4 - Orono Weekly Times Wednesday, March 10 t 2004 Viewpoint by Alex Shepherd MP Durham Nomination meetings The public is being treated to the wounds political parties can inflict on themselves as they go through the process of nominations.- Churchill said democracy is the worst form of government government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time. And he was right. The public is likely reaching the point of nausea as the headlines record each contest. Often the people involved in the nomination contests, being human, end up showing the public a side of public life that most of us would rather avoid. Personal accusations, questions questions asked about what you did 15 years ago, and where it is you really live, seem innocuous innocuous as party members try to sort out who would make the best candidate. You wonder whether local popularity contests (which nomination meetings often get down to) are the best screening devices for choosing the people people who will sit in judgment of policy proposals and the future of our country. But with all the checks and balances, not to mention the bureaucrats, that get in the way of decision makers it reminds me of a comment a fellow MP once made when he said, "No one person can do a whole lot of damage around here." I guess the corollary to that would be no one person can do a lot of good either. People also hear comments, comments, after the nomination is over, that the party machine is trying to manipulate the process. Unfortunately, once the stress of losing hits home, the losing candidate often begins to seek out a scapegoat to justify the loss. And to some extent there is merit to the candidate's candidate's anxiety. For example the Liberal Party has set the goal of having having more women stand for election. The fact is few women are willing to make the Candle fires are on the rise. Keep lit candles away from children and pets, and snuff them out before you leave the room. commitment. The result has been for the parties to guarantee guarantee (like John Chretien's riding) riding) that only a woman will be nominated. I have always had problems with this kind of quota system. It certainly means that the nomination process is not democratic. The ultimate control control is that the party leader signs your nomination papers. This gives the parties an element element of control over who will run for them. People suggest that in the past unfair leaders have seen to it that their favourite candidate candidate got the nod. I've seen this happen. Last Friday night I was very pleased with the outcome of the nomination in the newly formed riding of Clarington Scugog Uxbridge. The successful successful candidate was Uxbridge's. Timothy Lang. I've known him for some time and he is just the sort of person person I had in mind when I decided it was time for me to step down and let a younger person with different skills take over. Tim comes from the high tech telecommunications sector. The nomination battle was fair and democratically arrived at. Members where not deprived of the ability to vote and the candidates ran their campaigns under rules clearly stated. This provided both with the ability to win. With Tim Lang people in Clarington Scugog Uxbridge have a real choice, a person with the leadership skills who can do great things for the people people locally and for Canadians as a whole. Flooding of the Mulligan Creek at the Fourth Concession is not typical of this year's spring thaw which thus far has gone smoothly. Jaworski Continued from page 2 because it was useful. Again, no one central committee or group established that this or ' that thing will now serve as currency. This is, of course, a historical point. Government's nowadays declare all kinds of things, amongst them what will, and what will not, serve as currency. But notice that the rest of us at least have to acquiesce, if not agree, with this arrangement for it to work. As Austrian economist and Nobel Prize winner Friedrich Hayek put it, "the whole conception conception of man already endowed with a mind capable of conceiving civilization setting setting out to create it is fundamentally fundamentally false. Man did not simply impose upon the world a pattern created by his mind. His mind is itself a system that constantly changes as a result of his endeavor to adapt himself to his surroundings." Lions Continued from front of the meetings should contact contact Chris Perron, President of the newly formed club at 905-983-1081. New members members are welcome. Meetings will be held on the first and third Wednesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the Kendal Community Center Main Street, Orono Proprietors: Gary & Carol Vrcckcr • Wedding Cakes • Cakes for a\\ Occasions • Pastries - Donuts - Pies • Bread & Buns 905-983-9779 Closed Sunday and Monday J Pcdlcurcs/Manicurcs Brigitte Brown *** Gift • Nail Extensions • Air Brushing • Eyelash Tinting • Electronic Muscle Stimulate (EMS) Available • Paraffin Wax ESTHETIC STUDIO Certificates 15% DISCOUNT with coupon 171 Mill Street, Orono, ON LOB I MO • 905-983-8169 both men and women in more than 44,000 clubs located in 189 countries, It is a service club whose members are dedicated to serving those in need, whether in their own community community or halfway around the world. 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