Meet the candidates: Huron-Bruce - Dave Joslin

Dave Joslin, Christian Heritage
Hometown: RR 2 Brussels-Grey Ward, Huron East
Occupation: Pressure Welder
Political experience: ran 5 times federally (Christian Heritage Party), this is the 2nd time for the Family Coalition Party
Community involvement: active church member, member of Grey Ward Deamalgamation Committee

What is the best way to stimulate the economy in your riding?
The best way to stimulate the economy in any riding is to keep taxes of all kinds as low as possible, to eliminate unnecessary regulations, permits, user fees, etc. Also, one must make sure the transportation and services (hydro, water, sewer, phone) are all present and in good shape. In short make the area as attractive for business as possible. One should also encourage consumers to shop locally when possible.

What is the biggest environmental issue facing your riding and what can be done to solve it?
Water is always a concern, especially since Walkerton. Low interest loans to upgrade septic systems, tax breaks to farmers who plant erosion/buffer strips and fencing to keep livestock out of watercourses are some of the ways this concern can be dealt with. Cities should prioritize their spending to ensure that infrastructure-roads, bridges, sewers, and proper capacity sewage treatment plants come well before other expenditures, i.e., arts or sports.

What is your solution for Ontario’s energy needs?
Diversity is the best solution. We have been given water, uranium, oil, natural gas and coal, wind and sun, and in some areas, geothermal. We should use them all. We have the technology to use them all safely: we ought to use it. We are very much in favour of small, independent power generators selling their surplus to the grid for a fair market price. We should deregulate the energy industry to allow for maximum competition. This will ensure a market based, rather than politically determined energy price

Should we favour consumption taxes over income and corporate taxes?
We are very much in favour of eliminating both corporate and income taxes; the former causes job losses as companies flee our high tax jurisdiction, and the latter discourages saving and investment. Consumption taxes (like the GST) are avoidable if you keep your spending down. They encourage frugality-a good thing, especially if combined with saving/investment. However, the only way this could be done at present would be to have a very high GST-say 20%, or shrink the size of government substantially. We would favour a modest consumption tax and a gradual but considerable downsizing of the government.

Do you think the minimum wage should be raised to $10 per hour?
No. Studies have shown repeatedly that minimum wage laws actually hurt the very people they are supposed to help. Only the ideological utopia of the socialist can you make a job worth ‘x’ number of dollars. Forcing employers to pay unskilled labourers wages higher than the market value will force them to stop hiring entry-level positions-or move to another jurisdiction.

Do you support public funding for all faith-based schools?
We support a voucher system in which the educational tax dollars would follow the child. In other words, force private and public schools to compete with each other for the academic dollar. Schools that excel in morals, academics and discipline would prosper, those that are substandard would go out of business-as they should.

Which electoral system will you be voting for: MMP or first past the post?
MMP.

Meet the candidates: Huron-Bruce - Paul Klopp

Paul Klopp, NDP
Hometown: municipality of Bluewater. Ward of Hay.
Occupation: farmer
Political experience: Provincial: M.P.P. Huron and Parliamentary Assistant Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Rural Affairs 1990-1995. Municipal: two-term deputy mayor, Municipality of Bluewater and Huron County councillor. Huron County Federation of Agriculture: past-president, and past regional director; presently director-at-large and chair of finance committee.
Community involvement: past-president and current board member of Zurich Agricultural Society; board member of Huron County Pork Producers; committee member of Ontario Soybean Growers’ Marketing Board (District 8); supporter of local hockey and skating clubs and other community events; board member Hay Communications Cooperative Ltd.

What is the best way to stimulate the economy in your riding?
One of the best ways to stimulate the economy in Huron-Bruce is to get serious about solving the farm income problem. Farm income has been at record low levels. Because of high input costs, and low commodity prices, it is costing farmers more to produce food than what they’re getting paid for it. This means that farmers aren’t investing in new equipment, or purchasing household goods from the local stores, etc. Negative ripple effects extend to agribusiness. A risk management program (RMP) is a good start to ensure that Ontario farmers have the dollars where they need to be, when they need to be there. The NDP would commit $300 million each year, starting with the 2007 crops, and this would include a retroactive payment for the 2006 crop year. This would be a good kick-start for the economy in Huron-Bruce. There would be positive ripple effects: when farmers do well, the rural economy does well.

What is the biggest environmental issue facing your riding and what can be done to solve it?
Waste management problems are the largest environmental issues.
Sewage: municipalities need money to upgrade their systems. The NDP would continue with more aggressive funding projects for towns and villages in Huron-Bruce that have been waiting in the queue for over ten years in some cases. Dumps: the NDP will be aggressive with a strategy based on “reduce, reuse and recycle.” We will help municipalities reach diversion goals with funding and not just regulations.
To help reduce the amount of product going into the waste stream, we will extend the producer responsibility laws which would ensure manufacturers and distributors bear their fair share of the cost of dealing with wasteful packaging.

What is your solution for Ontario’s energy needs?
There is no single solution for our energy needs. First of all, we need to reduce the demand for energy. Incentives to replace old appliances with new energy-efficient ones would be continued. Advancements in solar and wind power would continue to be explored as new technologies are being developed and should be supported. We are committed to decreasing automobile pollution through increased fuel efficiency.

Should we favour consumption taxes over income and corporate taxes?
Before I can give an opinion on this, I look forward to the Green party candidate for Huron-Bruce explaining the concept.

Do you think the minimum wage should be raised to $10 per hour?
The short answer is yes, the minimum wage should be increased. People should not be forced to earn below the poverty line. Minimum wage increases have not kept pace with inflation. In real terms the minimum wage has decreased by eight per cent since 1995 and twenty per cent since 1976. The Ontario coalition for social justice notes that in 1976, the minimum wage was 9.9% below the poverty line for a single person; but as of 2005 it was approximately 32% below the poverty line. In the long run, we will have a healthier economy and less social problems if working people earn enough.

Do you support public funding for all faith-based schools?
I can appreciate that some faiths wish to have their own schools, but I am not in favour of funding all of them. In fact, they may not even want that funding. The real issue is fixing the unfair Harris/McGuinty education funding formula. The NDP would overhaul the funding formula.

Which electoral system will you be voting for: MMP or first past the post?
I’m supporting MMP. Please remember this is a non-partisan issue. I encourage all voters to get informed and then to make their own decision, regardless of their party stripe.

Meet the candidates: Huron-Bruce - Carol Mitchell

Carol Mitchell, Liberal
Hometown: Clinton (born in Goderich twp)
Occupation: MPP, business owner
Political experience: MPP for Huron-Bruce (2003-present); parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Agriculture and Food; parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal; Health & Social Services Policy Cabinet Committee, Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, Conservation Action Team, Premier’s Research and Development Committee, and Government Agencies Review Committee. Carol is also the Chair of Rural Caucus and the Deputy Chair of the Liberal Caucus. Former warden of Huron County (1999, 2000); former Clinton town councillor, reeve and member of Huron County Council, reeve of Central Huron.

What is the best way to stimulate the economy in your riding?
The best way to stimulate the economy is to continue the programs, which we have started. Money invested in hospitals & family health teams make our communities more attractive for investment. Privatized health care as proposed by John Tory’s Conservatives will weaken our community hospitals and drain us of physicians. Education is essential for the modern economy. Our investment in the existing system of publicly funded schools has produced better student test scores. Apprenticeship programs have been expanded to meet the increased demands of local industry.

What is the biggest environmental issue facing your riding and what can be done to solve it?
Water quality is the major problem. The Water Source Protection Act plus the Clean Water Act will go a long way in solving the problem of water quality in the lake and rivers.

What is your solution for Ontario’s energy needs?
We already have a mix of renewable energy sources. We are first in North America for production of wind energy & solar energy. Nuclear energy is also a major part already and it will continue to be a major source of our electricity supply mix & a major contributor in our local economy. Coal will be phased out.

Should we favour consumption taxes over income and corporate taxes?
We have been down that road before. Tax cuts means closing schools and hospitals. There has to be a balance in the tax load. The last cuts in income taxes (the Mike Harris cuts) resulted in a shift to property taxes.

Do you think the minimum wage should be raised to $10 per hour?
The minimum wage will be increased to $10.25 per hour by 2010. It is being done over a period of time to allow employers to adjust to the increased costs.

Do you support public funding for all faith-based schools?
This is a step backward. The British North America Act established two public systems in Ontario. I support the existing systems. Adding more religions with their schools will take money away from the publicly funded schools. We have just overcome the last crisis, which the previous Conservative government created. Increasing the number of funded schools will segregate newcomers in our province and will increase the cost of education while taking much needed funding from small rural schools.

Which electoral system will you be voting for: MMP or first past the post?
I am opposed to the MMP system. The change will reduce the influence of rural areas & the reduction of the riding will make our rural riding too large. It will create a two-tier class of MPPs. Those with riding to which they are responsible will have a huge load compared to the unelected MPPs. I will vote no.

Meet the candidates: Huron-Bruce - Rob Morley

Rob Morley, PC
Hometown: Whalen Corners
Occupation: Cash crop farmer, former trucking company owner. Shop supervisor at Lavis contracting in Clinton
Political experience: 18 years municipal: nine as councillor (Usborne Twp.), three as reeve (Usborne), six as mayor (South Huron). The last year I was mayor (2006), I was also the warden of Huron County.
Community involvement: Cemetery board, Zion West United church committees, OFA

What is the best way to stimulate the economy in your riding?
Stabilize the economy for agriculture. There’s a risk management plan for farmers. We need to promote tourism in our riding – that’s a big thing. Promote nuclear power… that’s a big thing in the north of our riding.

What is the biggest environmental issue facing your riding and what can be done to solve it?
Clean air and water. One of the things we need to do is clean up these coal plants for hydro production. Part of the process we’re going through is to get all the environmental hotspots cleaned up by 2015. As far as water’s concerned, we need to enforce al the recommendations that came out of the o’Connor report. There are a lot still standing from that. We need to be looking at the lake shore and see what’s going on there and the reasons for lake shore issues. That will keep us busy the first four years for sure. We’re also looking at implementing a waste management strategy. We need to figure out how we’re going to deal with all this waste and figure out diversion. There’s a lot of energy from waste technology that we might need to get into.

What is your solution for Ontario’s energy needs?
Nuclear. That’s the cleanest source we have. Unfortunately, the wind power just doesn’t produce enough and it’s not constant enough. It’s destroying our shorelines and using up a lot of agricultural land. I think we need to stop and look at wind turbines and learn more about it than we know. There’s a lot of technology out there. There are 3000 wind turbines proposed in our riding. We need to step back and take a ahrd look at what’s going on. It’s a very expensive source of power, too.

Should we favour consumption taxes over income and corporate taxes?
I’d have to know a lot more about this before I could comment on it.

Do you think the minimum wage should be raised to $10 per hour?
Minimum wage needs to be raised, there’s no question. But we need to go to industry and see whether it’s a good idea. It needs to be discussed with business because every time it’s been raised, it has hurt industry.

Do you support public funding for all faith-based schools?
If they meet the criteria. They have to become part of the public system, they have to use the curriculum and hire certified teachers. They have to go through the standardized testing programs and agree to publish the results. If they do all that, I believe it’s fair to fund them. Otherwise, no. It’s a matter of integration, not segregation. They have to join the public system. It’s about fairness.

Which electoral system will you be voting for: MMP or first past the post?
I’ll be first past the post, which is status quo. MMP calls for more MPPs, larger ridings, and appointed politicians. I don’t think that’s a good representation of what people want.

Meet the candidates: Huron-Bruce - Victoria Serda

Victoria Serda, Green
Hometown: Port Elgin, raised: Owen Sound
Occupation: Homeschooler, municipal councillor; was an organic farmer, private school teacher, personal care attendant for the disabled
Political experience: Lobbying of municipal government on pesticide by-law 2001-5; past federal Green Party candidate, 2006; policy coordinator for the Green Party of Ontario 2006; deputy leader of the Green Party of Ontario 2006-present; municipal councillor 2006-present.
Community involvement: One of six Ontario Climate Change Messengers trained by Al Gore, having given 64 presentations to date, speaking to over 11,000 this year across Ontario. Board member of the Lake Huron Learning Collaborative; membership secretary for the Saugeen Speakers Toastmaster Club; core group member of the Creating Community Network; past member of the Owen Sound Little Theater; pianist/singer, fundraisers for charities & community groups, homes for the aged, the Bruce County Museum; founder/spokesperson for Green Horizons Eco-Action www.greenhorizons.ca.

What is the best way to stimulate the economy in your riding?
Bringing post-secondary education into our communities, encouraging green-collar jobs by promoting renewable energy sources and technological advancement, implementing good agricultural policies to ensure that farmers get a living wage and have opportunities to make money on value added products produced locally.

What is the biggest environmental issue facing your riding and what can be done to solve it?
Climate change is the biggest environmental issue, and we need to encourage everyone to become more efficient by using the taxation system to shift taxes off of income onto pollution and resource use (pay for what you burn, not for what you earn).

What is your solution for Ontario’s energy needs?
Energy efficiency in homes, businesses, industry; more small water power generation, more small wind and solar, better standard offer contracts, raise the electricity prices to what the real cost is and help people of low income to become more energy efficient as well as ensuring that all people have their basic needs met.

Should we favour consumption taxes over income and corporate taxes?
I agree Al Gore supports this concept, and it works well in European countries. Tax the bads, not the goods.

Do you think the minimum wage should be raised to $10 per hour?
Yes, and even higher until all workers in Ontario have a living wage.

Do you support public funding for all faith-based schools?
No, I believe that our education system needs money so our students are receiving a good education while having the funding they need to have textbooks, as well as environmental education and other subjects like music that were dropped in the past. We need to have one school system that is secular so we can cut administration costs, keep more rural schools open, and have the money to properly fund our students.

Which electoral system will you be voting for: MMP or first past the post?
I will be voting for MMP. It will engage more people in our democracy, because they will be able to vote with their head and their heart: for their favourite local candidate and the party with which they connect.

Meet the candidates: Huron-Bruce - Dennis Valenta

Dennis Valenta, Independent
Hometown: Clinton
Occupation: Truck driver for 27 years
Political experience: Past member of Reform, Alliance, Conservative parties. Worked with Alliance riding association. Worked extensively in Perth-Middlesex by-election 3-4 years ago. This experience opened my eyes for the need to run as an independent.
Community involvement: Raised money for Juvenile Diabetes for several years. Did visitation at Huron View for about eight years. Currently developing the former Triangle Discount in Clinton into an office which, when finalized, will be used to lobby government to reform so-called “family law.”

What is the best way to stimulate the economy in your riding?
Work at eliminating the waste of our tax dollars, and then reduce personal and business tax by same amount. Building a couple of highways connecting us to other major highways to London and Toronto would also be quite helpful. Which in turn would encourage business to locate here. While we’re at it, why not set up a community college to teach youth at home?

What is the biggest environmental issue facing your riding and what can be done to solve it?
This is a farm riding that uses a lot of sprays on the land. I think the government should be looking for ways to change that. We also border Lake Huron, which is a large source of fresh water. We should prosecute polluters and make them pay for cleanup. Also work with business to ensure there is a way to deal with environmental waste safely.

What is your solution for Ontario’s energy needs?
Not so sure I have the right answer for this other than to say, as long as people expect the lights to come on at the flick of a switch, we need hydro. Common sense should tell us that if wind or solar will supply our needs then we can shut down nuclear and coal-fired plants. If not, we better keep going with nuclear and coal until a better way is developed.

Should we favour consumption taxes over income and corporate taxes?
I think it is a good start. We should at the same time be looking at eliminating all government waste of our money. Pay as you go taxation would give us a measure of choice, which is a good thing. I would think that food and necessities would not be taxed so they would remain affordable for the working poor.

Do you think the minimum wage should be raised to $10 per hour?
The concept for the increase is to help the low-income earner. I believe an increase would have the opposite effect. It would just force employers to raise the price of their goods to cover the increase. A much better way to help the low-income earner would be to reduce or eliminate the income tax they pay.

Do you support public funding for all faith-based schools?
No, I do not.

Which electoral system will you be voting for: MMP or first past the post?
I will be voting for FPTP, not because I like it, but I think the MMP system will further erode the little bit of democracy we currently enjoy. The bottom line is I don’t like either, and that’s why I am running as an independent, free of the party line, to give the majority a voice at Queen’s Park.

To MMP or not to MMP - that is the question

By Casey Lessard

How will the legislature look in a few years? It’s a question voters have to take seriously at this election call as they face a referendum on the future of the electoral process.
A move to elect members of provincial parliament (MPPs) using mixed member proportional representation, or MMP, could see more MPPs in larger ridings, with 30 per cent of our elected representatives being chosen from a list.
The pros and cons are currently being debated by voters and pundits, some of whom prefer the current system of first-past-the-post. It’s a system that frequently results in majority governments that can make decisions without consulting the opposition parties.
“The big benefits of MMP are that we get – for the first time – something approximating a general form of proportional representation in Ontario,” says Paul Nesbitt-Larking, chair of political science at Huron University College at the University of Western Ontario. “Everyone benefits from this, irrespective of party stripe.”
Joseph Angolano disagrees. He’s the media director for a campaign to fight the adoption of MMP called No MMP.
“There are accountability issues that have to be looked at with this proposal,” Angolano says. “It takes 30 per cent of seats and makes them filled by a list. Voters won’t know who fills a seat – it could be the first or fifth person on the list. In a democracy, the voter should choose who represents them, not a party choosing them. It hurts the average Ontario voter who does not have a party affiliation. At best, the makeup of the list would be made up by the party members, but at worst it could be created by the party leader. The cititzens’ assembly made no provisions for how that list is created.”
Nesbitt-Larking believes those concerns will be a non-issue.
“The citizens’ assembly has said the list must be created in a transparent way,” he says. “Parties that don’t do this will suffer at the polls as a result. This will guarantee the list is a balanced mix of representatives.”
But there’s also the issue of distribution, Angolano points out.
“While we are getting more representatives, we are losing ridings and that’s a problem. That sort of representation could be a problem for rural and Northern Ontario especially.”
Nebsitt-Larking sees the other side of the issue.
“If you live in an area where the party and ideas you favour are the minority,” he says, “you’ve been out of luck for 100 years. Under the new system, you can vote for the person and the party. Some element of your choice will end up being represented at Queen’s Park.
“With MMP, women’s representation does better because the makeup of the list will be more proportional with women. Minority groups can also expect to be represented on the list as well.”
Angolano is concerned about the possibility that fringe parties – if they get enough votes – will control a minority government.
“Any party that can rustle up three per cent of the vote - which is about 150,000 votes - will get a seat,” he notes.
Nesbitt-Larking says this is a good thing, noting that most voters want their MPPs to have more power.
“Some form of cooperation will be necessary,” he says. “You avoid the propensity for executives and premiers driving too hard in extreme directions. Voters don’t want backroom people running the province.”
But that’s where Angolano predicts MMP will lead, noting that it will become impossible to beat the leader of a major party because he or she will always be at the top of the list. Since they will always get more than three per cent of the vote, they’re guaranteed a seat in the legislature.
“It will be very hard to get rid of the top four people on the list for a large party because this system allows for dual-candidacy – the candidate can run both locally and be on the list.”
There’s a lot to this issue, and you should do your own research to make up your mind. Visit http://www.yourbigdecision.ca (official government information site), http://www.nommp.ca (pro-FPTP site), and http://www.voteformmp.ca (pro-MMP site) before you vote October 10.

A community market event to benefit all

By Casey Lessard

Julie Nelson has an idea she hopes will help women like her, local businesses, and area school children all at once. Nelson is organizing a community market day fundraiser at the Grand Bend Public School Thursday, September 27 starting at 6 p.m.
“I was used to working with schools so I decided to help the school here,” Nelson says. “I know fundraising is always a difficult thing to do, so this is something I wanted to do for the community.”
Nine female home-based business vendors will set up shop at the school, and ten per cent of all sales from the event will go to the school. The nine and four other businesses (Tender Spot V&S, Huckleberries gift shop, Small Wonders clothing store and Grand Bend clothing store) will also donate ten per cent of sales throughout the year on purchases by registered customers.
Thursday night, vendors will include Lorelei Battram with Alouette cosmetics, Heather Baker with Avon, Ashley Steffler with Epicure spices, Anne Thornton stained glass artist, Tara Schram with Tupperware, Karen Boars with Optionelle clothing, Julie Nelson with Signature home style, Myrna Thomas soy candles, and Colleen Goldberg with Pampered Chef.

Getting comfortable at high school and planning for the future

Principal’s Page
By Jeff Reaburn, SHDHS principal

Although it is still quite early in the school year, it is already time for senior students to start thinking about post-secondary life, especially if they are planning to attend university or college. The annual University Information Program takes place Monday, October 1, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Goderich District Collegiate Institute. This program is open to students in all grades, but it is especially important for Grade 11 and 12 students who are considering university as a post-secondary destination. All of Ontario’s universities will be represented at the UIP, and this will be a great opportunity for students to speak to university representatives. While many universities will be sending representatives to South Huron this fall, not all of them will; so, for many of our students this will be the only local opportunity to ask questions about programs in some of these schools.
Fanshawe College will be holding its College Information Program two weeks later, with an evening session on October 16 from 6 to 8 p.m. and a morning program from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on October 17. This will be a good opportunity for students and parents to see what community college programs have to offer. We encourage students and parents to explore these options.
During that same week, from October 15 to 19, our School Council, in conjunction with the school, will be holding a “Futures Week,” during which students and parents will have the chance to gather some very important career planning information. We have a series of afternoon and evening sessions planned, focusing on many different career areas, from entrepreneurship and small business to industry and agriculture. There are events planned for every day that week and we encourage parents and students to attend the sessions, which we hope will provide some very valuable information. More information on the sessions can be found on our school web page: http://www.shdhs.ca. Just click on the link “Career Week at SHDHS.”
After you have perused the Career Week information, you might want to check out a new feature on our web-page - the Panthercasts. So far, we have three student-created podcasts posted on the site, featuring interviews with some of our staff about extracurricular program opportunities at SHDHS. More episodes will be added each week as we explore the communication possibilities of podcasting.
We also have two other important events coming up in the new future, both on Friday, October 5. In the morning we will be holding our annual Academic Awards assembly to recognize last year’s achievements for students in Grades 9 to 12. On Friday evening, we will hold our annual Commencement ceremony, starting at 7:30 p.m. in the large gym. Students who graduated last year will receive their Ontario Secondary School Diplomas, and we will hand out scholarships, awards, and bursaries for outstanding achievement, leadership, and citizenship.
Finally, I would like to remind everyone again of the upcoming School Council fund-raiser, the Parachute Plunge. On October 19, a skydiver will land on the soccer field at SHDHS and five lucky individuals will win prizes based on where he touches down.
The field will be divided into 529 squares, each of which we hope to have sold for $20: the person who “owns” the square on which he lands will win an all-expense paid trip for four to Toronto to see Dirty Dancing, courtesy of Ellison Travel (a $1500 value with travel on Via Rail, four tickets to the show, accommodations at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, and a Keg Restaurant gift certificate.) Additional prizes of $1000, $500, $200, and $100 will be awarded, again based on where the parachutist touches down. The squares will be assigned by a random draw following the closure of ticket sales.
All proceeds from this event will be used to support ongoing School Council programs: Commencement Awards, Student of the Month Awards, and our community forums. Tickets may be purchased from School Council members, at the main office in the school, and at Curves. We hope that you will support this venture and join us to watch the “plunge” on October 19 at 11:45 a.m. (inclement weather date - October 22.)

Geese faithful mates until the end

Living in Balance
By Jenipher Appleton

The luminous yellow plumage of the American Goldfinch has begun to wane to a dusky gold. Rose-breasted grosbeaks have long since taken off to their southern climes, and no longer are we pestered by the voracious, greedy grackles at the feeders. These developments are sure signs that autumn is upon us.
During my most recent late afternoon walks with Fergus the Labrador puppy, the musical honking of the Canada geese can be heard as they land in the fields to bed down for the night. The sight of the V-shaped flock is another sign of the impending season.
The Common Canada goose (Branta Canadensis) can measure up to 45” in length. Its counterpart, the Lesser Canada, is much smaller, around 25” and has a considerably higher-pitched voice. The distinctive markings of these geese are their long black necks and panda-white cheek patches, contrasted by the light chest and grayish body.
I have often heard the misnomer ‘Canadian Goose’. Like beavers, moose, and maple syrup, the geese are Canadian, but the correct name is Canada goose. They breed in the Arctic and northern regions of Canada and winter from southern Ontario through to the southern United States.
A generation ago, it was more likely that most of the geese would migrate south. Now, with our seemingly milder winters and sumptuous grain fields, thousands are spending their winters in southern Ontario.
Wawa, Ontario, a town on the northern shore of Lake Superior is noted for its gigantic statue of a Canada goose. The story behind this statue’s existence is chronicled in a song by Stompin’ Tom Connors entitled ‘Little Wawa.’ The Canada goose is one of the few animal species known to mate for life. In Stompin’ Tom’s ballad, Little Wawa is a goose whose gander, or mate, falls victim to an Indian arrow during hunting season. Devastated, this faithful little goose leaves her flock to stay beside the body of her mate, pining away until she subsequently starves to death. That shows more dedication than most human couples. This sad tale is supposedly true and the statue at Wawa is in tribute to the faithful goose who refused to leave her mate. In our home a wooden carving of a Canada goose also bears the name ‘Little Wawa.’ Very few other animal species mate for life; Canis lupus, or the gray wolf, is among those animals that choose a single mate in their lifetime.
The Canada goose can be an overbearing presence in places like public parks. A stroll beside the Avon River in beautiful Stratford is testament to this, where goose droppings litter the riverbank so thickly, it is sometimes difficult to avoid stepping in them. Nevertheless, the unquestionable majesty of a vast V-shaped flock, etched against a clear autumn sky, continues to be symbolic of the spirit of our Great White North…eh?

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