Joyce Murray is my current federal member of parliament (MP). I do not belong to the Liberal Party of Canada, nor any political party for that matter, but I do think Joyce is doing a very good job representing us. She’s an advocate for the environment and climate change, an experienced business person, and a seasoned politician. She is very tapped in to the community and, I feel, responding well to the needs here. I have attended a few of her events – she’s organized gatherings around local food for example. I’ve sent emails to her office a few times, with concerns or alerting her to an issue, she’s surprised me by calling me at home several times.
You may know that Joyce is running for the Liberal leadership. She may not have all the flash and fame that at least one of the other candidates has, but she has substance. I noticed that one of her campaign advisors is Lloyd Axworthy, another politician for whom I have a lot of respect. He’s now the President of the University of Winnipeg. When I lived in Winnipeg in the early 1990s, he was my MP there. I attended a small meeting he organized around recycling and other green initiatives. The memory is dim now, but I think I got him interested in my petroleum pledge as well. Axworthy took a run at the Liberal leadership once and got thoroughly thrashed by his own party. Their loss, I think he would have made an enlightened leader too. I’m sure he’ll have some very good advice for Joyce.
The Liberals are taking a unique approach to electing their leader this time (having gotten it so wrong several times in a row). They are allowing non-members to vote, you just have to register to become a Liberal supporter by March 3rd – and you can’t be a member of another party. Once you’re registered as a supporter, then you’ll be prompted to also register to vote by March 14th. Both registrations take seconds, so no big time investment. On-line or phone voting will take place from April 7th to 14th.
This is an opportunity to have your say in the next leader of the Liberals. Oh and by the way, Joyce supports a coalition between the NDP and the Liberals.