Stand Up For Decency Rally in St. Thomas is about ‘rejecting extremism in any form’

Christine Rudman has serious concerns about the character of the Conservative Party of Canada candidate vying to represent Elgin-St. Thomas-London South in this month’s federal election.
So, the Port Stanley resident has organized a Stand Up For Decency Rally this afternoon (April 12) in front of Lawton’s campaign office.
In an interview this week, Rudman talked about what specifically moved her to go beyond casting her ballot for another of the four candidates.
“I think a lot of people in our riding have some issues with Andrew Lawton and his worldview, to be perfectly honest. We’re in precarious times as a country. Our sovereignty has been threatened. We have fascism at the door. And I think it’s really important that we have someone qualified, for one, who grew up in the area, would be two, and who has the values that represent our region.

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The consultant’s report calls for an aggressive shift to sustainable travel modes in St. Thomas

Andrew Lawton will represent the new riding of Elgin-St. Thomas-London South as the Conservative Party of Canada candidate for the next federal election. Lawton defeated Central Elgin resident Anthony Shields at the nomination meeting Saturday afternoon at St. Anne’s Centre. As the media was not allowed to attend, we have no indication of how close the vote was or the contents of their five-minute speeches to attending party members.

 

Kevin Jones of Paradigm Transportation Solutions attended the Nov. 4 meeting of city council to provide an update on the status of the Transportation Master Plan refresh project.
His report offers a sweeping overview of the current transportation picture in St. Thomas and what the road ahead should look like.
He is recommending an aggressive shift in the operation of Railway City Transit that would see a six-fold increase in annual service hours involving 26 buses in service operating 17 hours every weekday.
These figures are based on a city population of 79,500, a couple of decades distant.
We’ll come back to that scenario in a moment.

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‘If you want change, you’ve got to be part of the change’ – MP Karen Vecchio

city_scope_logo-cmykOne week ago today, while truck horns blared and tempers flared, Elgin-Middlesex-London MP Karen Vecchio rose in the House of Commons and gave a speech on the Motion for Confirmation of the Declaration of Emergency.
It was very late Saturday night, and yet she delivered one of the more impassioned, albeit reasoned, presentations of all those MPs who stood to relay their message.
So much so that it drew praise from two members from other parties. More on that later.
Whatever your political stripe, Vecchio’s words are well worth pondering on several accounts, not the least of which is her obvious compassion for the constituents she represents.
She began, “I am here because of my family and the families and people across Canada. And I will speak about the reasonable people that I also represent.”
She then focussed on the divisiveness and intolerance that have muscled their way into so many conversations today, whether in person or on social media.

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