Local Politicians Offer Condolences and Support in Light of Recent Tragedies

Wednesday, 26 October 2016 13:03

Local Politicians are promoting a positive view of Woodstock and Oxford County in spite of recent tragedies.

WOODSTOCK - It has not been an easy year for the City of Woodstock.

The Friendly City has been making major news for all the wrong reasons this year. In the Spring it was student walkouts in relation to the youth suicide crisis in our community and yesterday it was a local nurse accused of murder. 49 year old Elizabeth Tracey Mae Wettlaufer is facing 8 counts of first degree murder and 7 of the homicides were local residents at the Caressant Care in Woodstock.

MPP for Oxford County Ernie Hardeman tells Heart FM we need to pull together as a community and start focusing on the positives in our community.

"We have had a number of issues over the last number of years, I think our community will pull together through these issues like we have done in the past. These issues were not connected in any way and I think we need to start looking at the positives. I think if we started listing all of the positives in our community, they would likely be in my opinion well above the average of every community. I think we have very positive community even though we have at times great adversities."

Hardeman says he received plenty of support from all of his colleagues in the legislature yesterday.

"When I walked in for Question Period the Premier came over and asked if I was all right and expressed her concern for the situation in Oxford. At a time like that I think the whole legislature is of one mind despite your party allegiance. During Question Period I asked for unanimous consent to have a moment of silence to show our concern and our support to the families of the victims and of course we got unanimous consent to do that."

Hardeman says he really wants to express his sincere condolences to the victims and their families.

Local MP Dave Mackenzie echoed those statements as well. He tells Heart FM it is a sad day in Woodstock.

"It's sad for a number of reasons, certainly not the least of which is the families of these victims, some of them I know very well, they are friends but also sad for the folks that work in nursing homes because they are all going to be looked at in a different light and I feel sad for the people living in seniors facilities because it will raise their anxieties about what occurs there. It is a bad day in many respects, I know people that work in nursing homes, I know people at that particular facility and they are really good people. It's a sad time for everybody and a difficult time but Chris with all due respect we've gone through it before. I remember back in 1990 where we had a horrific weekend where four people were murdered and our city pulls together pretty well and they will pull together again on this and as Chief Renton said we are a resilient community and he has that pulse figured out pretty good I think."