Nationally the Green Party under leader Jim Harris is gaining popularity garnering 4.3 percent of the vote in the 2004 Federal election, and Nipissing-Timiskaming Green Party Candidate Meg Purdy wants to help strengthen the number even further here.
Nationally the Green Party under leader Jim Harris is gaining popularity garnering 4.3 percent of the vote in the 2004 Federal election, and Nipissing-Timiskaming Green Party Candidate Meg Purdy wants to help strengthen the number even further here.
Purdy, a retired nurse as well as a retired United Church minister, volunteers with ‘youth in detention’ and claims although she is fairly new to the Green Party way, she is compelled to fly the party flag after reading the platform.
“I finally got a hold of their platform last year and immediately for me it was Yes, this is where my heart and soul is. I’ve never seen a political party that had the same kind of approach to things as the Green Party seems to have.”
Purdy said her real concern for the survival of Canada and the planet is what drew her into the Green approach.
“Like we win when the public does the things that need to be done to keep our water pure, our air fresh, our soil good enough to feed the population, all kinds of very basic concerns is how I look at it.”
“It’s a troubled thing to have to say, but it looks as though we are systematically destroying our life supports on this planet and that’s a scary thing, I just couldn’t resist, I had to do something.”
With no campaign office and a handful of volunteers, Purdy admits she has her work cut out for her during this campaign, but says she is dedicated to getting the Green Party message out to the Nipissing-Timiskaming riding.
“I have no idea what kind of impact I’m going to have but I’ll do my darndest to have an impact to reach out especially to young people, because I think that’s were the apathy and cynicism is at its worse.”
Purdy says she is concerned with the indifference youth have towards voting and political parties but feels the Green Party is making strides as they offer hope and alternatives to the status quo as they offer the voice of finance, businesses and science.
“Young people just think ‘why should I vote’, and I think that that is one of the few impacts that we locally can make is on our young population. Our young people and people who care about the future, and to me the Green Party has a vision of what can be and now is beginning to work step by step to see that it happens, that we get proportional representation.”
Purdy is running the campaign from her home and said she is connected via Information Super Highway for interested volunteers.
The Purdy Campaign can be reached at 752-2057 or
[email protected]
98.jpg;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)