I lived and worked in Vanderhoof at the forest district for 14 years before moving to PG. I know Kevin, Brian, Dave and Ken through working with them professionally, as a volunteer in the community and as an engaged citizen. Even though my political stripe is not aligned at all with John Rustad, I am so disappointed that he hasn't engaged with Mayor and Council. They are good people, they want the best for the community, they have ideas, and they deserve to be heard. Rustad was fairly active in the community as a 'regular' MLA, and it is very telling that he has turned his back on the leadership in Vanderhoof. To see in the article that he did a "meet and greet" at the bakery and still didn't have the courtesy to meet with Kevin and/or other councillors is disrespectful, IMHO.
I never thought I would be this offended but I clearly living in the community for so long, and knowing the people, has shaped me in defending it regardless of political leanings.
Our governments have a tough time with free speech. Though I wholeheartedly disagree with Amy's message, I wholeheartedly, 100% support her right to express herself nonviolently. That's a hard stand to take these days but I worry that we're not doing enough to protect that right.
While Northern Health is publicly funded, it's not a branch of the government - so this is more like a stand-alone entity retaliating against Amy. I feel that's an important distinction to make, with all the current discourse around freedom of expression and free speech and how those concepts are implemented by governments vs entities/corporations/people.
I lived and worked in Vanderhoof at the forest district for 14 years before moving to PG. I know Kevin, Brian, Dave and Ken through working with them professionally, as a volunteer in the community and as an engaged citizen. Even though my political stripe is not aligned at all with John Rustad, I am so disappointed that he hasn't engaged with Mayor and Council. They are good people, they want the best for the community, they have ideas, and they deserve to be heard. Rustad was fairly active in the community as a 'regular' MLA, and it is very telling that he has turned his back on the leadership in Vanderhoof. To see in the article that he did a "meet and greet" at the bakery and still didn't have the courtesy to meet with Kevin and/or other councillors is disrespectful, IMHO.
I never thought I would be this offended but I clearly living in the community for so long, and knowing the people, has shaped me in defending it regardless of political leanings.
I really hope our community gets 100% behind Amy. Thank you for highlighting!
I'm also super excited about the new min-market at Canada Games plaza. I really hope it includes some good local coffee!
Our governments have a tough time with free speech. Though I wholeheartedly disagree with Amy's message, I wholeheartedly, 100% support her right to express herself nonviolently. That's a hard stand to take these days but I worry that we're not doing enough to protect that right.
While Northern Health is publicly funded, it's not a branch of the government - so this is more like a stand-alone entity retaliating against Amy. I feel that's an important distinction to make, with all the current discourse around freedom of expression and free speech and how those concepts are implemented by governments vs entities/corporations/people.