Area issues dominated the local election campaign
“All politics is local” - Thomas O’Neill

As the dust settles on the local campaign I am reminded of the statement, “all politics is local” – a phrase attributed to Thomas O’Neill, and his son, former Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill. 

Time and time again, with people at the door and at the microphones, certain issues dominated: the land dispute, the pressure on farmers, local energy generation and local infrastructure.

And in the final weeks even these pressing issues were somewhat submerged by conversation on faith-based education and the referendum. The big provincial issues – hospital wait times, the economy and jobs, the education funding formula, cutting taxes and promise breaking – also disappeared from the radar screen.

Despite the “faith-based” headlines, the Grand River land dispute dominated at the door and at the Dunnville and Caledonia debates. As people told me, long-awaited support for rural communities won’t mean a great deal if much of Haldimand remains shut down by native land disputes.

I made it clear at the door, in debates and through interviews: No-one has the right to “occupy” land anywhere or burn bridges or transformers. No one should be above the law, or beneath its protection. All laws must apply to all of us equally. Government court orders and court injunctions – like Justice Marshall’s - must be enforced.

      ‘All Candidate Debates’ hosted by the Norfolk and Haldimand Federations of Agriculture helped to bring attention to the plight of our farmers. Farmers have faced tough times recently – beef, hort, tobacco, cash crop – all sectors have been impacted by government neglect, and year after year of  agriculture budget spending cuts.

In spite of the results of the election provincially, I will continue to work on boosting farmer’s safety net payments across the board, and fight to have government meet the commitment of John Tory’s tobacco exit.

The future of energy in Ontario – and specifically Nanticoke – was another constant issue from one end of the riding to the other.  While Premier McGuinty continues his ongoing coal plant closure promises – first it was 2007, then 2009, now 2014 – that will put 600 Nanticoke workers out of a job, I continue to fight for clean air technology and continued exploration of coal gasification and carbon sequestration.

After four years of an urban-centric government that focussed on big cities - while issues of our rural communities went untouched – the need for rural investment remains a consistent concern.

I think of the “Mid-Pen Corridor” – a project that got rolling, only to see four years of stalling. Over the next four years, we must fight for a Haldimand link to this mid-Niagara thruway.

In the election, we committed every cent of money raised by gas and fuel taxes to our roads, highways, bridges and public transit. Questions at local debates in Simcoe, Delhi, Dunnville, Kohler and Caledonia emphasized the ongoing rural road and bridge disintegration, lack of any form of public transportation, and continued lack of government attention to rural needs.

Over the next four years, I will continue to fight government neglect of agriculture; continue to fight for rule of law in Haldimand; continue the fight to keep OPG Nanticoke open while investing in new technology; and continue to listen to area people in order to voice local concerns at Queens Park.