South Bruce is, by all appearances, a community that is divided.
Readers of this paper will know this, based on our letters to the editor each week. There are some residents who are vocal in not wanting the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s deep geological repository to be located in South Bruce, no matter what the science or popular opinion may be. There are those who are supportive of the project, citing the financial spinoff of having such a facility here. And there are those who are, for a lack of a better term, fence sitters – they may like some things about the project, dislike others, but have not made up their mind one way or the other as of yet.
Throughout the municipal election last month, this divide was visible. Candidates put their names forward because of the issue; some were elected, others were not.
There were stories of signs being damaged, aggressive door-to-door tactics, and accusations of party politics seeping into the municipal spectrum.
While not everyone can agree on what may or may not have happened on the campaign trail, everyone can agree that this community is divided.
While it is understandable, it’s unfortunate.
Mark Goetz, who was officially sworn in as mayor last week, has made it clear in media interviews and during his inaugural address that he wants to unite the community, to deal with issues in a democratic matter.
It’s a noble goal, one that I hope he is successful in achieving.
We’ve seen what divide can do to a community. One just needs to look at the United States as an example, where former president Donald Trump used anti-Democratic stances on any and every issue to drum up favour with his supporters. There are people in that country that still believe Trump is the president, despite the fact that he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.
A situation like that – where political beliefs and differences of opinion split a community down the middle to the point where friendships are broken, where neighbours are no longer neighbourly, and where family members no longer speak to each other because they are on separate sides of an issue – is not a situation a small community like South Bruce needs.
Small communities – and all communities for that matter – are stronger when they are united. A community with strong service clubs, churches, minor sports organizations and other charitable groups is a community that people are proud of. It is a community that young people want to live in, one where their kids can play and be safe, and one where local businesses support each other and grow.
There are also communities where developers want to build houses and invest in businesses, and where medical professionals and other service providers want to set up shop.
With that said, a community can be united and still have differences in opinion. In fact, having a difference of opinion is healthy for democracy.
However, being respectful of others’ opinions is the difference between being united and not.
With the DGR issue, there are certain things we know, such as the NWMO will not decide until 2024. We also know that some are for, and some are against, the DGR. And we know that this issue has torn people apart.
Of those three things, we have control over one: being apart.
We have the power to come together and talk respectfully about our issues. We have the power to set aside our differences on a specific issue and better our community. We have the power to come together and hear each other out, in a respectful way, to better understand each other’s stance.
Hockey and the DGR are two totally different topics, but ones that people are equally as passionate about.
I’m a Maple Leafs fan and I have friends who are Canadiens fans, or Red Wings fans, or Flyers fans. I don’t hold that against them; I may tell them their team sucks, but I’ll still go have a beer with them or help them put their snow tires on their vehicles. We’ll even talk about why my team is better than theirs.
We don’t see eye to eye, but we still get along.
This can happen in South Bruce, too. And I hope it does, sooner rather than later.
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Mike Wilson is the editor of Midwestern Newspapers. Comments and feedback can be sent to mwilson@midwesternnewspapers.com.
