I had an amazing day. It started at 8:30 AM when a good friend phoned and suggested I attend the Festa Italiana on Sunday July 31 – and then she offered to meet me there ,and introduce me to many of her friends who will be in attendance. Awesome!
Then I took part in a video shoot featuring one of my neighbors who is a widow living on a fixed income. It’s a project of the Lakehead Social Planning Council. They want to produce a video that promotes inclusion of all members of our community.
Then I was off to the t-shirt shop. We are getting custom t-shirts made for the campaign. The graphic is by some of my grandkids who drew a poster for my nomination meeting last month. If you see anyone wearing a picture of me drawn by a 7 year old that says – Vote for Steve … he’s the best – please come up and talk to us. We want to hear your thoughts about how to make a better world.
I finished off the day doing some canvassing on Windermere Street in Thunder Bay. As I moved from door to door I heard from the local residents. They shared some of their concerns and their dreams. People talked about the need to do more for our seniors. The economy and jobs was a top priority as many families are still reeling from the disaster in the forest industry. Increased crime in the neighborhood was noted. When I asked why the increase, a person said, lack of jobs for the young people could lead to petty crimes.
At the bottom of the street I was hot and dry and as luck might have it, I was invited in for a bowl of ice cream. This led to a wonderful discussion about how we might be able to create a vision for a better tomorrow. Many ideas were shared but a starting place was to talk about some of the many good things that are already happening in our communities. A couple of the ones mentioned (that I remember anyway) were;
– the court watch program;
– the “Grizzlies” – a group of paddlers featured in the most recent issue of the Walleye and on facebook – “the grizzly den”;
There are many stories of what makes our communities a good place to live. I’d like to hear yours. In this way, we can share our stories and learn from each other real practical ways we can create that better tomorrow – today.
Steve Mantis
NDP Candidate
Thunder Bay Superior North
