Natalie Pierre has things to say and values that matter - much of the public won't get to hear them.

By Pepper Parr

May 26th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Word that we hear is that the Progressive Conservatives are getting some serious blow back on the decision to pull their candidate from debates as they campaign door to door.

The decision to pull the candidates from public debates was decided by the people running the provincial campaign.

In Burlington the PC’s stayed away from the Chamber of Commerce debate – which was surprising.  If there was ever a venue that was tailor made for the PC’s – it has to be the Chamber of Commerce.

The traditional focus for the Conservative community has always been – respect for law and order; being responsible for yourself; financially prudent and supporting the social institutions.

This country has had some great Conservative leaders.

Good graphics, a strong visual presence – all things a well funded campaign can afford.. That strong voice they advertise turned out to be close to mute.

In my short interview with Nicole Pierre I was impressed, especially with her empathy for people and the problems they face.

She didn’t bring much in the way of political experience to the table but she struck me as being sharp enough to pick up how the Legislature works and how to serve the community she would represent.

I find myself wondering how she felt about being told that she would not be taking part in debates.  I didn’t see Natalie as a woman who does what she is told to do if she thinks it is wrong or stupid.

In the event that she wins – and it is a very tight race in Burlington, how does she present herself as a person who is there to serve when she wasn’t prepared to let the voters hear what she had to say – even if she was just parroting the party line.

Elections are a part of our culture for which we have paid a very high price for – the cost in lives is set out in stone at the cenotaph with the names of the men who were lost.

To not campaign and take a sincere part in an election – the event those men gave their lives for is an insult.

Natalie Pierre – a decent candidate; someone who they could be proud of; someone who would reflect their values. Might have been false advertising.

Will we be seeing Natalie Pierre and the rest of the Burlington Progressive Conservative Party leadership on November 11th with poppy’s in their lapels?

The people who went along with the decision to keep the candidate in a bubble should be ashamed of themselves.

Should the PC’s win it will be due to some sharp practices that will find their way into how a Progressive government performs.

There is a woman, a senior, that I cross paths with from time to time, who used to complain about how big an embarrassment Jane McKenna was, hoping that the party would come up with a decent candidate.

This time around they found a decent candidate; someone who they could be proud of; someone who would reflect their values.  I wonder what the senior will say to me when we cross paths next ?

Are elections now just about winning with maybe a wink at values and the hope that the voters won’t understand what the politicians are saying.  The issues are complex – the responsibility is to explain them – which is something I thought Natalie Pierre was going to be good at.

Salt with Pepper is the musings, reflections and opinions of the publisher of the Burlington Gazette, an online newspaper that was formed in 2010 and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.

 

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14 comments to Natalie Pierre has things to say and values that matter – much of the public won’t get to hear them.

  • Philip Waggett

    Perry,
    I find your comment interesting. Parties evolve with the times and in the current highly partisan, divisive political climate that is not surprising. When you say you are “sheltering” and choose two leftist parties I think you lack credibility in your assertion that you were a former PC. Perhaps your comment might have validity if the Liberal Party were the party of Lester Pearson or David Peterson but they have moved so far to the left that they almost make the NDP look right-wing, especially at the federal level.

  • There were no complaints from any media about Carr not showing up for debates he had signed up for prior to Anne filing her 2018 nomination paper for Halton Chair. He even had the audacity to send a written statement to one of the Chamber events that was read into the record for him with no explanation! This election we understand he has not confirmed whether he will file nomination papers or not. Unusual behaviour for an incumbent who has repeatedly and easily won since Joyce Savoline gave up the Chair for Burlington MPP.

  • Sorry, but there are still three references to Nicole in the body of the article! It’s the type of mistake Anne has made which once got her in a lot of trouble with the second wife of her brother-in-law.

    Editor’s note. My apologies to the PC candidate. The surname had me thinking French and somehow my addled brain took Natalie and made it Nicole. I am without my proof reader and grammar help.

  • RICK LAW

    Doug Ford ia an affront to Democracy. He is showing that here in Burlington and he showed it 3 years ago when he interfered with the Civic election in Toronto.

  • Donna Lavery

    How about some equal press for our Liberal & NDP Candidates. I will agree that Jane McKenna us an embarrassment especially her Chicken Little Fiasco in the Ontario Legislature.

  • Thomas C. Riddell

    The way the conservatives handle the poor is disgusting
    No one should have to go to a food bank and they’re not doing anything about the skyrocketing price of anything

    Do yourself a favour don’t vote PC I didn’t and never will

  • Carol Victor

    No matter what great values she has, she is like most Conservatives, a sheep …following a leader who isn’t worthy of our vote. I don’t want to hand a job to someone who hasn’t the integrity to stand up and do the right thing. The Gazette has painted a pretty picture but her lack of public engagement is concerning. Jane Mc Kenna was a follower too and we all know how that turned out.
    How about giving some of the other candidates
    the same coverage that you have afforded this lady?

    • Philip Waggett

      “I don’t want to hand a job to someone who hasn’t the integrity to stand up and do the right thing”—I totally agree but it begs the question: Why do you support Justin Trudeau after the SNC Fiasco, the WE Scandal, the freebie vacation from the Aga Khan, going surfing on the first National Day of Reconciliation? And I agree I don’t want a representative who is a sheep following a leader. So why do you support Karina Gould who has never taken a stand against Justin Trudeau? A bit of hypocrisy don’t you think?

      • perryb

        Listing all the mistakes some politician or party has made in the last decade or so is evidence of a lazy voter, rather than a thoughtful assessment of the quality of current candidates and incumbents. It only invites counterattacking with an equally available list of the other party’s stumbles, which adds little value. Better try again.

        PS: the very idea of our MP somehow censuring her party leader is fanciful at best. She has done much good for Burlington and the country, and has been highly visible in doing so.

        • Philip Waggett

          An old saying, “people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”. As I indicated in my post, I agree with the points made by Ms. Victor. However, making those criticisms while overlooking them in the Liberal Party she supports is total hypocrisy. However, perry, your ad hominem about calling me a “lazy voter” as you seek to defend your own partisan preferences is what I would expect from from your political ideology.

          • perryb

            All I can say is that we are discussing a provincial election. The failures of the federal Liberal party are irrelevant to the current election. Obvious from my glass house.

          • perryb

            And my preferences are not partisan. I am what used to be called a Progressive Conservative before certain parties started to use the term without permission, and without representing anything that it stands for. Many of us are sheltering in the Liberal or NDP tents, waiting for the populists of all stripes to die down or suffocate each other.

    • Well Carol, the people of Burlington and Ontario obviously disagreed with your perspective and Del Duca and Horwath move on. Lets hope the excellent candidates who ran in Burlington who did not capture the first prize know there is always anotherrace to be run that is reputedly non-partisan. There are at least two who would make excellent councillors in our opinion, that turned out for the first time ever to be the opinion of the electorate.

  • Bob

    Were elections ever not about winning?
    As for campaigning, I have had exactly 0 candidates from any party come to my door and I’m one block off Brant in the downtown core. Not exactly a hard address to find, so I could just as easily assume the other parties are just as uninspired to let me know their own platforms
    Myself I didn’t even know there was a leaders debate and wouldn’t have watched if I had known as they have been a nothing but people talking over each other (Andrea Horvath) for years and are irrelevant and unnecessary