Would it be an election in these parts at any level – municipal, provincial, federal -- without at least a cameo appearance from Darren Roskam?
The magazine publisher and graphic designer has been part of the political landscape for years, only this time, representing the NOTA party (as in, None of the Above) on ballots for the June 7 provincial vote in Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte.
Roskam, now 50, didn’t pay too much attention to Sunday’s televised leaders’ debate, instead poring over individual accounts of the Wynne-Ford-Horwath set-to, in the days following it.
Nor does he take these debates too seriously. Given his druthers, “I would have closed with a short musical number”.
Roskam was not invited to a recent local all-candidates meeting, hosted by the Rotary club, which made his blood boil.
“When people do this,” he tells Barrie Today, “they are really providing an illegal campaign contribution of promotion for the parties they like, and harming those they do not like.”
NOTA – negative though the name may sound – actually hearkens back to the ideals of
“I would get rid of TV Ontario, disband the LCBO and sell hard liquor anywhere for any adult who wants it, and wipe out the ministries of culture, tourism and sport. I (also) don't want the province to be our only dealer of weed. Let anyone sell it."
Furthermore, “the Trillium grants program would be gone, and if teachers threatened a strike, always carrying the threat of students losing a year, I would warn them to show up for work or all those not showing up would be fired.”
And if students should lose a year, so what?
“(It) reminds me of when Ronald Reagan fired the air traffic controllers back in the (early 1980s).”
Roskam’s party platform stands on the 3 Rs of direct democracy: referendum, recall and responsible government for effective electoral and legislative reforms.
“My favourite is recall, so we could grab lying politicians and get them out of office without an election.”
To learn more about Roskam, and NOTA, click here.
