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Don't fancy Rory or Chris as mayor? Meet Ted Johnston!

As a U.N. peacekeeper, Johnston was supposed to be a soldier without enemies. Then a land mine shattered 37 of his bones and he was told he'd never walk again
TedJohnston
Ted Johnston, sporting de rigueur Star Trek Starfleet badges alongside his U.N. peacekeeper insignia, appears at a mayoral candidate meet-and-greet on Oct. 10, 2018. David Helwig/SooToday

Monday Oct. 22, is the day we'll vote in the 2018 municipal elections.

But for mayoral candidate Ted Johnston, that date will also be the 34th anniversary of a horrific event when he was stationed as a United Nations peacekeeper in Egypt's Sinai peninsula.

"Oct. 22 is the day I was wounded.... I broke 37 bones and while recovering in the hospital in Germany, I was at one point told I would never walk again," Johnston told a meet-and-greet last week at James L. McIntyre Centennial Library.

"That defines you in ways that most people cannot quite imagine. Being under fire changed you forever. You're never quite the same and you don't look at life the same way as other people."

As a peacekeeper, Johnston was supposed to be a soldier without enemies, helping nations find their way out of conflict.

He was clearing land mines in a particularly sensitive part of the desert where the Egyptians had laid mines over a World War 1 minefield.

It was a very unstable situation. 

It shattered Johnston's body and changed his life forever.

He continues to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, he says, and it's hard for him to talk about his time in the military.

"Members of my regiment and I dug up and disposed of over 8,000 land mines. That was the accomplishment that I tout as the best thing I've ever done and it's the best thing I ever will do."

"When you volunteer to serve your country in uniform, you are risking everything for the sake of what you believe in, for the sake of what you are, for the sake of your family and your friends and your neighbours."

Johnston was born an air force brat in Innisfail, Alberta.

He never lived there.

His father was posted at the nearby RCAF Station Penhold air base.

"By the time I was 20 years old, I'd moved 18 times. I'd been to 28 countries, lived in six of them. I've seen an awful lot of the world. And as a soldier, I saw parts of the world that weren't particularly good."

"You'll have to forgive me, but I'm very mad at my fellow Canadians, for the most part because of the apathy and lack of action they take in their democracy."

"I was in a country where people were literally being cut down in the streets in hope that they would one day be allowed to cast a ballot. I live in a country where municipal elections often see turnouts of less than one-third."

"That is very disheartening and it is probably one of the biggest reasons why I have become involved in politics," Johnston said.

He believes his experience in ratepayer groups and efficiency improvement teams in the military and in Ontario's automotive sector have prepared him well for political office.

Once told he would never walk again, Johnston now walks everywhere from his home at the west end of Albert Street.

"After I recovered from my wounds and was able to walk again, walking became my religion. I walk everywhere. I do not own a car."

"When I was in the military, I walked from Wainwright, Alberta to Edmonton. I did it carrying 200 pounds of equipment."

Today, Johnston thinks nothing of striding to Canadian Tire.

Or to his job at the Bay Street Tim Horton's (he's currently on leave to run for mayor).

"That's the kind of community I want to live in. I want to live in a pedestrian-friendly community."

Rory Ring

Like Johnston, mayoral challenger Rory Ring is a come-from-away.

But Ring has fond childhood memories of northern Ontario.

"Like many of us in Sault Ste. Marie, my connection to northern Ontario started thousands of miles away."

His father arrived from Britain in 1954 at Pier 21 in Halifax with eleven dollars in his pocket and found work as a locomotive millwright in the steel mills of Hamilton.

His mother was a school teacher.

"Like many young couples entering their career and family, they camped extensively in the north as an affordable holiday," Ring remembers.

Rory and his brother Dean took part in many family adventures along the shore of Lake Superior, many of which were recounted to family and friends back overseas.

"Remember those slide carousels? I don't know how many hours we spent watching through many of the family pictures."

In 2016, Ring moved here from Sarnia to lead the Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce.

'Chris' Provenzano

Incumbent Christian Provenzano reminisced about returning to the Sault with a fresh law degree about 15 years ago.

"Things were pretty quiet. Things weren't looking that strong."

Christian discussed the problems at Algoma Steel and the ailing local economy with his uncle Carmen Provenzano, who was the Sault's member of Parliament at the time.

"He called me Chris. The only two people who called me Chris were my sister and my uncle, God bless them."

"Everybody else who calls me Chris, it kind of bothers me because I'm not used to it. But when they called me Chris, I'd answer to them."

"Chris, it's going to get better," his uncle told him. "Trust me, it's going to get better. And it did," Christian said.

"I remember in 2005, 2006 and 2007, we started seeing families migrating back. When you're a lawyer in a practice like my father and I had, you're a bit of a canary in a coal mine. You see things happen that tell you other things are going to happen," Christian recalls.

He had seen families move away and then move back.

"We started seeing some really positive activity."

"In 2010 and 2011, I started seeing some of the out-migration happening again."

"In 2012 and 2013 I started seeing debt being run up."

"We had clients, companies that were owed money, and I remembered saying to my father: I think I'm going to run for mayor."

His father wasn't initially enthusiastic about the idea, but he asked Christian: why?

The son replied: "I think a challenging time is coming, and I think I can be most helpful in that role."

His economic hunch turned out to be accurate.

Hardly a year after he was elected mayor, the steel mill again sought protection from its creditors.

"While I thought a challenging time was coming, I didn't appreciate how significant that would be."

"I'm happy I was there, because I believe my leadership was steady and it was productive."

A fourth candidate, Kemal Joseph Martinovic, has not been attending candidate debates.

A final mayoral debate takes place tonight, organized by Strive Young Professionals Group and Golden Child Kitchen.


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David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
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