Green Party: expressing concerns over the state of democracy in Tiny Township

Good evening, Mayor, Councillors, and members of the public.

My name is Chris Carr, the candidate for the Green Party of Ontario in Simcoe North. I am here tonight because I am deeply concerned about the state of democracy in Tiny Township. Participatory democracy is one of the six core values of the Green Party, and yet, here in Tiny, it appears to be under threat.

A troubling example of this is Councillor Helowka’s recent dismissal of the legitimacy of a petition presented in the Ontario Legislature by Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner. That petition was accepted by the Clerk of the Legislature and received a formal response from Municipality and Housing Minister Paul Calandra. This means it met all necessary parliamentary standards. To suggest otherwise—on the basis of unverified concerns that some signatures may be from outside of Canada—undermines a fundamental democratic process. Every petition will inevitably have a handful of invalid signatures, but this does not negate hundreds of legitimate voices calling for action, the vast majority of which were addresses in Tiny. Petitions are a cornerstone of Canadian democracy, and dismissing them so readily is part of a troubling pattern in Tiny.

This council has systematically restricted public participation. Township social media pages have disabled public commentary across platforms, from Facebook to YouTube. The number of deputations and opportunities for residents to speak has been reduced. These actions erode public trust and deepen the division in our community.

Further, Midland Today's Derek Howard's own reporting betrays bias when he claims that the “Stop the Build” movement was “stopped once again.” (Jan 9, 2025) What was stopped was the referendum the petition was asking for and some of those petitioners of course, are people who are in favour of the build. Why this assumption that those who want the referendum oppose the build? The reality is that Mike Schreiner did not support the petition because he opposes the building project itself—he made it clear on CTV News that he supported it because the people of Tiny deserve to have their voices heard. That is the core issue at hand: democracy, not development.

[The following was truncated by the Mayor from the delivery as the issue of the undemocratic Code of Conduct had been removed from the meeting's agenda] Additionally, the new Code of Conduct for Tiny Township introduces sweeping restrictions on freedom of expression, raising serious concerns about overreach. It is unlikely to withstand scrutiny from the Ontario Human Rights scrutiny given its vague and arbitrary definitions of "improper conduct." The chilling effect this will have on civic engagement should concern everyone in this room.

Council, leadership is about listening. Leadership is about trust. If Councillor Helowka and others on this council truly believes in the so-called "silent majority," then the solution is simple: take the Minister's advice and put this question to the people. Hold a referendum. Let democracy work.

I urge this council to change course before the frustration and division in this community deepen further. Open the doors to public engagement, restore democratic participation, and let the voices of Tiny be heard.

Thank you.