Well, it seems that most of us have
television, to watch the Canadiens take on
survived yet another election campaign.
the Leafs and later the Yankees confront the
Someofthosewhoweredeeplyinvolved
Tigers. A handful of Crack supporters was
in the run-up to the October 6 electionmay
keeping tabs on the election results.
still be licking wounds or nursing
And, sports fans, itwent right down to the
hangovers.
wire, with Crack winning by about 1,300
However, life has returned to normal
votes. Itwasoneof themost excitingcontests
for the masses who are less “engaged” in
in the province
the political process.
Across the province, voter turnout fell to
We could all benefit from a politics-free
The signs are changing
an all-time low, to 49.2 per cent. That was
period after last fall’s municipal council
even worse than the paltry 52.8 per cent
and school board elections, the spring
participation rate in 2007.
their candidates put their game faces onand
with driving off with about 50 signs taken
federal vote, and the provincial campaign,
The result is disappointing considering
can put the puck in the net.
from along County Road 43 near Finch.
which officially lasted a month but had
that Elections Ontario went to great lengths
So, watch for “house” to become a hot
The man allegedly had a preference for
actually gone on for about a year.
toencouragevoterinvolvementbyproviding
political termin thenot sodistant future. For
blue. While he had in his possession signs
Before we stray away from politics,
more days and ways to cast ballots.
example, in football, when a player scores a
from all three mainstream parties, most of
however, let us recognize all the political
There is always much hand-wringing
touchdown, he or she is said to be “taking it
his collection featured posters for the
workers from all parties who volunteered
about a lack of interest in politics.
to the house.” But, since everything is
Conservative candidate.
tochampiontheircandidatesandpropagate
Wastheweatherafactor?Conditionswere
shortened these days, that action is boiled
Politiciansarenot theonlyones targeted
their particular political faith.
great, which may have meant many people
down to “housing it.” Thus, do not be
by sign thieves.
Glengarry-Prescott-Russell is one large
decided to play or work outside, rather than
surprised when you hear politicians
InRussellTownship,somebodyhasbeen
and diverse riding.
vote. But the polls were open from 9 a.m. to
bragging about how they “housed” a point
lifting signs erected by opponents of a
An effective door-to-door campaign
9 p.m. There was plenty of time for voters to
when they nailed an opponent on some
proposed mega-dump. The campaign
requires time, effort, sturdy shoes,
make their mark, work in the garden and
burning issue.
organized by the Dump The Dump Now
commitment, conviction, deft language
update their Facebook status, over and over
Speaking of hammering home a point,
committee obviously has hit some raw
skills, motivation, and a lot of other
again.
surprisingly, the old-fashioned campaign
nerves. But really, what is achieved by
intangibles.
We are told that apathy is not healthy for
signs continue to pop up during every run-
ripping off signs stuck up by people who
Now that the provincial parties have
democracy and that a government cannot
up to an election.
aremerely exercising their right to express
storedtheircampaignmachinesforanother
represent the masses if it does not receive its
With all the modern gadgets and doo-
their opinion?
four years, the world does seem to be a lot
mandate from a large portion of the people.
hickeys available, quaint two-dimensional
If therearepeoplewhostronglysupport
quieter, and less angry, eh?
Somewisepeoplebelievethatthelethargic
posters are apparently still effective. If not,
a hugewastemanagement facility, why do
Theattackadsbecomealmost laughable
could be spurred into voting simply by
the parties would not invest so much time
they not simply respond with their own
after you have been subjected to them day
asking: “Want to live in a country where the
and effort in carpeting the countrysidewith
placards espousing the merits of large
after day.
right to vote does not exist?”
placards.
dumps?
Apparently, voters love to be told the
Or, should our system be changed?
There is graphic evidence that signs have
And your excuse was what?
same thing, over and over again, however,
Should we debate, again, reform of the
evolved slightly over the decades. At one
Anyway, speaking of engagement, it
would it be too much to ask for the brains
first-past-the-post set-up?
time, wood was the base of all roadside
seems that we are losing the ongoing
behind the commercials to attempt to be
Should voting be made mandatory?
pitches. Today, some of the most popular
campaign against apathy. Lethargywon in
creative?
Yes, indeed, these are concerns that must
models are the ones that resemble plastic
the Ontario election, convincing about 50
Buzz words have a short shelf life.
be pondered.
bags placed over rectangular coat hangers.
per cent of eligible voters to stay at home
Remember when “traction” was slipping
Butweought toclearourheadsofpolitical
Another sign that archaic signs are still
and let the other half of the people decide
from everyone’s lips?
thoughts for a few days, or years.
useful is that they tend to tick so many
whowill represent them in Toronto for the
PR types love to borrow sporting and
Besides, youcanbeguaranteed thatwhen
people off.
next four years.
military terms to describe the action in the
another campaign rolls around, there will
For example, during every campaign,
Prior to Glengarry-Prescott-Russell
political arena. The outcome of the
again be complaints about lack of interest.
there are reports of signs being trashed or
M.P.P. Grant Crack’s victory party in St-
campaign is decided in the trenches,where
You can take that one to the bank or the
stolen.
Isidore last week, most of the people in the
the troops blitz the opponents, hoping that
“house.”
A St-Albert man was recently charged
community centre bar were fixated on the
$10 million
H AWKESBURY
The town’sconstructionscenehasbeen
again this year. In fact, in dollar terms the
value of projects undertaken so far this
year inHawkesburyhas eclipsed the 2010
seven-month total.
As of July 31, the town had issued 145
permits for work with a total estimated
value of $9,616,750. At the same time in
2010, the municipality had issued 164
permits for projects worth $6,956,250,
according to figures compiled by chief
building official Jean-Claude Miner.The
2010 figures include 27 permits for $4.1
million in commercial jobs, and seven
permits for industrial work valued at
$1,657,000.
CINÉMA
Grenville (Qc) 819-242-3131
LAURENTIAN
CINEMA
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