Pandering to special interest groups brings discord

Editor:

When are politicians going to realize that pandering to special interest groups will only bring discord and violence to our communities? How many of our councillors know anything about western history? If they don’t, I would like to start by pointing them to Europe between 1914 and 1945.

Connie Leishman says that she is tired of saying “no” and wants to include “everybody” when she refers to a petition by Fierté Simcoe Pride to fly the Rainbow Flag at our town hall. What if I petitioned Clearview council to fly the Canadian Sports Shooting Association flag at Town Hall, do you think that Connie Leishman would lead the charge for that?

Yet according to Stats Can, 14.2 per cent of Ontarians own guns, with an overwhelming majority of those (33.6 per cent), living in rural areas like Clearview Township. Conversely, Stats Can also states that there are only one per cent of couples who are same-sex, and a National Post article states that at most only five per cent of Canadians identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, so who is Ms. Leishman really representing in Clearview Township?

I have family members, business associates and friends who are openly gay and transgender. I have absolutely no issue with that, but when is it right for a majority of Clearview councillors to pick one special interest group over any other to fly a flag at a place that we pay for as a democratic society to represent all of us?

Moreover, when is it right for our municipal government (or any government), to start assisting special interest groups to achieve their stated goals, as opposed to simply advocating for all constituents for equal opportunity within our society and individual neighborhoods?

Clearview councillors, do your job. Quit wasting your time and our hard-earned tax dollars on advocating for special interest groups. You aren’t the lobbyists. You are supposed to be the government. Look after the interests of the majority first.  We have a number of pressing issues that need to be dealt with without you pandering to five per cent of the population just to score a few political brownie points.

Rachel Beucler,

Nottawa.