“Signs, signs, everywhere a sign.”
Although Canadian rock group Five Man Electrical Band front person Les Emmerson was not referring to election signs, per se, the tag line in their famous protest song “Signs” could easily be used to describe any Canadian election, whether it be municipal, provincial or federal.
Admittedly having an overabundance of election signs isn’t necessarily a big problem in Barrhead, but it got me thinking.
First of all, let me preference this by saying, I have always been against political parties, constituency organizations, candidates and the like, putting up campaign signs on public property, whether it be municipal or Crown land.
As public land is exactly that, public, and as such should be non-partisan and thus no political entity should be allowed to post their signs.
Yes, the argument made by allowing anyone to put up their sign the government is being non-partisan, except for the fact it gives those with the financial wherewithal an advantage.
That being said, chances are, this is something that is going to be difficult to stop, so if this is not the case, then why shouldn’t government profit from it and charge candidates for the right to put up signs?
For the last few months, I have been listening to various councils, struggle with balancing the books, something that isn’t easy at the best of times.
So why not give them an extra revenue stream?
If people are going to be charged for putting up election signs, people will ask about other signs residents put up on public property, such as those for garage sales?
The simple solution is to have a fee for that too. Yes, it would be difficult to police, but so is any of the other municipal bylaws.
And it is not like precedence has not already been set through the naming of public facilities or by charging people to put an advertisement on a public digital sign, such as the scoreboard in the Agrena, or on its scrolling TV screen that lets people know the schedule for the day.
Admittedly, councils may have an uphill battle if they attempt to enact such a bylaw. The same can be said about the provincial and federal governments, which the majority of its elected members authorized the use of election signs.
However, in modern times, when it is a struggle for governments to come up with funding for the programs and services people expect from them, all ideas need to be put on the table.
