I would like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart, for the effort and time you put into this campaign. I absolutely could not have done this without
you. The dedication of volunteers who came forward was absolutely heart warming. In particular, I would like to thank and recognize Sara Washburn,
Daniel Maillet, Diane Doucette, Eleonore Eldridge, Robert Courteau our campaign manager, Peter Landry, our CFO, Phil Soubliere, and all the others who donated, who voted for us, and who gathered signatures, helped with signs, canvassing, translation, and attended debates. My thanks to you all. You did a great job. We can be proud of ourselves.
There can be no doubt that it is the striving and effort we put in towards what we believe in, our commitment to the greater good, our living our values, is what
truly defines who we are. We reached out and touched many people for the better. The many really good people I met give me real hope for us all. We have
many successes. We did very well in the debates and ran a much better campaign than last time. The media was fair and receptive to us and provided us with
great coverage. We were included in everything. I believe that we can say that we are now a real part in this community.
It will take some time to reflect on what happened. The green party has made a beginning with a seat for Elizabeth May, but most of us were caught in the NDP surge. We lost half our votes. The party went from 940,000 to less than 600,000 votes. Harper may now cut the per vote subsidy. This will require some tough choices, for us and the Liberals and the Bloc. We will need some critical and innovative thinkers to meet the challenges of tomorrow. Certainly Canadians have spoken for a majority and the future will be very different as a result. Canada took a big step backward from separation. With every vote comes a responsibility for those votes. I am concerned about the drift in values in parliament and our international reputation. Hopefully, Canadians will be more far more critical
and assertive, given the power a majority accrues in parliament under our electoral system.
In the long term, how we win, is how we make a difference in the community and the nation. Democracy should not be reserved for one day every four years. We do not have to be elected to be engaged in our future and to bring our values and voice into the community or into politics. We will do this. This is how riding associations are built, between elections.
We greens do have a future. Canada has a future, but Canadians have to take a more active interest in the government and what we are doing at home and abroad. Secrecy and obstruction must be challenged at every step. Accountability is now more than ever, in the hands of ordinary Canadians.
I am proud to know you all and call you friends. Again my sincere thanks and until I see you again,
you all have my very best and warmest wishes.
Paul Maillet
Your Ottawa Orleans Green Party candidate
COMMUNITY IN BALANCE 