MANITOULIN—With incumbent school board trustee Margaret Stringer having had a change of heart, again putting her name on the ballot for Manitoulin Island trustee for the Rainbow District School Board (RDSB), and Lisa Corbiere-Addison also having declared her candidacy, there will be an election this fall.
“I had a lot of encouragement from many people asking me to reconsider my decision to not run,” Ms. Stringer told The Expositor on Sunday. “No, absolutely not, I make my own decisions for myself,” she said when asked if she had received pressure from the RDSB to run in the election.
“My decision is not about the board, but the people on Manitoulin Island,” said Ms. Stringer, who has served as Manitoulin trustee on RDSB for one term. “I had announced earlier (in July) that I would be retiring, but I reconsidered my decision not to run, after a lot of thought.”
Ms. Stringer explained, “I talked to my family and they encouraged me to run; everyone was supportive in my decision. I love the job of being a trustee, and my family supported me to continue and to put my name forward as a candidate,” she said.
Ms. Corbiere-Addison acknowledged she was surprised that an election is going to be held. “I had called about an hour and a half before nomination papers had to be filed (last Friday) and no one had filed at that time. So, I am a little surprised.”
However, “I’m moving forward with my campaign for trustee and trying to do my best to bring about changes in the education system,” said Ms. Corbiere-Addison. “I have good knowledge of the school system, just having retired as a teacher this year (from Manitoulin Secondary School) after teaching for over 25 years on Manitoulin, first at Lakeview School in M’Chigeeng and at MSS. I am approachable and have a good rapport and experience working with students and parents from one end of the Island to the other.”
“I have experience at the provincial level being a member of the First Nation, Inuit and Metis advisory committee to the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF) for over nine years, and as a representative for MSS to the OSSTF on the communications and political action committee for MSS to the OSSTF District 3,” continued Ms. Corbiere-Addison. “I am a product of Island schools having attended elementary and secondary school on the Island along with my family that has been raised on the Island.”
“There will be no flip-flopping from me, I am 100 percent committed to try and bring good rapport and understanding to the board of any issues in education on Manitoulin Island,” said Ms. Corbiere-Addison, noting she has four children, runs a business and in her years at MSS, was a coach on many teams. “It is important to make time for issues that need to be corrected and work toward long-term goals for change.”
