A local man who made national news is back on the election scene.
You might have noticed the light blue and white signs popping up on the local scene last week.
The new signs read Vote Water not Harper. The signs are from AVAAZ which is a registered third party in this election.
Avaaz is a global civic organization launched seven years ago to promote activism on issues such as climate change, human rights, animal rights, corruption, poverty, and conflict.
The organization claims over 40 million members in 194 countries
Spokesperson Yan Roberts says he was happy AVAAZ wanted to help its members in this area. Roberts says the sign's message is a continuum of the hand-lettered shirt from his "Water Not Harper" action.
You might recall that Roberts was escorted out of a North Bay campaign stop for Stephen Harper after standing beside the PM with his t-shirt reading "Water Not Harper."
Someone had been so incensed that they drove dangerously far right out of their lane and hopped a curb at Mr.Gas at the top of Thibeault Hill on Hwy 11N, to drive over the sign.
“The simple message on the signs makes them more accessible for others to get involved. They can simply put up a sign or two instead of walking up and standing shoulder to shoulder with Stephen Harper. Handing them out, I saw people of all political stripes take them. That is meaningful, explained Roberts.”
Roberts knows about the vandalized sign. “Yeah some things have happened to the signs, but unlike if our water gets destroyed, these signs can be replaced.”
Robert adds he hopes the signs will help inspire people to go vote. “I’m happy that in this riding, people are talking so much about water. As a community we've succeeded in cutting through the national-level rhetoric and were able to have an important conversation about something as fundamental as our water. That’s significant. Now we just need to keep this conversation going. Whatever the results, from day one, we can tell this next government that this is important.”
Some signs were removed by city staff, but Mayor Al McDonald told BayToday that "Our weekend staff member removed them believing they were illegal signs (they received a complaint). They are legal and our staff are going to put them back out this morning."
