Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor,
The members of the so-called Sydenham Independence Group seem to believe that there is a currently existing legal procedure called a Petition of Right that derives from the 1628 petition submitted by Parliament to Charles I.
According to them, it seems that all that is necessary for Sydenham to secede from Meaford is that their petition be presented by a member of the Legislature to the Attorney General, who would then be obliged to deliver it to the Lieutenant-Governor, who in turn by pronouncing the magic words, “Let right be done” would deliver Sydenham Township from the yoke of Meaford.
They only forgot to add that this procedure would also require that all residents of Sydenham simultaneously click their heels together and chant, “There’s no place like home.”
Really.
The problem is that there’s no such thing. Do they actually believe that the presentation of a petition in the legislature would override the Ontario Municipal Act? Their argument is based on confusing the seventeenth-century document prepared by Edward Coke with a now obsolete legal procedure that enabled litigants to sue the government. This procedure is no longer in use because other legislation has been passed which enables such suits.
The supporters of this “petition” have recruited Jack MacLaren, MPP (Mississippi-Mills) to present it in the legislature on their behalf. MacLaren is the former head of the right-wing Ontario Landowners Association, often on the outs with many other members of his caucus because of his proclivity for stunts like this. To his credit, Bill Walker won’t go near it.
All of this would simply be funny if it weren’t also so sad. Instead of serious discussion of Meaford’s problems, the anonymous organizers of this “petition” continue to mislead their supporters by dangling in front of them the possibility of an independent Sydenham Township. It won’t happen, but as long as many people believe it can, it means that we’re not talking about real issues and real solutions.
Sincerely,
David Galbraith, Meaford
