CRUNCH TIME FOR REGIONAL COUNCILLORS

Maybe it's a start as per the article on page 3 of today's Waterloo Region Record titled "Duelling police budget proposals come to council". Allegedly we have two dissimilar budget motions, one from Councillor Galloway and one from Councillor Vrbanovic to be voted on by our regional council. Galloway wants the revised police budget proposal rejected versus Vrbanovic wanting the revised police budget increase of $10.4 million and 35 new police hires approved. This may be exactly as it seems although I am skeptical. It is an unfortunate standard operating procedure for politicians to manufacture discussion and debate when they've already made their deals or compromises privately. Woolwich Council in their infinite stupidity have done this on numerous occasions. Examples include my 2012 renewed CPAC membership (Julie-Ann Herteis/Todd Cowan) and when the Sandy Shantz council later appointed Julie-Ann back onto council for a whole six months before she got appropriately booted again. Both deals were cooked up in an in camera session then phony disagreement and discussion presented to council who voted exactly has agreed to privately. .................................................................................................... What is the point you ask? It is simple optics. Council are pretending to at least consider all the local, provincial, national and international protests against police violence and racism. Here in K-W there were marches in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. Citizens also understand that sending police to "fix" mental health crises does not work especially when the "fix" means shooting distraught people in mental crisis. Therefore I have to ask whether this Motion by Councillor Galloway is the real deal and a true indication of a local political awakening or just more whitewashing intended to make citizens believe that our politicians even remotely give a damn what they think.