Recording 10

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

And when I was 22,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

and people were saying,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

you're crazy, you're welcome.

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And I was buried at the time.

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And normally incumbent on

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terror, 91 % of incumbents win.

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It's unusual when incumbents lose.

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And I was running against.

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And what I think is beautiful about Canadian

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democracy is that anyone can participate.

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Anyone can give it a shot.

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There's no barrier based on age or,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

frankly, any definition.

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

and corporate donations,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

personal donations.

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

It is a much more fair and equitable system for democracy to

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participate.

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

If you see how much they spend in U .S.

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

races, it's almost prohibitive to participate in democracy.

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And I think we want a lot of people to live in a country like Canada,

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but you can complain about the weather in the winter,

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or why the game plays,

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or the playoffs.

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There's many things you can complain about,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

but if you look at the bank,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

we're blessed to allow people to live in.

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I think we've got an incredible democracy that always

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

faces challenges.

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relatively internationally.

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So the first time I heard a few doors

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

that thought I was too young,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

a door.

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

At the

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

provincial level,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

you can do it.

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

Other levels of the government are more abstract.

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

Defense department decisions or

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

international foreign affairs issues.

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

You're not going to talk provincially.

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

You're talking even about the overall budget of the Ministry of

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Education, the Ministry of Health.

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Really not a conversation when you're at a local community center.

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And as those who are elected can attest,

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We hear it.

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We see it on a local level.

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Actually, it's the most rewarding level of public service because everything you

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

work on, you see visibly in your community.

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I was there

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

with

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Cam.

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This is something nice.

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

That's

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

indicative of what this is.

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You affect people's lives.

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You get 700 emails when snow is not removed.

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We have

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

a lot of complaints about snow,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

but we're on the front of

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

these lives.

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so when i ran the first time i noticed that kids in the north end of barry

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

didn't have a community center there are

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so many lessons so i ran on campaign that we're going to do

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the rec center of barry that's by

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

one percent everyone would

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

talk with the literature or those

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

door -to -door

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

See it come to fruition within the term that you are elected.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

And so I think it's an extraordinarily rewarding experience to

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

be able to really see the city you live in change

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

and participate in that change for the better.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

And when I was young there was a computer game called Sin City.

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

It's like that,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

but in real life.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

I would say things have changed dramatically since

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

I first ran the assembly.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

There wasn't social media.

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

There wasn't sort of the digital warfare of WhatsApp groups

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

you have to campaign in and Facebook discussions that you have to campaign in

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

and pushing out your message on that field.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

I think that is obviously an important component of campaign.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

I think you have to have the physical campaigning door to door.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

I think you have to supplement it with digital campaigning.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

And so I've had to adapt.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

I think anyone who can elect the profits has to adapt in terms of the ability

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

to communicate.

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

The first time I ran,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

the barrier was a local newspaper,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

the Barry Examiner,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

and the Barry Advance,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

and there was an A -channel.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

And it's all changed.

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

Immediately it's changed.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

The ability to get your message out is more challenged than ever before.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

And that's why some of the digital distribution opportunities are

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

amazing because it's a vehicle to get your message out.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

I think at Brampton right now,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

the Brampton Guardian,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

you know,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

one time it was a daily,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

now only has a digital footprint.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

Local news is not the same that it used

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

to be.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

like it very when i first started everyone watched the news on hl

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it was local news largely that has dramatically

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

changed i would say christina invites you on cp24 go

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

on cp24 because still in the gta that gets a

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

ton of eyeballs i find when i do interviews on cp24 or

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

radio interviews on 1010

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

A lot of people will share feedback,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

which means they get a lot of ears and eyeballs.

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

And so,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

you know, those feel a lot of force in the GTA,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

but the nature and the ability for local news to

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

break through is more challenging than ever before.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

I also find particularly in the GTA,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

we're a mosaic.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

Every community in the world,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

and in many instances,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

those communities have their own creation platforms,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

their own newspapers,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

their own...

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

and we want to break into these conversations too.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

And so it is complicated,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

it is elaborate,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

trying to run and trying to make sure your message is disseminated.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

I'd also say,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

pinching at the door is

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

reflective of the floor

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

on CP24 or the provincial federal governments,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

with

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

what I'm in,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

in the city,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

that

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

you are.

8:42

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

Every

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

level of government has to own their responsibilities of how they're part of the public.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

first -time candidate.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

What

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

is the top issue?

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

And what is your solution?

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

Because it's one thing to be critical of what the challenges

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

are, but voters just don't want to hear criticism.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

I think the recent federal election is evidence

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

that you can't just attack,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

you can't just criticize,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

you have to come up with solutions.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

So I go back to my first election.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

My solution for the shortage of recreational

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

programming was to pitch to build a rec center,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

which was,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

by the way, the East Bayfield Recreation Center that was built.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

knock on those doors,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

have that personal contact,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

but not just saying City Hall is broken or not that

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

the federal government is broken.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

What is your solution?

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

And I think if you have a solution that makes sense,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

that is tangible,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

that is authentic,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

that's not a rehearsed script.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

I think you would have the way to be successful.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

I think it would be one of your favorite experiences in life

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

to be able to serve the community that you love.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

I did get the warning sign.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

There was a van awake that walked by with a one minute warning sign.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

And you can see it's easy to talk about public service because I love it.

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

I do.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

And so good luck to all those running.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

I would say the best thing for a country.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

The best thing for a city.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

is a vibrant democracy.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

What I mean by that,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

if there's affirmations,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

there's no accountability.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

There's no judgment in the mirror.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

Am I honoring my commitments?

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

The best thing for a city is vibrant races.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

People ask me,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

you know, are there people running against me?

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

I say, oh, there's 10 people running against me.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

It's healthy.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

It forces conversations.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

And so maybe no one will run against him if he came back in.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

But I think having those democratic conversations,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

those moments of accountability,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

transparency on the record.

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

is a beautiful thing.

11:20

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

So good luck to everyone running and honored to drop by this conference

11:25

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

on municipal public service and I hope everyone really enjoys their

11:29

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

time in this arena of municipal democracy.

11:32

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

Thank you so much.

11:52

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

dedicated their career to public service,

11:53

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

particularly at all three levels of government.

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

Thank you, Mayor Brown.

11:57

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

So, always so nice to see you.

11:58

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

I'm always happy to have you on CP24,

12:00

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

but I don't work there anymore,

12:01

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

but that's okay.

12:02

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

They continue anytime.

12:03

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

Thank you.

12:04

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

You're all so gracious.

12:05

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

Okay,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

we've brought our seats back.

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

We have some friends that have joined us after lunch,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

some new faces,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

and as I mentioned,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

we have a pretty packed afternoon of programming.

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

And one thing that I see reflected in this room

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

you see reflected in rooms that you go to is how

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

diverse this country this city this province is and toronto

12:29

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

is often referred to as the most multicultural city in the world and

12:33

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

of course as a candidate whether you're a diverse candidate but of course

12:37

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

when you're trying to appeal and speak to meet the needs of your communities it's

12:41

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

something to keep top of mind

12:44

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

And to ensure that you're serving your community to the greatest capacity

12:48

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

possible by meeting their needs.

12:50

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

And that's why it's important to reflect on the diverse needs of

12:54

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

your communities, whatever they may be.

12:58

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

And the topic was about results,

12:59

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

winning diverse communities,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

and what modern municipal campaigns must understand.

13:03

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

Vijay Kumar Singh is going to join us here,

13:05

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

Manager of Policy and Government Relations at the Brent and Board of Trade,

13:10

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

along with our panel,

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S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

we have Lily,

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

we have Samira,

13:12

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

and we have Colleen.

13:13

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

I'll ask you guys to come up on to the stage here,

13:17

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

and we'll get you some microphones,

13:19

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

and I hope that this is something that you can take away with

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S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

you.

13:24

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

back to your communities whether you're a candidate or an elected official or someone

13:28

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

who's a community organizer.

13:30

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

Let's some music maybe for our next panel.

13:32

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

Thanks so much.

15:00

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 10)

when we talk about diversity,

15:01

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 10)

it means,

15:02

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 10)

it can mean anything.

15:03

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 10)

It means very different things to different people in different contexts.

15:07

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 10)

And maybe what I'll do to sort of level set is

15:11

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 10)

maybe everyone can tell us a little bit about how

15:16

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 10)

have you worked in the last few decades.

15:19

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 10)

Sort of this end with the counselor.

15:22

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

Some

15:41

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

of the challenges.

15:42

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

And I also have a large Jewish community.

15:44

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

So the genuine

15:55

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

relationship is so important.

15:58

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

you can't just show up for photo ops you have to really be your

16:02

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

friend and one thing that i think is so great about religion

16:08

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

is you get to become significant

16:12

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

members of other communities i've been called an honorary korean or

16:16

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

an honorary korean and i've learned to sing the

16:20

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

songs

16:24

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

so

16:25

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

it's a real gift to be able to participate in diverse communities

16:30

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

but you know when you talk about diversity i think for me also being the

16:34

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

only mom of school -age children on council that's another

16:38

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

layer right so being a mom while

16:43

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

i'm going to council and having a very full load

16:47

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

of responsibility is a layer that i bring in the

16:51

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

lives that i think is important so

18:12

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

I can tell you

18:38

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

how the

18:44

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

number of black families in particular,

18:47

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

we could count them all and everyone knew each other.

18:51

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

Now decades later,

18:54

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

I see a myriad of diversity.

18:57

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

I think one of the regional schools is one of the fastest growing diversity

19:02

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

in the community.

19:03

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

And as a result of that,

19:05

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

we think about how we do the politics,

19:07

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

really building those relationships,

19:10

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

be it forced

19:14

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

or be it by choice to settle,

19:16

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

and building a relationship with them.

19:18

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

And I think it's not

19:22

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

just showing up once,

19:24

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

it's really going to where these communities are.

19:27

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

Understanding their cultural norms,

19:30

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 10)

the cultural nuance,

19:31

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

the distrust that comes not from government here,

19:34

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

but maybe there's distrust in governments abroad and having to build those

19:38

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

relationships.

19:40

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 10)

early on,

19:40

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

and it's not,

19:41

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

it takes time.

19:42

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

So again,

19:44

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

the critical thing about politics and diversity is recognizing

19:48

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

that building that relationship is probably going to take a lot longer than you think,

19:52

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

and,

19:53

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

you know,

19:54

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

as Lily has said,

19:55

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

you know, they're going to think about the people who are being able to do this.

20:00

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

you know, that building,

20:01

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

that trust,

20:02

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

before you get to the thing you want to do to help.

20:05

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

Let me understand who you are first,

20:07

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

and I think that's critical within communities,

20:10

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

especially in Waterloo,

20:11

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

as diverse as it is.

20:12

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

And thank you for that.

20:15

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

And, Councillor Combo,

20:15

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

you, Scarborough Southwest,

20:17

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

politically very boring,

20:19

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

not very interesting.

20:20

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

I hear the Ontario liberals are all very unified over there.

20:23

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

Can you tell us a little bit about how that's changed?

20:26

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

Thank you,

20:27

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

BJ.

20:27

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

And you have a very,

20:29

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

very proud to represent Scarborough South West.

20:31

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

You may have heard of us in the news a little bit.

20:34

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

It's a very fascinating place.

20:38

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

I grew up here,

20:40

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

of course, and I'm raising my family.

20:42

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

It's a real snapshot into Toronto.

20:46

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 10)

You know,

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one of the worst people.

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We've also got Scarborough Bluffs,

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which have got multi -million dollar homes.

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Reagan and Thatcher came in the 80s when Rodney Olson

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was important.

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So you've got a real class diversity that's often

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unaddressed in Toronto.

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Just in politics in general,

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we tend to focus on a very superficial understanding of diversity.

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So to give you a sense,

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you've got about 60 % white,

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40 % white.

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racialized, I guess you could say,

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a majority in South Asian and some black in East Asian,

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to give you a sense of the dynamics.

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And on the question of diversity as

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politics,

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it's become,

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I think we've reached an inflection point in Ontario,

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specifically,

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where we've seen such tremendous growth in not just obviously the

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GTA, but across,

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that you need to understand the diversity within diversity.

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Oftentimes we think,

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oh, going out for a new year or cultural celebration,

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it is,

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you know,

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the tokenistic approach has changed.

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Because now we've seen,

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and the stage is reflected with second and third generation

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racialized leaders coming to the fore.

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And how they view politics and how and who they vote for

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has changed tremendously.

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And the last point.

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has been how we interact.

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There's such a myriad of,

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from WhatsApp group chats to Facebook neighborhood groups,

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ethnic media papers,

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you need a diversity of thought more than anything

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superficial.

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So I would think of that in terms of change.

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That's wonderful.

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And I actually want to pick up on something you said there,

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and that is around that.

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This

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is a lesson that I,

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if I'm being honest,

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I have to explain to white people sometimes a little bit.

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You know,

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sometimes groups are not.

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It's a good

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question.

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One, whoever's in the audience is aspiring for municipal

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office, let me tell you,

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you know,

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I've done five elections,

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municipal politics is the most fun,

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most fascinating.

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You are the party leader,

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candidate,

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strategist,

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maybe even manager all wrapped into one.

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You have tremendous growth,

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and it's a long game,

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it's a marathon, but also a sprint in October.

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And what I can share with the disconnect and

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arguably disappointment of racialized and diverse communities

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is that it's totally missing.

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I'll give you an example.

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One that's proven incredibly common

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sense, but also politically valuable,

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is the conversion of these small diamonds to cricket fields.

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And this is completely data -driven approach.

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where we saw the tremendous demographic change that's

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happening. And prior to me,

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you know, this wasn't even addressed.

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Status quo was always the modus operandi.

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But now having this change,

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it's allowed diverse communities to see their tax

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dollars being resulted in net benefits for their community.

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So I think how you approach this

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later on is that humans are human.

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They're looking for service.

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They're looking for their needs to be addressed.

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And,

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you know,

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to build on a little point,

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showing up isn't exactly the

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intricate nuances of their,

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you know,

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political dynamics in their own country.

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But having a sensitivity to what's happening,

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to their cultural,

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even learning some language,

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demonstrates a commitment.

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And oftentimes,

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showing up means a lot.

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a lot of information i'll share a personal example that actually transpired last

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night at a town hall that was full of white

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But how it reconnected to something I learned from a diverse community.

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So I'll leave it at that.

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And knowing the issues,

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of course, when you engage with communities,

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they're more in touch than you would assume.

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Counselor James,

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a similar question.

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How do you navigate the internal diversity and engage groups that feel

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like the margins of this system?

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Yeah,

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so, I mean...

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When I think about this and engagement with diverse communities,

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first,

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you know,

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not all are a monolith,

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a monolith.

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And the realities are there are things that are happening

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within communities that that is for that community to know.

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Part of this engagement and really reaching and being

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authentic is taking time to listen,

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get to know who are in the

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communities and

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think about elders.

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connecting from that perspective.

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Think about newcomers,

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the settlement agencies.

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Sometimes it's,

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you know,

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maybe we're reaching directly to the communities,

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but are there supportive agencies that are also working with those communities as well?

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I think it's also bigger than just kind of just showing up.

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Because we know it's silly season right now,

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so the pictures and smiles and all of that are going to be all over the place.

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But I think also communities are looking for where are

26:33

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we in front of the conversations and decision -making tables.

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You know, we have conversations at the region that are coming up and they may impact various

26:41

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communities.

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And,

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you know, we have to be intent to think about persons with disabilities.

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I mean,

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reaching out to those sectors,

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those agencies,

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those individuals and saying,

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this decision is about to come.

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How may this work for you?

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Or are there things that I need to raise?

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Because I'm not going to know everything about everything.

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Part of the

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challenge,

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I think, with this,

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too, is when we recognize that there may be,

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Let's respond to that question. About authentic engagement, what does that look like?

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Every community,

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I would say,

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in GTA has a diverse population,

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and within that diverse population,

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there is a further diversity,

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and we have established that through our discussions so far.

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One thing I would say is that we're talking about showing up and building

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a...

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It's always in there,

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within the community,

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it's part of the grassroots,

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but it's not just that.

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What do you do when you show up?

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It's you understanding and trying

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to ask the right questions.

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We, I think,

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need to stop expecting diverse or marginalized communities

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to carry the role and taking

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the first steps towards people who are in positions of power,

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like myself,

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probably everybody on the stage,

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many of you in the audience,

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we need to not only just show what

28:42

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do you need, first

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be on the levels of government,

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they don't understand what I can actually deliver,

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just also setting up good expectations,

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correct it.

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expectations between you and them so they know what to expect from you and they

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know what you can deliver and what you cannot.

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So honesty,

Samenvatting

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