The campaign trail can be a rocky road to travel that sometimes requires an act of courage.
So it was in the 2000 federal election campaign when the Liberal government’s controversial Firearms Act had gun owners fired up.
And in Stormont-Dundas-Charlottenburgh (as it was called in the day) incumbent MP Bob Kilger had the painful job of defending it in a Winchester hall packed to the rafters with angry gun owners.
The candidates meeting was run by an anything but impartial church pastor who helped organize the gun rally disguised as an all-candidates meeting.
In a riding just east of Ottawa, high-profile incumbent Liberal MP Don Boudria refused to attend a similar meeting in his riding, saying he was not going to walk into an “ambush.” In an act of courage, Kilger showed up. It was a walk into the lion’s den.
The night got off to an ominous start. Worried about Kilger’s safety, the OPP met him at the parking lot entrance. He and campaign staffer Denis Sabourin were escorted to a side door and through the back stairs.
It was two hours of insult-slinging, booing and heckling. The next day Kilger, who spent several season as an NHL referee when the Broadstreet Bullies were on the loose, was asked by a reporter if he was intimidated by the hostile crowd.
“No worse than doing a playoff game in Philly or Boston,” he said.
BACK IN APRIL 1964 – Things were so crowded at city hall, the caretaker and city messenger were working out of the main floor vault. In the search for more space to accommodate the 20 employees, partitions were erected and the size of the council chambers was reduced by 12 feet. City hall was built in 1950 to accommodate 14 employees, but the need for additional staff grew when parts of the township were annexed. Mayor Nick Kaneb told council that it should start thinking about a new building. A report by a planning consultant recommended the city build a civic centre to house city hall, the fire and police departments…St. Lawrence High School and Cornwall Collegiate were looking to hire a total of 20 teachers for the 1964-65 school year…A house and apartment fire on Jobin Street left four families homeless…A sugar camp, owned and operated by Stuart Mullen on Nine Mile Road, was destroyed by fire believed to have been started by children playing with matches…The province announced funding for a mental health clinic at Cornwall General Hospital and a 25-bed psychiatric unit..George Wilson, who spent 75 years working at the Standard-Freeholder, died at age 90. He started in 1887 as a 15-year-old apprentice printer before moving into the newsroom in 1918. He became district editor in 1932. He retired in 1962. Wilson never drove a car (he used a bicycle to get around town). He didn’t use a typewriter. Instead, he wrote his articles with pen and paper…The North End Fastball League eyed expansion to seven teams. At its annual meeting, Pat O’Neill was re-elected president with Harvey Villeneuve serving as past president. To accommodate seven teams and a 24-game schedule, some games would have to be played at the Athletic Grounds. It was decided that to qualify for the playoffs, pitchers had to have appeared in 10 regular season games and import pitchers were limited to a 35-mile radius of the city…A survey showed support from local industries for a trades and technology school in the city to help fill the need for skilled labour.
HITS AND MISSES What makes college basketball ( March Madness) so much fun to watch, is that it is played by humans who actually miss shots and have give-aways, unlike the professional robots…George Washington (first president of the United States) had a major disadvantage. He didn’t have a predecessor to blame…Last year this time could anybody have imagined that Pierre Poilievre, riding high in the polls, would be on the phone asking Doug Ford – described by one American journalist as a combination of John Candy and Chris Farley – for advice on how to win an election? (It’s Trump and tariffs, stupid)…If Double P loses this thing (polls are showing a Liberal comeback), it won’t be the first time a Conservative leader fumbled a big lead going down the stretch. A stuffy Robert Stanfield and the Tories managed to pull defeat from the jaws of victory in 1972 which gave Pierre Trudeau a minority government. Two years later Trudeau and Liberals roared to a majority win campaigning against Stanfield’s wage and price control plan. Soon after re-taking the reins of power, and no longer having to play it safe with a minority government, Trudeau and the Liberals shamelessly brought in price and wage controls.
HERE AND THERE City lawyer Tilton Donihee retired on March 28 after 50 years in the biz…Missing in action: Trump’s daughter Ivanka…Words of wisdom: Never under-estimate the power of stupid people in large groups…How do pro sports general managers cover their mistakes? They fire the coach they hired before the owner figures out they are the problem…Hey, what happened to D. Trump settling the war in the Ukraine in one day?
TRIVIA This Canadian prime minister played hockey at Harvard University.
TRIVIA ANSWER Roy Rogers sidekick Gabby Hayes was born George Hayes.
QUOTED “The only people who say worse things about politicians than reporters do are other politicians.” – Andy Rooney
