By Emily Stonehouse
The momentum around the Haliburton Highlands Healthy Democracy Project does not seem to be slowing down any time soon.
With their second presentation completed on Oct. 14 to over 60 attendees at the Lloyd Watson Hall in Wilberforce, the initiative seems to be picking up speed.
“Our goal is to make local government more accessible,” opened Heather Reid, the host for the evening last week. “This evening’s focus is on finding the ‘why’.”
While the first speakers series last month featured Jessica Slade, who discussed partnerships in action between communities and councils, the second installment of the series took a different approach.
The speakers were former Members of Parliament Barry Devolin and Maryam Monsef. While the two had different backgrounds and party affiliations, they were selected to speak based on the fact that they were no longer in politics; a primary goal for the non-partisan organization.
“I often tell people I’m a recovering politician,” laughed Devolin, who has dabbled in many roles, including chief of staff, campaign manager, and the chair of numerous committees, on top of his days as MP for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock. “I always had an interest in politics growing up, but I don’t remember consciously deciding what level of politics.”
Devolin noted that initially, he had a macro-lens when it came to political undercurrents, eager to hop into the world of diplomacy and travel. “My interest tends to be at the more national and international levels,” he noted.
He shared that the biggest difference between federal and provincial governments versus municipal governments is the fact that the larger scale politics is “and team sport,” whereas in small towns, councilors are islands unto themselves. “People at a municipal level are involved as individuals,” he said, noting the absence of political party affiliations at the level. “They can say whatever they want, whenever they want. You can speak freely at any time.”
Monsef took her turn at the microphone to share a bit of her background. “I will tell you that democracy is contagious,” she laughed. “The more people who get engaged, the more people want to be engaged.”
She noted that her ‘why’ came in the form of inspiring a new wave of politicians. “There is no playbook for how to do politics,” she said. “And social media has changed the landscape.”
Originally hailing from Iran, Monsef ran to be the mayor of Peterborough at the age of 29. While she came in a close second in that race, she was later nominated as the Liberal Party candidate for the 2015 federal election, where she was elected with 43.8 per cent of the vote. She was appointed as Minister of Democratic Institutions in Justin Trudeau’s Cabinet in 2015, Minister for Women and Gender Equality in 2017, Minister of International Development in 2019, and Minister of Rural Economic Development later that year. She has since retired from the political spotlight, to focus on supporting other individuals eager to pursue a career in politics in a safe and healthy way.
Her ‘why’, as she navigated her way up the ladder, was rooted in her family’s early days of immigration to Canada. “The kindness of strangers in our most vulnerable time, you don’t forget something like that,” she said. “I always felt like I owed them a debt for that.”
The two speakers mused on their day-to-day lives in the spotlight. Getting up early, taking calls, catching up on news, staying current within the ever-changing political landscapes. And while they both looked back on the time with innate fatigue and unsteady footing, it was apparent that their ‘why’ came in the form of helping their people, their communities.
With Devolin having deeply rooted ties to the region, and Monsef advancing as an advocate for vulnerable populations, in positions of power, they soared to make movement for the places that held them. “If you don’t have a good enough ‘why’ then you’re going to have a really hard time staying grounded on the hardest days,” said Monsef.
Devolin agreed. “I would encourage you to get involved,” he said. “But the first thing I would say is that you need to know yourself first. There’s no single way to do public life. There are many different roads to success.”
While the evening was designed to show the big picture of politics, the third installment of the Healthy Democracy Project series will bring it back to home, with an evening dedicated to behind the scenes of municipal government. The exact dates and times are not set in stone as of yet, but it is slated for the early spring; keeping topics top of mind as the community wades into the waters of an upcoming municipal election.
