Letters - Oct. 15 edition
Looking for all the candidates
When candidates are acclaimed it can be either credited to satisfaction or blamed on apathy. But when four other candidates are challenging the incumbent, surely this is proof that the ward is dissatisfied.
Only Ward 1 has five names on the 2026 ballot.
I note the Cosmos did a profile of all the Ward 1 candidates with the exception of Colin Thacker. Surely, in fairness, it is the Cosmos’ responsibility to introduce Mr. Thacker to the voters? I look forward to learning about the only gentleman running in Ward 1.
Mike Macbeth, Uxbridge
Editor’s note: Neither Colin Thacker nor Victoria Devenport (also on the ballot for Ward 1) submitted their profiles in time for our Sept. 10 feature on Ward 1 candidates. Mr. Thacker’s profile, along with Ward 3 candidate Jacquie Hermans, can be found on page 7, beneath the Durham District School Board Trustees profiles.
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Change in leadership sought
Thank you, Cosmos, for the excellently run (all candidate) forums.
Some people truly fear for the future of Uxbridge with its current leadership. High taxes and many bad, money-wasting decisions in the last few years are the reasons.
We all remember when our newly elected mayor and councillors started off by increasing their pay and made it retroactive. We have more highly paid people in the office now than ever. So much for good leadership.
Disaster after disaster followed and many stores, like Staples and Boston Pizza, closed their doors
for good because the hundreds of people coming daily from far away for a short hike at the Trail Capital of Canada were stopped by this current mayor and councillors. Not a single group came back to spend their money here after the town charged for parking at the forest trails. Forest trails were always looked after by hikers.
Many showed their frustration at the forum by the way Uxbridge is now run. Many complained about the behind closed door council meetings. Groups who wanted to give a presentation at the Town Hall meetings were simply cancelled.
Uxbridge desperately needs a change in leadership. Uxbridge needs people who use common sense, are totally honest with an open door policy, not retroactive pay raises. We have very good choices this time around. You be the judge. Make your vote count, do your research.
Louise Mueller, Uxbridge
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More pointed questions should have been asked at all-candidates forum
I was very disappointed with the two moderators of the Sept. 28 all candidates forum. There are at least a half dozen questions that should have been asked of (Regional Councillor Bruce) Garrod and (Mayor Dave) Barton!
Garrod voted in favour of giving the Durham Regional Police more money for 78 new officers and $10 million for a new headquarters in Oshawa. I have been informed by at least six DRPS supervisors, verbally and in print, that there will be no vehicle speed enforcement on the secondary roads of the three North Durham townships. The town of Uxbridge proper receives all of the police service it requires and the rest of us get nothing! Over 30 per cent of the residents’ taxes go towards the DRPS and we are lucky to receive one per cent service!
The residents of Uxbridge Township have no idea of the money that council has been wasting!
- $14,000 was spent on two traffic surveys on Front Street in Goodwood (2023/2024 ), both showing excessive speeding, and Barton wrote to the police telling them NOT to carry out any enforcement on Front Street.
- I understand that Barton and council spent $10,000 on a study for the library/town hall fiasco in Zephyr and they are going to ignore the results of the study.
- Instead of fixing the existing permanent washrooms and well in the south park in Goodwood, the township has spent $4,200 to date and counting, on a portable toilet (three years so far). At least half of the people using said toilet are people driving by the park and spotting the portable.
- Now the big one. Council forgot that they needed the Circle K property for the culvert renewal and so paid $3 million for the property. Now they turn around and sell the land to the town square developer for $ 2,500,000. Where is the $500,000?
Those of you living in the town proper have done very well with Barton's spending largess. Fields of Uxbridge, Elgin Park, a huge new building at the works yard, Uxpool, and what else?
Meanwhile, council has been short changing those of us living in the hamlets. In Goodwood, we have been waiting for 10 years for repairs and replacement of our infrastructure.
R. Robertson, Goodwood
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Another way of looking at separatism
Roger is not entirely wrong (Am I wrong?, Oct. 8 edition); however, there is another way to look at the Québec election result.
The election turnout was 67 per cent of registered voters. Only 28 per cent of them voted for the separatist Parti Québécois that ended up winning a minority government. People who want change vote. Therefore, if one assumes that among the 33 per cent who chose not to vote that there would be few dedicated separatists, the percentage of Quebeckers who are serious about separation is less than 20 per cent.
Thus, Quebec’s new government has a weak mandate to organise a referendum on separation or even to govern. They may not last long.
All Canadians are entitled to their own aspirations. We must be tolerant and let them have their say, even if we do not understand their motives. However, the majority rules. This will no doubt be the case in the Province of Québec.
Jon Baird, Goodwood
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Thank you from the Foster
The Thomas Foster Committee would like to thank everyone who came out this year to the Friday at the Foster concerts. It is through the generosity of the Uxbridge residents and surrounding areas that we can continue with concerts in this beautiful building.
This year, on October 17, 2 - 4 p.m., there will be an acoustic jam session (no amplifiers required) including an upright bass player. Bring your popular songs so everyone can join in with solos, harmony, singing, etc., which will close our 2026 concert series.
The Ladies of the Foster will perform on November 15, 2 p.m. a reading of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol," followed by a seasonal sing-along with Jane Loewen.
Again, thank you for your support, and look for our first concert on May 07, 2027.
The Friends of the Thomas Foster Memorial, Beverly Northeast
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Call for school bullying to stop
I was horrified and shocked, but not surprised, by the Letter to the Editor in your Oct. 8 issue, “Grandparent questions DDSB bullying policy.”
Our son teaches in the Toronto District Catholic School Board and our daughter-in-law teaches in the Toronto District Public School Board. Their stories of bullying seem to get worse with each school year, and not only of students bullying students, but also of teachers being bullied even at the high school level! A colleague of our son was punched in the face by a grade 9 student, was seriously injured, and nothing was done to protect the teacher from reprisals, nor had the attacking student any consequences of his behavior.
As a grandma of very young children, my heart goes out to this grandparent having to live with the thought that his grandson is at risk every time he steps into what should be the safest environment in his young life. It must be a living hell for this poor little boy and his family.
What must be done to stop this increasing culture of violence and who is responsible to get it fixed? It won’t get fixed if we continue to deny it exists, which is arguably the case province-wide, so let’s start there. This is an institutional failure and the responsibility to fix it must be placed at the top. The Minister of Education must acknowledge that this is a growing, systemic problem and show the required leadership to address it such that everyone understands it will no longer be tolerated.
At present, the process starts with the teacher reporting it to his/her principal, who then opens a case file called “Progressive Discipline.” Now, there is simply not enough available space here for me to write the steps that follow. I will just say they are bureaucratic, cumbersome and have proven totally ineffective.
In my humble opinion, what needs to happen is to first admit the problem exists, then undertake a serious study and rewrite of existing policies from the top down; one that protects both children and teachers and doesn’t take months to achieve a resolution.
I attended the all candidates meeting on Sept. 28. The room was standing room only. Congratulations to the Cosmos for a very well-organized event. There were three male candidates running for election as school trustees. Each was given ample time to articulate his priorities, and none of them touched on the issue of physical bullying in schools. Hopefully it will be a priority for all school trustees and PTAs everywhere in working to achieve a safe environment for our dedicated teachers and these incredible young minds in their charge.
I trust by the time this letter makes it to print, the family will have heard from the principal at Joseph Gould Public School and will be reassured that some steps have been taken to keep their little boy safe.
D. Cunneen, Uxbridge