The Times Advocate, 2007-08-15, Page 44
Times–Advocate
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
=CNA
TIMES ADVOCATE
Editorial Opinion
PUBLICATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER 07511
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Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing casts.
Canada Jim Beckett – Publisher
Deb Lord – Production Manager
Scott Nixon – Editor
CN
2007
BLUE
RIBBON
Si ft The Times -Advocate is owned by
Metroland Media Group Ltd.
Metroland 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850
Media Group Ltd. Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 • 519-235-1331
Doug Rowe -General Manager, Southwestern Ontario Division
EDITORIAL
The right
decision
Bluewater council made the correct deci-
sion Monday night to buy capacity into a
new planned sewage treatment plant in
Grand Bend in partnership with Lambton
Shores and South Huron.
With the latter two municipalities already on board,
Bluewater was the last of the three to reach a decision
and unanimously voted in favour of the project
Monday.
The decision to go ahead was no surprise and the
municipality didn't really have a choice. Buying capaci-
ty in a new plant doesn't necessarily mean new sewers
will be installed in Bluewater, South Huron or Lambton
Shores any day soon; it means the municipalities have
capacity available should they decide in the future that
sewers are needed in Dashwood, along the lakeshore
or other areas in the master plan for the project. Since
Dashwood is shared by South Huron and Bluewater,
sewers in that village can only be installed if both
municipalities agree to it; 011 the other hand, many
Dashwood residents made it clear at a public meeting
in Hensall Aug. 4 that they don't want or need sewers
in Dashwood.
Bluewater Mayor Bill Dowson rightly compared buy-
ing capacity in a new plant to having insurance — the
capacity is there if it's needed.
If Bluewater said no to the project, it was explained to
them that they would be out of the project forever and
would be on their own for future sewer projects instead
of sharing with Lambton Shores and South Huron.
Eventually, South Huron Mayor Ken Oke said, the
Ministry of the Environment will force sewers into
Dashwood, much like was recently done with Crediton
and Centralia. It's better for both South Huron and
Bluewater to be prepared for such an event and have a
sewage treatment plant available than to be taken by
surprise. Saying no to the project would have been
short-sighted.
With the three municipalities working together, it's
been said they have a better chance of getting grants
than if they were to work individually. Getting grants
for expensive projects like sewer systems is paramount.
Lakeshore residents have spoken
•
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The system isn't broken
There's an old story that on May 20, 1927, after it
was announced that Charles Lindbergh had flown the
Atlantic Ocean solo for the first time, one man in a
crowd ignored the celebration and continued with his
work. Asked why he was ignoring such a great accom-
plishment, the man replied, "On his own a man can do
anything. Let me know when a committee flies across
the ocean."
On Oct. 10 Ontario voters will decide
whether we want the one man (or woman)
style of government or government by com-
mittee when the referendum on changing the
province's electoral style to a Mixed Member
Proportional government is held.
The current first-past-the-post/winner-take-
all election style has been used in elections in
Ontario since 1792.
While the system has produced more than
its share of liars and crooks, in the last 200
years, it has also made Ontario one of the
most successful and prosperous areas in the
world. And while the first -past -the -post
method has allowed its fair share of incompetents into
the system it has also produced many politicians of
vision and integrity who have contributed greatly to
the building of the province.
As is evident at the provincial referendum website
www.yourbigdecision.ca, there is a considerable differ-
ence between the two methods, with first -past the -post
simply, "the candidate with the most votes wins,"
while the alternative method isn't quite as simple:
"If this system is accepted, Ontarians will have two
votes in future elections: one for a `Local Member' and
one for a political party.
"The provincial legislature would have 129 seats:
`Local Members' would fill 90 seats while 'List
Members' would fill 39 seats.
"The political party with the largest number of seats
in the legislature, including `Local Members' and 'List
Members', is asked to form a government.
"In each electoral district, one vote would be used to
elect a "Local Member" using a first -past -the -post sys-
tem. The candidate with the most votes in an
electoral district wins.
"The other vote would be for a political
party. Votes for parties will be used to deter-
mine the number of 'List Members' each party
gets. This is the proportional representation
part.
"If a political party is entitled to more seats
than it won locally, 'List Members' are elected
to make up the difference. 'List Members' can
only be elected from a political party that
received more than three per cent of these
votes.
"In the end, a political party's overall share of
seats will roughly equal its share of the total votes for
parties in the province."
Whatever the merits of the two systems may be, one
thing is clear. If the `Mixed Member' system is chosen,
the number of actual MPPs elected and accountable at
the local level will shrink from 107 to 90 while the total
number of MPPs will rise to 129.
And more politicians, less accountability, more hands
on the dollars and more voices added to the clamour
around the table are neither true to nor good for the
idea of democracy.
PAT B
BACK 40
VIEW
OLEN
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