Gene Balfours Energy Security is Not Negotiable Deputation

To Kawartha Lakes City Council

Gene Balfour to the City of Kawartha Lakes, November 7, 2023

Genes, information package sent to council before deputation…

ENERGY SECURITY is NOT NEGOTIABLE

While Climate Change alarmists fear a future scenario of rising sea levels, millions of Canadians fret about the very real and present rise in the cost of living. Public policy makers would be wise to keep this in mind.

THE BEDROCK OF MODERN CIVILIZATION.

ENERGY SECURITY is defined as the availability of reliable and affordable energy for everyone. It is as essential to modern life as a stable source of income. However, it is threatened by poor public policy. This presents a real and present danger because EVERYTHING IS AFFECTED:

FUEL COSTS affect home and workplace heating, and the fuelling of our vehicles, machinery and power tools.

FUEL COSTS affect all electronics that are powered by electricity from gas-fuelled energy generation plants and nuclear power stations.

FUEL COSTS affect farming, food storage, food processing, food packaging and distribution, food products warehousing, and food retailing.

FUEL COSTS affect all jobs which depend on energy security to remain viable.

FUEL COSTS affect public services such as policing, operating hospitals and clinics, and delivering government education. These services, and more, are all funded by taxpayers and public debt which have crept up over that past five decades to challenge the very idea of “sustainability”.

“DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO”.

Surely Climate Change alarmists have STOPPED: driving their vehicles, operating power tools or heating their homes, right? Have they also STOPPED buying their food from grocery stores which are supplied by a string of supply chain businesses?

What proportion of Climate Change alarmists have STOPPED receiving public services to protest the burning of fossil fuels?

How many Climate Change alarmists have STOPPED working in jobs that depend on Energy Security?

Justin Trudeau is a Climate Change alarmist. Has he offered to shut down the federal government because it is a major greenhouse gas producer? Perhaps he has considered operating it exclusively on Green Energy. Should Justin offer to resign from his job to atone for all of the greenhouse gases that have been emitted under his authority?

The righteous attitude of a typical Climate Change alarmist is off the charts of hypocrisy. They often come across as virtue-signalling autocrats who seeks to leverage political power to control the choices and freedoms of everyone else. In effect, they try to make EVERYONE PAY for their Climate Change fears.

It is not healthy for people to live in fear of greenhouse gases. Perpetual anxiety weakens the human immune system. After the extreme fear messaging experienced by everyone during the recent pandemic, the last thing anyone needs is to compromise their health by enduring a very treatable psychological condition.

Children should never be exposed to fear-inducing issues over which they have no control. It’s bad enough that adults are placed in the same situation, but at least they can vote for their government representatives and possess enough education and live experience to process threatening information. Where is the public policy that protects

Check out Gene Balfour‘s Substack

ENERGY SECURITY is NOT NEGOTIABLE

Gene Balfour’s advice for anyone interested in doing municipal council deputations…

For anyone who wants to present a Deputation to their local municipal council,

the following is what I have learned from the two that I have presented to the City of Kawartha Lakes Council ( Mayor and 8 Ward Councillors.)

Steps

1. Contact the City Clerk’s Office to register your deputation request and offer a briefs statement about the topic that you wish to present to Council. I applied online through the City’s web site. Your request will be reviewed and you will be contacted by someone in the City Clerk’s office to offer a date that is acceptable to you. In might take a week or more to receive this call. When approved, your deputation will appear on the Council’s Agenda. The November 7 Agenda https://calendar.kawarthalakes.ca/meetings/Detail/2023-11-07-1300-Committee-of-the-Whole/c2cd5b67-4c9e-4a56-9fab-b0ad0153720eshows my deputation as COW2023-09.4.2.

In support of COW2023-09.4.2, I filed two documents.

2. Five minutes is the allowed time for your deputation. It goes fast. It is best that you plan what you want to say carefully. My speaking notes are about 500 words (~100 words per minute). I include several elements in my presentation: 

Thank you for hearing me today.

State your purpose for the deputation (Note: “objection” is a key word that dignifies that you want to be taken seriously.)

Supporting context. (This is the rationale for why your objection matters).

Specific proposals. (Councillors want to know what you consider to be actionable within the limits of their authority).

Benefits of my proposals. (If you do not spell this out, don’t assume that they will surmise the benefits that you anticipate.

3. After your presentation, Council members may comment on it or ask you questions. If they do, this is your opportunity to add to your presentation because there are no time limits imposed. This is my favourite part. 

The Mayor will eventually ask Council to “accept” your deputation which simply means that it will be scheduled for closed-session discussions by Council at a later date.

4. Follow up with your Ward Councillor. Unless you do, your deputation will fade into history and you will never know what Council decided to do with it.

Enjoy

Gene Balfour,

Kawartha Lakes, Ontario

Co-founder of Advocates for Civil Society

MY LIFE LENS author at www.substack.com (about 300 posts)