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“Every election is determined by the people who show up.” — L. Sabato
International headwinds are suggesting that the great economic ride might be coming to an end. So, when campaigning politicians promise to continue building a strong economy, think about that before you vote.
The endless and unnecessary development driven by our provincial government and supported without challenge by our own municipalities is unsustainable and the environmental and social costs have become blatantly obvious.
We have a problem and it’s time to change the way we think and act through alternative choices for a healthy society. To paraphrase Einstein, we can’t solve today’s problems with the same thought processes that created the problems in the first place.
A healthy and sustainable society is often depicted metaphorically as a three-legged stool, with the economy, environment, and society as the legs. Each has to hold and be the same length for the stool to stay upright. Our current populist politicians spend too much time and resources on the economic leg and pay lip service to the social leg, which is now totally unstable.
No mistake, gainful employment is critical, but repeated claims that continuous growth and development is sustainable and necessary for prosperity is simply not true and, in many instances, is an attempt to conceal political and developer self-interests.
What to do? Go to the all-candidates meetings in your area, listen to those who are there and note those who aren’t there to answer questions and represent you. Most importantly, be accurately informed and vote based on your personal values, not with the herd.
Allan Baker
Oro-Medonte Township
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