Simcoe Reformer
Sept. 19, 2008
Stephen Harper's visit to Welland this week may be as close as Haldimand-Norfolk gets to seeing the incumbent prime minister during this election campaign.
That is the opinion of politicians in rival camps and of Haldimand Mayor Marie Trainer, who has presided over two-and-a-half years of turmoil related to native land claims in Caledonia and elsewhere along the Grand River.
"He owed the public a visit before the election was called," Trainer said yesterday. "I don't know if a visit would matter now. It would look like an election ploy, which it would be. It would be wonderful if he did come and said he would help with our recovery plan. I'd love to meet with him and talk with him if he did come."
Patty McNamara, a volunteer in Conservative MP Diane Finley's campaign office in Simcoe, said yesterday there is no word yet whether Harper will visit. Harper gave a speech at a dairy farm near Fisherville during the federal campaign of 2004.
Asked if Harper owed Haldimand a visit due to the native land claims issue, local NDP candidate Ian Nichols said "He owes them more than that."
"He owes them the openness of the federal government," Nichols said yesterday. "People are confused by the issue. They don't know what the natives are asking for. They've been keeping us in the dark and treating us like mushrooms. They deserve more than Mr. Harper coming in and paying lip service. They deserve more than Mr. Harper showing up in his fuzzy sweater. We need results."
As for the NDP leader, Nichols said campaign managers haven't decided whether Jack Layton will drop by Haldimand-Norfolk. Layton's campaign is planned day to day so the leader can capitalize on the latest news and draw maximum attention to his platform.
An example is Harper's visit Wednesday to Welland. While there, Harper announced that a Conservative government would forbid tobacco companies from targetting products at teenagers. While Harper spoke, Layton turned up at the John Deere plant across town. There, he berated the federal government for the collapse of manufacturing in Ontario. The John Deere plant recently closed, throwing 800 employees out of work.
Local Liberal candidate Eric Hoskins campaigned with Liberal deputy leader Michael Ignatieff Friday in Simcoe and Caledonia. Hoskins also greeted party leader Stephane Dion at an event in Dunnville in January. Hoskins has heard nothing about a return visit and isn't sure one is necessary.
"I have made a point of basing my campaign on local leadership," Hoskins said. "I wouldn't rule it in and I wouldn't rule it out."
Asked if Harper owed Haldimand a courtesy call after all the county has been through, Hoskins said, "I think it's too late if he does. He should've done that over the last two-and-a-half years. That's the problem, he has never taken the issue seriously. He has said it is a provincial issue. I think a lot of people in Caledonia would find a visit from the prime minister deeply offensive."
Independent candidate Gary McHale, of Binbrook, has been an outspoken critic of law enforcement in Caledonia since the native standoff began in 2006. He says it is "outrageous" that Harper hasn't visited the beleaguered community since coming to power two years ago.
"This would be treated as an outrage in the United States if the president behaved the same way," McHale said yesterday. "But we have such low expectations of our politicians that we accept it."
Now that the campaign is underway, McHale said it would be "inappropriate" for Harper to make amends because that would be seen as a crass grab for votes in the midst of a communal tragedy.