Geez we get an awful lot of emails and comments about us not liking Stephen Harper, Guy Lauzon, or the Conservative Party of Canada. We get called a “Liberal Rag”, a “NDP Voice” , and a reusable “Green Party of Canada” cloth.
The fact is that the “Free” in The Cornwall Free News is that we actually allow almost all voices a platform; even ones we don’t agree with.
In the last Federal election the majority of Canadians did not vote for the Conservative Party of Canada or Stephen Harper. Many of the actions taken by this Prime Minister have not been supported by the majority of Canadians and at times even Parliament as he’s had to run to the Governor General twice now for time outs.
Locally we have reached out numerous times to our MP and the local Conservative party, but are not only blocked out, but my Journalism intern, a Cornwall homey, who graduated from St. Lawrence College and is trying to find a way to find a way to practice his craft; at home; here in Cornwall; has been refused by our MP Guy Lauzon to answer questions. Such as the response he was seeking after the cabinet shuffle.
Now I personally write more commentary and opinion than journalism. I am truly not a journalist and have never pretended to be one. I may write journalistic pieces, but that’s because we’re a tiny community newspaper and sometimes I have to. As we evolve we will hopefully be able to afford more reporters and journalists to cover more local topics of importance. I can understand our MP bristling at the thought of being interviewed by me.
But to stop a young person trying to find a way to stay a part of this community? Shame on you Mr. Lauzon.
At the National and Provincial level we also have been frozen out by the Conservative machines.
So my question to my local friends and our amazing readers from Ottawa and all over Canada is if one group refuses to talk to us no matter how nice and respectful we are is it fair to tar us with the brush of favortism?
As I’ve shared many times. If you get on a soapbox you can’t complain if someone eggs you. But to be so totally afraid to get on that soapbox is pretty cowardly.
Our door here at The Cornwall Free News is WIDE OPEN. We carry news and items for most political parties; especially when it’s submitted to us. We also cover area organizations, charities, events, sports, entertainment and many other areas and topics. It’s what we do and we love what we do.
I hope that helps clarify our position a bit, and I hope that certain politicians grow a set and realize that all of the citizens of their riding or area pay their salaries and that answering questions from the media; even if you don’t like them is part of their job.
Jamie Gilcig – Editor – The Cornwall Free News
info@cornwallfreenews.com 613.361.1755
Great editorial. I guess the only way you can get a comment out of Guy Lauzon is to read the insulting freebies that he mails out far too often. In December, I got his 2010 calendar. Perhaps, I was hoping that the calendar would contain SD&G landscapes or perhaps Canada wide landscapes. Sorry, but all I got were 12 pictures of Lauzon smiling back at me. I agree, he does have one of the best smiles around, but this is going too far. Lauzon never seems to say anything significant but his smile seems to be all over, especially in the Seaway News. He is Mr Happy Face. Don’t Worry, Be Happy. Perhaps we should erect Happy Face signs at every entry point into the riding. The Happy Face would, of course, have the mouth taped up with Conservative Party logo.
Jamie, thank you for my right to free speech.
Harper can silence his caucus, but, as we have seen yesterday with such a wide spread
protest, King Stephen cannot silence Canadians.
The best part of Cornwall Free News, you have no agenda to keep.
Good job.
Come on. Guy should be granted a ‘passport’ on when he speaks and does not speak.
As for why he’s been so quiet about the bridge – maybe he’s waiting for the new one.
Bravo Mr. Editor! Spoken like a true democrat. Shame on you Mr. Lauzon.
The latest polls show that a combined plurality of Canadians support the three parties to the left of the Liberal Party, that is the NDP, the Green Party, and (though some of you may not like that I lump them in) the Bloc Quebcois. This combined number has been between 35 and 38%, compared to around 30 – 33% for the Conservatives, and 29 – 31% for the Liberals.
Stephen Harper is likely Margaret Thatcher in that not all that many people like him, but because his opponents hold a variety of ideologies and political positions, he’s able to win elections. That there are three parties to the left of the Liberals and only one party to their right creates a government and a political narrative that distort the values, interests, and ideas of the Canadian population.
This reality can make Conservatives feel underrepresented in certain discussion venues because the make-up of Parliament and the predominance of the Conservatives and the Liberals (relative to the smaller parties in the left) in the mainstream media’s political narrative makes many people on the right feel as though their opinions are more popular than they actually are. If Canada and the UK had proportional representation, the illusion would be shattered, and everyone would figure out rather quickly that both are about the most politically left-wing (by popular opinion) countries in the developed world.