To Re-elect Laurie Scott, or not?
Has MPP Scott lived up to the expectations of her constituents or it it time for a change?
Has Laurie Scott earned your vote? This is the question that I pose in this essay and explore a potentially better candidate as MPP for the Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brockville riding.
Local politics and provincial politics are not necessarily aligned.
I am one of the 114,000 Ontario residents who resides in the rural Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock (HKLB) riding. We face a provincial election on June 2nd. Laurie Scott is currently serving her second term as our Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP). Her party Leader, Doug Ford, has taken a lot of criticism in recent years for his heavy-handed pandemic lockdown policies, Covid vaccine mandates and other authoritarian actions.
As Ontario’s Premier, Ford awarded himself pandemic-related “emergency powers” in March 2020 that were expected to be temporary but lasted far too long in the eyes of voters. A particularly unpopular act was his despicable treatment of the Truckers For Freedom 2022 nation-wide protestors and their followers. Most citizens were shocked by Ford’s excessive use of power and his unwillingness to meet with the protest leaders to discuss and negotiate their legitimate concerns.
Where was Laurie Scott?
During these past two years, MPP Scott was nowhere to be seen to defend the many victims of the severe lockdown policies. She was also silent about defending the right of citizens to choose or reject an experimental drug injection. Finally, I don’t recall any evidence of her publicly standing up for the Truckers. These citizens were ultimately denied their constitutional rights to engage in peaceful protest against policies which had a devastating impact on the livelihoods of themselves and their families.
Laurie Scott had a choice and she make the worst one.
In retrospect, MPP Scott could have opposed the harmful policies of her party OR she could have resigned from the Conservative Party and retained her seat in the Ontario Legislative Assembly to support our citizens. Either choice would likely have resulted in the second outcome because Ford is known to banish anyone who openly opposes him and the policies of the Conservative majority government which he leads. In the final analysis, however, Laurie chose to protect her position in the Party rather than side with the voters who trusted her to represent their interests at Queen’s Park.
Laurie’s political destiny is now in our hands on June 2nd. Party loyalty was MPP Scott’s ultimate choice over the well-being of her constituents. Ontario voters now know where Laurie stands when they need her support. For this reason, Laurie deserves to lose her seat and make room for someone who will put the HKLB residents first.
My prediction
I am expecting a Conservative minority win on June 2. While there is widespread disappointment with Ford as Premier, I don’t believe it will be enough for voters to hand over power to the extreme left radicalism of the Liberals, NDP and Green parties.
The back room deal between the federal Liberals and NDP in Ottawa has sent a rotten smell across the land. Provincially, the memory of Kathleen Wynne, Dalton McGuinty and their 15 year Liberal reign of excessive government is still fresh and few will be in a hurry to forgive them. Too much government under the Liberals is what created our current problems in the first place and doubling down on Bigger Government is the last thing we need.
The NDP would be an even worse “tax and spend” choice. Most sane people have awakened to the problem of placing too much power and authority in the hands of the radical few during the Covid era.
The BEST election outcome.
Two new right-of-centre parties have surfaced in recent years. The Ontario Party and the New Blue Party both offer Libertarian-Conservative policy choices which fall to the right of Ford’s Conservatives on the political spectrum.
I have recently spent some time with Dr. Kirsten Kelly, a retired veterinarian and business entrepreneur who is an impressive choice for traditional Conservatives. If enough high-quality Libertarian-Conservative candidates like Dr. Kelly were to win their riding, a Ford Conservative minority government could be tipped into majority territory after June 2. In this scenario, Ontario could end up with a much more fiscally-responsible and accountable government. In addition, this outcome would serve to hold back the rising tide of the Bigger Government and creeping Crony-Socialism that has been perennially promoted by the Liberal, NDP and Green representatives.
To be fair to Laurie Scott
MPP Scott faced the same difficult choice as every other Conservative MPP in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario (LAO). Only a few such as Belinda Karahalios, New Blue Party MPP for the Cambridge riding, have demonstrated the courage to leave the Conservative party and remain in the LAO to stand up against Ford’s missteps and weak leadership. It takes strong character and uncompromising principles to do the right things in politics. Unfortunately, these qualities are rare in contemporary politicians.
Kirsten Kelly is a better choice than Laurie Scott.
In my assessment, the Ontario Party’s Dr. Kerstin Kelly has the desired qualities and life lens to represent me at Queen’s Park. She espouses traditional Libertarian-Conservative values which are also mine, and she possesses a tenacious commitment to her convictions. As such, I am confident that she would vote in favour of bills that best serve me and the constituents of the HKLB riding.
Best of all, Kerstin would NOT be subject to the bully pressures applied to all Conservative MPPs by Doug Ford and his henchmen. It may be important to the Party that Conservative MPPs vote in solidarity for bills that the leadership wants, but Ontario Party MPP Kelly would only be accountable to the residents of Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock with no other Party pressures to distract her.
The prospect of Dr. Kelly as an Ontario Party MPP would surely be a win-win scenario for HKLB residents who have traditionally voted Conservative by large margins. This is the kind of realistic election outcome that I can readily accept and endorse.
