|
Ottawa-Centre
All-Candidates Meeting January 11, 2006
Report by Grannie Pat On Wednesday night, eight Grannies slipped and slid in the rain to an all-candidates' meeting at the Glebe Community Centre, where, at 9 of us, we outnumbered the candidates by two.  Jo, Jo Anne, Mary and Jeanette in back, Virginia and Pat at right front. That makes 6 ... where are Alma, Rosalie and Loris?  Here's Alma (right), but now Jeanette, Mary and Pat are gone, and we still haven't found Rosalie and Loris.  Ah, here's Rosalie handing out information flyers to people as they arrived. Okay, that makes 8. The candidates had not yet appeared but the
place was packed when we decided to sing, having been told by an
organizer she'd have to run our appearance by someone first.
She'd probably have to throw us out, she said, but it would take awhile
to do her checking and if we sang in the meantime .... So we sang our
four songs (Deep Integration, Crime and Punishment, My Student Loans
and the Healthcare Song). The hubub in the room was loud, but
some people in the front rows actually paid some attention and seemed
to be trying to catch the lyrics. So we sang with little finesse
but as much volume as we could muster. Then we sat in the front
rows and listened.
 And there's Loris on the end in the pretty pale green frock. That makes 9 Grannies.  All of the candidates were
personable, informed and interesting. The Conservative, Keith
Fountain, exuded confidence, easily seeing himself an MP after the
23rd. The Green candidate, David Chernushenko, was
intelligent, articulate, funny. The Marxist-Leninist, Christian
Legeais, struggled valiantly with English and deserved much credit for
getting out there with that handicap. The Communist, Stuart Ryan,
a man with the endearing quality of seeming to think while he spoke,
was quite refreshing, also funny in spots. Richard Mahoney
(Liberal) performed like the good communicater he is. I was
pleased with my candidate, Paul Dewar of the NDP, who did a capable job
of explaining his party's policies and adding his own point of view,
also advocating support for the CBC and the dismissal of Rabinovich. The star of the evening, though, was John
Akpata of the Marijuana Party, whose views were wide-ranging, sometimes
outrageous, often made great sense, provoked much laughter, and I think
thought, among the audience. He talked with the rhythm of a
rapper but with a better vocabulary. The audience was hugely
entertained by him. I'm afraid, though, that he will garner some
protest votes which ought to go to a party with electability. A
protest vote is all very well, but...(!)Close
Window to Return to Index
|
Ottawa
Raging Grannies