Citizens or consumers
Is populism seeping into County politics? Are we at risk of becoming consumers of services rather than citizens? What responsibility do we have as residents and taxpayers to advance our community? Has Covid altered our mutual contract? The message resounding from town halls in this municipal election is of detachment rather than engagement. But it’s […]
Participate
The Women’s Institute hosted the candidates in Ameliasburgh on Monday night. It was a lively and, at times, emotional evening (More on that on page 22). Yet, it was just the second session The Times has attended in this election cycle. That is a worry. It is getting late. Just four weeks are remaining until […]
Can you hear me?
No one’s listening.” “We are not being heard.” “Where is the accountability?” A loud sigh of exasperation was the clearest sound emanating from Hillier Hall on Friday night. County residents are feeling apart from their elected representatives. Estranged and disillusioned. More so than in any of the half-dozen election cycles I have covered. Folks—at least […]
Passion
He didn’t explain himself. He didn’t need to. Paul Greer was raised to work hard—for his family and for his community. He went to work every day quietly, respectfully, and with good humour. It’s who he was. Paul passed away last week. Too young at 54. Complications from cancer. His passing will be mourned across […]
Press pause
When Council reconvenes next week, among the files they are expected to consider is the creation of a Heritage Conservation District (HCD) in Wellington. Council is urged to defer the decision to the following term for three reasons. 1. It is a big deal; 2. There remain too many questions, and 3. Most folks who […]
Consequences
Harrison’s Corners is a cluster of homes at an intersection of roads that go nowhere in particular—save for maybe St. Andrews West, where Simon Fraser—the explorer of BC fame—settled and was buried after his rambling days were done. My buddies’ homes were scattered along roughly two kilometres of County Road 18, straddling the Corners. My […]
Compare
Prince Edward County is surrounded by water. Fresh, clean, cold and drinkable water. It’s funny, then, that we pay so much for water from our taps. Prince Edward County residents pay among the highest water bills in Ontario. More than Toronto. More than Ottawa and Kingston. More than Muskoka. Collingwood and Cambridge. By a lot. […]
Carrot management
What do you do when the market doesn’t produce what you need? It’s not a trick question. We— speaking mostly of governments here— bump up against the limitations of the marketplace regularly. We invest in drugs, research and climate change mitigation because the market can’t see a viable return. We fund a social safety net […]
Pause
It’s a recurring nightmare. I am heading out of Wellington, up Belleville Road, past the Millennium Trail. Gone are the farm fields, once blanketed with snow in the winter, budding with fresh shoots in spring, lush with growth in the summer and golden after the harvest. Instead, in this dream state, the pastoral landscape has […]
For Mayor
Less than two weeks before we choose our next municipal council (just three days before online voting begins), it is time for this column to announce whom it is endorsing. In past election years, we took a more collaborative approach to these choices within the walls of The Times. But this cycle, Corey Engelsdorfer, the […]