Brent Cameron Announcement Speech - December 2, 2006

Dear friends:

First, I want to begin by welcoming you here today, and thanking you for taking the time to be here. I understand that everyone has busy schedules, and I appreciate your decision to be here.

Rural Ontario is in crisis. That fact should not come as any surprise to any of you here in this room. It is a part of your life, the reality you face every day. Unfortunately, it is not so clear to those in Queen’s Park who set the government agenda – and that includes those from ridings such as ours.

One can somehow understand the lack of awareness of rural issues among politicians representing square blocks of downtown Toronto. What surprises and defies explanation is the lack of awareness demonstrated by the very person who not only represents agricultural and rural issues in the Legislature, but also represents a good proportion of this constituency.

Leona Dombrowsky, despite the lofty rhetoric she used to get elected, has simply not delivered.

This riding, and the communities it represents, needs a strong and effective voice in Queen’s Park. Dombrowsky has had eight years, and two cabinet portfolios, and still has not done the job she promised. Whether she cannot, or she will not, makes little difference at this point. The important point is that allowing Leona another term in office will not change things, only allow them to get steadily worse.

The challenges of life in this part of Ontario cannot be washed over by press releases that talk a lot and say absolutely nothing. Our problems are serious, and the need to address them is real.

In a little less than a year, the people of Ontario will be heading to the polls. If Leona is not prepared to show leadership, then we must elect someone who is.

Today, I formally announce my intention to contest the Progressive Conservative Party nomination in the riding of Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington, with the hope of representing this party and riding in Queen’s Park and doing a job that has long been neglected to this point.

When someone asks for support in these cases, it is fair to ask why they think they are qualified to to the job, and what they intend to do once they get there. Believe me, in discussing this decision with my family and friends, it was not taken lightly. This is a serious business, and a tough one. Unless you truly believe that you have the ability to make things happen, it is a road you should think twice about travelling.

While I may be the first to declare, I am certain that I will not be the last. It is a testament to this party and its people that some will make the decision to run. This means that you will have a choice to make, and facts to consider.

Some may argue that their understanding of Queen’s Park and how it works gives them the upper hand. Still others will tell you that experience in local government puts them closer to people and their concerns. Yet others might point to a background in business as their strength.

Now, all of them are absolutely correct as far as they go. Each has their strength and talent. But you cannot form a picture wth one piece of a puzzle, and you cannot be an effective candidate unless you possess a broader experience and a broader perspective.

I can tell you that I have been active in Conservative politics for over 26 years. I have served on riding boards, and have worked more election campaigns than I care to remember. I have done everything from door-to-door canvass in minus 30 degree weather to travelling with Prime Ministers and party leaders on national tours.

I am a graduate of Queen’s University, where I received an honours degree in political studies, and St. Lawrence College, where I obtained a Certificate in Municipal Administration.

I have worked in government, as a federal civil servant in Ottawa, and as an assistant to a member of the Ontario Legislature.

I have been a researcher in one of Canada’s leading polling firms, and have studied public policy.

I am a published author, who served on the editorial board of a daily newspaper, and was a regular columnist.

I have been involved in businesses, from a family-owned coffee shop, to participating on the board of directors of a trade promotion venture, the Commonwealth Advantage. It has taken me from boardrooms in downtown Toronto to the halls of Westminster in London.

Among my activities in the community, I served two terms as the Chairperson of Central Frontenac Community Services Corporation, a non-profit organization that provided home help and home maintenance services to seniors and youth.

Most importantly, I am a husband and the father of two, who works and helps raise a family in a community where my roots extend back to the landing of the Loyalists. I grew up on a farm that my family operated for generations, played in fields that my great-grandfather plowed with an ox team. I am proud to make that place a home for my own children.

Like so many other farm families, we struggled to do all we could to keep going – milk the cows before and after working in town, board livestock, sell off hay, raise sheep, rabbits, and nutrea, operate a sand pit in the back corner, but we lost the fight. We sold off our quota and livestock, tore down the barn, and sold off most of the pastureland. All that remains is a woodlot and the memories of a way of life lost.

There are countless others who have not lost yet, but they are holding on just barely. They need more than touching speeches about rural traditions, they need someone to step up and fight for their priorities in the halls of government.

But respect for our rural way of life goes beyond the barn and pasture. It is about a decades long neglect of rural communities and rural families. It is about the challenge of finding a family doctor, or sending your kids to a school that gets less money than one in Toronto, Ottawa, or Kingston. It is about urban policy makers who say they are so concerned about the environment they stop farmers from doing what they have done for decades, and yet conveniently lose that resolve when the GTA needs to find a place to put its trash.

It is about taking one message and making it loud and clear to those who govern Ontario. We need to say in the strongest terms possible that you have a responsibility to govern for all Ontarians, including those of us who have made our choice to stay in rural communities and support a way of life. They have an obligation not to let us become second-class citizens in what should be a first class province.

That is their responsibility, but we have one too.

Respect can only be given where it has been earned. We have already earned it by the quiet and dignified lives we lead, and the contributions we make to Ontario. We earn it by virtue of the taxes we pay, the families and communities we support, and the laws we abide by.

We have earned the right to receive respect, but to get it, we must also demand it.

We demand respect by electing people who will not accept excuses for inaction. We demand respect by refusing to negotiate away the future of our communities. We demand respect by showing bureaucrats and professional political operatives that they do not have a monopoly on the facts, or good ideas. We demand respect when we elect people who do not go along to get along.

In short, we can only demand respect when we send people to Queen’s Park that will be taken seriously. We are judged by the character and the ability of those who we elect as our standard-bearers.

Unfortunately, many an elected member travels to Toronto, excited at the chance to make a difference, only to be surrounded by numbers of bureaucrats and political operatives with countless degrees and diplomas, and years of experience navigating Queen’s Park – all with their own particular views on how things should be done. Whether it is a lack of information, or a lack of confidence, members often go along with the advice they get, never questioning whether it is the right advice, or whether it is good for the people at home.

Being taken seriously means not being afraid to say that the choices on offer are not good enough. Being taken seriously means knowing enough about the workings of government to make suggestions of your own, and to fight to get them through.

But the voters of Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington can only choose from the candidates that we choose to nominate. A choice between the NDP and the Liberals is a choice between bad ideas and no ideas, so as Conservatives, this election really is ours to lose. But strength in our party and its beliefs must be matched with strength and commitment on the home front.

During this nomination campaign, and forward into the election, I will be travelling throughout this riding, meeting with as many people as possible – to talk about the issues that face this area, to hear some of the ideas and suggestions you have for the future of the community, and to share with you the reasons why I believe that I am the person to carry that agenda forward.

I do not guarantee miracles, nor do I believe that our problems will magically disappear along with the mandate of Leona Dombrowsky or Dalton McGuinty. What I do believe is that they will never disappear so long as these two continue in power, and that any real hope of a change for the better can only come from a change at Queen’s Park.

I am not afraid to work, nor am I afraid to think and challenge the powers that be. Most of all, I am not afraid to say in a clear and strong voice when something runs counter to the hopes and aspirations of this community.

What I ask of this party and this riding is to not be afraid to demand a higher standard, to raise your expectations and fight for your lives as well.

The best candidate in the world is nothing more than a name on a sign without the hard work, support, ideas and energy of others. We are always at our best when we work together. Many of you have joined this effort, and I thank you for that, but we will continue to need the help of many others.

Thank you.