HALIBURTON -- KAWARTHA LAKES -- BROCK RIDING

Still time to register!

From the Elections Ontario website at elections.on.ca:

Elections Ontario is reminding qualified electors in Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock who are not on the Voters List that they can still vote in the March 5 byelection.

“Even if you have not received a Notice of Registration Card, you can still add your name to the Voters List,” says Greg Essensa, Chief Electoral Officer for Ontario. “You can register and vote at your local polling place by providing documents that show proof of identity and proof of residence.”

To receive their ballots, electors will be asked to state their name and place of residence and show proof of identity to the poll officials. Electors who are on the Voters List, but do not have proof of identity, can make a declaration.

Electors can find out where they vote at www.elections.on.ca or by calling the local returning office at 1 866 850-0482.

To be eligible to vote, on Election Day a person must be:

• at least 18 years of age or older,
• a Canadian citizen, and
• a resident in Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock.

--- Note: polls close at 9 p.m.

Where your candidates will be

Here's where you can find the candidate you support when the polls close at 9 p.m. tonight:

John Tory, Progressive Conservative, is headed to the Olympia restaurant in Lindsay at 106 Kent St. W.

Rick Johnson, Liberal, is making a stop at the Cat and Fiddle at 49 William St. N. in Lindsay.

Lyn Edwards, New Democrats, will station herself at Common Grounds Cafe at 140 Kent St. in Lindsay.

Mike Schreiner, Green Party, will address supporters and volunteers at 8:45 p.m. at The Grand, 177 Kent St. W. in Lindsay.

Advance polls see big turnout

Maybe it was the new ballot-marking equipment for those with disabilities being piloted by Elections Ontario, maybe it was having a 'big name' on the ballot, maybe it was the boredom from a long, cold winter.

Whatever the case, more voters took advantage of advance polls for the Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock byelection than during advance voting for the general election two years ago -- in half the time -- according to the agency responsible for handling provincial elections.

During a period of six days of advance voting (ending Feb. 26), leading up to the March 5 byelection, an estimated 6,310 electors cast their ballot at one of the 10 advance polls, according to Elections Ontario.

The same organization said that in the 2007 general election, 6,166 electors in the Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock district chose to vote during the 13 days advance polls were open.

Elections Ontario piloted new equipment during advance polls allowing those with disabilities to mark their ballots independently.

Election Day for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock is Thursday, March 5. Polls are open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Call 1-866-850-0482 for more information.

And then there were nine...

According to the Election Ontario website, at elections.on.ca, there are nine nominated candidates for the March 5 byelection, with eight of them registered.

The candidates include:
Bill Denby, Freedom Party of Ontario; Lyn Edwards, NDP of Ontario; Paolo Fabrizio, Ontario Libertarian Party; Rick Johnson, Ontario Liberal Party; Jake Pothaar, Family Coalition Party of Ontario; Mike Schreiner, Green Party of Ontario; John Tory, Progressive Conservatives of Ontario; as well as Jason Taylor and John Turmel, independents.

The nine candidates are three more than in the 2007 general election, which saw former Brock MPP Laurie Scott take almost 50 per cent of the total votes. Ms. Scott stepped down to allow Conservative party leader  Mr. Tory to run, triggering the byelection.

A remedy for doctor recruitment

Rick Johnson, Liberal candidate for the March 5 byelection, thinks the key to getting more doctors into the rural riding is to find employment in the same area for their family members. He pledges to work with local health teams, businesses and the "broader public sector" to "find ways to increase access to doctors in rural communities".

"We need to develop a strategy that gets doctors into the riding and allows their spouses to continue in their field of work," said Mr. Johnson.

--- Could be easier said than done as far as developing a 'strategy', as other rural areas are facing the same problems with doctor recruitment. But recognizing the problem is a good start.

Reform Party bows out of race

I received an email from Brad Harness, leader of the Reform Party of Ontario, explaining why his party has chosen not to field a candidate in the March 5 byelection. Mr. Harness asked the full statement be published; so here it is!

REFORM ONTARIO WILL NOT RUN A CANDIDATE IN BY-ELECTION
LINDSAY - Due to the very short timeline between last Wednesday's election call and the election date announced by Premier Dalton McGuinty, the Reform Party of Ontario executive has decided not to field a candidate in the 5 March 2009 by-election.

Two very strong local individuals (one from Lindsay and the other from Pontypool) - with impeccable credentials - interested in the Reform Ontario nomination in Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock decided over the weekend that there simply was insufficient time to organize a credible run now that the
date was announced for only four weeks' time.

The by-election was caused by the resignation of MPP Laurie Scott to allow her party's non-resident leader to run for a seat in the Ontario Legislature.  Scott was the only Ontario PC MPP to agree to step aside for John Tory, a move that has not been well-received in the riding.

Reform Ontario Leader Brad Harness added that despite requests that he himself run in the byelection, "which is something I very much relish", he responded that, "I believe the voters of Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock deserve election choices based on strong local candidates who know the riding inside and out, and not opportunistic, non-local politicians. I feel deeply that non-resident candidates of all parties should be barred from running in all provincial - and federal - elections.  Candidates should
already be living in the riding at the time they seek the nomination."

Harness went on to express concerns about the electoral process raised by the two Reform contenders in this riding: "The regulations under the Elections Act and Elections Finance Act are crystal clear: If
all candidates for this election cannot fundraise until they are an officially registered candidate, it seems ludicrous that candidates are allowed to advertise, open campaign offices, incur campaign expenses, and attend all-candidates' meetings as if they were official candidates. Waiting until the proper dates under the legislation allows for only 2 weeks proper campaigning until voting day."

These two anomalies - the non-resident status candidate and the discrepancy between various Elections Ontario rules - are part of an electoral reform measures Reform Ontario is drafting into a private member's bill which Harness hopes to get introduced into the Ontario Legislature later in 2009. Other measures include the elimination of the subsidy for candidate expenses (which presently only helps out the three established parties), the rebate of nearly half of party campaign expenses (again benefiting only the three largest Ontario political parties), and a new measure that would see parties which operate in a deficit situation for more than 13 months lose their Registered Party status until they are back "in the black".

Harness added, "How do such parties expect voters to elect them to run the province's finances if they cannot manage their own in a responsible way? The Ontario PC Party is $6-million in debt and has been for many years, and yet it campaigns as if its coffers are full.  It is only the unfair measures
from the 1970s such as the election rebates for candidates and parties that allow them to operate like this, using taxpayers' dollars to fund their political antics."  Reform Ontario's changes would level the playing field in Ontario elections and allow for greater participation, democracy, and
debate in decision-making.

Reform Ontario's two nominees for the Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock nomination say they will carry on with organizing efforts and seek the party's nomination for the 2011 general election, expected in October of
2011.

Still time for advance voting

An advance poll is at the returning office located at 55 Angeline St. N. in Lindsay, until Thursday, Feb. 26 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Other advance poll times and locations are listed at www.elections.on.ca.

Also, new technology is being offered during the advance polls for those with disabilities. Elections Ontario is piloting new electronic vote tabulators to allow electors with visual or physical impairments to mark their ballot independently.

A Freedom of choice

Another candidate is hoping for the majority of voter attention in the byelection.

Bill Denby, a farmer who lives in the Brock riding, will represent the Freedom Party on March 5. But Mr. Denby is no stranger to elections. "This is my second attempt running for the Freedom Party," he said. "I welcome the opportunity to stand up for the hard-working  individuals that live in this riding."

In his previous attempt, running in the 2007 provincial general election, he pulled in 391 votes, beating only Jake Pothaar of the Family Coalition Party with 301 votes.

He says he has a plan for the riding which he will release through the course of the election. "The world economy is facing challenges also, and we must remember, that by working together, instead of criticizing each other's position, we need to find solutions so that our future generations within this riding can enjoy the prosperity and good will that we have enjoyed in the past."

Byelection March 5 in Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock

UXBRIDGE -- The date for the Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock byelection has been announced.

Premier Dalton McGuinty has called the election for Thursday, March 5.

The byelection was triggered when Brock MPP Laurie Scott stepped aside to allow ousted Progressive Conservative leader John Tory a shot at a seat in Queen's Park.

"I'm delighted to move forward with the real campaign," said Mr. Tory. "Elections are elections and I'm taking absolutely nothing for granted."

The Liberals have thrown their hat into the mix with candidate Rick Johnson, who was defeated by Ms. Scott in the 2007 provincial election.

Mike Schreiner is running for the Green Party of Ontario. The Reform Party of Ontario has indicated it will add a name to the ballot, and the NDP is set to choose a hopeful on Sunday.

-- with files from Torstar news services