Political Incorrectness

Saturday, September 20, 2025

The town council is secretive, a cabal , a clique:-

(a) During my first three months in Bonavista I made three failed attempts to attend a regular meeting of the town council.

(b) Prior to the first town council election I noted that names, but no contact details (telephone, email) were shown on the town's Facebook page. I phoned the town council and asked that contact details be provided; this was denied because it "would violate the Privacy Act". Laughable: Why would a potential councilor not want to discuss their ambitions with a voter? And then the clerk wrote out the names and contact details for me a day or two later in the town's office.

(c) prior to the 2025 election a list of nominees is provided on the town's web site, but again, contact details are hidden. The Privacy Act again. A variety of illogical statements are put forth as reasons.

Now a general idea of a democracy ("of/for the people") is that everyone can (and should) vote, and the vote ought to not be a lottery, but an informed vote. We should be voting for the nominee(s) who we decide will best address our ideals. The winner will be the nominee who best satisfies the majority of voters.

But in Bonavista Newfoundland, we are not allowed to establish contact with nominees.

Unless we have lived here for a large part of our lives and got to know practically everybody (3,100) in town.

In this way Bonavista closes its mind to outside ideas.

So that the way of thinking that has seen the population decrease year by year (3,800 in 2019 to 3,100 six years later) is nurtured by people who try the same unworkable ideas. New ideas are not encouraged.

So Bonavista will descend into obscurity.

" … but it is essential in a functioning democracy that all parties open themselves up to basic scrutiny. "

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