Great Debaters

A week ago, on Monday, I went to a candidate's forum at the Cathedral community center. All of the federal candidates in my riding showed up. Ray Boughen(Conservative), Russell Collicott(Liberal), Noah Evanchuk(NDP), and Larissa Shasko(Green Party).

The Cathedral centre is a hub for hippies and leftist individuals. This venue is not the kind that the Conservatives would be excited about. I give Boughen props for attending this debate. I recall last election, most Conservatives, if not all, seemed to hide from the public unless they were knocking on doors. Many did not attend any public forums or debates, such as the Conservative running in Wascana against Ralph Goodale. I do not know if Boughen knew what he was getting into, but he stayed the whole way through.

Although I was about 15 minutes late, the vibe was very clear. Larissa Shasko already had the audience in her pocket. Evanchuk was getting a whole bunch of lovin' too. Boughen got scoffs and jeered at right off the bat. But hey, he was the only one whose opening statements were read off of a prepared speech. Everyone else spoke openly to the crowd. Watching these candidates, and being surrounded by people who actually care about democracy, who actually have opinions, filled my heart up with happiness.

Specifically, the reaction to Larissa Shasko speaking about the importance of proportional representation was powerful. Everyone clapped and became very enthusiastic. I felt like crying, it was so great to have people who understand how important this issue is. It is pathetic that all parties don't push for PR, although it makes sense that the ones gaining from first-past-the-post wouldn't want it. People like those who attended that forum need to band together to show how important electoral reform is to Canadians.

Anyways, Ray Boughen was weak sauce. He also got nailed when one audience member noted that Boughen spoke the 9th-least out of all members of parliament. How is a man who occupies a seat but does not speak for his constituents going to represent their values in parliament? However, one audience member accused the Conservatives of not attending a (inter?)national infrastructure conference that took place in our own city. This was an angry accusation. Boughen responded with honesty, that he was in fact there, and that that audience member was mistaken. This young man was a jerk-off. You don't make statements like that without knowing the full truth.

One position that I thought was ridiculous from different candidates was their stance on tar sands development. Shasko stated that a moratorium on tar sands development was necessary immediately. That is ridiculous. Shasko is a university student, and she's in the Green Party. That makes her a dreamer, and that makes her an idealist. You cannot shut down an economic powerhouse immediately. Yes, tar sands are a dirty, dirty operation. I know this. I have talked to others about it, and have even attended a lecture explaining the process by which oil is extracted from the tar sands. It is an energy-intensive process, and it has environmental ramifications. But to shut down the tar sands, that can't JUST HAPPEN. That would have a radical economic effect. I urge for Saskatchewan to not pursue tar sands development. But I also realize that the developments that already exist will proceed, and the most important and REALISTIC(!!) way to act, is to ensure that the corporations involved in tar sands extraction are held accountable for their environmental impact, on all levels. And to continue to search for ways to extract the oil with less environmental impact. We don't live in a dream world. We want the economic benefits of oil sands developments(aka money) but we don't want the environment to get hurt. We may need to compromise our core values, but this radical stance from the Green Party is going to hurt them more than help them. And it just makes it look like they have no basis in pragmatics, just a whole bunch of beliefs that have no ground in the real world.

Anyways, the debate was great, although sometimes long winded. I learned things, and I got to see Ray Boughen grilled on things that really mattered(and I didn't at all enjoy when he was treated like crap based on a lie). THIS is democracy, and I'm happy I went.

Life-Affirming Night

I've been having some difficulties lately. It's been hard to look past the present, which is Hotel Saskatchewan, day in and day out. Work, work work, sleep, work and try to socialize occasionally. And watch all of Parks and Recreation in the course of two weeks. The light at the end of the tunnel was not visible.

Me and my close buddies have been planning a tropical vacation for the end of the school year since at least November. It has taken shape and lots of talk and lots of stress had gone into it. Long story short, the allotted time to book off was May 1-15 and I was told, despite weeks of pleading and effort, that I could get time off for my trip but I HAD to work on May 8(Mother's Day). Because of the limitations set out, I pretty much said I couldn't go. Hopefully that is not the end game. But because of that I've been rather down.

I've also been awaiting an e-mail telling me that I'd either moved onto the interview part of my journalism-school acceptance process. It has been stressful. I wrote the entrance exam 2 weeks ago, when I have not written an exam in over a year and a half. I was out of practice, didn't dedicate enough time to the questions worth the most marks, didn't even finish at least 3 questions, misnamed a journalist, said Fukujima instead of Fukushima, and was unsure whether these mistakes would be the end of my journey. Today I got the e-mail congratulating me, telling me I was moving onto the interview. One more step, and I will discover whether or not I will make it into the Journalism program. This is amazing. I just realized that the things that were reviewed to get me here include my grades from the past 3 years, my resume, so much of me! And the grades I had were less-than-stellar at times. Anyways, I am actually proud of myself. I overcame my fear and I am on my way to success.

Also, tonight I attended a Mother Mother concert. They are possibly my most-listened to band. I own their first two CDs and recently downloaded their new one. They are so skilled, polished, passionate, inventive, and eclectic. Truly an amazing Canadian talent. Their music has played a huge role in my life. I've been listening to them constantly for over a year and half. I remember the day I drove to my entrance exam. I blasted their new album and sang along at the top of my lungs. The song Calm Me Down, fittingly was what I listened to before I walked into the university. Tonight, I danced like crazy. It was so natural, and I was moved so much by how beautiful their music is. No one can sing like them. I really felt free tonight, to just enjoy a great band in whatever way I wanted.

To top this whole experience off, after the concert, Kyle, Alana, Caitlin and I stood around after the concert. We all bought some merchandise and I wanted to go up to the lead singer, who was standing by the bar, and just "pound it" with him. A pound of appreciation for his music. I am, however, a pansy so I stayed standing for a few minutes. Finally we meandered closer to Ryan, and one of the girls in the band started chatting with us. We then chatted with the drummer and eventually got pictures with the band. It was awesome. I've never talked to a band after a concert but these guys were so great.

So yeah, I had one of those days. Where everything falls into place. Where life is what you want it to be and the future is in sight, and the future is stellar. Too bad my boyfriend is in Yorkton right now. It would be nice to share this with him.