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 […]
Isolated
Hundreds of thousands of Nepalis slept outdoors last night—some because their homes have been destroyed, others because they fear their homes will entomb them as they sleep. More than 4,000 are dead after the deadliest earthquake the nation has endured in 80 years. There are likely many more casualties. Landslides have shredded communications, electricity and […]
It’s broken
Most had made their pitch before. Barely suppressing the weariness many feel toward the issue of council size after nearly a decade of debate, the handful of folks who gathered in the pews at Shire Hall on Thursday morning had come either to promote their personal plan, or to advise council to do nothing. “If […]
A narrow path
Mayor Robert Quaiff’s proposal to reduce the size of council is a dexterous bit of tightrope balancing. He has carefully avoided the missteps that have sent other plans hurtling into the abyss. Tomorrow morning council will gather to consider a plan that would condense 10 existing electoral districts into two—each electing five representatives. Quaiff’s plan […]
Foul aroma
It has been quite a spectacle to watch Mayor Robert Quaiff and a cabal of coupplotting councillors use taxpayer’s money to overthrow the County’s manager—to watch as they attempt to extricate themselves from a mess of their own creation. And then refuse to tell us how much money they spent. The CAO’s leadership approach no […]
Mob rule
Few will mourn the departure of Merlin Dewing from Shire Hall. The former chief administrative officer was civil and courteous, but rarely engaging. He wasn’t warm or friendly. He didn’t put his energy into currying favour among council, staff or the public he served. He was direct and dispassionate. Merlin Dewing came to Prince Edward […]
Thin red line
I will admit I never understood the argument that atrocities befalling other humans had nothing to do with me simply because they were far away. So when the Canadian government announced this week it was expanding its mission in Iraq into Syria to resist the carnage and brutality carried out by thugs in the name […]
Undoing
Stop me if you’ve heard this before. A forced amalgamation in 1998. Turmoil ensues. The newly forged institution fails to deliver savings. Instead, it struggles each year to contain its budget. A supervisor is brought in to take the reins for a while. Meanwhile, a procession of outside experts peer in and write reports. Yet […]
Close to home
Who is best placed to decide? Who should say what a hospital is in Picton? In Trenton? Or Belleville? Windsor? Cornwall? Does it matter? We are, after all, the same species, with a fairly predictable basket of health care needs. For most of the past century it was the hospital itself that determined how to […]
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 […]