Canadian Election Debate

The debates on Wednesday and Thursday night were nothing short of historic. Elizabeth May presented the Green Party to the nation. She was articulate, knowledgeable, tough, and passionate. As a result, I have had a fantastic day in Calgary and found myself meeting Green-invigorated Calgary Centre constituents in two new places and two familiar places.

This morning I had the pleasure of taking part in Dave Rutherford's call-in radio show on QR77. CPAC has been filming at QR77 for the last fews days, so it was also televised nationally. I really enjoyed the experience - discussing different points of view - and I found Dave to be extremely personable. I appreciate all the feedback I received afterwards. And I really appreciate Lee Ann arranging and attending the radio interview.

At noon hour, I had the pleasure of meeting several constituents who stopped by the campaign office, may of whom had watched the debate and concluded that their vision of Canada aligns with Elizabeth May and the Greens. One gentleman relayed to me the desperate situation that parents of pre-school children are finding themselves in due to a lack of quality, affordable child care. This issue (among others) is an absolute outrage. Lack of quality, affordable childcare put families in extremely precarious situations. We need a universal childcare program and a focus on early childhood development.

My little son joined our campaign efforts today. He's able to say "Green Party" and is very proud of his campaign button. Lindsay, Bruce, Fred, Art and the two of us greeted Calgarians as they walked home from downtown up 4th Street. We received fantastic response from people who had watched the debate as well as established Green Party supporters. Thanks to everyone who was open-minded about learning more about the Green Party.

This evening I attended a stylish event at Arts Central, a dynamic, novel approach to providing a creative space for artists and art aficionados. This was a celebration for the global launch of 422 McAdam, a home grown fashion line created by Sarah Shell. Well done Sarah! There is indeed world class talent here in Calgary.