OrilliaMatters welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected] or via our website. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in response to a letter regarding councillors engaging the public on policy matters, published Nov. 3.
My good friend, Ted Emond, has challenged “councillors to reach out to their constituents ward by ward, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, block by block to obtain opinions of as many residents as possible before council decides the content of the updated OP (Official Plan).”
With all due respect, I disagree.
In 1988, I fought what became known as the ‘free trade election.’ It was the first election since the ‘conscription election’ of 1944 to be fought on a sole issue.
After that election, I formed the opinion that I could have held an information session at the Sundial restaurant in Orillia, with food and refreshments 24/7 for a week, and on the next day, someone would come up and ask me, “What is free trade all about?”
I would have then asked them if they had heard about the information session at the Sundial and their replies would have been, "Yes, but I was busy working, gardening or singing in the choir.”
There are many aspects to being a councillor. They must manage their own time. I don’t believe gathering input to the extent Ted puts it is a reasonable use of their time.
I believe council should provide adequate opportunities for public input, but in the final analysis, the voters expect councillors to make up their own minds and vote accordingly.
Doug Lewis
Orillia
