Green and growing

My story about being a Green politician in Canada, and why it was the best thing I ever did.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Making history

For the last three weeks I have been working on the campaign to elect Elizabeth May as the MP for London North Centre in the current Federal By-election. Elizabeth is the newly elected leader of the Green Party, a recipient of the Order of Canada, and one of the most magnificent people I have ever met. Her web site is http://www.elizabethmay.ca .

Elizabeth has an aura of greatness around her, which attracts people to her. She carries this with humility and dignity. She speaks eloquently and knows her material. She has a vision, which she is willing to share. She speaks with people, not to them. She remembers people's names .. much better than I do.

This by-election will make history. Once she is in the House of Commons, the country will never be the same again. She has vowed to serve the people of Canada with respect and to restore some sense of dignity to Parliamentary debate. I believe she will do that.

We have found so many people who are sick and tired of old style politics. We have seen so much of it already in this campaign. The conservative candidate is not allowed to talk to the press .. following orders, I guess. The liberal has attacked the conservative and the ndp, who attacked back. Today, we got calls from people asking us to replace their ndp sign with a green sign, as a result of a particularly nasty exchange between these two.

If you haven't see it, have a look a Garth Turner's blog today. Click here to see it . The government has refused to site its reasons for removing him from caucus, and from the party. They just don't like the idea of someone having and expressing an opinion. Garth is now advocating for more independents in the House of Commons. What he did not say in his blog is that he is coming to London tomorrow, Nov 15, to go door to door canvassing with Elizabeth May, because he feels it is critically important for her voice to be heard in Parliament. I admire his courage.

We have had people move to London for the campaign from places like Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Quebec, PEI, Nova Scotia .. all to help make history. The energy is fantastic, and we have raised almost all of the money we need to have a fully funded campaign. There are so many firsts in this campaign. I have a quiet confidence in the outcome. The time is now.

A good friend of mine sent me a quote from a Hopi elder, which reads in part: "Do not look outside yourself for leadership ... We are the ones we have been waiting for".

If you feel so inclined, come to London. Our campaign office is at 211 Dundas Street and the phone is 519 850 4MAY (4629). We would love to have you.

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