45 replies to this topic

[martini]

Hunter to run for Victoria council

Times Colonist

Monday, August 18, 2008



Lynn Hunter, a former MP for Saanich Gulf-Islands, announced today she is running for Victoria city council in the November civic elections.

Hunter, who moved to Victoria from Saanich two years ago, says in a news release her return to public life is motivated by "a desire to make Victoria an ever greater city and particularly to address issues affecting homelessness and housing affordability."

Hunter was a member of parliament from 1988-1993 and has been active in environmental causes including the protection of wild salmon, and is a board member for Ecojustice, formerly known as the Sierra Legal Defense Fund.

She is also the Vancouver Island Coordinator for Oxfam Canada and has participated in a fact-finding tour of conflict zones in the Sudan and Eritrea as well as working abroad providing training on building democratic institutions, most recently in Albania.

http://www.canada.co...5d-47260baf88dc

[VicHockeyFan]

Crap, another NDPer.

[Baro]

I'm sorry We're not ALL idiots about city-stuff (

[martini]

Well at least she is a resident of Victoria.

I have to agree with Baro too.

[rjag]

Heard her the other day on C-Fax. Standard political rhetoric. Nothing different than any of the others.

This is going to be one sad election.

[Ginger Snap]

I don't know anything about Lynn Hunter, but interesting that she used to work for Oxfam.

[Owen Brandon]

Lynn Hunter was kicked out of her seat because she was a jerk. She was more interested in lesbian issues then unemployment in her riding. Her election to Victoria council will be a major setback.

[Caramia]

From the TC in August

Former NDP MP Lynn Hunter to run for Victoria council
Judith Lavoie, Times Colonist
Published: Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Former New Democrat MP Lynn Hunter is taking a run at a seat on Victoria city council.
Hunter, an environmentalist who is currently on the boards of Ecojustice and Fisheries Renewal B.C., said she plans to campaign intensely for the next three months.
"I want to top the polls," said Hunter, who moved to Victoria's Fairfield neighbourhood from Saanich two years ago.

Lack of affordable housing is top of her agenda.
"My own daughter can't afford to rent a place, let alone buy a place, and the homelessness just smacks you in the face in Greater Victoria," Hunter said.
"The primary focus has to be housing for all people."
Hunter, an avid hiker and cyclist, is also keen to support the city's Greenways plan for more cycling and pedestrian walkways, as well as improved transit.
Hunter was Saanich-Gulf Islands MP from 1988 to 1993 and deputy environment critic.
She has also worked overseas for Oxfam Canada, was former aquaculture spokeswoman for the David Suzuki Foundation, the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform and the Pacific Northwest Pure Salmon Campaign and has recently worked in countries such as Albania providing training on building democratic institutions.
The Nov. 15 vote will see more change on council than in recent elections.
Mayor Alan Lowe and long-time councillors Bea Holland and Helen Hughes are not seeking re-election.
jlavoie@tc.canwest.com


© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2008

[Caramia]

From Wikipedia

Lynn Hunter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lynn Hunter (born 20 January 1947 in Comox, British Columbia) was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 to 1993. Her background prior to election included graduating with distinction in Political Science and History from the University of Victoria in 1985. She then went on to become the Vancouver Island Coordinator for OXFAM Canada, work which included a fact finding trip to Sudan and Eritrea in 1986 to assess the effects of the war and famine in that region.
Hunter became a New Democratic Party member of Parliament after winning the Saanich—Gulf Islands electoral district in the 1988 federal election. She served on a number of Parliamentary Committees in the 34th Canadian Parliament including the Environment Committee, two separate committees on the Canadian Constitution and was a frequent contributor to the External Affairs Committee but lost to Jack Frazer of the Reform Party in the 1993 federal election.
From 1994 to 2006 she worked as an aquaculture specialist for the David Suzuki Foundation, the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR) and the Pure Salmon Campaign to safeguard wild salmon and to establish sustainable salmon farming.
Since retiring from paid work in late 2006 she has volunteered extensively with the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. Her daughter was diagnosed with the disease in March, 1999. She is currently the Chair of the South Vancouver Island Chapter of the MS Society and the Vice-Chair of the BC-Yukon Division. She is also active on the National Board in her capacity of Chair of the National Government Relations Committee and as a member of the Governance Taskforce.
She is a practising Unitarian. [1]
She is an active cyclist and member of the Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition.
She lives in the Fairfield neighbourhood of Victoria with her partner, Dr. Don Armstrong.

A list of her political committees etc while MLA: http://www2.parl.gc....deralExperience

[Caramia]

Google is kind of sparse on Lynn Hunter... I did find this interesting article from CanadianChristianity.com

Former MP decries 'Bushite' prayer invite

By Steve Weatherbe

FORMER Victoria-area NDP MP Lynn Hunter says she is shocked to have been invited to the 41st annual parliamentary prayer breakfast by a Conservative MP.

Hunter is also objecting to the fact that taxpayers' money paid for the postage to send the invitation, because she believes the semi-official endorsement given to the event excludes non-Christian Canadians.

As well, she believes the event is suspiciously American in spirit. In a May 9 letter to the Victoria Times-Colonist, she said it "smacks of the Bushite crusade."

Hunter, a prominent environmentalist and MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands from 1988 to 1993, has the support of the Humanist Association of Canada. However, she apparently has no like-minded colleagues among the hundreds of other ex-MPs invited to the event -- at least, so far as organizers of the event are aware.

As well, they maintain, she has evidently misunderstood almost everything about the event.

According to Hunter, the event excludes non-Christians because the invitation states that -- as a result of annual prayer breakfasts in Ottawa and provincial legislatures -- "people are finding, through meeting in the spirit of Christ, a fellowship that is helping to build true community in Canada."

"During my time in the House of Commons," she continued, only Christian MPs attended such prayer breakfasts. Now, however, "the Bushite crusade" has come to Canada, and with it overt governmental endorsement of Christianity.

"President Bush is an evangelical Christian," Hunter explained to CC.com. "He sees the world through that prism which sees that the world's problems would be solved if everyone else in it were Christian."

Hunter, who is a practicing member of the Unitarian church, added, "I don't see the world through that prism."

The MP who sent the invitation, Karen Redman, said Hunter has got several facts wrong.

"I'm not a Conservative," said Redman, who is MP for Kitchener Centre. She is the Liberal whip, responsible for caucus discipline and attendance.

Redman said prayer breakfasts do indeed come from the United States, but not during the presidencies of either president Bush.

They've been going for 40 years in both countries -- and in both, are routinely attended by leaders of all the parties as well as the diplomatic corps, including ambassadors of countries whose dominant or official religion is non-Christian.

Far from being a Bushite evangelical, Redman is a Presbyterian who supported the Liberal government's same-sex marriage legislation.

What's more, she said, "we make a real effort to be inclusive of all religions by inviting speakers from non-Christian faiths to explain their beliefs to us. I feel Canadians need to embrace all faiths -- but shouldn't have to apologize for belonging to one faith."

Redman wondered if Hunter confused the annual prayer breakfast, which is a gala affair, with the weekly prayer meetings some Christian MPs hold. Even with these, however, Redman insisted, speakers from other faiths are invited. The meetings are non-partisan affairs to help MPs address the issues of being people of faith in politics.

"I suppose there might be something exclusionary if Parliament did participate in the celebrations of non-Christian events; but we do, for example, mark things like the Sikh Festival of Lights."

Redman said she has never heard of any complaints from leaders of other religions about the prayer breakfast, which has grown to include workshops for students and a black-tie dinner.

"People elect us for our values -- and our values include our faith," said Redman. "We are better MPs because of those values."

However, Peter Moller, treasurer of the Ottawa-based Humanist Association of Canada, said that while the association has no official position on the prayer breakfasts (which he had never heard of), "most of us would agree with Lynn Hunter that public money shouldn't be spent for a specifically religious purpose. We tend to think what goes on in the political and religious spheres ought to be kept separate. The MPs certainly have freedom of speech, but they shouldn't be inviting people to religious events as MPs."

Janet Epp Buckingham, director of public policy for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), disagreed. "Canadians are 80 percent Christian," she said. "There's just going to be more public recognition of public officials who are Christians."

When the EFC interviewed party leaders on the subject of faith during the last election, she said all agreed that religious belief should not preclude anyone from public office.

"None of the leaders of any other religions are complaining about being excluded," she says. Hunter, she said, may be trying to use religion as a wedge issue -- as it was used by some parties and some news media during the last two elections -- to alienate voters from politicians expressing Christian evangelical beliefs, such as Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"But the people who do the prayer breakfasts aren't evangelicals," noted Epp Buckingham. "The attempt to link this to George Bush is completely spurious. It's difficult to understand why someone who should know better is trying to raise this issue."

May 25/200

[Concerned Citizens]

CCC

Lynn Hunter's associations with the New Democratic Party are a matter of historical record, as are those of Victoria City Councillors Pamela Madoff and Dean Fortin.

Although the latter two now try to dissociate themselves from their former associations with the NDP farm team (the Victoria Civic Electors) that helped them get elected in previous Victoria elections , they fool no one.

All three are very likely to endorse each other in the coming Victoria Election campaign, notwithstanding their awkward positions vis a vis the NDP and the VCE.

Mr. Fortin, now running to replace Liberal Mayor Alan Lowe, is especially anxious not to be associated with these parties now that he wants to perpetuate the myth that he is a non-partisan moderate conciliator.

It will be amusing to see how these old time socialists distance themselves from their own political histories, while not alienating their core base of left-leaning voters.

- Gregory Hartnell, President
Concerned Citizens' Coalition

CCC

-

[Caramia]

Wow, Congratulations Mr Hartnell - you are the only candidate who has come onto a thread about another candidate to smear her. Every other candidate has managed to be cordial and respectful towards each other. Classy.

[zoomer]

Interesting observation:

Steve Orcherton (former NDP Victoria MLA) has the Dean Fortin sign on his front lawn..you know the slate one which also lists Pam Madoff next and Lynn Hunter underneath that. Only thing is, his sign was folded at the bottom, so only Dean and Pam's name are showing! I wonder what his beef with Lynn is?

He also has a sign for his wife Peggy for school trustee, so that's a good "sign" I guess!

[Holden West]

Interesting moment at this morning`s ACM at James Bay New Horizons. Instead of standing up and using the hand-held mic the rest of the candidates used, Lynn insisted on standing behind a podium using the podium mic. I must say it made her look very regal.

[martini]

Interesting observation:

Steve Orcherton (former NDP Victoria MLA) has the Dean Fortin sign on his front lawn..you know the slate one which also lists Pam Madoff next and Lynn Hunter underneath that. Only thing is, his sign was folded at the bottom, so only Dean and Pam's name are showing! I wonder what his beef with Lynn is?

He also has a sign for his wife Peggy for school trustee, so that's a good "sign" I guess!

I don't get it. At all.
I'm surprised that sign is on his lawn period.

Of course he has Peg's sign on the lawn. Hello?

[Holden West]

I take it Steve Orcherton and Lynn Hunter were rivals within the NDP or something. Maybe she clashed with Steve`s old-style leftism. I dunno.

[Coreyburger]

I rather suspect that a large part of Lynn losing her seat in 1993 was the upsurgence of Reform. Lots of NDP MPs on the Island got caught at the same time.

[ted - 3 - dots]

I noticed Lynn-Hunter was @ the all candidates meeting ( on thursday-night)
with the 2 lawyers who won the case ...!

I also noticed several candidates WHO WERE NOT THERE ...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And that's too bad really ... A lot of those council-want-to-be's , are going to be spending lot's of your bucks appealing a CASE THAT THEY LOST ....!!!!!!!!!

And, they are going to be fighting this law-suit, with-out hearing from , or asking the lawyer's a single question ....!!!!!!
( how smart they must think they are )


------ people , it's our Tax-money that is going into a losing cause
(sue-ing the homeless people , for being homeless )...!!!!!!!!

And it's the ignorance & arrogance of some of the existing city council ,
that is going to be using up MORE OF YOUR TAX MONEY to fight this case ...

I just wish they'd been there to ask a few questions ,,,
AND LEARNED WHAT THE COURT CASE WAS ALL ABOUT ....!!!!!

perhaps , we can save ourselves the expense of hiring 60 new police officer's ...

-- perhaps Lynn can tell us , what she thinks about what she saw ...??????????

[Phil McAvity]

Former MP decries 'Bushite' prayer invite

By Steve Weatherbe

FORMER Victoria-area NDP MP Lynn Hunter says she is shocked to have been invited to the 41st annual parliamentary prayer breakfast by a Conservative MP.

Hunter is also objecting to the fact that taxpayers' money paid for the postage to send the invitation, because she believes the semi-official endorsement given to the event excludes non-Christian Canadians.

As well, she believes the event is suspiciously American in spirit. In a May 9 letter to the Victoria Times-Colonist, she said it "smacks of the Bushite crusade."

Hunter, a prominent environmentalist and MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands from 1988 to 1993, has the support of the Humanist Association of Canada. However, she apparently has no like-minded colleagues among the hundreds of other ex-MPs invited to the event -- at least, so far as organizers of the event are aware.

As well, they maintain, she has evidently misunderstood almost everything about the event.

According to Hunter, the event excludes non-Christians because the invitation states that -- as a result of annual prayer breakfasts in Ottawa and provincial legislatures -- "people are finding, through meeting in the spirit of Christ, a fellowship that is helping to build true community in Canada."

"During my time in the House of Commons," she continued, only Christian MPs attended such prayer breakfasts. Now, however, "the Bushite crusade" has come to Canada, and with it overt governmental endorsement of Christianity.

"President Bush is an evangelical Christian," Hunter explained to CC.com. "He sees the world through that prism which sees that the world's problems would be solved if everyone else in it were Christian."

Hunter, who is a practicing member of the Unitarian church, added, "I don't see the world through that prism."

The MP who sent the invitation, Karen Redman, said Hunter has got several facts wrong.

"I'm not a Conservative," said Redman, who is MP for Kitchener Centre. She is the Liberal whip, responsible for caucus discipline and attendance.

Redman said prayer breakfasts do indeed come from the United States, but not during the presidencies of either president Bush.

They've been going for 40 years in both countries -- and in both, are routinely attended by leaders of all the parties as well as the diplomatic corps, including ambassadors of countries whose dominant or official religion is non-Christian.

Far from being a Bushite evangelical, Redman is a Presbyterian who supported the Liberal government's same-sex marriage legislation.

What's more, she said, "we make a real effort to be inclusive of all religions by inviting speakers from non-Christian faiths to explain their beliefs to us. I feel Canadians need to embrace all faiths -- but shouldn't have to apologize for belonging to one faith."

Redman wondered if Hunter confused the annual prayer breakfast, which is a gala affair, with the weekly prayer meetings some Christian MPs hold. Even with these, however, Redman insisted, speakers from other faiths are invited. The meetings are non-partisan affairs to help MPs address the issues of being people of faith in politics.

"I suppose there might be something exclusionary if Parliament did participate in the celebrations of non-Christian events; but we do, for example, mark things like the Sikh Festival of Lights."

Redman said she has never heard of any complaints from leaders of other religions about the prayer breakfast, which has grown to include workshops for students and a black-tie dinner.

"People elect us for our values -- and our values include our faith," said Redman. "We are better MPs because of those values."

However, Peter Moller, treasurer of the Ottawa-based Humanist Association of Canada, said that while the association has no official position on the prayer breakfasts (which he had never heard of), "most of us would agree with Lynn Hunter that public money shouldn't be spent for a specifically religious purpose. We tend to think what goes on in the political and religious spheres ought to be kept separate. The MPs certainly have freedom of speech, but they shouldn't be inviting people to religious events as MPs."

Janet Epp Buckingham, director of public policy for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), disagreed. "Canadians are 80 percent Christian," she said. "There's just going to be more public recognition of public officials who are Christians."

When the EFC interviewed party leaders on the subject of faith during the last election, she said all agreed that religious belief should not preclude anyone from public office.

"None of the leaders of any other religions are complaining about being excluded," she says. Hunter, she said, may be trying to use religion as a wedge issue -- as it was used by some parties and some news media during the last two elections -- to alienate voters from politicians expressing Christian evangelical beliefs, such as Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"But the people who do the prayer breakfasts aren't evangelicals," noted Epp Buckingham. "The attempt to link this to George Bush is completely spurious. It's difficult to understand why someone who should know better is trying to raise this issue."



God I hate it when people post things without commenting on them. Other than cowardice, I can't imagine why they would refrain from commenting.

A good friend of mine (who knows a lot more about politics than anyone i've ever met) thinks Hunter is a lunatic, but she doesn't sound like a lunatic to me. She just sounds breathtakingly stupid.

[ted - 3 - dots]

I've never meet a "Christian-Conservative" ,

who wasn't willing to stand behind the "Christian-Badge-of-Honor" ,,,?

before they slashed & bashed anybody who challenges their authority,
or who is NOT part of their inner circle ...!

Even when they are criticizing a fellow christian, they use labels like "evangelical
or baptist" etc. to try to dis-qualify their victom's beliefs.

( they maybe a christian , but ________ ...! ) is always part & parcel of their attacks...


--------- Bottom line ----------

If George-Bush says he talks to God , how long before the Christian-Conservatives , have had the same physiological episode ...?????

ie: How long before "God" talks to Harper ...????????????

and who's to say that Harper hasn't already had a few of these "phycological-episodes" himself already...????????


------- Ps , Jesus was a homeless man
who cared MOSTLY for people who are sick, lame , or living in poverty...
( he hated the money changer's in the temple, and that kind of thing )

Christian's ....??????????????

come on , who do people think you are kidding ,,, other than yourselves ...!!!!!!!!!!!

Jesus said ; I come with a sword ,,, and if you don't have one ,
sell your clothes and buy one ...!!!!!!!!!!!!!

;{-

.
.
.

Actually Jesus is my hero.
( and the revolution he started , lives ) and it lives in people like myself

so why slash @ Lynn Hunter...?

( oh ya , she's likely to be on city-council )