For more than 25 years this scribe has been a resident of a small community in Canada'a lower Laurentians, the Municipality of the Township of Gore. This being in the Province of Quebec the official language is French and it would be more apropos to refer to it as Municipalite du Canton de Gore. Central to Gore is the town of Lakefield. The region was once primarily settled by people of Irish and Scottish origins, whence we have some non-French names. To be sure, there is nothing gory about Gore; the name is an old word for a small piece of land 2A
Gore is blessed with a number of lakes and so there developed here a number of distinct communities around them, some predominantly Francophone, others where one hears English more than French. Many, if not most, residents of Gore are bilingual, but some speak only French or only English - aside, that is, from the languages of origin of those who immigrated from other countries. I regret to say that I have difficulty conversing in French and even greater difficulty understanding spoken French, a handicap that is mostly cheerfully accommodated by my fellow Quebeckers. 2B
But whether French-speaking or English-speaking, there is yet another barrier that faces us here and that is what separates ordinary citizens from officialdom. Discussions about local affairs are heavily punctuated by misunderstandings and, hence, suspicions, motives questioned plus a bit of name calling on the side. I guess that these unpleasantries arise in part from the custom that our mayor and councellors meet behind closed doors for an hour and then open the doors for question periods and citizen participation. Closed council meetings and their committee meetings are illegal in other Canadian jurisdictions because they undermine a well-informed democratic process. When raising this point with one official I was told that the closed parts of the meetings were "working meetings."2C
Call them closed meetings or working meetings, they do make it very difficult - so it seems to me - for potential candidates for elected office to compare and contrast themselves to incumbents when the electorate at large has absolutely no information or measure of what knowledge, insights, convictions, and drives current office holders take to their roles as community representatives. Clearly this is a serious problem that stabs into the heart of democracy. 2D
Effective citizenship at any level--be it global, national, or local--calls for complete transparency. It also calls for an understanding of laws and regulations that apply. It is for these reasons that I have decided to devote a section of this website to local issues in the hope that greater clarity - and, hence, mutual understanding - will contribute to an enhanced sense of community. I appreciate the positive stance taken by Gore's mayor and council in support of this effort. I also like to express my thanks to those who offered to translate these articles into French. [HvE] 2E
April 3, 2005 2F