Friday, April 30, 2010

Halton Youth Empowerment Conference

It's Your Voice, April 29, 2010
I attended the "Halton Youth Empowerment Conference" at the Holiday Inn on Sth Service Rd, Burlington. Excellent attendance of teens from all over Halton. They were divided into 3 groups, with each group rotating through three workshops.

Topics:
  • Influencing Public Policy: identifying the problem, and taking the appropriate steps to effect public policy.
  • Me to We - Advocacy Plan. Me to We is a new kind of social enterprise for people who want to help change the world with their daily choices.
  • HRYAC (Halton Region Youth Advisory Committee) Youth Voice. A series of questions were asked of the group of 23 on a variety of social issues
Because of an earlier meeting I missed the Me to We session but sat in for the other two.
In Influencing Public Policy, I though there might have been more emphasis on engaging municipal council but there was good discussion. I'm just not sure of the session's relevance to most of the teens present.

I was there to hear what teens had to say, so I found the next session, Youth Voice, especially interesting. A series of statistics on teen social issues was shown on the screen. Questions and opinions were asked of the workshop attendees whose responses was given via small wireless keypads to ensure their anonymity. There was excellent group discussion on each segment.

The biggest concern by far? Drugs and alcohol. I thought it might have been weight or other social issues but that was the top concern. Bullying is also an issue. Milton teens continue to see a lack of things to do, or places to go in our town.

The workshop/breakout sessions were all conducted by teens, for teens, with a few adults sitting in. Well run, well done. I'm glad I had the opportunity to attend.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Milton Audit Compliance Committee

The Town of Milton is seeking individuals to serve on a Municipal Election Compliance Audit
Committee.

In accordance with the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 (MEA), Town of Milton Council is required to strike a Municipal Election Compliance Audit Committee (MECAC) to consider compliance audit applications with regard to candidates’ financial statements filed under Section 81 of the MEA for the 2010 election. Compliance audit applications can be made by an elector who is entitled to vote in an election and who believes on reasonable grounds that a candidate running for the election to Milton Council has contravened a provision of the MEA relating to election campaign finances.

The purpose of the committee is to review applications for a compliance audit and determine
whether the application should be granted or rejected, within 30 days of receiving the application.

If the committee grants the application, then it would appoint an auditor to conduct the audit of a
candidate’s election campaign finances. If the audit concludes that the candidate has contravened
a provision of the MEA related to finances, the Committee may commence a legal proceeding
against the candidate. If the audit concludes there was no contravention, the Committee may
determine whether there were reasonable grounds for the application. If there were not, Council is entitled to recover costs from the applicant.

Committee members should possess an in-depth knowledge of the campaign finance rules of the
MEA so they can make independent decisions on the merits of the applications. As the committee will operate as a quasi-judicial committee, prior experience on a committee, task force or tribunal would also be an asset.

This is a paid position on a per meeting basis.

Interested individuals should submit a confidential letter of interest including background and
qualifications to the Town Clerk at the Town of Milton, Town Clerk’s Division, 150 Mary Street,
Milton, Ontario, L9T 6Z5, or at townclerk@milton.ca. Individuals can also apply in person at the
aforementioned location; office hours are from 8:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Applications will be accepted until Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 4:30 p.m.

For more information on the Municipal Election Compliance Audit Committee, visit www.milton.ca or contact 905-878-7252 ext. 2131.

More women in politics

At last night's council meeting there was a Notice of Motion around the issue of needing more women in politics to reflect the 50/50 ratio of men to women in our population.

One of the male councillors objected to the clause that said that the town would strive to address barriers that impede women's participation in our communities. He went on to say that he doesn't believe there are any barriers.

Well, that statement raised my hackles. A question raised on my Facebook page speaks to the lack of involvement by the new residents to town - why aren't they getting involved in the community? We're a community so dependent on volunteers that our tax rate would skyrocket without those volunteers.

I asked of this councillor: how about the lack of affordable daycare for many? how about the responsibility of raising children which usually falls on the woman's shoulders? the single parent with children?

I'm not saying that men don't share in that responsibility but it's the woman who physically USUALLY looks after the house, the children, the meals, etc. along with a full time job in a great many instances.

An entreƩ to politics is via community volunteering - groups, committees, organizations. The members of these groups are participating in the raising of other people's kids - helping in the schools, sports, Guides and Scouts, fundraising groups, and countless other groups. Do those people, who send their kids out to events and activities, realize that the volunteers at these events are just as busy as those other parents?

Somehow, we have to "strive to remove those barriers that are an impediment to women's participation in the community and in politics". We need a balance throughout the community - on committees, on council and in our parliaments.

We can't just sit back and wait. We all have to get involved; help each other, teach and learn from each other.
Winston Churchill said: "We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give".

Monday, April 19, 2010

Welcome to my blog

Running for election in 2010 is a lot different than it was in 2003 and 2006, notwithstanding the fact that I'm running for a higher post - Local AND Regional Councillor.

What makes this election different is that I've expanded my website, I'm LinkedIn, I have a FaceBook page and FaceBook Fan page (please register as a fan), I'm 'Twitter'ing and have a separate Blog page. This page here.

The newspapers don't deliver across Milton which leaves huge gaps in the information chain. And neither does Milton have its own radio or TV stations so the advantage of all these bits of Social Media is that it creates an avenue through which I am able to reach out into the community.

For several years, I've used my website and email list to keep people apprised of issues in ward 3. This blog and the other social media pieces will help me reach further into the Milton community - particularly the new north wards which consist of wards 2, 4, 3 & 5.
I invite you to visit my website, and send me any questions you might have.