When you live in the provincial riding of Mississauga West, you don’t expect to hear too often from the Member of Provincial Parliament from Mississauga Centre.
Yet oddly enough, as a resident of Erin Mills, I have received three newsletters in the past couple of months from Harinder Takhar, who represents the Centre riding.
Takhar, of course, is going to be running in the Oct. 10 provincial election in Mississauga-Erindale which – surprise, surprise — happens to include Erin Mills.
It seems the four Liberal MPPs in Mississauga got together a while ago to talk about public communication and redistribution.
They realize, of course, that there will be a lot of confusion about the change in riding boundaries which become effective with the new election. About half of Takhar’s current Centre riding will be lost to the surrounding seats.
Takhar says that, after some discussion among the MPPs about putting out a joint brochure explaining the new boundaries, they decided to opt for individual pieces.
And where are those “communication” pieces being distributed? Why, the incumbents just happen to be distributing them in the areas that will be part of their new ridings if they get re-elected.
And, while they are explaining the boundary changes, the incumbent MPPs are also enumerating all of the Liberal government’s accomplishments over the past four years because.... there was some space left over after the biographies and the riding maps.
In other words, the distribution has a lot more to do with introducing themselves at taxpayers’ expense to potential voters than it does with clearing up public confusion.
We have grown accustomed to publicly-funded communications arriving on our doorsteps just before elections at all levels of government, but this really takes things to a new level.
One of Takhar’s brochures had to be redistributed because it was not printed in the right colour (it was brownish instead of red) and it failed to include a sub-headline on the front stating: Your Voice for Mississauga-Erindale. That’s the reason that piece was received twice.
Its purpose was, “to give people because the ridings have changed,” Takhar explained today. “The new people need to know what is going on.” His last piece, called Four Years of Positive Change, outlines accomplishments in health care, education, infrastructure etc., something he has put out annually. “I’ve always done it.”
Mississauga West’s Bob Delaney explained that there is no party logo on the brochures the MPPs are distributing in the areas they do not represent. “We made sure it is within the letter of the law of Elections Ontario.”
David Brown, the Conservative candidate and local planning consultant whom Takhar will face in Mississauga-Erindale along with Shaila Kibria of the NDP, says, “Mr. Takhar is representing Mississauga Centre and he is simply using this as a vehicle to raise his profile. The reality is that they are campaigning. If they are going to be distributing material in any form outside of their ridings, they should be doing it in a campaign context,” says Brown.
That would lead to campaign expenses, however, which is exactly what this little exercise is obviously designed to avoid.
It may be within the letter of the law and it may be small potatoes in the how-low-can-we-go limbo sweepstakes to get re-elected but it’s still — what’s that word?
Oh, yes — wrong.
Comments (4)
A message to David Brown, the Conservative candidate who chooses to comment about Mr. Takhar's "political" newsletter. Sometimes nothing works better than quoting a good book -"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." Mr. Brown, I'm referring to the Vote DAVID BROWN, CONSERVATIVE, signs that my wife and I see on the Erindale baseball outfield fence on our nightly walks. Aren't election signs illegal until just before the election?
Oops, looks like someone else is trying to raise his profile. The Takhar newletter is semi-legal, after all,Mr. Brown. Your election signs are not.
Posted by George Winter | July 28, 2007 3:38 PM
Posted on July 28, 2007 15:38
Wrong and Right - Part Two
I am glad to see that Auditor General Jim McCarter, in his report on the year end cultural grants, didn’t say that the MPP for Mississauga West didn’t do anything wrong. In fact the auditors report didn’t make mention of the Mississauga West MPP at all.
Therefore the Mississauga West MPP is quite within his grammatical rights to say, “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
In fact that MPP did not even know that the grant program existed until he heard about it while sitting in the Legislature of Ontario and therefore could not have done anything right either.
So, if he did not do anything wrong and he did not do anything right; he basically didn’t do anything.
He didn’t do anything.
I believe him.
I believe in Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, werewolves and vampires.
Most of all I believe in vampires. You know those pale cadaverous looking blood-sucking creatures that inhabit the dark of night. I have never actually seen one but I have seen evidence of what they can do to their victims.
Posted by Stephen Wahl | July 27, 2007 1:55 PM
Posted on July 27, 2007 13:55
This comment is coming from a former Liberal, John. OK.
From your Blog:
They should'a stuck with the BROWNISH colour considering what the McGuinty Liberals are flinging at us.
More from your Blog:
If Takhar believes that people need to know what is going on, why doesn't he distribute the latest report by the Ontario Ombudsman?
Takhar... Takhar... Yah, rings a bell.
Wasn't his smiling face on the front door of the Mississauga News Online for the longest time?
But not today?
Wouldn't do to have Takhar's smiling countenance mere centimeters away from an unflattering picture of Mike Colle with the headline:
"Minister quits over grants to multicultural groups"
About using taxpayer's money for bogus newsletters, good for you writing:
I was thinking contemptuous of the public but I'm growing ever closer to concluding that the public deserve what they get in their politicians.
Signed,
The Mississauga Muse
Posted by The Mississauga Muse | July 27, 2007 1:39 AM
Posted on July 27, 2007 01:39
Wrong might be the right word but not right if used in the wrong context either by those on the right or the left of Mississauga Centre.
If you are right that it is wrong for a left of centre [political party] to do such a thing, then the right of centre and the way left have a right to complain that it was wrong.
Also, ‘within the letter of the law’ hardly comprises a righteous stance, nor does it give the right impression for the left or the right to say it is all right just because it is not legally wrong.
I am glad that you could write what you wrote so that we can know what is wrong with the left who think they are right all the time.
And remember, bending the law is like bending a stick. Sometimes it will suddenly snap and poke you in the eye.
Signed;
Right out to lunch and left in the dark when I wrote this
P.S. I sure hope that all those life size non-election style non-partisan bus shelter posters, spread all over the riding of Mississauga/Cooksville, depicting the incumbent for Mississauga East are gone before La Senza season begins.
Posted by Stephen Wahl | July 26, 2007 11:49 PM
Posted on July 26, 2007 23:49