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Showing posts with label Darshan Kang. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Darshan Kang. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Congratulations Kent and Darshan

As everyone knows by now, in the end Calgarians decided to send my old bosses Kent Hehr and Darshan Kang off to Ottawa to represent them in Parliament. I couldn't be more thrilled for either man, and I know they'll represent their constituents very well indeed.

Sometimes I still feel a little sad that I've mostly pulled away from politics, particularly at election time. I did a tiny bit of work for Kent's campaign this time around, mainly handling some correspondence, and I'm very grateful I had the opportunity to do so.

I know Darshan and Kent will have a million things to do as they slip into their new roles, but I do have a few requests, in no particular order:


  • Renegotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership and stand up for fair copyright terms.
  • Protect net neutrality.
  • Repeal C-51. 
  • Launch an inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women.
  • Un-muzzle Canada's scientists.
  • Fund the CBC properly, so they can do their job. 
  • Get serious about fighting climate change. 
  • Move us toward a transferable ballot before the next election. 
  • Increase contributions to the Canada Pension Plan, a good Liberal idea that died before it could be implemented. 
  • Bring back the mandatory long-form census. 
Of course none of this can happen overnight, and I know both Kent and Darshan have plenty of their own ideas to build a better country, and there's lots of good stuff in the Liberal platform. But a few additional ideas can't hurt. 

Monday, October 19, 2015

Mixed Emotions

While I'm glad to see Harper shown the door and very happy to see Darshan Kang elected in Calgary Skyview, I'm sorry the New Democrats were hammered so hard and that it looks like Kent Hehr has not won in Calgary Centre. I will of course not count Kent out until all the votes are counted, but at this moment it's not looking good. More on Kent tomorrow.

Whatever happens, I hope the Trudeau government quickly gets to work undoing the damage of the Harper years.

EDIT: looks like Kent is catching up. Come on Kent!

UPDATE 2: KENT WINS! YEAH!

Monday, March 23, 2015

Kent Hehr for Calgary Centre

Kent Hehr (left), shortly after being sworn in as an MLA in 2008. With him are former Official Opposition Leader Kevin Taft (centre) and Darshan Kang, also a new MLA in 2008 and, like Kent, running for the federal Liberals in Calgary in 2015.

Many of you have noticed that I don't write much about politics anymore; it's because I was pretty burned out after my six and a half years with the Official Opposition in Alberta. But when I learned that Kent Hehr, currently the Alberta Liberal MLA for Calgary Buffalo, wants to become the next Member of Parliament for Calgary Centre, I wanted to help. Being in politics for a few years can make you a little bit cynical about politicians, but Kent really is different, and he proved that every day I worked with him. So when the opportunity arose to write a short testimonial about Kent, I was happy to oblige.

After you click that link to read about my experiences with Kent and why I think Canada will be a better place with him on Parliament Hill, I hope you'll consider donating to Kent's campaign. I donated $400 last year and I'll donate again this year.

If you care about evidence-based decision making, investing in public institutions, human rights and looking out for the little guy, I urge you to learn more about Kent and to follow his campaign - especially if you live in Calgary Centre. He won't let you down. 

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Kan't Stop the Kanger

Darshan Kang (centre) at his swearing-in ceremony in 2008. Also returning to Legislature are (from left) Kent Hehr, Bridget Pastoor and Laurie Blakeman - though Pastoor returns as a PC MLA. Hehr sometimes affectionately refers to Mr. Kang as "The Kanger."
 Last night I reported that it appeared as though Albertans had elected at least three, possibly four Alberta Liberal MLAs. I'm gratified to report that not only did Raj Sherman indeed emerge victorious in Edmonton-Meadowlark, Darshan Kang has also been reelected by the voters of Calgary-McCall. So by night's end, Albertans re-elected all five Alberta Liberal incumbents. Given a media narrative that pitted Wildrose against Tory while virtually ignoring the other parties, I think that's a pretty good result.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Raj Sherman is New Alberta Liberal Leader

Last night I attended the Alberta Liberal Party's special event at the University of Alberta to announce their next leader. With slightly more than 54 percent of the vote, that leader is ER doctor and health care crusader Dr. Raj Sherman. It's marvellous that this leadership race attracted more candidates and far more voters than our last race. Kudos to all the candidates, their volunteers, the Alberta Liberal Party staff and volunteers who made this very successful race possible. The hard work continues...

Here are some scenes from yesterday's event:

Edmonton-Riverview ALP candidate Arif Khan and his wife Nausheen.
The awesome Avril McCalla and Lethbridge-East MLA Bridget Pastoor.
The passionately purple "Laurie4Leader" buttons advertising Edmonton-Centre MLA Laurie Blakeman's campaign.
Leadership candidate Bruce Payne.
Renowned Edmonton blogger Dave Cournoyer, aka daveberta, was on hand to chronicle the event.
GQ model John "The" Santos was kind enough to pose.
Bruce Payne campaign slogan on a t-shirt.
Veteran MLA Hugh MacDonald finished a strong second.
PR guru Justin Archer.
Edmonton-Centre MLA Laurie Blakeman and her spouse Ben Henderson, one of Edmonton's city councillors.
Calgary-Buffalo MLA Kent Hehr and a pair of young Bruce Payne supporters.
ALP volunteer and former federal Liberal candidate Zack Siezmagraff was on hand to help ensure the proceedings ran smoothly.
The event's Calgary contingent included Neil Mackie, Jody MacPherson and Kent Hehr.
Josipa Petrunic was instrumental in organizing the race.
Outgoing ALP Leader Dr. David Swann delivered his last speech in that role yesterday, urging everyone to unite behind the new leader.
"Team Raj" supporters reacted with glee to the announcement of their candidate's decisive first-ballot victory.
Dr. Sherman on his way to the stage to deliver his acceptance speech.
Calgary-McCall MLA Darshan Kang seemed pleased with the results.
Media attention was intense, and Sherman was swarmed by reporters after his acceptance speech.
Best of all, I had the chance to visit briefly with some old friends who've moved on from the Alberta Liberal Caucus, including Tanara McLean and Kim Dewar.

All in all, it was an exciting day, the second leadership race I've attended and certainly the most dynamic and competitive so far. I look forward to working with Dr. Sherman, and hope I can remember to call him Raj...