By Doug Draper
In a world where countless hundreds of millions of people in Hong Kong, Syria and elsewhere are putting their lives on the line in struggles for free and open elections, we are fortunate to have them here.
These are among many of the campaign signs kicked down in Niagara late this September
Yet elections have become increasingly ugly affairs, even in Ontario where in not so distant times, civility could always be counted on to take charge over the odd hurling of mud pies.
These days, partisan politics – as in Liberal, Tory and NDP – have infiltrated municipal elections, including the ones we are having now, in ways that are letting loose more mudslinging between candidates. And social media and blog sites, many operated by mainstream media corporations that otherwise claim to be fair and transparent with respect to the content they carry, allow growing number of anonymous flame-throwers to spew poison – more than a bit of it verging on defamation and libel – at candidates and at anyone else who supports a candidate they take issue with.
Then there is a dumbed down practice that goes back long before the days of the internet and one that also seems to be growing more infectious – that of kicking down candidates’ campaign signs.
In my neighbourhood in Thorold, Ontario, I’ve already seen signs pulled out of the ground or smashed for the second or third time in some locations, and the signs had only been up, at that point, for three weeks.
One should wonder what goes through the mind (if there is a mind there at all) of someone who would pull up or kick down campaign signs, whether they agree with the candidate whose name is on them or not. They may not think so or perhaps they were not taught well enough in our school systems, that tens-of-thousands of Canadians gave their lives in two horrible world wars and other conflicts on a belief that they were protecting our right to be democratic and free.
Maybe these sign vandals, if and when they are caught, should be invited to go to places like North Korea or Syria, where they could be sentenced to life in hard labour camps or have their heads cut off for even raising the idea of democratic elections.
If you spot anyone vandalizing election signs, get a description of and call the police. There are fines and even jail terms for those caught and convicted of knocking down or destroying campaign signs.
(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views on this post. A reminder that we only post comments by individuals who share their first and last name with them.)
Niagara At Large 
The childish behaviour of our politicians is influencing the population. As we witness the senseless acts of politicians we say to ourselves, “If it is ok for them to bully, mudsling, and other negative actions then it is ok for us to imitate their destructive actions”.
I am at the age that I can compare “What it was like to what it is like”. We have made a 180degree turn from the “US” society to the “ME” society. Our social conscience is disappearing _ it is now “If it is not what I wan t it has to be destroyed”. My next comment will be seen as extreme but…
The vandals are no different than the ISIL. Harper and company want to send the military overseas to “destroy” ISIL yet encourages the growth of the “ME” society in Canada, or should I say Haperland. The Hon Rob Nicholson promotes the Harper Government rather than the Canadian Government.
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We lived on a major regional road for years and our election signs (on our private property(which is the municipal sign by law in both Thorold and St. Catharines by the by ) were routinely destroyed, thrown down the road, or mismatched on neighbours property with competing signs. We were in a district full of students and I do believe St. Catharines and Thorold both suffer from youthful vandalism. Fun and games, guys.
Now that Party Politics has taken over in at least one of these city’s election, partisan workers go out at night and remove the unwanted competitors signs. All candidates are ignoring the bylaw that states ‘no signs on public boulevards’ and it is a “sign of our times’ that city officials and bylaw officers ignore this. I wish they had the ability to just drive around and pack them into the back of a city truck. That would include advertising signs on wire rims also placed on city and regional boulevards. All illegal. But it isn’t going to happen is it?
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I’ll quote the late great Rodney Dangerfield in light of this “ME” society phenomenon, which is fast becoming quite global in scope… “It’s a jungle out there. You’ve got to look out for Number One… But don’t step in Number Two.” I believe “Number Two” is the political spectrum. Even though we would like to consider ourselves as an advanced and charitable society, it is almost out of an urgent necessity to survive that we resort to a “me first” mentality. Whether they admit it or not, to some degree, each person is his or her own “Number One”. This, however, does NOT give license to the unsavory and primitive act of intolerance to the point of damaging or destroying others’ property who purport a contrary preference or belief. To deny anyone that freedom of expression, whether it’s posting a political candidate’s sign, or hanging a flag of a favourite sports team, is abhorrently disrespectful to our treasured way of life and those who fought to secure that status we enjoy today. May we NOT let the bullying tactics of ISIS or anyone else, bring them any fanfare of pandemic publicity, nor lower us to their level.
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I am running for council in Niagara Falls and I caught the people taking my signs. I called the police to show them video and photos and the police don’t do anything. All they say is we are not Elections Ontario and to speak to your city clerk.
A Note from NAL publisher Doug Draper – Unfortunately, Mr. Caruso may be right in his account of getting the run around. NAL has called every body fron Elections Ontario to the province’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs, only to learn that at the provincial and municipal level at least, there are not too many problems with someone destroying candidates’ election signs. There are bylaws in many communities against spittng on the sidewalk or letting your hedge grow too high, but election signs? Guess they don’t matter much in this democracy.
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Elections Ontario was defanged by the Mike Harris Conservatives, they explained to us that most of their funding was cut and the Dalton Mc Guinty Liberals, never put back their funding,, so they claim, that they are operating on a very tight budget ,which means that none of the Ontario Governments are really interested in clean and honest elections.
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One of the candidates for Regional Council lives on my street. Mysteriously, the sign I had put up supporting another candidate was taken down but all the other signs supporting my neighbour remained upright.
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