Members of a local pro-democracy group say they will continue to hold local elected officials accountable in the light of the many recent cuts to essential services.
“This is supposed to be a democracy,” said Keenan Howell, who was attending a rally held by Orillia for Democracy. “Too often we think the election is the be-all and end-all, but it's between the election that really matters.”
The government, said the Orillia resident, is under constant corporate and special interest group pressure; public attention or pressure has to counter that.
“We have to get involved because these people are not representing us and until we get involved nobody is going to,” said Howell.
The rally, held Monday afternoon in front of Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop’s office, was attended by 20 people, five of whom spoke about issues that mattered most to them.
“The most important thing is that the public understands that (education cuts) are limiting the ability of our kids to get the education they deserve,” said Jen Hare, teacher's bargaining unit president for the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation.
“That's the crux of it all. We’ve lost 11 teachers this year, but we haven't replaced a lot of retirees and we have enrolment going up. We should be hiring 25 more teachers, but we're not.”
There are some other ways of fixing funding in Ontario, she said. For instance, there is no need for EQAO testing if teachers’ judgement is to be trusted.
“The deficit should not be fixed on the back of kids,” said Hare. “We've seen again and again that each dollar invested one education generates $1.30 in economic return. If we're investing in education, the economy is going to become so affluent that the deficit will naturally fix itself.”
Fellow teacher Janet-Lynne Durnford said she was angry.
“We are angry because the Ford government seems to be obsessed with beer, speed limits, with rebranding and petty grievances,” said the Ontario English Catholic Teacher’s Association representative.
“We have hope for the future and we’re taking action,” added the NDP federal nominee. “We’re using our anger as a lever, because we are the people and our children matter and our opinions matter.”
Aside from education, other members attended the rally to talk about the environment.
“My biggest point is the fact that we're selling off our natural resource, the water,” said Mathew Lund. “And it's going to the highest bidder.”
The Green Party member talked about Tiny Township’s stand again the expansion of aggregate companies into the area. Lund said 10 million gallons of water is used per day is to create concrete — and for what?
“We're destroying the most pristine, most beautiful water in the world to build skyscrapers in Toronto, rather than re-develop any of the old ones that are already there,” he said.
“It's insulting,” added Lund. “This is where I live, this is the water my kids drink and I'm fighting heavily against that. The fact that our government leaves it open so that aggregate companies can bribe their way through the OMB or through the MNR is appalling to me.”
Orillia for Democracy co-founder Dennis Rizzo was on the same page as Lund where conserving water is concerned.
He talked about the need to preserve Canada’s precious water resource, instead of allowing international conglomerates to benefit from it.
“Nestle has fought for and acquired exclusive rights to local ground water sources without intervention by provincial and federal representatives,” said Rizzo.
“Municipalities have seen their access to clean water placed in the hands of private shareholders with no stake in the community.”
Through these public rallies, the group is hoping to stir voters into action and to re-think their priorities, said John Winchester, another co-founder.
“Sometimes when the member wins a majority to get in government, they're less likely to say things on our behalf,” he said. “They'll just toe the line. And we don't get the representation we think we will be getting.”
Winchester said he understands members are back in their constituencies and will hopefully host constituency meetings to hear about resident concerns.
Orillia for Democracy (https://www.facebook.com/groups/317852485687672/) is a Facebook group open to all.
