As you well know by now, there will be a vote this coming Sunday, October 3 to choose the Liberal candidate for our federal riding of Jeanne-Le Ber. It will be an important vote, because we need to select a candidate who will have the experience, the personality, and the willingness to do what it takes to win back this riding from our current MP, Thierry St-Cyr of the Bloc Québécois.
I am the only woman among the four candidates running, and I live in the Little Burgundy neighbourhood of our riding, where my husband and I are raising our family. I strongly believe that Jeanne-Le Ber needs a Liberal candidate who lives here and has a personal interest in the well-being of our area and our communities. In the past few months I have been out meeting with you, listening to you, finding out what your interests and priorities are when it comes to our federal government. The main themes that I keep hearing are a desire for more opportunities – jobs, and also quality education for our young people. These are top priorities for me -- as a mother of two I am very focused on not only what Canada can be for us today, but also what it will be like for future generations.
That future includes a greater role for immigrants and new Canadians in our economy. Here in Little Burgundy, and also in Nuns’ Island, Point St. Charles and other parts of the riding, I have met many new Canadians – many of them parents doing their best to raise their families in a new place – and have heard their frustrations when it comes to getting good jobs and accessing services. I am glad to see that there are some organizations doing great work in this regard at a local level in our neighbourhoods, but action is required at the federal level to ensure a strong economy for Canada in the future. Above all, you new Canadians are telling me that you are proud to be Canadian citizens – and disappointed when you learn that our current MP does not want us to be part of Canada.
I’ve also met many seniors who reside in this riding. Time and again, I hear their concerns about their futures – a lack of affordable housing, problems with access to health care, and for those who do not speak French, difficulty accessing services in English. It seems that the history of our neighbourhoods – which have always been home to both English- and French-Canadians – has been forgotten.
Everywhere I’ve been in the riding, I hear a desire for more green space. We need more parks for children and families. We need greener methods of transportation. It would be nice to have an alternative way to get on and off Nuns’ Island, especially a few weeks ago, when construction on the Champlain Bridge brought weekend traffic to a standstill. But none of these initiatives will come to pass in Jeanne-Le Ber as long as we have a Bloc MP. The Bloc, by its own definition, will never be in power in Ottawa, and despite their rhetoric, it is clear after 20 years that they have done nothing to improve life for Quebecers. They complain about things like cuts to arts funding, but the Conservatives go ahead and do what they want anyway. We need to beat the Bloc here if we ever want change.
While I believe it’s important to have a Liberal candidate who is a citizen of the riding to beat the Bloc, just an address is not enough. We also need a candidate with experience.
As a producer of major live outdoor shows who has been working for 18 years, I have proven experience bringing together teams of people and leading them to complete projects. I have experience working with our federal government, and as the producer of the Canada Day shows on Parliament Hill for the past several years, one could even say I have proven my ability to achieve great things on Parliament Hill! The goal of those shows is to celebrate Canada by bringing together artists that showcase our cultural diversity. Now I’d like to apply those skills to bring people together in life, as I have done on the stage.
I hope that I will have a chance to meet you on October 3. In the meantime, I invite you to call me or to comment on this message and tell me what two issues are most important to you personally. I want to hear what you have to say, and if I am chosen as the candidate on Sunday, I will always be listening to you, my fellow citizens of Jeanne-Le Ber.
Best regards,
Kim Darlington
514-771-3398
No comments:
Post a Comment