Thank you for being an active member, and participating in the Candidate selection process. Rather than give you my CV, I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you why I am hoping to represent you as your MP in Ottawa, but first as your Candidate in this year’s federal election. I was vetted by the party and ran as a nominee in 2019, and have run twice in Provincial Elections, once for Nanaimo North Cowichan in 2017, and last year in Nanaimo. I am determined, as I know you are, to see more Green representation in governments at all levels.

 

I first visited Ottawa in 1975. Perhaps this is where my journey began. Already I sensed that elected officials seemed hopelessly out of touch with voters, behaving as though they were somehow superior, detached, made of Teflon? I wondered why more real people, more women, more diverse and inclusive representation was not our reality. I have seen little change in 46 years, only more promises, dashed hopes for proportional representation, and tokenism. Members of government are, in my view, supposed to be in regular communication with constituents, not aloof.

 

My love for the Green Party began when I saw that consensus was our objective, hearing all views, valuing every perspective. And that individuals could continue to be heard, not forced to toe a party line. I have been a mediator and worked in conflict resolution for most of my life, skills sorely needed in our federal governance. I continue to operate my BC Incorporated (1992) business and work full time in Advocacy for a Cowichan Valley non-profit society.

 

I have had an incredible life so far, working in three countries, visiting dozens more. My life has never for a second been dull. I have taken enormous risks and held vast responsibilities. I have raised three incredible children, each amazing people in their own rights. I have experienced devastating losses, and celebrated incredible joy. I know how privileged I have been, as a first generation Canadian, first child of immigrant parents displaced from Europe after the Second World War. I have known poverty, as well as a comfortable standard of living. I have life-long friends and am a life-long learner, in every

sense of the concept. I am positioned to travel freely throughout the riding and the country, as well as internationally. I have no encumbrances.

 

I am a member of the Vancouver Island Transportation Corridor Coalition, Lions Clubs International, the Victoria Fish and Game Protective Association, the Canadian Legion, the Chemainus Residents Association, and have been on the UVIC Alumni Board for the past six years, recently as Secretary.

 

My careers have afforded me the opportunity to investigate, research, analyze and explore; all critical skills in the office of MP. I have served as an expert witness in Courts across Western Canada, in Australia, and in the United States. I am articulate and love public speaking, all-candidate forums, and public debate. I am healthy and capable of the demands of this office. I read and write in French as well as English, but my spoken French is rusty from insufficient practice.

 

Here is my take on our collective reality:

 

We are either at or past a tipping point, depending on your sources. I base my life on empirical evidence and am a science fiend. I love chemistry and math, and as an educator for part of my life, these were my favourite subjects to teach. After the 2017 Election, I realized that I needed to know more about climate change, so enrolled in a course through Thompson Rivers University online in Physical Geography. So much more knowledge is accessible to us now in 2021 than we had when I was in grade school or college. The water cycle, the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle, have long been constructs taught in simplified ways to children. But when we have lived for more than half a century and have experienced first-hand these phenomena, as I have, we begin to see just how fragile the balance of our planet is, and how as humans we have interfered with natural systems, and caused extinction on an unparalled scale. Our planet is a closed system. We have an atmosphere and are warmed by the sun. Are we next to become extinct? We don’t have to be, if we would collectively engage in behaviours that would stop the downhill slide. For the sake of our adult children, grandchildren, and many generations to come, we can reverse these trends. We can reach Paris targets of average global temperature with bold measures and courage. I love reading about Donut Economics and Indigenomics and planning ways in which to incorporate these philosophies into our new reality.

 

Strangely, the Covid19 pandemic gave us an unanticipated pause. Industry and air travel screeched to a halt. Air pollution dissipated over vast urban areas. Most of us stayed home for long periods of time. I believe we can create a new reality in simplifying, minimizing and re-centering our lives. I hear from constituents that we need liveable, accessible towns and cities where we can access goods and services, not requiring long commutes or deliveries. We need a basic, liveable income for all. Our transportation corridor, the TransCanada Highway, has choke points in several places, yet a rail corridor and the ocean is at our eastern seaboard, where we could travel again as First Peoples did, on waterways, with passenger ferries linking Crofton and Swartz Bay or enhancing the Mill Bay to Brentwood connection. We can create infrastructure for vehicles that do not rely on fossil fuels. We can expand local initiatives like the Cowichan Biodiesel Coop. We can return to the local production of most of our food, and support the distribution of produce through existing programs like Cowichan Green throughout every community in our riding. Medical services can continue to be provided via telephone and videoconferencing as they have been in the North for decades, limiting the requirement

to travel off Island. In person medical care can be enhanced for seniors and those needing accommodations. We can reduce our importation of cheap goods from overseas, and rely on local production and craftsmanship. This will also address the never-ending marine traffic using the waterways around the southern gulf islands as free parking lots. We can increase our wood fibre value by adding a manufacturing component instead of shipping out raw logs. We can halt the logging of ancient forest ecosystems. We can stop fracking and serving as a back door to the export of coal.

 

Join me and let’s turn another swath of the Island Green!

 

i am honoured to serve as your Candidate, please join my campaign team! Canada needs you.