Michael Ignatieff and Halton Candidate Deb Gillis chat with patrons at Williams Fresh Cafe, Photo: Georges Alexandar
At Williams Fresh Cafe in Halton, the Liberal Express was bringing people together.
Michael Ignatieff made his way through the crowd, signing autographs and posing for photos with Halton candidate Deb Gillis at his side.
Three gentlemen were chatting in the parking lot as we sipped on our coffee in the morning sunshine. They had never met each other before. “Do you guys know Deb Gillis?” I asked.
“Well, Deb has it on the ball,” said Monte Dennis. “She’s genuine and enthusiastic – a fresh young face. If I can use honest and politician in one sentence, I’d use it!”
Are you long-time Liberals?
“Ever since Trudeau kissed my mother, the whole family converted!” said Phil Cook.
Talk turned to the local economy.
“We lost Frost Steel & Wire. Siemens. Stelco. International Harvester, long ago. Lear is gone – 750 jobs lost,” said Jim Williamson. “What’s going to replace the jobs? EI for 38 weeks? Now people have run out of unemployment!”
Monte lamented the loss of our agriculture and manufacturing sectors. “We can’t let these segments go. It will be our downfall.”
Michael Ignatieff took the stage in front of the bus moments later. The crowd of 200 cheered as he talked about learning and innovation as the keys to keeping jobs in this region.
“I really get wound up when the Conservatives say he’s less of a Canadian,” Monte said. “I worked on the space program and put a man on the moon – does that make me less of a Canadian?”
Meanwhile, at a table in front of the cafe, the donations and memberships were coming in, keeping Diane Elliott busy. “10 dollars a day keeps Harper away!” she told those signing up. “That’s how we affect change, with memberships and the Victory Fund.” [Editor's note: shameless plug Sheamus, just shameless, *ahem* you can donate here]
—Sheamus
Sheamus Murphy is breaking out of the world of press releases and onto this blog. He’s also on Twitter at @sheamusmurphy.
