If you haven’t met her already, you should. I had the pleasure of doing an interview with Provincial MP candidate Laura Campbell earlier this week, and it was a breath of fresh air in a world of political swamp gas.

Intelligent, informed, passionate and articulate would only begin to describe Laura Campbell. She is a long time resident of Dufferin Caledon, and business owner of Pia’s Restaurant on Broadway, incidentally known online as the best in Orangeville.

She is also a mother of two, working on a PhD in International Economics and taking the time to get to know Bolton and Caledon. Her knowledge of the Green Party policy platform was impressive. Lower energy bills through partnering with Hydro Quebec. True hydro (water) power has always been one of the cheapest and cleanest sources of energy – and it’s renewable. With her economics background Laura was easily able to explain the fiscally responsible Green agenda for providing daycare, health services, and affordable housing while still whittling away at the provincial debt.

The entire Green Party policy platform, unlike the OPC lack of a fully funded platform, is online for all Ontarians to see. She was particularly proud of  their provincial housing plan. Having interviewed many residents here, I know there is a huge demand for affordable and accessible housing for youth, new families, seniors and special needs citizens. Laura was able to clearly articulate the Green’s strategy – refreshing in an age of political spin and pompous promises.

Her passion for environmental literacy is what won me over completely. She is an avid supporter of protecting and conserving our green spaces and farmlands and in keeping our children in close contact with the wild space still abounding in Caledon. The fact that she knew about and endorsed the “Forest Schools” programs for primary children was proof enough for me that her heart was pure green.

Now, for anyone who read the Globe & Mail yesterday, the investigative journalism report by Greg McArthur, Karen Howlett and Adrian Morrow, exposed the cancerous connections in Caledon between a developer and the Wynne government. That report on pages A10 and A11 has the potential to completely collapse the Liberal vote locally.

And we all know that a vote for any OPC candidate is a vote for Doug Ford as Premier which doesn’t fit Caledon’s ethos at all. With the Greens already in second place in Caledon, a swing of environmentally conscious and fiscally responsible voters could push the Greens over the top.

My choice for a voice for Caledon is Laura Campbell. A woman with integrity who believes that if you want to make the change, you have to be the change, And we need a change in provincial representation for Caledon.

The way I see it.

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Skid Crease, Caledon

On Thursday, May 31, 2018 the Globe & Mail pulled out the rug from the Liberal campaign in Caledon. What many had suspected for a long time was revealed in detail by the investigative reporting team of Greg McArthur, Karen Howlett and Adrian Morrow.

It revealed a string of connections between then Liberal Toronto-Centre MPP Glen Murray, Maurizio Rogato of Solmar Corporation, a Liberal insider named Spiros Papathanasakis, and a cast of characters straight out of a Netflix crime thriller. It detailed the attack against then Mayor Morrison’s husband by Vladamir Vranic, who later plead guilty to the assault charges.

According to the report, Dalton McGuinty, then the liberal Premier of the province, turned down Mayor Morrison’s request to investigate, the OPP quietly began one of their own. Their probe was to uncover “alleged organized crime within the Town of Caledon.” Mr. Vranic did not deny his connection to underworld parties, and had “known links to the Commisso crime family.”

McGuinty did nothing, and later when Morrison approached Kathleen Wynne about dealing with Mr. Murray’s conduct the new Premier said, “I’ll be dealing with him.” Instead she also did nothing. Mr. Murrray left provincial politics last July for his “dream job” as head of Pembina Institute. Pembina should take a long hard look at Mr. Murray’s record.

Now fast forward to the Town of Caledon being imbedded in an OMB hearing with the Region of Peel over the same little piece of land that started this dispute ten years ago. Consider that the Town of Caledon had approved one area for development, the planners for the Region Of Peel had approved a compromise area for development and a consensus settlement seemed close. Enter Bonnie Crombie, once a federal Liberal, now Mayor of Mississauga, and Susan Jeffrey, who served as a cabinet minister under both McGuinty and Wynne, now Mayor of Brampton.

At the Region of Peel where the fate of these development projects would be decided, the Region of Peel, which includes the City of Mississauga and City of Brampton and the town of Caledon, voted to develop a land package that had been last on both Caledon’s and the Region of Peel planner’s lists. One lone Regional Councillor from Caledon blindsided her colleagues by voting with Brampton and Mississauga against the Town of Caledon, By sheer coincidence that parcel of land was owned by … wait for it … Solmar Corporation.

Now I am not a developer or a politician or a government lobbyist. I am a teacher, storyteller journalist, and environmental educator. One of the skills we possess is the ability to look for the pattern that connects. And the pattern that connects here is one of private influence and provincial government corruption interfering with a municipality’s right to govern itself on a level playing field.

I can hear the alleged perpetrators in this crime singing the same song that Shaggy sang in “It Wasn’t Me.” And the Teflon coating provided by wealth and privilege lets the “I can’t recall that meeting.” Or “I can’t recall paying that accountant to cook up false tax charges against Mayor Morrison” or “I can’t recall ordering that beating of the Mayor’s husband.” Or “I can’t recall saying that,” slide off without challenge. It wasn’t me.

Well, I can’t recall asking for the decisions in my Town to be influenced by organized crime. I can’t recall asking my Town politicians to be intimidated by development interests. I can’t recall asking my local press to be compromised by the dark side of the Force.

The way I see it.

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Skid Crease, Caledon