“At every level of government elections have consequences” says Kevin Smith, Grey Bruce Labour Council President. Smith adds, “with such profound polarization in our population today, this may never be more to the point than in a few weeks when we cast votes for municipal politicians”.
Fortunately, polarization is not fatal, but it may be deeply harmful and with long term consequences if we let those propagating the polarization have the last word. The legitimate last word in the privacy of the ballot booth is between our conscience, our level of effort to be informed voters and our actions as we fill in that ballot.
The choices we make on that ballot will manifest into actions that have direct effects on our lives and more importantly on those we love and care for. “All politics is local, and this is as true as it gets when we commit our electoral actions to municipal politics” says Grey Bruce Labour Council VP for Bruce County, Dave Trumble. The municipal landscape of the Grey Bruce region is vastly complicated by its geography and the number of municipalities.
“Moving away from explicit endorsements for many years, the Grey Bruce Labour Council has done all that is possible in asking the voters to educate themselves before voting and to ensure that the act of voting is about the collective good and not about supporting a narrow set of values”, states Grey Bruce Labour Council Secretary, Amy Stephen.
Approaching municipal elections in 2022 the Grey Bruce Labour Council is again pleading with electors to be as informed as possible and to vote as if the lives and safety of those we love are at stake.
This plea is the same across all possible electoral outcomes on October 24th, but there is an explicit need to speak out on the elections for school trustees. At the Grey Bruce Labour Council meeting on September 26th this upcoming electoral geography is described “as various elections taking place for school trustees where the choices in our community are as stark as possible. The choice is between candidates with a broad history and/or vision that will support inclusion, equity and diversity as compared to those that without a pang of conscience or compassion will drive their most narrow minded vision of what education should be. Perhaps this narrow version is aptly described as a personal perversion of the message they lay claim to while suggesting that a vote for diversity, equity and inclusion somehow puts people in disagreement with a faith that is factually about diversity, equity and inclusion”.
In the context of endorsing candidates there is a need to be very explicit in the 2022 elections for school trustees. It is difficult to develop a comprehensive list of progressive candidates, but electors bear the real responsibility of being informed voters. Nevertheless, the unions of the Grey Bruce Labour Council are pleased to endorse the school trustee candidates that we know will continue the progress of the last decades of which we are proud. Please do not let the regressive candidates take us back to a place where our children will be less safe than they are today.
The list of candidates is not identified by separate or public board as the most important identifier is progress or regression. The Grey Bruce Labour Council endorsed candidates for school trustee as of today are:
Township of Southgate, Municipality of Grey Highlands Bryden Jones
Kincardine, Municipality of Huron-Kinloss Jan Johnstone
Town of Saugeen Shores, Arran-Elderslie Katie Lutz
Owen Sound, Michael Craig
Owen Sound, Meaford,Blue Mountains, Bruce Muise
Brock Ward 34, 36 Linda Strader
Huron Kinloss, Brockton, Ward 31, Kincardine Lori DiCastri
Saugeen Shores, Arran Elderslie, Chatsworth, Georgian Bluffs & Lucie Desbiens
Northern Bruce and South Bruce Peninsula
South Bruce Beverley Eckensweiler
