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New NDP M.P. Ages
May 15, 2011 - 8:54pm
I have been trying to discern the ages of the newly-elected group of NDP M.P.s under 30, but the information on some of them is scarce.
Can any other babblers help fill in the ages of the new Members that are missing?
Here's what I have found so far:
Age 20: Borg, Dussault (as of May 31st)
21: Liu, Peclet
22: Dube, Freeman
25: Dore-Lefebvre, Michaud
26: Danny Morin, Marie-Claude Morin
27: Brosseau, Latendresse, Isabelle Morin
28: Moore
The ones that I'm looking for are: Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe, Sylvain Chicoine, Annick Papillon, Anne Minh-Thu Quach, and Rathika Sitsabaiesan (unless there are any others under 30?)
I believe Rathika is 29.
I'm so pleased to see young people so involved at the federal level. The are not only highly representative, but stand the best chance of persuading disappointed and betrayed young people who have retreated into political apathy into becoming interested and involved.
One of them is 71, Lise St-Denis. The House of Commons bio pages list their birthdates, and are just being put up by House staff, so I expect we'll know quite soon.
Lise St-Denis, says the NDP website in Googlecache, "taught high school French for many years, which helped her fully understand the importance of making education a national priority. Lise is a dedicated community activist and volunteer. She teaches French to homeless youth to help them gain the confidence and skills necessary to find employment and rebuild their lives. Lise has a BA, a Master's of Education, and a Master's in Quebec Literature." Yes, she had taught at . . . the École secondaire Jacques-Rousseau in Longueuil, on the South Shore opposite Montreal. Before her unexpected election from Jean Chretien's old riding of Saint-Maurice - Champlain, she lived in that area and was a candidate for the NDP in 2008 in Longueuil - Pierre-Boucher, getting 14% of the votes. But she may rent an apartment in Shawinigan.
What an inspiration she is!
She's on Facebook. She lists Fédération des femmes du Québec - Marche mondiale des femmes among her interests. And she turned 71 last month. (Almost as young as me.)
Are you as old as you feel Wilf?
To be fair, I hope it's not by telling them all about how they agreed to be a placeholder candidate on the assurance that they stood no chance of winning and would not have to campaign, debate, or otherwise participate.
"It all starts when you agree to be a pylon!"
There are so many ironies. For example, Julie Demers, a 41-year-old Montreal translator and editor, ran in 2008 in Haute-Gaspésie - La Mitis - Matane - Matapédia as a placeholder, getting 4.7%. She was nominated on March 23 in Berthier-Maskinongé, but was moved to the riding of Bourassa where she got 32.3% but lost to incumbent Liberal Denis Coderre. Of course, her replacement in Berthier was the successful Ruth Ellen Brosseau.
On the contrary - I would tell other young people: "You see? All the old so-called experts, pundits, spin doctors, media analysts, are full of shit. I ran out of pure dedication to principle, without a hope of winning, and the winds of change blew strong. People can move mountains. Apathy sucks!"
Well played. But what if a young person asks "why didn't you campaign?" Or the real stinger, "honestly, deep down, did you want to win?"
Don't get me wrong, I'm chuffed at all the new seats, and I wish the rookies well. But it seems to me their situation is not unlike someone who's told they're infertile and who suddenly becomes pregnant. I admire them for following through. If someone told me that I'm now the official MP for Drummond, and it's time to quit my job and leave the city, I think I'd be packing my bags with a heavy heart. Nothing against Drummond, of course.
Snert, I would venture to say that a numerical majority of candidates who run in every federal election know going in that they are odds on to lose. But putting their name forward is a bigger commitment than putting up a lawn sign. They know it will brand them publicly and forever as a party supporter and politician-in-waiting. That's why I predict that, even though most of the winners were no doubt shocked, few will go AWOL - and that's not just because of the salary. The very fact that the earth can shift so dramatically will hopefully feed the burgeoning youth upsurge which we saw in nascent form.
Well, one thing I've thought of as I've pondered them is how many people yearn for "a chance". I think this is definitely a chance! MP has to look pretty good on a resumé And I suppose that the younger a new MP is, the less likely they'd be all stuck in their ways like me. I suppose (he said, stroking his beard and looking back through the mists of time) that if I were in my 20's, and had a shot at a pretty damn good entry level job like this (
) then I suppose I'd be there with bells on.
There is very limited information on the parliamentary web-site about the new MPs.
Have they been sworn in yet?
The answer to that question is, "when you believe in something, you fight for it with all you have even if the odds are against you and you keep going, and you just might make a difference in the world."
I'm sorry; what "tropes"?
I've found out that Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe is 27, Annik Papillon is 31, and Anne Minh-Thu Quach is 29.
Sylvain Chicone must be in his 30s, as it was printed that he started working as a security guard in 1995.
That makes 17 of the new NDP MPs under the age of 30.
Add in the 'veteran' Niki Ashton, 28, and you have a very impressive New Wave of Parliamentarians coming to Ottawa to shake up the Old Boys Club, eh?
Add Jonathan Tremblay, 25, to the list of those under 30.
Now include all of the 30-39 year olds:
31 - Jonathan Genest-Jourdain, Dan Harris, Annick Papillon
37 - Alexandre Boulerice, Francois Choquette, Hoang Mai, Megan Leslie
38 - Mathiew Ravignat
39 - Jean-Francois Larose
30+? Sylvain Chicoine, Raymond Cote, Matthew Kellway, Francois Lapointe
This means that 31 of the NDP's 103 elected MPs are under the age of 40!
If this can't help inspire the youth of today that they can make a difference, what will?
Was I the only person who read the thread headline and thought that a new Dipper MP was pulling a Dorian Gray on us?
Now that you mention it, Ken, I guess I could have come up with a better title for this thread.
But still, having 30% of the NDP caucus under the age of 40 is quite a feat, don't you think?
Indeed. it gives the NDP the only large youthful intake of any of the parties in the new Parliament.
Poor Pierre Jacob had to come out of retirement to run for the NDP when the BQ poached NDP nominee Christelle Bogosta. Now he is an MP.
And do we dare shed a tear for Jean-Claude Rocheleau?
His second-place finish in the Hochelaga by-election was a signal that political change was coming in Quebec, but then he jumped ship.
Christelle could have joined the wave of young NDP MPs going to Ottawa, but she let opportunism triumph over principle. Too bad.
Some of these young folks are veterans already. Latendresse, 27, ran in 2008. Quach, 29, ran in 2008. Christine Moore, 27, the nurse from Abitibi, ran in 2006 and 2008.
Under 40? "For the past twenty years he has worked for the union that represents Ontario Hydro workers" so not likely.
If he is under 40, then he would be a staunch ally on the issue of child labour! ;)
Add Sana Hassainia, born in 1975.
Can anyone tell me what year Matthew Kellway was born?
Wow. A union bureaucrat as an NDP MP? Who would have thought it?
Or not.