The circle game

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been hearing from a lot of people who are really quite tired of the debates about the proposed prison for Kemptville. Some of them are in favour of the prison idea, others are opposed, and most couldn’t care less, just as long as people stop talking about it (and writing articles and letters in the Times!).

Personally, I believe discussion and transparency are essential in matters like this, and so we’ll continue to provide space in these pages for such dialogue. You may note an article by one of CAPP’s spokespeople in this issue, in fact. No, dialogue is good, protest is good, and consultation is good. It’s all good, but surely it has to go somewhere, have a specific aim and focus? And that’s where I have a problem.

It seems the debate, controversy, call it what you will, has devolved into those opposed to the prison concentrating on the role of the municipal council in all of this. The position of council has tended to be: “let’s focus on the good things we might get from this development, and recognise our limitations.”

I must say, I find both of these approaches to be rather pointless. I know, everybody will jump on me for this, but someone has to say it. Who imposed the thing on North Grenville? Ford, Steve Clark, and Solicitor General, Sylvia Jones, all of whom, no doubt, are following guidance from the bureaucrats. Who failed to consult with the people of North Grenville before imposing the prison on them? Why, Ford, Steve Clark, and Solicitor General, Sylvia Jones. Who has refused to disclose the background papers dealing with the choice of site, the background studies, and other relevant material? Oh look, it’s Ford, Steve Clark, and Solicitor General, Sylvia Jones again.

This being the case, why is opposition to the plan concentrating on municipal council, which has repeatedly, and accurately, pointed out their almost complete lack of power to do anything about the project? Why are they being blamed for the actions, policies, deception, and anti-democratic actions of Ford, Steve Clark, and Jones? Are CAPP and JOG afraid to face them, or too lazy to travel as far as Brockville or Queen’s Park to protest and campaign against the actual perpetrators of the thing?

But council are not guiltless in this either. Fine, they have no power to stop the prison; but why can’t they protest about the manner in which it was imposed on us? If they did speak out, they would have a united community behind them – both opponents and supporters of Ford, Steve Clark, and Sylvia Jones. They cannot be happy with the way this community, and they as our representatives, have been treated, anger at such a lack of respect for the people of North Grenville deserves to be shouted out loud.

One demand by CAPP and JOG is that council condemn the project outright. But here is an area where the two groups are on very weak ground. They give the impression – actually they explicitly state – that they represent the majority of residents. But do they? How do they know? Has either side, opposition or council, bothered to find out what level of support the prison has in North Grenville? No, but CAPP and JOG continue to act as the righteous defenders of the people, even though they may not have the support of more than a few. Who knows?

But this has led the two groups to take up positions and make statements that simply ignore what both the municipality and the province have said. They condemn what they see as the paving over of precious farmland by the concrete of the prison at a time when farmland is more needed than ever. But the Public Consultation last week emphasised that the prison will take around 50 of the nearly 200 acres of the land in question. Which leaves almost 150 acres left for farmland. But one speaker at the meeting pointed out that it may not be very good agricultural land anyway.

And the fact that CAPP, or someone else not associated with CAPP, ignored the request of the moderator at the Public Meeting to stick to the topic of the evening, what to do with whatever lands may be transferred to the municipality, and continued his prepared remarks regardless of repeated requests to stop, did nothing for the reputation of CAPP. And to claim that it was the moderator who was being anti-democratic is a bit rich, given the fact that the protests were being directed against those who were not, and are not, responsible for the mess.

It was also disappointing that, after condemning everyone else for not engaging in genuine consultation, CAPP now makes fun of the municipality for holding a consultation session with the public over the potential uses of the land to be transferred to the community. It was, they say, too soon to consult and discuss the matter. That sounds like the excuse Ford, Steve Clark, and Sylvia Jones used for not consulting us before announcing the prison plan.

Ok, now that I’ve annoyed everyone, let me suggest this: let’s focus on those who are really to blame: the aforementioned Ford, Steve Clark, and Sylvia Jones. If you want to stop the project, focus on them and the provincial election. Get guarantees from the NDP, the Greens, and Liberals that the prison will be reconsidered, at least. Protest can be powerful and effective; but not if it’s aimed at the wrong target. Otherwise, you go round in circles, and the real target is left untouched.