By James Matthews

A provincial election in the midst of the current economic crunch may present an opportunity to rural municipalities.

Minden Hills Mayor Bob Carter said municipal councils are in the business of getting things done. They don’t throw allegiance behind any one of the political parties, he said.

At least, councils and individuals on council don’t do that in an official capacity.

“Whoever is in power, we have to deal with them,” Carter said. “Like it or not, the province has the money and many of our projects are grants, the funding that we get comes from the province.”

Councillor Pam Sayne said more responsibilities of the provincial and federal governments have been downloaded to municipalities. And that’s taken a financial toll on tax rolls.

“That downloading is hurting all of us a great deal,” Sayne said. “And we cannot continue to raise taxes in order to support the basic services we need to support. Particular the ones that the province is responsible for.”

The mayor had many one-on-one meetings with provincial officials and ministers. Many of those discussions revolved around money and rural municipality’s need for it.

“This is something that will continue to go forward,” Carter said. “This is often the best time to ask for money, during an election period.”

There will be a new government in March, regardless of which party wins the majority.

“We will see what happens and hopefully we will be able to get a better deal for the municipalities,” he said.

Sayne urged people to cast their ballot in the provincial election. People need to vote as if the quality of their lives depended on it.

“Because it does,” she said.

The current short election campaign is in its early days yet. But Carter said there’s already been much discussion on the various social media channels.

“No matter who you support, we have to go forward as a community,” he said. “At least try to be nice to one another in the commentary. Life is too short to be taking all of this personal.”

Support whichever party or candidate you choose but be respectful of other people and their choice of candidate.

“Let’s keep it civil because we have to come together at the end of this election as a community and deal with whomever gets elected,” Carter said.

It seemed a lack of civility is becoming more common in many centres throughout Ontario. Councillors from different communities shared similar stories of abuse during the recent Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference.

Deputy Mayor Lisa Schell said many people don’t realize the level of abuse that’s directed at municipal council members now compared to when she started out almost 20 years ago.

“It’s like they have a right to abuse you,” she said. “Quite frankly I’m getting quite sick of it.”