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By Lloyd Mackey
THEY ARE young people from two Christian-based
Kelowna-area high schools. Both lean conservative in their views.
But in opposing the idea that three opposition parties
could form a de facto coalition to take over the governing of Canada,
Michael McDonald and Meagan Ritz insist that if it was the Liberal party
that was governing in a minority, they would support that government.
Ritz, 16, and a grade 11 student at Heritage Christian
School, was the inspiration for an anti-coalition rally that drew 350
people to Rutland Centennial School December 6.
She says her previous involvement in matters political
has been limited; but she has learned a fair amount from her brother Cam
– who has worked for several politicians and is now with the Lung
Association of Canada.
“Cam has been a real help to me in gaining an
understanding of the political world,” she says.
Her activism, until recently, has been in Christian
mission and development. As part of Mission Creek Alliance Church, she has
done volunteer work for Kelowna-based Hope for the Nations in some African
countries, as well as in Peru.
In the latter country, she worked with young people
from both the U.S. and Canada. “We went to the slums of Lima with a
group of 600. We washed people’s hair and cleaned out lice, among
many other things.”
Ritz became concerned about what was happening on the
federal scene on two counts: the whole idea of an opposition
coalition, and the possibility that such a coalition could bring down the
government, which had just been elected – albeit with a minority.
Part of trying to pull together the December rally
involved making contact with Ron Cannan, MP for Kelowna-Lake Country.
Cannan had a few suggestions for her, with respect to
getting speakers and arranging logistics. But he maintains that
Ritz’s initiative is what made it work.
One of the suggested speakers was Michael McDonald
– who, at 15, recently joined Cannan’s constituency association
board. Like Ritz, McDonald is both conservative in outlook and non-partisan
with respect to the current federal governance issue.
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To him, the issue is to get the government and
opposition working together, to resolve economics issues and get the
federal budget through.
Noting his own view that being a conservative in Canada
is like being a Democrat in the United States, McDonald sees Al Gore and
Barack Obama as role models.
He is libertarian in the kind of conservatism he
espouses. And he believes his faith helps shape his political views;
he is a member of St. Theresa’s parish.
“My religion I cherish as important. You have to
look at what would be best for majority of people, [but in so doing]
don’t lose the morals and values that come from religion. It is a
challenge,” he says.
McDonald’s speech at the two-hour rally drew a
standing ovation. He told the crowd: “As a young Canadian citizen
today, I am worried about the future of our country. I want to grow up in a
country that remains democratic, a country that is united. I love
democracy, and I love the electoral process.
“The idea that we, the people vote for a party,
regardless of which one it is – and the party that gains the most
votes, by all Canadians, is the party that governs – is an idea that
I and many other Canadians deeply cherish. We do not want to lose that;
that’s why we’re here today.”
Now, McDonald and Ritz hope that the new Liberal
leader, Michael Ignatieff and Prime Minister Harper will be able to work
together in the cooling off period, to get the budget through and the
economic impasse resolved.
January 2009
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