The fourth candidate of the usual four was nominated by acclamation this afternoon, in the Citizens' Forum at Victoria Hall. Pat Clark, introduced to the collected New Democrats by Patty Park, spoke for about twenty minutes and was applauded numerous times for hitting the right spots for the members. In an off the cuff discourse Pat spoke about the need to protect what progressives have built in the past - the Social Safety net. "The Social Safety Net is too important to lose!" was one line. Another was "The State should be an instrument for public good." Speaking about the new world, "We need to learn to live with a little less and provide those who can't with enough!" Stirring stuff for Social Democrats. But his speech was not buried in the past as he spoke about the need for Green Jobs and "There's lots of room for local green investment strategies and making linkages with local groups"
Finally if you think that Pat Clark is just another young political groupie, like the other parties have, this guy has earned his chops. Patty Park told of his involvement in a pilot programme - FIVE years ago where he was working with the Help Centre and local migrant workers in Northumberland County where as a part of the job he learned to speak to them in their own language, in just a few weeks. Leaving there he went to Frontier College to mentor migrants in the tomato fields. Yep he has done hard time not just fancy constituency work.
Do you want these devices in the downtown area? Two issues come to mind: one is the size and location and the other is the size of the advertising.
Tomorrow's the day for Pat Clark, I bet he will remember this one for a long time.
And there isn't much of it. I'm off to work out of Province in the morning so no time to dig out material and opinion. But live with this quick announcement:
Local 14193 USWA went on strike three weeks ago, and they are still manning the picket lines with good cheer, convinced in the righteousness of their cause. The issues still outstanding after six months of bargaining are changes in language and the refusal of Cameco to assume the extra cost of funding retirees benefits the fact that a 0% in the first year and 2% in the second was offered also rubbed salt. In 2004 each and every member took a pay cut to maintain the benefits of the retirees and in this round of bargaining they asked the Company for another 15 cents to maintain the same level for the retirees. As there was no money offered in the first year the benefit funding was in deficit because there was no monetary package to take the 15 cents from. So that funding is a huge issue for the members and when the Company proposed to change the language of the Long Term Disability definitions from "own occupation" to "any occupation", it became obvious that the Company wasn't prepared to deal with the problem of injured workers the Union wasn't prepared to have to take the Insurance Carrier to court to settle a grievance, the strike loomed large. Grant McBride and Troy Bone, President and Vice-President explained the problem and also told me that support for the 137 strikers was strong in the Steelworkers, I had just missed the regional Director's visit, when I turned up at the picket line for a chat. A strike vote of over 98% put them on the picket lines. Since then donations have been coming in and the Strike Fund is strong and will probably produce an average of $300 p.w. to help defray lost wages.
In a related story story this is one of the vans that the Security Company - Corporate Investigative Services, are using to monitor the strikers. This Company's website is here, gumshoes.com !! (Sounds like a Janet Evanovich novel, not a professional strikebreaking firm) Sitting in the van here and another one 25 yds away at least seven men and women were spotted idling their time. Just what they are supposed to be doing is a mystery but the Company has taken over a floor of the Comfort Inn in Port Hope to accomodate the multitude of security people. Grant McBride told me, "These guys have a budget of $564,000 and our benefit request will only cost $41,000 so you go figure where their (the Company) priorities are."
As you know I have a spotty record in math calculations, so hack away at these observations!
Why is this young man smiling? Because he is looking forward to a political fight - meet the NDP nominee for NQW - Pat Clark.
Cobourg Council gets back to it on Monday and nothing startling in the agenda. The only potentially contentious item is a letter from a Bay St resident who sent a letter asking that "improvements" be made to the Victoria Park "situation". 
There is no letter as such attached to the agenda just a table that outlines "suggestions" that would improve the area. The question is now; improvements for whom?
These people, on the left, put a smile on this woman's face, on the right. Kim Rudd, a Cobourg entrepreneur won the Liberal nomination on a second round of counting. 9 votes short of the 461 needed to win, the redistribution of Andrew McFadyen's ballots gained 67 more, enough to stop an impressive second choice Chris Herrington from taking it but not impressive enough to claim a runaway win.
Kim Rudd's tables were giving away buttons and water, labelled 'win with kim', McFadyen's camp had sandwiches and finger food, but Herrington's table was kitted out with a chocolate machine for marshmallow dunking. The surprise to me was a publicity device in the form of a tie. Neat trick. Stephen Spencer, of Brighton, was snapped wearing one. He also led me to believe that a Rudd victory was in the offing. Asked where he was from he told me Brighton. "How many are from Brighton in this room?" I asked. "Looking around he said' "About fifty" Ooops not many for a victory for Herrington I thought. Bur once again Herrington wowed the crowd with a speech that drew the only spontaneous applause. Talking about the need to defeat Rick Norlock she again spoke a variant of the familiar lline that worked for her at the ACM. "I know Rick Norlock's weaknesses and I'm still looking for his strengths!" - you had to be there, it was a zinger.
All in all a dragged out affair designed to allow the candidates to get out the vote. The evening started at 6pm, speeches done by 7.15pm and voting closed at 1005pm; result announced by 1115pm, home by 1135.If anybody in Cobourg had any doubts about the impact that Cobourg Beach has on peoples' lives watch this video here, the link was sent in a comment to a previous post:
Note to Councillor Spooner - these folks obviously enjoyed their time downtown, I bet they spent a bit of money too!!
Decided to investigate the "weekenders" this morning. I had two objectives in mind: discover who they are and why they come. 9am revealed nobody except a couple of locals who read newspapers and drink coffee. I confined my investigation to the East end of the park - area B. Took a couple of pics the one on the left is the Park at 9am, the one on the right is the Park at 11am.
Rob Barnett, a caucasian, brings his family down for many weekends and did admit, "The Canada Day weekend was very busy!" but driving in from Oshawa was a 'no-brainer'. After watching one of Cobourg's finest, first drive by and then walk through the Park, I asked what he looking out for - "Charcoal bbqs and alcohol". I asked one of the visitors if they felt the Police were hassling them, "No" was the very quick reply. Although when the Parks employee, who came by to crush the garbage in the Moluks, pointed out to the Bylaw Enforcement person, a charcoal bbq, he did investigate and issue a warning to the owner. All in a days work for him.Dog saves toddler lost in Yukon bush - The Globe and Mail This is the story of a toddler lost in the bush and the mutt of a dog that saved his life, a real life Lassie story! A nice Labour Day start to the day
The world's largest Ribfest is going on as we speak, but in Burlington.
Wikipedia post:
Canada's Largest Ribfest is an annual festival held in Spencer Smith Park by the lake shore in the Town of Burlington, Ontario. It was started in 1995 by The Burlington Lakeshore Rotary Club. The Ribfest runs for four days during the Labour Day weekend. In 2008 over 130,000 visitors attended the event.
Over 90,000 pounds of ribs were sold in 2006 and over 131,000 people attended in 2005. Fifteen "Rib teams" from across North America attend yearly. Over $1.2 million dollars has been raised over the last 10 years.[1][2].
For a video of the event click here Just give Billy P and his Rotary sidekicks time and this is what we might get!here it is folks; the first campaign ad from the libs:
You be the judge!
"I received our MP's latest flyer and was quite amused that he was patting himself and the Harper government on the back for the federal Broadband Canada program. What Mr. Norlock failed to note in his promotional piece is that Northumberland County does not qualify for the Federal program!
Northumberland (and all counties within the Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus catchment area) are ineligible due to other federal funding they have recently received (through the Build Canada infrastructure program).
I have no issue with our area being excluded from Broadband Canada as we will have the benefit of the Build Canada funding. Fair is fair. Double-dipping of funding from the same level of government should never be allowed.
What I do take exception to is Mr. Norlock's self-promotion when he knew, or ought to have known, that Northumberland would not be a beneficiary of the Broadband Canada program.
