LETTER

ELECTIONS 2017

A party or a clique?

 

Was everyone born yesterday? Action Gatineau is not a party, it is a clique -- the mayor's dinner party friends running the city for the benefit of themselves and their pals in local big business. No fundamental political belief like separatism, liberalisation, deregulation, nor a fight against oppression led to its formation;  publicly, it stands for motherhood, apple pie and a big slab of "trust me".

Unlike his predecessor, Marc Bureau, the current mayor holds no brunches with the townsfolk. At public meetings, all the questions to him are hand-crafted by his business friends and by city hall. Press conferences exclude any comment from us ordinary people. Even the jobs at city hall are advertised privately online to ensure only the sons and daughters of the local wealthy with the latest in expensive technology can apply.  Poorer people struggling with payday loans, soaring rents, and crime, with no technology beyond a newspaper and a 1999 Mac  never get a look-in, even though they are the most in need of job opportunities.  And if you're too poor to maintain a driving licence, you can't even use the library.

I bet $1,000 that the Mayor wouldn't have a clue if you asked him how much was a packet of margarine or three bags of 2% milk from Super C.

Four years ago we were promised a new police station to help fight crime in areas of old Aylmer.  A year ago, we were promised a heated bus shelter at the Galeries Aylmer. None were built.

Now compare with Marc Bureau's record: in response to petty crime by idle, bored youths, he offered us a swimming pool and a skateboard park - both were built, because here was a mayor whom we could trust.

The fact that the Mayor has changed the name of Action Gatineau to include his own name is proof that it is just a ego trip for himself and his dinner-party friends.

Do we really want the local lord of the manor to offer crumbs from under his table to us, ordinary townsfolk, once every four years? For goodness sake people, let’s kick out Action Gatineau and run the city for the benefit of those who actually live and pay taxes here. It's time we all had a seat at the dinner table.  

Robert L Thompsett
Aylmer