Last week, the people of Haldimand-Norfolk were informed that Toby Barrett will be retiring from his position as PC party candidate and MPP for the riding. Ken Hewitt, Mayor of Haldimand, would then be taking his place.
Mr. Barrett did not seem thrilled with the party’s choice of replacement, calling Hewitt his “archrival”. My issue is not with who the party chose but how they chose him.
According to Mr. Barrett, he told the party four years ago he would be not be seeking re-election. With this knowledge, the PC party should have held a nomination race over the past few months to let the people of Haldimand-Norfolk choose who would represent them as PC candidate.
Instead Doug Ford appointed Mr. Hewitt at the last moment, before the campaigning begins, saying that there is not enough time before the election to hold a nomination race.
Wait, if you knew that Mr. Barrett was retiring four years ago why wouldn’t the party hold a race ahead of time? The only explanation that makes sense is that Doug Ford wanted to choose who would represent the riding without the hassle of grassroots democracy.
Grassroots democracy is a problem for Ford because, not only does it take control out of the hands of the party leaders, but it also lets the local constituency decide who should represent them. Then you could end up with principled MPPs that don’t do everything you want them to do, like Belinda Karahalios and Roman Baber. With Doug Ford’s manipulation of the grassroots process in Haldimand-Norfolk we now have a candidate who does not owe his position to his constituency, but rather to the party bosses who appointed him. If Mr. Hewitt makes it to Queen’s Park, one question remains — will he represent the people who elected him, or will he simply do the bidding of the party bosses who placed him in that position? What the PC party gives, the PC party can take away. And with that knowledge, Mr. Hewitt will be unable to always vote in the best interests of Haldimand-Norfolk without fear of losing his new-found position.
What we have had in this riding, with the appointment of Ken Hewitt, is a gross manipulation of the basic democratic process. Doug Ford campaigns with the slogan “For the People”, maybe he should change it to more accurately reflect his true beliefs; something along the lines of “Knows Best for the People”.
Nate Hawkins,
Fisherville
Nate Hawkins is the New Blue Party of Ontario candidate for Haldimand-Norfolk in the upcoming provincial election.
