10 Friday, March 3, 2017 brooklintowncrier.com Mayor's Fundraiser Set To Go Tickets are now on sale for Mayor Don Mitchell's annual fundraiser, A Night Out on The Town, on Saturday, March 25. The event will take place at Trafalgar Castle, 401 Reynolds Street, Whitby, L1N 3W9. It will bring together approximately 250 guests to celebrate and give back to the community. The evening will be filled with food, friends, entertainment and music. Most importantly, the funds raised will support local charities, organizations and community events. This year, Lakeridge Health Foundation and Grandview Children's Foundation have been recognized as the lead causes and received a grant of $25,000 each. The remaining funds will be distributed during the year through the Mayor's Community Development Fund . A limited number of tickets are now on sale and available on a first-come, first-served basis at: Whitby Town Hall (575 Rossland Road East), Iroquois Park Sports Centre (500 Victoria Street West), and the Brooklin Community Centre and Library (8 Vipond Road). Community Development Fund Seeks Applications Organizations that positively impact the lives of Whitby residents are encouraged to apply to the Mayor's Community Development Fund (MCDF) for lead cause or charity grants. Applications to receive funding support for community initiatives and projects are due March 31. Requests for smaller, community grants of up to $5,000 are accepted throughout the year. "I encourage community groups and individuals to think of the Mayor's Community Development Fund as a resource when planning initiatives and projects," says Mayor Don Mitchell. "All applications are carefully considered so the fund may support as many activities as possible that strengthen our community." All applications are reviewed by a Council-appointed citizens committee according to evaluation guidelines approved by Council. High priority is given to community-focused activities with a strong, local presence and those that promote inclusion and civic engagement. Financial support may also be awarded to individuals in special circumstances. Since 2010, the Mayor's Community Development Fund has supported community activities that benefit Whitby residents. In 2016, $25,000 was awarded to the Victorian Order of Nurses to help build a residential hospice in Durham Region. Another $25,000 was given to the Alzheimer's Society of Durham Region to launch their Blue Umbrella Campaign in Whitby. An additional 31 community grants were awarded totaling $61,079. More information and the application form can be found at whitby.ca/mcdf. Living Wage Addresses Durham Poverty On February 23, the Community Development Council Durham (CDCD) announced the living wage for Durham Region, a conclusion of a year-long community study, with Regional and Oshawa Councillor Dan Carter in attendance. Thanks to a $46,700 Seed grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), this project has engaged stakeholders and community members to calculate Durham's Living Wage. Part of a global movement, Canada's living wage calculation is overseen by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Canada's leading grantmaking foundation and an agency of the Ontario government, the OTF strengthens the capacity of the voluntary sector through investments in community-based initiatives. The Living Wage project was guided by a steering committee that included United Way Durham, the Region of Durham's Health Department, YMCA Durham, North Dur- ham Social Development Council, Queen's University Department of Family Medicine, North House, Durham Labour Council and Durham Workforce Authority. Durham Region's living wage is $17/hour. This number was arrived at by hosting focus groups as well as consulting Statistics Canada data. It is based on a model family of four, with two working parents and two children under eight years of age. The living wage is designed to give Durham families a decent quality of life by providing for basic needs like healthy food, medical insurance, one modest camping vacation per year, and internet access so the family can stay connected. It is by no means an extravagant income, but is designed to allow families to engage in their communities and stay healthy as they grow. "It is exciting the CDCD has calculated a living wage for Durham Region," said Regional and Oshawa City Councilor Amy McQuaid-England. "I am hopeful it will encourage local businesses to invest in their workers right to living wages. By investing in our workers, we invest in our local economy. And as a regional councilor I hope my colleagues will be supportive of this great initiative." "I commend Community Development Council Durham for its tireless efforts to improve the lifestyles of some of Durham's most vulnerable populations. I know that a lot of work has gone into the living wage project," said Durham MPP Granville Anderson. "I am sincerely looking forward to hearing the results of the study as I am sure they will be a useful tool in determining how quality of life can be improved for Durham residents." The CDCD has engaged with and supported thousands of individuals and families for 45 years. The organization prides itself on being active participants and partners in many community initiatives that support social, economic and cultural development in our community. It strives to promote community engagement and sharing, ensuring that members of the community are connected and supported. For more information, please visit www.cdcd.org. continued from page 3 - Let's not bury our heads in the sand - Council should not fear to make a decision - We got a great turnout - People want and like technology - We do the census online and our medical records are online Against: Councillors Michael Emm, Derrick Gleed, Chris Leahy, and Steve Yamada Their comments included: - Is it the future? Absolutely. Is it the present? No. - Too many questions and concerns - No real way of assuring the legitimacy of a vote - We're patting ourselves on the back because of a 30% turnout; 70% didn't participate even with the convenience. - Tons of liability if we're hacked or shut down - An M.I.T. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) review showed internet voting systems tend to be vulnerable - An issue of security, with the trust and secrecy of the vote - What about the validity, verifiability, and auditability of a vote, as in "Let me vote on your behalf." While one could argue there were valid concerns on both sides of the issue, a curious question arose: If, a year ago, council voted in favour of the method as a trial for the June by-election and if facts, both statistical and anecdotal, bore out the process's success, what changed between then and the December vote? The BTC contacted all members of council last month via email, requesting answers to five questions. Only Mayor Mitchell and Councillors Gleed, Leahy and Mulcahy replied. The questions were as follows: 1 - A year ago, given the staff recommendation and report, were you in favour of online voting? If so, why? If not, why not? 2 - Did you conduct any separate research, formally or anecdotally, on the subject? If so, what did you learn and from whom? 3 - If you were in favour last year but voted against the proposal in December, what changed for you? 4 - If you were not in favour last year and maintained that position in December, could you explain the nature of your doubts in light of the staff report and what other Ontario municipalities are doing? 5 - Given the very nature of online anything, such as medical records and even e-mail, do you feel that technology might be taking us, in some matters such as voting, in the wrong direction? Certainly the gist of their answers wasn't much different from comments made at the December council meeting. (Note: Councillor Mulcahy was not on council when the pilot was first presented and voted on and thus could not answer some questions). There were assurances from Whitby town staff, its own IT department, and two companies with expertise in these matters that the security of online voting was solid. Still, it seemed the discussion was based on "a sense" of possible security risks and wondering about voter fraud in homes if one family member asked another to log in or phone and vote on another's behalf. This might have occurred, or not. No one knows for sure nor, if it did occur, how many votes were affected. The point was that it could very well happen. Didn't solve apathy True, the ease of online voting didn't solve voter apathy as much as everyone would expect or desire. Yet that problem is different from either internet security or the legitimacy of a one voter-one vote system as exists with the traditional paper voting method. Did other municipalities examine those latter points? We don't know. Did anyone ask if they did? We don't know that either. One councillor stated online voting may be the future, but it's not the present, a puzzling comment which doesn't address either security concerns or potential voter fraud, as in, "I'll vote for you with your login." Maybe online voting is not the route to go. Maybe not everything is improved or solved by technology. Maybe this isn't the right time for Brooklin, even though it seems to be for dozens of other Ontario municipalities. Ajax, for instance, uses only online voting. If so, what would make the time right? Maybe there is something to be said for the hands-on experience of ticking a box with a pencil, making democracy a fully tactile experience. As another councillor on the "nay" side commented, Elections Canada has no plans to go to an online system. According to Diane Benson, media relations officer for Elections Canada, "You need to be able to verify that the person that is casting the ballot is the eligible elector, you need to make sure there's a secure system for submitting that vote over the internet and you need make sure that they're not being induced to vote one way or another." (Global News, Octo- ber 1, 2015) Will we ever again see online voting in Whitby elections? Right now, that would not be a safe bet.