All Canadians Must Know of Oshawa Council's Undemocratic, Irresponsible and Self Serving Actions

Attention The Producer
CBC The National

cc Peter Mansbridge, Chief Correspondent, CBC The National

Re: Suggestion for "On the Road" Story for "The National"

Love your "On The Road" investigative reporting stories.

Oshawa politicians have strategized to implement the general vote for the election of council giving members constituency sizes twice the size of our federal or provincial members of parliament.

They "designed" a convoluted and confusing plebescite question and denied voters information before or after the vote simply to institute this system that will guarantee their election till death or resignation.

The Mayor publicly stated that City Council had NO RESPONSIBILITY to communicate details of this issue to the public prior to the vote.

They have since refused to communicate any details of how the administrative structure has changed, how citizens should now respond to changes in the system now that their local ward representative has been lost, any benefits they expect to accrue from the change, or any logical or sensible reasons for bringing the issue forth as a plebiscite question since not a whimper of public disatisfaction with the ward system had ever been expressed.

The only rationale given by politicians so far for introducing the plebiscite was, 1) It was about time the question was asked, and 2) Oshawa was getting too large for the ward system.

This change reduces democracy and political accountability in Oshawa and this self-serving manipulation of the system would be a good subject as a "Road Story" on The National.

The change removes the power of the vote in determining the composition of council which is a serious erosion of Canadian democratic principles.

Oshawa at about 160,000 population will be three times the size of the next largest Ontario Municipality using the general vote and the largest city in Canada using this system without the use of political parties.

Experts at The Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing suggest about 20,000 as the upper population limit for this electoral system.

Check www.oshawaspeaks.ca for more details.

Bill Longworth,
Founder and Chair of VOTES (Vote to Eliminate Self Serving Politicians)


NOTE: Oshawa residents should know that I have it on good authority that Council's idiotic self serving move to the general vote has received some ridicule from London Ontario Council members. We intend to send letters to the Mayor and Council of all members of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities bringing Oshawa City Council's self serving and undemocratic moves to the attention of their fellow members. This official communication to all municipal councils across the country should bring additional ridicule to Oshawa City Council. Oshawa politicians who have voted for a political system to serve them rather than the public may cause them to have to travel incognito among their municipal peers to avoid embarrassment.