As politics have become divisive over the years, sometimes voters will ask municipal politicians what party they are with or encourage their friends to only vote for candidates who are progressive or conservative. Historically, across Canada, though, municipal politics has tended to be non-partisan.
Cold Lake city council has to work with all levels of government and, over the years, that has meant working with conservative and NDP governments at the provincial level, as well as a Conservative and Liberal governments federally.
Sometimes it may seem, however, council is responsive to the ideological complexion of the city, which by majority is conservative, in their decisions, when it comes to, for example, voting down a mandatory mask mandate before the province implemented its own rules, or when council votes to write a letter to the federal government supporting the rights of gun owners. Occasionally, in the heat of a council discussion, a council member, in chamber, has publicly insulted government leaders of the day.
Outside the city council chambers, in the past, some on city council have publicly endorsed political parties; and partisan politicians at the provincial or federal level will endorse city councillor candidates in municipal elections. Some running for council have attended partisan events and posted partisan ideas on social media, which has sometimes run them into trouble when some people felt those views are too extreme, being either too far to the left or to the right.
The Cold Lake Sun asked candidates running for city council this year if they felt partisan politics belonged in the council chamber.
Council decisions should be based solely on what is good for the residents of the city.
While every person has the right to join provincial and federal political parties, I feel that it is best that civic politicians make decisions that will benefit everyone in the city. This can often mean putting aside political bias and looking at making a decision that is contrary to your political leaning. To me a good idea is a good idea, regardless of party politics.
For most of us our belief system and values are likely aligned with some political party. All is likely unavoidable at any level. What is important is the decisions being made are in the best interest of Cold Lake and its residents. To date much of our success on council has been the fact that despite holding different political viewpoints at the table, we have never allowed those differences to prevent us from working together and making decisions in the best interest of our city. This is proven by the diverse political views on council and how far together we have brought this city during my time on council over the past 14 years.
It’s better for us to be neutral.
There needs to be a middle ground between partisan politics and remaining neutral in public when it comes to making council decisions. Being fully neutral can leave lack of reasoning when pursuing city projects based off of public needs therefore translating into lack of motivation. And, partisan politics can lead to extreme proceedings without consideration of all pubic needs in balance with reasoning. Therefore, neither completely neutral or partisan I believe is the desire in politics, but rather somewhere in the middle. You need both passion and an open mind when advocating for our city.
I believe that political beliefs do not belong in city council chambers. Since we are all one team, our personal views do not belong, as we are the voices of the tax payers and the population of Cold Lake.
As a municipally elected official I think you have to remain non-partisan, however, anyone who gets elected to public office is going to have different views and values that are important to them. Oftentimes these values and viewpoints will put them in a certain area on the political spectrum. I am open to all perspectives and understand that issues are often complicated, multi-sided, require discussion and thoughtfulness to form an educated opinion.
I don’t think a person’s personal politics should make a difference on council. You are required to make a decision on the behalf of the citizens. That decision is made with the information at hand and what you feel is best for Cold Lake. You need to be aware of who is in power and work with different political stripes. We have had Conservatives, NDP, and UCP governments. Whether you agree with their platform or not, they have been voted in by the people and you need to work with them. Everyone deserves the respect of the position and as a council we should be respectful. Trashing the government or publicly shaming someone or a group will not get you anywhere when applying for grants, etcetera, and pushing for improvements such as roads, healthcare, etcetera. To me it makes you look bad, as well as the council. It is okayto disagree, just be respectful about it.
I don’t think partisan politics have a place. It’s council’s job to work as a group, provide input based on the available information, offer strong leadership and do what’s best for the public.
Partisan politics at the municipal level is not preferable. I believe municipal politics is best practiced from a neutral position. I will approach each vote issue by issue. I will bring my life experience and perspective while recognizing everyone has biases one way or another. At the end of the day, as a councillor I am not voting my own opinion, but what is in the best interest for the community as a whole.
I’m neutral in politics, but do accept that some have aspirations to further a career in politics (beyond council) and believe that this can be done effectively as it keeps council informed of what is happening in the (larger) political arenas.
I think municipal politics is the best form of politics. No councillor has to “tow the party line.” A councillor can think for themselves and can feel free to express their views and to vote on any issues. In my past city council experience, I voted with the information I had to make informed decisions about what the citizens wanted. And being elected to this new council, there will be times when not all council will agree on a decision 100 per cent and that is okay because, at the end of the day, “I work for you.” And I will always continue to work for you, the elector, by making informed decisions on your behalf.
I don’t believe there should be partisan politics at the municipal level. I believe the purpose of a municipal government is to put the community first. If you add political parties to the mix then there is room for the elected members to be torn between making the right decision for their community and deciding to follow along with their preferred political party.
Partisan, party style, politics has no place at the municipal level. Our job is to hold whatever government we are working with to account and lobby on behalf of our community.
This current provincial government however is trying to push partisan politics into our municipalities. Evidence of this can be seen in new campaign finance rules and also the inclusion of partisan referendum questions being made part of the municipal election cycle.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
— With files from Keith Doucette in Halifax
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