(Political and Transportational) Choices

I’ll admit it – I have a political crush on NDPer Megan Leslie (who’s running for re-election in Halifax). Why? 

  • She was voted “Rookie MP of the Year” in 2009.
  • When she spoke on Bill C-449 (giving seniors free access to transit in off-peak hours) she talked about the impact of free transit (“Free transit would greatly increase the quality of life by removing the terrible choice between rent, food, or heat and bus tickets.”) and called for the development of a National Transit Strategy for Canada.
  • She’s had some great clips recently on CBC because of her role as NDP spokesperson on health.

But, most of all, she’s running a carbon-neutral campaign that includes transit, cycling and carsharing. It’s nice to see someone who actually gets it – how we do the work matters as much as the work we’re doing. I look forward to the day when this is the norm, not the exception. Until then, I’ll work on convincing people that I’m not a saint just because I use Calgary Transit to get to work-related events, ok? (I’ll point out the other reasons instead, hehe.)


**Bonus points for her reference of climate-change discussions in this election campaign as an “issue of inter-generational equity” because, really, isn’t it?

(Cross-posted at Zero-Fare Canada who kindly invited me to post with them. Go check them out!)