KEMPTVILLE--Sunday evening Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada, and Lorraine Rekmans, Green Party candidate for Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, hosted a town-hall meeting. Ms. May, the only federal party leader to visit the riding, addressed a crowd of over 70 people and with Ms. Rekmans answered questions from a community alarmed with the current direction politics is taking.
“Canadians look around them and they’re worried for the future and for their children’s future,” said Ms. May. “Employment is increasingly precarious. A xenophobic populism is on the rise across the globe. And climate change inaction is only increasing already desperate conditions. But I must say it’s inspiring to be surrounded by a community that turns-out in such large numbers and to work with Lorraine, who is an outstanding representative for the people of Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes.”
A tireless advocate for Canada’s First Nations peoples, Lorraine Rekmans has been the party’s Indigenous Affairs critic since 2008. She is an expert on natural resources issues, having served as Executive Director of the National Aboriginal Forestry Association. She also co-chaired an international dialogue on forestry at the United Nations Forum on Forests, and helped organize the World Forestry Congress in Quebec City. Lorraine and her husband own a small family business in Kemptville.
“There’s a buzz in the riding. People want change and they have been motivated by the Green party wins at the provincial level,” said Ms. Rekmans. “The people of the riding know that we have to start living within our means and this starts by taking care of business within our communities. But we need to hold our governments accountable and begin to wrestle power away from multinational corporations who have been trashing the planet for centuries. The Green Party is up to the challenge of doing politics differently and for making concrete changes that will benefit all Canadians and not just a few.”
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For additional information or to arrange an interview, contact:
Rod Leggett
Press Secretary
613-562-4916 x206
rod.leggett@greenparty.ca