聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 (EDITOR鈥橲 NOTE: The following letter regarding Justin Trudeau鈥檚 promises and the explicit key campaign platform policies the Liberal government is abandoning was sent on October 21 to Trudeau, and the writer asks that it be included in the Courier鈥檚 Letters to the Editor.)
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Dear Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 You probably don鈥檛 remember me. Years ago, like almost 30 years now, you and your family used to come to my hometown鈥檚 ski hills to enjoy the seclusion of the West Kootenay mountains and experience a kind of politeness almost nonexistent in the rest of your lives. You wished to meet people who wouldn鈥檛 recognize, nor care if they did, your beautiful and auspicious family, people who respected your privacy and your childhood. One day while you were in Rossland, you and your security detail skied up behind me.聽You asked if I was 鈥渟ingle鈥� in the weird holler we do when we鈥檙e looking for a buddy on the lift. I said sure,聽and with your guards following behind, we ascended in the chair together.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I remember you because we were basically the same age, and you liked to talk, and I liked to talk. I was raised by a staunch NDP family. In fact, my grandparents helped found the party. My grandfather literally sat on Tommy鈥檚 knee in his own parents鈥� kitchen. So you started asking me if I knew much about politics and we had a huge conversation for a pair of young teens. I remember you and I agreed upon almost everything, which is why the Liberal and NDP parties are often both confused as progressive parties. What people don鈥檛 understand is that ideology isn鈥檛 really the difference between these things.聽 It鈥檚 power and position.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I鈥檓 a true working-class British Columbia kid. I鈥檓 still the same guy.聽Now I鈥檓 an art and social studies teacher like you. Yeah, weird, eh? The only difference between us is power and position.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 When you ran for office, you promised me a bunch of things as a British Columbian.
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 You said I could expect you to protect my environment, the environment we both grew up in, and are in love with. You said you鈥檇 listen to the Aboriginal peoples. You said you鈥檇 fix Bill C-51 but you haven鈥檛 yet. You said you鈥檇 give us the holy grail of British Columbian desires, and electoral reforms that would end the fact that by the time an election reaches B.C., our votes usually mean nothing. You promised to fix the First Past the Post system and make this election the last time our votes didn鈥檛 count.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Because you promised these things when campaign time came,聽I was a stalwart ally for you, even if I don鈥檛 support your party. I supported and walked, campaigning door to door for Wayne Stetski, the NDP Member of Parliament for the recently gerrymandered Kootenay Columbia riding. Our riding has been broken by the Conservative electoral boundary commission and Nelson has for the first time in history been placed into the east Kootenays. We punched well above our weight out here and got over 80 per cent more people to Cranbrook鈥檚 more average turnout. We pulled off a small victory over the incumbent Conservatives. But at the time, as we fought so hard, my friends and I reminded people of the need for anyone but Conservatives. We aided your campaign in the media by comments and sharing with people in ridings where Liberals were in close heat with Conservatives. Why? Because you promised us to do the things we wanted. The difference between us seemed to be small, so we supported you.
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽So what happened? Why the change of heart? What happened to that good kid I rode up the chairlift with?
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I told everyone that you were a real person, with real actual values, ones I could see demonstrated by a 13- or 14-year-old boy, a humble young man, who even though raised by a father of great importance, was an earnest and decent person. I want to believe that you are still not so different from me and that the only difference is power and position.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Please remember as those powerful oil executives lobby you to crack British Columbia wide open for their expansions that you represent real progress and not more colonization. Please remember that to win the next election you have to demonstrate integrity and honestly enact your promises.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Please remember the boy who skied the Kootenays, because you are still that guy.聽The one who didn鈥檛 talk down to a working class buddy,聽but asked for a ride and wanted to learn about me as much as I wanted to learn about you.聽From then to now, from teacher to teacher, feminist to feminist, father to father, progressive Canadian to progressive Canadian,聽I implore you to live up to your promise as a man, and to your promises as a politician.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Yours sincerely,
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Jason Peil
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Nelson, B.C.
