Cornwall is one of the oddest communities I’ve ever lived in and I’ve lived in a few. The political corruption fingers through everything from City Hall, to charities, and even our SD&G Highlanders apparently.
First you have former MPP Jim Brownell named as Honourary Lt. Colonel. That was a little weird as Mr. Brownell is a bit of an odd duck that nobody would ever mistake for soldier material.
In fact he disgraced the Unit and Canadian Armed Forces by his participation in a hate group on social media that involved what the Legion determined to be one of the worst desecration’s of the poppy by one of his former students.
“It is a first. I have never seen such a blatant defacement of our sacred symbol and believe that if other Canadians could see it, they’d be as outraged as I am,” says Bill Maxwell, who is secretary of the Legion’s Poppy and Remembrance Committee.
Mr. Brownell’s answer when confronted with images of the desecration was that he was “not his brother’s keeper” which actually our brave Military actually are. Likewise Captain Borer and Mr. Towndale have refused to repudiate Mr. Brownell for his words and actions regarding his comments regarding the desecration of the poppy.
The scandal of course is that no other media reported Mr. Brownell’s actions and the military right up to then Prime Minister Harper’s offices were notified and sent the offending material. That scandal was Cornwall’d. Swept under the carpet with Mr. Brownell allowed to participate in Remembrance Day events since.
Either you support our armed forces and what the Poppy represents or you don’t. If you don’t you should have no role to play in the military.
Of course having his former Liberal riding association President at the time playing a key role in the unit might have played a role in that as Captain James Borer is the units media officer. Mr. Borer has been very loyal to Mr. Brownell since the former MPP helped him get funding for his children’s cochlear ear implants. Apparently his loyalty may run deeper to Mr. Brownell and the party than Canada’s Armed Forces?
Now rookie Councilor Justin Towndale has joined up with the unit because…well good jobs are hard to find here for an aspiring politician and Towndale clearly is a hopeful for future office although his track record has been dismal politically as he’s now supported to dog losses working on both the Sandra Pupatello leadership campaign and Bernadette Clement’s second run for MP.
The local riding association riding President Jamie Labonte has also published caustic remarks about yours truly and CFN.
Clearly our local Liberals are very very thin skinned, but when that condition impacts publicly funded institutions then a conspiratorial boycott becomes a concern for many in the community.
As for Justin Towndale, he seems like a nice enough person who simply is trying to build a career in a tough world.
He’s clearly benefited from family connections in getting elected to council this term. The big question about his political future is whether he will be a leader or simply another agreeable snout in the trough of politics like Bernadette Clement.
What do you think dear CFN viewers? Are all these prominent Liberals coagulating within the Glen’s a productive and positive situation or should someone upstairs investigate the unit and the Brownell incident?
You can post your comments below.
Photo Borer & Towndale : Twitter
“Agreeable snout in the trough”, is a perfect turn of phrase to describe our vapid councillors.
vap·id – ˈvapəd’
adjective: offering nothing that is stimulating or challenging.
synonyms: insipid, uninspired, colorless, uninteresting, feeble, flat, dull, boring, tedious, tired, unexciting, uninspiring, unimaginative, uninvolving, lifeless, tame, vacuous, bland, trite, jejune