Two years short of a full term, Canadians are once again heading to the polls. The cost of this unwarranted election is estimated to run between 500 and 600 million dollars.
On Sept. 20 the Liberals will learn their fate. Odds suggest the new parliament will not look much different than today.
Ironically, many readers will have departed this column already. Politics can be a dreadful topic and over the last two years of a pandemic, the public’s interest in governance ranges from indifference to defiance.
In the middle of that grouping, most friends are happy to recite – “It’s just the way it is.” That degree of apathy is not good for the country, nor democracy as it is currently understood.
Admittedly, we even find ourselves less enthusiastic for the news. Fighting the headwinds of mediocrity and railing against a system that clearly is not working gets tiresome. Challenging poor policy and chastising wanton spending seems on many levels to be pointless. People like getting stuff for free and that attitude has only gone next-level in the past two years.
The financial juggernaut now encompassing the globe will eventually force changes in behaviour. Much like a snowball gathering steam rolling down a mountainside, Canadians that share financial concerns like us are just going to have to wait it out until the bitter end.
Over the coming weeks we will be providing coverage of local candidates in the ridings of Perth-Wellington and Wellington-Halton Hills. Along with opportunities to tell voters about themselves and what experience they bring to the role, there will be pointed questions on party platforms and priorities.
While it may not meet the cut when our editorial team meets, the one burning question for us is where could the hundreds of millions used to fund this needless election have been better spent. The answers should be innumerable.
Stop, please stop
A common occurrence around town these days is the rolling stop.
It has been many years since we took driver training but it is hard to imagine the rules of the road have changed that much where stop no longer means coming to a full and complete stop. Numerous times a day we witness vehicles approaching intersections with stop lights and stop signs that they ignore.
No one really wants to be that guy whining about other drivers, but it seems to us the problem is reaching a point where something dangerous will happen and someone will get hurt. Something needs to be said.
During the early days of the pandemic the roads were very quiet and that might be part of our curiosity watching traffic now. Streets and highways are bustling and most people seem in a tremendous hurry. Offending drivers and their vehicle choice runs the gamut.
Perhaps the worst we have seen was this past week outside our office at the corner of Gordon and Gartshore in Fergus. We witnessed a transport truck complete with a CP shipping container completely blow the stop sign. It wasn’t even close – it wasn’t even a yield. In order to make a relatively tight turn he entered the northbound lane before correcting his truck and trailer, finding safe harbour in the southbound lane. What of it, some may say, it happens every day.
For starters, vehicles don’t stop on a dime, much less within a few yards. Add weight to the mix, excessive speed and a clear disregard for others and every factor is in place for a fatality. It’s just a matter of time.
The consequence of not following the rules of the road is that police will need to be deployed or worse yet, cameras may be installed if the problem fails to correct itself.
Have some respect for fellow drivers and people in your community. If the sign or signal says stop – please stop. It is the law after all.
