Protestors ran from the front to the back of McKecks Tap and Grill Tuesday when word got out that Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Laurie Scott had entered the building off of York, rather than Highland Street.
Members of Concerned Citizens for Haliburton County (CCHC) and Environment Haliburton! (EH!) gathered outside the front of the venue for the Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce breakfast club where Scott was speaking April 23.
Only a few protestors greeted Scott out back while the main crowd remained out front. Bonnie Roe of CCHC was one of the ones who ran to try to intercept Scott.
When they arrived, the local MPP had already entered the building.
“I think our whole group is very disappointed she would not come and meet with us and at least be civil and say good morning, instead of avoiding her constituents who want to hear from her and want to greet her this morning,” Roe said.
However, inside McKecks, Scott said she did acknowledge the protestors out back. She added she is meeting with CCHC April 25.
She said she had also encountered protestors at the Dysart et al municipal building when she was in Haliburton for BMO’s 100th birthday celebration.
Earlier in the morning, Roe confirmed the meeting with Scott. The protestors gathered with signs about climate change inaction, a living wage, health care and education cuts.
Eric Lilius of EH! said the cuts have been made with minimal consultation.
He decried the library cuts in particular, saying libraries are part of the quality of life in Haliburton County. In his opinion, the provincial government’s attitude is, “because you elected us gives us a mandate to do whatever the hell we want.”
He said it mirrors what is going on in the US and fears it will lead to more privatization.
Roe said the goal of Tuesday’s protest, and the group’s talk with Scott today, is “that we have huge concerns about the Ford cutbacks. And they’re too numerous to name.
But let’s face it: education; ambulances; libraries; health care; health units, it’s deplorable.
“And we also want her to know that we need her to stand behind us as we are her constituents and we need to feel that she is working for us at Queen’s Park and that’s the message.”
CCHC is a group of 15-20 people who have been meeting since January.
