The following media release was issued to announce two candidates seeking the Green Party federal nomination, to be voted on by party members on Thursday, May 30:
RELEASE — Unlike some of the other political parties, Kingston Greens are not having their candidate appointed by the national office. Excitement is mounting as there are two vetted candidates on the ballot for a nomination meeting scheduled for May 30th.
Here are the Nominees:
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Candice Christmas is a mother of two teens and an activist for youth wellness.
She explains why she is running: “I was a Greenpeace Warrior teen back in the 80s. Climate change has been in our sights for decades. Greta Thunberg inspired me: ‘I want you to panic…and act as if the house was on fire. Because it is.’ So I’m stepping up.”
One of many well-educated Green candidates across Canada, she is busting the myth about Greens being a single issue party. This is informed by her work experience across systems like health care and economic development, and degrees in history, health geography, as well as a PhD in Health Policy & Equity that she will defend this summer.
Putting all this knowledge to work, she’s a problem solver who has consulted for the Kingston Economic Development Corporation, Kingston General Hospital and the Cancer Center, Kingston’s One Roof Youth Services Hub, the Indigenous Health Council and many others. She is also an active community volunteer with the Kingston Harm Reduction Alliance and the Loving Spoonful in their food education program.
Candice has policy expertise in alternative energy, eco-tourism, basic income, early childhood education and care, housing and homelessness prevention, food security, among others. She is fluent in French.
When elected, Candice looks forward to using all of her experience and energy to help Kingston and the Islands develop sustainably by expanding the Green economy and addressing gaps in basic needs like affordable rental housing, access to childcare, youth employment, and supports for veterans.
“The Greens are the only party that take a holistic view of today’s problems, with policies to promote sustainability – social, environmental, and economic. It’s a party with integrity, that will work for equity and justice for all Canadians, now and tomorrow. It’s about creating a real future for our kids.”
Zachary Typhair is a passionate 19 year-old St. Lawrence College student studying communication, advertising and marketing.
Anything but a novice to political campaigns, he worked on Bridget Doherty and Robert Kiley’s successful city council campaigns and was the Green Party of Ontario youth representative during the last provincial election. Putting his education to work, he’s presently the communications director for the Green Party of Ontario’s Kingston and the Islands Constituency Association.
Though young, Zachary has the intergenerational understanding that “Our kids and grandchildren will have to fix the damage that our previous and next governments will have caused. I have chosen to run now because what our government decides today will affect all Canadians’ futures.”
As for the policies that will be at the top of his agenda, Zach includes: affordable housing, a living wage, a national seniors’ strategy, free pharma care, missing and murdered indigenous women, and the implementation of a revenue-neutral carbon tax to promote an emphasis on a sustainable economy. He says, “In a society with the wealth and resources that this country has, there is no excuse for having families work so much harder and yet fall further behind.”
The nomination meeting is taking place at the Lower Hall in The Spire at 82 Sydenham St., Kingston starting at 7 pm on Thursday, May 30, 2019.
Those interested in meeting and voting for a candidate must be *registered* Green Party of Canada members by May 1st. The cost is $10 and can be done quickly at the Green Party of Canada website: greenparty.ca. Lapsed members can renew their membership at the nomination meeting.
Release | photos: Lory Kaufman
