The next municipal election is just over a year away. This article was originally submitted for publication in the former Pointe-Claire Journal just after the last election in November 2021. Not surprisingly, the rather prickly and thin-skinned editor declined to print it because he correctly surmised that in arguing the merits of a free press despite its shortcomings, the excesses of his publication in the recent election were being rebuked.

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Elections don’t have to be, and shouldn’t be, about differentiating between good people and bad people, or caring people and uncaring people, or true people and untrue people. They should be about ideas and results. I would hope that is just what most voters, after shutting out the noise, carefully weigh as they cast their ballots. And I would hope that the free press would always strive to help their readers differentiate distracting noise from the substantive issues of the day.

We have all heard politicians everywhere, who find themselves on the losing side, blame “unfair” media coverage. But there is a reason that freedom of the press is specifically identified in the Canadian Charter of Rights as being “fundamental.” For all its warts, inaccuracies, imperfections, pursuit of its own self-interest, and irritating self-righteousness, the free press nonetheless pulls out bits and pieces of what government is up to and then passes that on to the people. One would hope that most of what is reported is the objective, unvarnished, and unbiased truth, but newspapers or TV spots have to be read or viewed, and nothing appeals to consumers of the news more than controversy. That can make those of us in government a bit uncomfortable. And to others, that can be entertaining - motivating them to read on or to eagerly anticipate the next TV spot.

But it also does the job. Those of us in government should always feel a bit uncomfortable because that keeps one humble and mindful that the continued support of the people cannot be taken for granted. An election is always coming. So, an active free press helps keep elected officials in tune with how the people understand what those in government are doing. If the press latches on to something, then it is likely the views of the people consuming the news are being influenced. That might mean those in office ought to then work a little harder to communicate better themselves so that the people and their government move along together and in the same direction. So, a healthy free press keeps probing and prodding. This motivates the government to avoid the temptation of complacency and to remain alert, sensitive, and properly reactive to any changing mood of the people. Do that well and combine it with proper management of the administration, then re-election can reasonably be expected. Ignore all that and the people might just abandon you.

But, in any case, readers of the Pointe-Claire Record should always keep in mind that “You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time.” No matter what a politician does, no matter how hard they work, or how noble their intentions, some, including the occasional journalist, simply won’t agree with the position or even believe in its sincerity. And that’s just the way it should be.