Editorials - Oct. 28, 2022

Sliding in unnoticed  

School board elections have traditionally been the sleepy cousin to municipal elections with even lower voter turnouts. The centralization of decision-making probably has a lot to do with that, with most parents and voters feeling quite disconnected from the education system. Once upon a time, a school board consisted of the parents of a one-room school and members could make the decision of who taught their children, what the curriculum was and how it was delivered. Gradually, this has disappeared and the school board superintendents and the trustees that oversee the system now look after thousands of children spread over multiple counties. As a result of this disconnect, many voters ignore the trustee races. In North Huron, over 10 per cent of the ballots returned for the Avon Maitland District School Board position were abstained.
   

Unfortunately, voter apathy has allowed some factions to use this as almost a loophole, running candidates in school board elections where they perceive a better chance of winning. In Ontario, a so-called “anti-woke” parent group was endorsing candidates who they believed would promote a more conservative curriculum. While trustees in Canada have limited say over what is taught or how it is taught, these groups see raucous board meetings in the United States over sex education, mask mandates, etc. and believe that they can exert the same influence here.
   

It’s up to us as voters to pay attention to what the trustee candidates are campaigning on and make sure that the education system isn't just an easy way for them to get elected to an office. – DS

Is anybody home?

According to the Toronto Star’s Queens’ Park Bureau Chief Robert Benzie, Premier Doug Ford is planning “sweeping” new housing legislation that will override municipal zoning rules to allow for the construction of duplexes and triplexes and remove rules that favour single-family homes and curb multi-dwelling units. The legislation will also aim to fast track the planning process in a number of ways.

 

Ontario is experiencing a housing supply crisis - there’s no arguing that. In fact, the Huron County Planning and Development Department is already hard at work at Official Plan changes to increase density in areas throughout the county to tackle this exact problem and developers are snatching up every piece of vacant land they can get their hands on to meet the ever-rising need for housing. The difference is that Huron County professionals are doing so locally with their own knowledge of their community. Residents of this area, more than many others, can speak to government overreach at both the federal and provincial levels and they know it very rarely has a happy ending.
   

The area needs housing and it’s possible that Ford’s plan to cut red tape may strike some of the right notes, but one has to always be wary when changes are identified as sweeping. This is especially true in a community that has a long history of having its own, rural-specific needs trampled by legislation that is often conceived, debated and confirmed in the province’s larger urban centres. 
   

It was Central Huron Mayor Jim Ginn who, as the Huron County Warden, championed the idea of applying a “rural lens” to any sort of rule-making in the county. Let’s hope that concept isn’t the baby being thrown out with the bathwater as the housing crisis continues to worsen and desperate governments make rash decisions. – SL 

The local level 

At The Citizen, we are quite attuned to how decisions made at the local level can have an outsized impact on our day-to-day lives. Whether it’s local politics, the impact of volunteers and service groups or the importance of a local economy, we are right there. We occupy a main-street office and connect with these locals on a daily basis. Sure, we’ve photographed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a pair of local events and interviewed Premier Doug Ford one-on-one before, but as far as day-to-day life in Huron County, it’s the locals who keep the world spinning.
   

That’s why it’s always a little disheartening to see the low voter turnout in municipal elections. Whether you love him or hate him, Trudeau doesn’t have as much of a say in your life as you think he does, and Ford spends most of his time building highways in urban centres. It’s our local councillors who make the decisions that we notice every day, even if we don’t notice ourselves noticing them. They approve housing and development in our towns and villages, adjust speed limits and work to calm traffic in problem areas and support our community centres and halls, volunteer-run events like breakfasts and dinners, fall fairs and reunions and memorable events like homecoming celebrations. 
   

If you’re taking the time to read this newspaper, and specifically this editorial, we’re preaching to the choir. You’re involved, informed and curious about what goes on in your community. The fact remains, however, that, in most municipalities, with voter turnout figures floating between 30 and 40 per cent, it’s more likely that a neighbour or friend didn’t vote than they did and that really needs to change. – SL