81 per cent
A disappointingly small number of folks filed into town halls across the County over the past couple of weeks. Few, it seems, are interested in how many councillors, or how few, sit around the council table at Shire Hall. Neither are they terribly keen to come out and discuss the shape and size of the […]
Where we live
The first house Kathleen and I owned still sits at 11 Amroth Street in Toronto— very near Danforth and Woodbine. It was, as I recall, a crooked little house on a street that friends, from better parts of town, likened to living in Beirut. The house was 13 feet wide. The lot was 14 feet […]
Perilously divided
In 1998 the County was pushed into amalgamation by a provincial government that believed all ills could be cured and a vast treasure of savings could be released when smaller councils, hospitals and other public institutions were huddled into larger ones. They were terribly wrong on both counts but it seems provincial mistakes cannot be […]
Historic deal
Many around the world released a sigh of relief last week as the U.S. president Barack Obama reached a deal with Russian leader Vladimir Putin that would see Syria rid itself of chemical weapons—weapons that attack the nervous systems in humans and other animals, causing muscles to twitch uncontrollably. Victims typically die of suffocation—muscles they […]
To the polls
It is time for an election in Ontario. There comes a time in the life of a governmentwhen the stale, pungent aroma lingering in the hallways of Queen’s Park and on Main Street across the province overwhelms our ability to endure it. The gathering disappointment, deceit and corruption piles up so high it can no […]
Crossing the line
It was a ham-handed stunt. Despite the seriousness claimed by the two actors behind this shameful bit of Shire Hall theatre—it was nothing more than a clumsy and cynical attempt by Brian Marisett and Jamie Forrester to thumb their noses at fellow councillors on an issue upon which they feel increasingly alone and isolated. In […]
A clear message
The Citizens’ Assembly has delivered its recommendation. In the view of its 23 members, selected more or less at random, the right size of our next council ought to be 11 members—10 councillors and one mayor. Wards are to be revamped to more evenly distribute population and to generally reflect the urban and rural mix […]
Risk and reward
This is the second of a three-part comment on the Citizens’ Assembly that concludes this weekend. The Prince Edward County Citizens’ Assembly is expected to render its recommendation this weekend. The group will submit its consensus view on the size of council and how we elect our local government. But does it make sense for […]
Getting here
It is a fascinating experiment. Whatever else may be said or written about the Prince Edward County Citizens’ Assembly, it cannot be denied that what is taking place above the fire station in the old town hall in Picton is a novel and potentially compelling way around a problem that has vexed municipal council for […]
Unexplainable
A Times reader called from Picton Thursday morning looking for an explanation. The 78-year-old resident wanted to know how council could ignore the direction given to them by the question on the ballot related to the size of council. She hoped that since I had witnessed council toss aside that direction and the recommendation of […]