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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2007-10-17, Page 66 Times–Advocate Wednesday, October 17, 2007 Opinion Forum News Improper representation under current system I buy a newspaper the day after the election and what do I see? On the front page, I see numbers that remind me why I voted for MMP in the referendum. The first number I see is 71 seats for the Liberals, out of 107. That works out to 66.36 per cent of the seats in Ontario's legislature. Then further down the page, I see that these same Liberals received 42 per cent of the popular vote. Wait. Am I reading that correctly? Have we once again elected a majority govern- ment with just over 40 per cent of the vote? Yes, ladies and gentleman, thanks to our present electoral system, we have done just that. Meanwhile, 9.5 per cent of the votes went to "Other" parties, such as Green or Family Coalition. Yet those same parties (in whatever proportion the votes were distributed) receive not even one seat in the legislature. That — 'tat means that 9.5 per cent of voters are not adequately repre- sented. This would not happen under MMP. I might also point out that under the present system we could potentially elect a majority government with only 20-25 per cent of the votes. How democratic is that? It's unfortunate that MMP was rejected, and what's even more frustrating is that, very likely, many people didn't under- stand MMP well enough to make an informed decision. For example, one opinion letter I read a few days ago declared that the winning party would determine who fills the extra 39 seats. No, the results of the second "party" vote would determine that. That's the point of hav- ing a second vote. But it was apparent that the writer of that letter was voting against MMP on the basis of misunderstanding. Many of the people I've talked to recently who were against MMP didn't understand it either. And so we're back to status quo, which means improper representation of the voters' wishes. Again. THOMAS BAILEY Grand Bend Le to Ed cannot afford accommodation that would cost about $2,200 per month! She has always lived in geared -to -income housing and has been a resident at Exandarea Co- op Housing since the day it opened in 1990 (or 1991, I forget which year it opened). She lives strictly on her Old Age Pension and has always been a content person. How many of us could live on $13,000 a year and be satisfied? I respect her for managing her money so wisely and I am absolutely amazed at her attitude! She is a person who always wants to do the right thing and has great respect for others. Her Christian faith has carried her through a very difficult jour- ney in life and yet she is always pleasant and greets everyone with a smile. I am very proud to say she is my mother. She has worked very hard all her life, always doing lots of hard work on a small mixed farm that my dad had, working in factories (Hall Lamp, Canners, Mickle Feed Mill), raised three children and always ready to help someone in need. She has tried to live independently as long as possible but now she is becoming a little hesitant about living on her own, especially in the winter when she knows the roads are sometimes closed and I cannot come in from Woodham. Our family is small; she has a son in Port Stanley and another one in Kincardine, so not many people drop in to check on a regular basis. I am sure my mother is not the only senior in this sad position. I am asking the government to make retirement housing (not just high needs nursing beds) available for all our seniors. We need retirement rooms that are geared -to -income made avail- able in our senior homes. Let's spend some money on our elderly who have spent a lifetime building our community. I beg the government to listen to our plea, because our seniors definitely deserve our care and respect! tters the itor Seniors need housing I would like to address a concern regarding housing for our seniors. My mother, who lives in Exeter and will turn 93 in November, was told recently that she is not eligible for a placement in the nursing home because she is still too "high functioning." I agree she should not be shoved on the nursing side but she does not have the finances to afford a retirement room. Yes, she has been blessed with fairly good health, however she had a small stroke four years ago and she suffers from "apha- sia," which is a language disorder and consequently it is difficult for her to express herself coherently. She also has severe hearing impairment and wears two hearing aids, but that definitely does not replace all her loss. She would love to have a placement in the retirement section of the Villa but she ANN ZWAAN Woodham Exeter well represented On Sept. 30, Exeter was well represented at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon. I've lived in this town for over 15 years and it's great to see people getting more active. Every year I see more and more people walking, biking, and now running. On Sept. 30, Exeter was represented with five runners at the Toronto marathon. Exeter, with a population of 4,400 people, had five of those amongst the 2,100 marathon competitors. Congratulations to Tony Van Mierlo with a net time of 3:44:19; Dan Vanderlaan with a time of 3:49:30; Dave Boersma with a time of 4:07:50 and Piera Valenti with a time of 4:54:47. As for myself, I finished with a time of 3:23:23 which qualified me for the 2009 Boston Marathon. This will be my second trip to Boston as I ran in the 2006 Boston Marathon. ADAM Kuo Exeter Update from South Huron mayor SOUTH HURON — One of the hot topics around the municipal table for the last number of years is branding. Just about the time that I feel I have it figured out, some new material comes along to let me know that I still have a lot to learn. Consultants are selling the idea that all municipalities should have a brand. It gives a munici- pality a new image and will bring prosperity. You assume the pros- perity will come to the municipal- ity, but I am sure that most of the prosperity ends up going to the con- sultant who sold the pro- ject to the municipality. To me branding is about coming up with a new graphic image with or without a slogan. It's a new image to sell your community. The big ques- tion is "What is for sale?" Don't get the idea that I am against the idea of a modern graphic image to represent a municipality. Formal crests were "the in thing" 150 years ago and most older municipalities have a crest and even though I am soft on history, I feel it is time to replace some of these old crests with a modern image. London has a tree and Ontario has a trillium to mention a cou- ple. Where would Dodge cars and trucks be without the image of a ram's head? The official definition of brand- ing is the combined expression of your community — real and per- ceived — and the expression is carried by the actions of your community and all of its stake- holders. Most people in charge of select- ing a brand will tell you they know what they like when they see it, but unfortunately, liking a brand or not has little to do with its effectiveness. The consultants tell us that a new brand will promote the image of your municipality. If these consultants are right, why do so many municipal brands fail, especially the new ones? Most successful brands sell a product. A munici- pality doesn't have one product for sale, it has many and must take into consideration the con- cerns of its residents, businesses, community groups, politicians, staff, management and even the media. The City of Hull in England spent six years trying to sell a new image of its city before declaring it a waste of time and money. It was decided to return to the image of the 15th century. The whole exercise cost the city taxpayers over $2 million (Canadian). South Huron came up with a graphic image in place of a crest six years ago. South Huron's graphic image has worked well and I am not sure I want to throw a lot of money away at changing our image at this time as we have a lot of other places to spend money for the benefit of South Huron. Ken Oke 100th anniversary —A ceremony of `Remembrance, Rededication and Recommitment' was held Oct.! in Granton to mark the 100th anniversary of Granton Lodge #483.The Lewis Jewel was also presented at the meeting by the Grand Master of Ontario to Larry, Gordon and Jason Hern.The pin indicates that their father and grandfather was a Mason. Pictured from left are Senior Steward Jason Hern, Gordon Hern,Worshipful Master of Granton Lodge Stan Malcolm, Ontario Grand Master Allan J. Petrisor, Inner Guard Larry Hern and District Deputy Grand Master Don Symons. (photo/submitted) Pride of Huron Rebekah Lodge EXETER - Our meeting on Oct. 3 was enjoyed by candlelight for the first time in anyone's memory. The hydro went out just before we started. The by-law committee will meet in November. Today we are at the blood donor clinic with our home made cook- ies. Forest invited us for Oct. 16. The Grand Master's banquet is Oct. 18. Call Bev Skinner if you want tickets. NG Joyce Morgan will be presenting the bursary for the first year at the high school Commencement.