in the past in Goderich (an "interactive community history" said Nagle), petitions Princess Margriet to come and the gives a broader narrative of the Canadian role in the war. When soldiers came back from the war, many didn't want to talk about their experiences. "We're sort of missing out on what did happen as this generation passes on," said Nagle. "We are encouraging, and will be encouraging with the web- site, these military units to start publishing some of this content." The URL of that site is dutch-canadiansremem- ber.ca.