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Home My WebLink AboutThe Times Advocate, 2007-10-03, Page 1TIMES -ADVOCATE Exeter, Ontario, Canada Wednesday, October 3, 2007 x.25 (includes GST) HURON TRACTOR EXETER 519-235-1115.E www.hurontractor.com JOHN DEERE WHAT'S INSIDE Looking back Granton couple reminisce about firefighting service PAGE 16 History Zurich man restores Commonwealth honours PAGE 36 INDEX Editorial 4 Sports 18 Announcements 26 Classifieds 29 TIMES ADVOCATE 424 MAIN ST. Box 850 EXETER, ONTARIO NOM 156 TEL: 519-235-1331 FAX: 519-235-0766 WWW.SOUTHHURON.COM EXETER HAWKS vs LUCAN FRI., OCT. 12 8:30 P.M. SH REC CENTRE Slide ride — Tommy Humphreys and Trudy MacDonald come over the top on a slide ride at theTrivitt Community Thanksgiving Celebration in Exeter over the weekend. For more pictures see page 36. (photo/Pat Bolen) ha rtic.c Ions Wvothay.nat HIGH SPEED INTERNET SERVING EXETER & SURROUNDING AREAS For as low as $19.95/mo. 519-236-4333 Will we opt for electoral reform? By Scott Nixon TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF EXETER — Ontario voters will be faced with two questions when they head to the polls Oct. 10 — who do they want as their MPP and are they interested in election reform? In addition to voting for their MPP next Wednesday, Ontario voters will decide if they want the province to keep its current and traditional "First Past the Post" (FPTP) voting system, or adopt a new system, some- thing called a Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) vot- ing system. To pass, the MMP referendum needs 60 per cent of the popular vote and must receive at least 50 per cent of the vote in 60 per cent of the province's electoral districts. If an MMP system is adopted, Ontarians would have two votes when they go to the polls — one vote, as always, for the local candidate, and a second vote for your preferred political party. The share of the votes that each party receives will determine its share of seats in the legislature. If a party doesn't have enough local members elected to match its share of the party vote, the party gets a "top up" of seats in the legisla- ture. These members come from party lists and are See UPCOMING page 2 Election candidates face Huron -Bruce voters By Scott Nixon TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF HOLMESVILLE — An all candidates meet- ing in Holmesville last Thursday hosted by the Huron County Federation of Agriculture offered the public another chance to learn more about their provincial election candi- dates. Each candidate made opening and closing statements and faced a variety of questions on issues including agriculture, health care, provincial downloading and the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) referendum attached to the Oct. 10 election. All seven candidates were on hand at last week's meeting: incumbent Carol Mitchell (Liberal), Dave Joslin (Family Coalition), Paul Klopp (New Democratic Party), Rob Morley (Progressive Conservative), Victoria Serda (Green) and Independent candidates Ron Stephens and Dennis Valenta. After opening statements by each candi- date, a series of questions were asked. Asked if their government would honour a commitment to implement a Risk Management Program (RMP) and secure the federal parties in a flexible support pro- gram, Serda said farmers need security. She said the Greens want to support an RMP, but also want to make sure farming is viable by investing in infrastructure and helping with value added programs. Klopp said the NDP is committed to RMP and will provide $300 million annually; he said the Conservative plan is insufficient and the NDP is confident they can get the federal government to the table to co-operate. "We'll lead," Klopp said. Stephens said he is against using public money as "bribery" to get votes on farming issues. He added support payments for farmers have to be increased to put them in parity with their competition. "The government owes you people," Stephens said to the crowd. Mitchell said her party is committed to the Farmers Feed Cities program and added the federal government has to understand there are differences in agricultural communities in each province. As an Independent, Valenta said he would support what the voters want. He said gov- ernment programs are expensive and that farmers need to get more for their goods. Joslin said the Family Coalition Party "absolutely" supports RMP and said the ideal solution is to get the European Union and the United States to stop their "trade distorting tactics," a scenario he doesn't think will happen soon. Morley said the Conservatives say "yes" to RMP and Farmers Feed Cities, plus a pro- gram for livestock division. He said the Conservatives would fund RMP $150 million annually and $300 million by term's end. Another question asked candidates if they would compensate farmers for the 2005-06 seasons as the current RMP only deals with 2007-09. Klopp said his party will go back to 2006, adding he can't fix all the problems caused by the Liberals, but "I can try." Stephens said it is desperately important a payment plan be hi place for farmers. "We need to support the family farm." Mitchell said the BSE issue and low com- modity prices hit agriculture "very hard." She said the Liberals provided $1 billion in financing and added 2005-06 has not been dealt with yet. Valenta said he would ensure farmers receive compensation for 2005-06 and said the NDP, Liberals and PC parties have creat- ed the farming problem. Joslin gave a simple "yes" to the funding See ELECTION page 35 IT WORKS. IT LASTS. Sheila Copps lost 25 pounds! 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