Support not Stigma
When I was in Grade 3, one of my teachers asked my classmates and I to draw what we wanted to be when we grew up. I drew a goalie playing for the Montréal Canadiens. Others drew firefighters, doctors, and engineers. Unsurprisingly, I don’t remember anyone drawing a drug addict.
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Quand j'étais en troisième année, un de mes professeurs nous a demandé, à mes camarades et à moi, de dessiner ce que nous voulions être en grandissant. J'ai dessiné un gardien de but qui jouait pour les Canadiens de Montréal. D'autres ont dessiné des pompiers, des médecins et des ingénieurs. Il n'est pas surprenant que je ne me souvienne pas que personne n'ait dessiné un drogué.
An Opportunity to Continue Momentum: Creating an Equity, Anti-Racism and Indigenous Initiatives team at the City of Kitchener
In a year with no shortage of hardships, I find myself taking solace in opportunities that have emerged for transformational change in our community.
Next Monday’s meeting of City of Kitchener Community & Infrastructure Services meeting is one example. Staff have prepared a report that directly addresses one of four demands made by O:se Kenhionhata:tie/Land Back Camp months ago:
We demand that the cities create paid positions, at all levels, for Indigenous Peoples to be able to engage with the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples living on this territory.
A Guaranteed Livable Income in Canada: It’s Time
This time last year, I was promising my neighbours that as their Member of Parliament, I would work with other Parliamentarians to move towards a Guarantee Livable Income. I promised this because so many in our community had told me they believe it’s a policy that would better our country and our community. I promised it because I believed in it too, and I was glad to see it in the Green Party’s national platform.
But I also knew that it was an idea that was on the fringes of mainstream political debate.
Well - what a difference a year can make.
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L'année dernière, à la même époque, j'ai promis à mes voisins qu'en tant que membre du Parlement, je travaillerais avec d'autres parlementaires pour progresser vers un RBU. J'ai fait cette promesse parce que de nombreux membres de notre communauté m'ont dit qu'ils pensaient que cette politique améliorerait notre pays et notre communauté. Je l'ai promis parce que j'y croyais aussi, et j'ai été heureux de le voir dans la plate-forme nationale du Parti Vert.
Mais je savais aussi que c'était une idée qui était en marge du débat politique général. En Ontario, le meilleur projet pilote que nous avions lancé a récemment été annulé par le gouvernement actuel, alors que les premiers résultats avaient été très prometteurs - et que tant d'autres juridictions avaient aussi fait état de résultats incroyables.
Eh bien, quelle différence une année peut faire.
Black Lives Matter
It’s been weeks since more than 30,000 of us came together to march, to chant, and to make clear: Black Lives Matter.
We stood together, in solidarity with Black and Indigenous leaders across Waterloo Region, as they demanded action that mirrored the public support that was so powerfully on full display.
In the time since, while responses from elected municipal officials have begun to come in, none have met the clear requests of the local Black community.
Here’s my understanding of what’s been requested, why I think it makes sense, and how Regional Council could do it:
Same Storm, Different Boats
In this time of pandemic, for me this metaphor feels the most fitting: it may be the same storm, but we are all in different boats. Some may even be riding out the storm at a cottage (figuratively and literally) while others are grasping for a piece of driftwood, hoping a rescue boat is just over the horizon.
The fact is that so many of our neighbours are waking up everyday, just hoping this might be the one when that rescue boat finally shows up. As I write this, it’s late May. It’s been 73 days since the shutdown began. And that’s a long time to tread water in a storm.
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En cette période de pandémie, pour moi, cette métaphore semble la plus appropriée: il peut s'agir de la même « tempête », mais nous ne sommes pas tous dans le même bateau. Certains peuvent même s’abriter de la tempête dans un chalet (au sens figuré et au sens propre) tandis que d'autres s’accrochent à un morceau de bois flottant, en espérant qu'un bateau de sauvetage soit juste à l'horizon.
Le fait est que nombreux sont nos voisins qui se réveillent chaque matin, en espérant que ce sera le jour où le bateau de sauvetage apparaîtra enfin. Au moment où j'écris ceci, c'est fin mai. Il s’est passé 73 jours depuis le début de la fermeture. Et c'est un long temps pour se maintenir à flot dans une tempête.
Health Care In Kitchener - What’s your experience?
Walking up and down the blocks of Kitchener has given my phone the 20,000 steps a day it wasn't expecting - and given me the ability to eat a little more than usual, although I don’t always find the time.
All jokes aside, I know I am lucky to have good health and access to the health care I need. I also know this might not always be the case, and for many people across our country, this is a reality.
What's Your Health Care Experience?
How you think about health care in this country tends to vary due to several factors.
This includes:
Age
Medical history
Past quality of care
Where you live
However, one thing continues to ring true - the cost of staying healthy in this country is rising.
Everyone Deserves a Dignified & Affordable Place to Call Home
After more than three months of listening to the priorities of thousands of people across Kitchener Centre - be it at our neighbours’ doors, at kitchen conversations, meet and greets, or festivals - some shared priorities are becoming increasingly clear.
Towards the top of the list is the affordability of day-to-day life, punctuated most significantly by the cost of housing - whether renting or owning across the riding.
Climate Emergency? It’s Time We Act Like It
On Monday night, the City of Kitchener bravely followed in the footsteps of 42 other municipalities across the country and declared a climate emergency.