Gerard Kennedy meets with Liberals in Dufferin-Caledon

Kelly Flynn, a youth delegate from Dufferin-Caledon who is attending the University of Waterloo, poses with Gerard Kennedy.

With one local member of the Liberal party stating "we should expect future political leaders to have and to be able to enunciate a

clear vision for this country that is progressive, inclusive and respectful of the fabric of this society," Gerard Kennedy spent a recent Wednesday evening at Mono Mills with local Liberals doing just that. Gerard Kennedy is another of the top tier of federal Liberal leadership candidates to spend time in D u f f e r i n - C a l e d o n , indicating the importance this riding plays in the race across the country.

Kennedy believes the Liberal Party should move not to the the right or left, but move forward. He sees "a new Liberalism" that fuses economic and social opportunity to maximize human resources and propels Canada to become what Kennedy loosely describes as the world's first "international country."

He sees the need for a national learning strategy, from unstructured early learning to post-secondary grants and research. The former education minister for Ontario thinks Canada cannot continue to be the only country without that.

Kennedy said "it is holding us back" and we must ensure Canada does not fall further behind.

On Afghanistan, he feels there can be no serious discussion of stabilizing that country unless we're going to provide some alternate economic establishment to the opium trade, which he describes as the ATM for the Taliban. Lacking that, we cannot win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. We do not honour our men and women in Afghanistan unless we are providing aid and reconstruction, which we could be doing right now, in secure areas, he stressed.

Local Liberals supporting Kennedy include past MP Murray Calder, who assisted in developing Kennedy's rural and agriculture policy. Eighteen Kennedy delegates will run for 14 delegate spots, including the event's organizing committee, former MPP Mavis Wilson, Shelburne Mayor Ed

Crewson, Brooke Crewson, Paul Flynn, Kelly Flynn and Matthew Mahoney. With party members feeling the future of the party will hinge on integrity and vision, Gerard Kennedy qualifies.

For further information on Gerard Kennedy go to www.gerardkennedy.ca or contact Mavis Wilson at 519-925-6486 or via maviswilson@sympatico.ca.