When I began Whoa!Canada I’d been determinedly non-partisan all my life. For various reasons I did end up joining a party —the Green Party of Canada — in middle age. Even so, I’ve worked to keep partisanship out of this blog. But the Green Party Leadership race, like any major party leadership, is important for all of Canada. TVO recognized this from the get go, but even so there has been very little serious coverage. In the Internet era, we’re no longer entirely at the mercy of MSM gatekeepers, so there’s been plenty to see online. Tonight CBC, Youtube and Facebook will present live election night coverage.
As most of the GPC Leadership campaign has coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, although a few of the Candidates had begun cross Canada tours when the shut downs hit, there has been very little opportunity for Green Party members to actually engage with leadership candidates face to face.
But that hasn’t stopped the Canadian Greens from putting on an excellent engaging leadership campaign. Interim Leader Jo-Ann Robert’s People, Politics and Planet podcast hosted interviews with all the candidates. We began with 10 candidates, and end with 8 going into tonight’s election.
A girl lost in the woods is a different sort of creature than a girl who walks purposefully through the trees even though she does not know her way.
This girl in the woods is not lost. She is exploring.
This girl is not scared. She is not unnerved by the darkness of the clawing shadows case by the trees in the late-afternoon sun. She is not bothered by the thorns and branches that tug at her clothes and scratch at her skin.
She is young enough to carry fear with her without letting it into her heart. Without being scared. She wears her fear lightly, like a veil, aware that there are dangers but letting the crackling awareness hover around her. It does not sink in, it buzzes in excitement like a swarm of invisible bees.
A girl lost in the woods is a different sort of creature than a girl who walks purposefully through the trees even though she does not know her way.
This girl in the woods is not lost. She is exploring.
This girl is not scared. She is not unnerved by the darkness of the clawing shadows case by the trees in the late-afternoon sun. She is not bothered by the thorns and branches that tug at her clothes and scratch at her skin.
She is young enough to carry fear with her without letting it into her heart. Without being scared. She wears her fear lightly, like a veil, aware that there are dangers but letting the crackling awareness hover around her. It does not sink in, it buzzes in excitement like a swarm of invisible bees.
Mum: You know what you need? A bit of tuberculosis.
Me: ... why do I need a bit of tuberculosis?
Mum: You could finish your book then.
Me: I don't think that finishing a book is one of the symptoms of tuberculosis.
Mum: Well, it worked for the Brontës, didn't it? They all had tuberculosis and they all finished their books.
Me: Yeah, and then they all died before the age of 40!
Mum: But they died having finished their books. I'm just saying. You should consider getting tuberculosis. Just a bit of it.
Me: ...
Mum: You'd have to be authentic, though. Call it consumption. Else it might not work.
Me: I'll bear that in mind.
Mum: You know what you need? A bit of tuberculosis.
Me: ... why do I need a bit of tuberculosis?
Mum: You could finish your book then.
Me: I don't think that finishing a book is one of the symptoms of tuberculosis.
Mum: Well, it worked for the Brontës, didn't it? They all had tuberculosis and they all finished their books.
Me: Yeah, and then they all died before the age of 40!
Mum: But they died having finished their books. I'm just saying. You should consider getting tuberculosis. Just a bit of it.
Me: ...
Mum: You'd have to be authentic, though. Call it consumption. Else it might not work.
Me: I'll bear that in mind.
Green Party Leadership candidate Amita Kuttner entertaining their team with a bit of opera. Not what one might expect of an astrophysicist *or* a politician.
The article provides a detailed example of how ranked ballot voting works when electing a party leader to delight electoral system nerds. All the rest of us need do is read the opening summary and the conclusion at the end.
