MPP Update #164: We need safe schools for everyone
Not my monkeys, not my circus
I believe that you
Oh well you deserve,
An open heart
All the words that we tried to write down
Did not have the fight, in our hearts
I did not believe them
And I...
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MPP Update #163: On June 9th, let's defend queer and trans youth
Seventeen months ago, a man traveled from British Columbia to display homophobic and transphobic placards outside public schools in Toronto and Ottawa.
At first, he took Toronto schools by surprise...
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MPP Update #162: Governments are judged by how they treat the marginalized
This week we debated Bill G91, the Less Red Tape, Stronger Economy Act.
This was the Ford government’s seventh bill to remove “unnecessary regulatory burdens”. But as I studied Bill 91 – a massive...
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MPP Update #161: Community options for youth mental health
I met with a group of parents recently, and they told me more youth are in mental health crisis, or nearing a state of crisis. Youth mental health was in a challenging state before the COVID-19 pan...
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MPP Update #160: Community safety requires public investments
Last week, after Sgt. Eric Mueller was killed in nearby Bourget, I asked for your thoughts about how we keep each other safe. This is the tenth police officer killed on duty since September 2022 in...
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MPP Update 159: We need a serious discussion on community safety
As I wrote this column, I received news of a tragedy in Bourget, Ontario.
Bourget is a 40 minute drive east from downtown Ottawa. It’s not far from where I grew up in Vankleek Hill. Like my hometo...
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MPP Update #158: Human rights matter everyday, to everyone
Ottawa is a city where many work hard for human rights. We saw it this week.
First, let’s salute the over 155,000 members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada – at Treasury Board and Revenue Ca...
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RE: Hassan Diab
On May 4th, 2023 I sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the extradition order for Hassan Diab.
You can read the letter below or download the PDF here:
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MPP Update #157: We will end homelessness (with a little help from our friends)
Politics can be a cynical and vicious business, but it still offers hope for change. Why?
Because I’ve seen how politics can help people.
I saw it firsthand as a graduate student in the 1990s as To...
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RE: Provincial Homelessness Prevention Program (HPP)
On April 26th, 2023 I, alongside MPP Chandra Pasma, sent a letter to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing asking the government about Ottawa's inadequate share of the Homelessness Preventi...
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