Not an achievement
One of the more intriguing arguments made by some council members explaining why they oppose reducing council size now rather than during the election, is that this group is working well. “We are proving that council can work,” claimed a first-time councillor proudly last week. Another diagnosed council’s prior ills to be the last gasps […]
Curiouser
Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty of time as she went down to look about her and to wonder what was going to happen next. – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll It has been nearly a decade since we were first dragged into the rabbit hole known as council […]
Win win
First let us applaud the decision to change course. Too often, when public projects get bogged down in planning, process and escalating costs, governments tend to stubbornly push onward. It is how we get airports in the middle of nowhere, the most expensive Pan American games in history and sewage plants on a hillside overlooking […]
Bomb
Pessimists are never disappointed, as my buddy Grant likes to say. If you spend your days believing the worst in people, they will eventually prove you right. Being prepared, therefore, equips you to skip right through the heartbreak and disappointment. But what happens when we take pre-emptive steps to ward off the bad thing that […]
Call to action
Now we know. Life, for many in Prince Edward County, is tough. A struggle every day. Too many families among us rely on foodbanks because there is little left over after paying heating, electrical and rent bills. Nearly half of County residents say it is a challenge to get around—to visit the doctor, the pharmacy […]
Out from the shadows
Something is terribly amiss in the County’s land planning process. More tears are shed, more anguish is stirred at Shire Hall over planning decisions than anything else the County does. That includes marrying people. Land use planning issues draw many more average residents—those otherwise disengaged from municipal governance—to Shire Hall than anything else council does. […]
Remembering
They could hear gunfire between Dutch resistance fighters and the occupying German army from their position on the outskirts of the Freisland capital. But their orders were to stay put. Another Canadian Division was solidifying its position on the eastern side of the Netherlands. Together with Ross Clark’s 3rd Infantry Division, they were flushing the […]
Incredible
There are good reasons to oppose reducing the size of council. There are no good reasons, however, to ignore the will of the people. There never is. Yet for County council, it is becoming a habit. It seems evident, after another painful debate, that a majority of members in this term of council—like the previous […]
Raise a glass
If you count yourself among those who worry about Canada’s ability to compete in a global economy, spare an hour this Saturday and come down to the Terroir Wine and Farmers’ Market at the Crystal Palace Picton. One need not obsess over the virtues of pinot noir or cabernet franc to appreciate that something truly […]
It would be funny…
With school children arrayed at his feet, Ontario’s environment minister, Glenn Murray, announced last week his government was giving $1 million to an organization dedicated to educating children aged five to 11, about how to help protect animals and their habitats. His advice to the children assembled at the ROM for the press event was […]