Remembering Al Brogden, a mentor from a more collegial era
Sir: Al Brogden passed away recently. I served with him on Sarnia Council in my first term, back in 1997.
I was the greenest of green politicians at the time and I sat next to Al up there in the big chairs. When I was about to make a horse’s behind out of myself (a frequent occurrence back then), Al, an experienced council member, would often lean over and offer some sage advice to help me out of whatever predicament I was in.
Al also had a habit of inviting council members out for a toddy after a meeting. He thought that would help council members to get to know each other … to let off some steam after sometimes high-pressured council meetings.
Provincial laws prohibit this now, but back then, it was useful and Al led that effort.
Most of the council would join him over at Ups ‘N Downs or the Drawbridge for a pint or two. It never got out of hand, we never really discussed the council meetings, no motions were ever made, and the result was a deeper knowledge and understanding of our council mates.
I came to understand that each member brought their life experience and attitudes to the table, usually with the best of intentions. In a political job with precious little upside and plenty of downside, these little social gatherings after council were a highlight for me, and the council role became a bit easier knowing who I was working with.
Today, opportunities for council members to understand and empathize with each other are rare, and we are the worse for it. Politics today seems more like a war zone than a collaboration.
I never knew Al Brogden outside of council. But inside council, he was a hale-fellow-well-met, a big-hearted guy who always had Sarnia’s best interests at heart.
It was a pleasure and an honour to serve on council with him.
Mike J. Kelch
Retired City Councillor
Sarnia
Cuban vacations help support war in Ukraine
Sir: Are travel companies complicit with the Russian invasion of Ukraine by promoting the sale of holiday packages to Cuba, an ally of Russia?
Cuban resort hotels are 51% owned by the communist government (not the Cuban people) and 49% owned by foreign autocratic governments (Russia, China, Venezuela, among others).
Tourist dollars provide a steady cash flow to foreign investors while the Cuban people struggle in extreme poverty under an oppressive communist regime.
At peaceful rallies demanding reform, freedom of speech and democracy, dissidents are dragged off to jail sentences. Yet Canadian tourists continue to fill luxury resorts as funds flow to a corrupt regime currently waging war in Europe.
At a recent United Nations resolution to denounce the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Cuba abstained from voting, stating the United States has provided civil unrest among ethnic Russians in Ukraine. This bit of propaganda supports the rhetoric spoken by China.
Cuba’s abrogation of justice at a United Nations assembly furthers their violation of human rights, a hallmark of the authoritarian communist regime.
To avoid any further complicity with Russia’s war on a free and democratic country, all travel companies should suspend the sale of vacations to Cuba until conflict in Europe is resolved.
There were no holiday flights to Nazi Germany during the Second World War.
Steve Bright
Sarnia
Let’s hear the facts before judging city councillors
Sir: I am appalled at the tone of the letters to the editor relating to Sarnia’s diversity training program.
Without knowing all of the “facts” people are prejudging certain councillors in a very negative way.
Let’s look at it from a “cause and effect” relationship. It would appear within this trainings session something happened (cause) that resulted in the training session being terminated (effect).
In a cause-and-effect relationship the cause (unknown at this time) brought forth a very unpopular result (effect). Why some of our councillors reacted in a manner that is now deemed unacceptable is unstated.
Did the facilitator bring forth facts or statement that were deemed inappropriate to these well-educated people? And why are some councillors turning on their colleagues with malice?
Before we pass judgment either way we need to know the cause – the actual sequence of events and wording that resulted in the effect we are now prejudging.
The mayor needs to step up to the plate and clear this mess up now. Lets put the facts on the table so that we can all judge the outcome and move on with civility.
Paul Hornblower
Sarnia