TO THE EDITOR,
Has the time to move on suddenly topped the priority list?
I have concerns regarding where the future is taking our area in North-Eastern Ontario.
The real question should be how we plan for the future.
There are many pressure groups throughout our area, all with commitment to a cause. The support form the communities varies as do the subjects or objections they are pushing.
Now, do we start funding these groups with our tax dollars that come from individuals who may or may not support a cause, opening a Pandora’s box of requests for funding?
Taxpayers should not be burdened to finance any pressure group regardless of what the matter is.
A more realistic fashion to raise funds for a cause would be fundraising. This would allow the pressure group to be able to evaluate the true level of support their cause has within the community.
Many pressure groups believe in their cause but err in believing the entire community supports them which may or not be true.
Petitions are another form of support. But how many individuals sign a petition to avoid offending a neighbor, friend, acquaintance or the nice person on the street or shopping mall who stops you and asks you to sign a petition? How many petitions have many of us signed that end up in file 13?
More importantly, what is the real percentage of the area population that supports whatever cause. Let us not forget that we are in an area where being against something seems to be the thing to do regardless. Too often, the arguments used are biased and this applies to both sides of an issue.
What if all these energies were directed at supporting community projects such as youth development, community assistance programs, and economic development to encourage employment be more beneficial to the larger population of the area and positively affect/impact the future.
Would it not be more encompassing to have a strong community with fewer negative issues?
Maybe it is time to move on. OOOPS. This may allow the birth of another pressure group who want to be against something and prefer to remain stagnent and avoid looking at the future.
Richard Charest,
Vankleek Hill