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Disconnect: no it's not your usual meaning of the word. This word has been "rebranded" by the "spinmeisters" to describe the condition that exists when voters do not care what politicians do. The disconnect between politicians and voters could not have been demonstrated better this week. Two examples: one was the local restructuring debate and the other the introduction of a bill, by the Provincial government, that mandated restructuring in four regions of Ontario.
In the first instance I took it upon myself to attend two of the three public meetings scheduled by local municipalities. I had a spy at the third so I also know what went on there! In Port Hope, about eighty people attended a meeting to hear Mayor Ron Smith expound his ideas about restructuring and to tell him what they thought he should do about amalgamating Port Hope with any other municipality. The overwhelming response was to tell him that they thought change was inevitable but please don't change us by amalgamating with Cobourg. As a Cobourger I really did not mind hearing this but I was definitely thumped between the eyes when prominent people, who shall remain nameless and should have told the complete truth said "We do not want Cobourg's $10 million debt." As a person who has contributed to that debt by voting for additions to the sewage treatment plant and good roads I really felt angry when those same people certainly do not mind acquiring the considerable business and commercial tax base that those investments have produced! Consensus formed around the Mayor's ideas, after he discarded the loony one about service boards, and he went away with the civic backing he needed to continue as a well-connected politician. Disconnect was not a factor here as a healthy public meeting demonstrated the democratic linkage that must exist for a vibrant society.
In contrast in Cobourg one night later, at its public meeting, the disconnect really showed up. Twelve people appeared, five of whom were councilors, and proceeded to have a chat about the issues. The results were the same, as in Port Hope, the seven members of the public supported the Mayor in her radical proposal that a one tier government is best for Cobourg. The disconnect demonstrated here is that only seven people bothered to show up.
And now for the disconnect of the week: At Queen's Park the Minister of Municipal Affairs has introduced a bill that mandates provincial restructuring of four municipalities. Inside that bill is a clause that allows the cabinet to change any law without legislative intervention. After being exposed the Minister is now saying that he will repeal the clause after restructuring is finished. Not good enough! This idea of allowing any cabinet to assume lawmaking powers, done with cabinet secrecy, is unprecedented but not unexpected. These same people who drafted the original restructuring law in 1996 also tried to do this before. Producing a clause that was immediately nicknamed the "Henry VIII clause" it did not survive public scrutiny and was removed. If voters, who three years later, are so disinterested and cynical about politicians and their shenanigans, allow this latest example of political powergrabbing to succeed then we are well and truly "Disconnected".
I
would as a millenium wish just ask for more awareness about the implications
of the forces of government. Staying informed and involved does not take
much time, and you know the dangerous part of being disconnected is that
when you try to reconnect it is expensive, painful, emotional and has a
high chance of failure. Just ask anybody who reversed a vasectomy!
A
public removed?