Tag Archives: 2018 provincial election

04.26.25
by

The four federal candidates in Elgin-St. Thomas-London South faced off for the first – and only – time in 2025 election campaign

The final all-candidate debate was held this past Wednesday at the Keystone Complex in Shedden, with all four candidates participating, fielding pre-selected, ag-related questions.
The Elgin Federation of Agriculture hosted the event, and moderated by President Greg Fentie in front of a gathering of approximately 100 attendees.
The four candidates are Stephen R. Campbell, People’s Party of Canada; David Goodwin, Liberal Party of Canada; Andrew Lawton, Conservative Party of Canada; and Paul Pighin, New Democratic Party.
The only occasion where all four were together was the meet and greet hosted by the St. Thomas and District Chamber of Commerce at the CASO station in St. Thomas.

Continue reading →

04.05.25
by

‘You have to put your constituency first, always’ and that in a nutshell explains the lack of endorsement from former MP Karen Vecchio

If you’ve known Karen Vecchio for even the shortest time she served as MP for Elgin-Middlesex-London (EML), you would have sensed that community comes first.
She was elected by members of the community to serve all members of the community.
EML PC MPP Rob Flack summed it up best at Vecchio’s retirement party last month.
One of the attributes that Flack most admires in Vecchio is that she is ecumenical.
“Not in the religious sense, but in terms of working across party lines, working across issues throughout this community that maybe have no partisan or political colours.

Continue reading →

08.31.24
by

Will back-door deals determine the Conservative candidate for Elgin-St. Thomas-London South in the next federal election?

With MP Karen Vecchio announcing earlier in August she will not seek re-election, we are following up on a credible email dealing with the potential nomination process for Elgin-St. Thomas-London South.
According to the correspondence, party officials intend to parachute a candidate into the riding instead of following the usual nomination process.
The writer suggests party insiders will nominate Andrew Lawton, who declared his intention to run the day after Vecchio told myFM she would step away after this term.
So, it is 2018 all over again.
In the provincial election that year, Premier Doug Ford announced he would appoint candidates in 11 ridings, including London West, where three individuals had already declared their intention to seek the PC nomination.

Continue reading →

11.06.18
by

Sunday night phone call moves MPP Jeff Yurek into high-profile transportation ministry

city_scope_logo-cmykAfter dealing with a devasting forest fire season that blazed a swath through Northern Ontario, Elgin-Middlesex-London Conservative MPP Jeff Yurek is on the move.
Literally.
As announced Monday morning (Nov. 5), Yurek fared prominently in Premier Doug Ford’s cabinet shuffle that sees him replace John Yakabuski as Minister of Transportation. Yakabuski, in turn, will assume Yurek’s previous post as Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, a position he took on after Ford swept into power in June of this year.
The cabinet tweaking, involving a half-dozen MPPs, was necessitated by the resignation last Friday of Economic Development Minister Jim Wilson who, according to Ford, stepped down to deal with an addiction issue related to alcohol.
Global News and other media outlets have since reported allegations of sexual misconduct prompted Wilson’s sudden resignation.
Continue reading →

06.09.18
by

Will the city advocate for its most vulnerable citizens?

city_scope_logo-cmykLast month, we noted the city is looking at a bylaw to deal with non-licensed residential care homes in St. Thomas. The move is prompted, in part, by the situation at Walnut Manor, operated by Niagara Supportive Living out of Welland.
Well, a report from Tim Welch Consulting out of Cambridge – which undertook the city’s 10-year housing and homelessness plan – is before council Monday (June 11) and in it is a section dealing with informal residential care facilities (RCF) like Walnut Manor.
These homes “provide supportive housing to non-senior individuals who require assistance for daily activities due to physical disabilities, mental health and addictions challenges,” as defined in the Welch report.
“Level of supports varies depending on individual need but are most commonly in the form of meals, administration of medicine, bathing, supervision etc.,” the report continues. Continue reading →

05.26.18
by

Will municipal property taxpayers be on the hook for those election promises? Plenty of silence from the three major parties on that.

city_scope_logo-cmykWith the provincial vote less than two weeks away, the leaders of the three main parties have promised billions of dollars in goodies to entice voters.
Trouble is, there is a real lack of detail forthcoming on how these enticements will be funded.
As a ratepayer, that should be a concern for you and when considering which candidate will receive your vote, ask them first who is picking up the tab.
As Lynn Dollin, president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, correctly notes, “The provincial government dictates and regulates municipal services. At the same time, municipal governments deliver and help fund key provincial programs, like social housing and child care. Our fates are deeply intertwined.” Continue reading →

04.28.18
by

‘If you are fighting battles internally and fearful of things in your own workplace, it doesn’t make for productive work.’ – Turning the corner at CMHA Elgin?

city_scope_logo-cmykLast October, about two dozen staff at the Elgin branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association stood outside the Centre Street office where they claimed to be working in an environment of fear, intimidation and anxiety.
At that time, OPSEU staff representative Carol Warner asserted St. Thomas employees are consistently targeted and penalized by upper management for speaking up about health, safety and other workplace concerns.
“It’s hideous, it’s a long-standing issue,” noted Warner. “I would say it’s a systemic issue. We have grievances in the docket that are, at a minimum, four or five years old. And the grievance program has flaws as well.”
That information picket by members of OPSEU Local 133 and the allegations of workplace harassment resulted in the appointment of a third-party investigator by the Southwest Local Health Integration Network (SW LHIN) to report on CMHA Elgin’s compliance with its contractual agreement to the LHIN. Continue reading →