Work: I currently work at the University of Saskatchewan as a business
analyst. I have had a diverse work background that has allowed me to
experience work from many different perspectives from price checking
at a grocery store to customer service at a bank to computer programming.
Education: I have a Computer Systems Technology Diploma from SIAST Kelsey
Campus, a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Saskatchewan, and
a Master of Industrial Relations from Queen's University.
My platform:
I believe that the "Tyranny of the OR" (from Porras and Collins
- Built to Last) has dominated politics for far too long. We simply
cannot afford to continue thinking we can only take care of the future
if we
sacrifice something important in the present. We need to be creative
to find solutions that make our lives better today and ensure a sustainable
future. Here are just a few ways I see us doing this:
Expand our local food supply - Saskatchewan currently grows a very small
percentage of the produce consumed here. This forces us to import food
which leads to extra pollution from transportation as well as a diminishing
of the quality during refrigeration and transport. We have an incredible
wealth in this province in our rich and fertile land and in the family
farms that grow food on that land. I would like to see us make it possible
for more family farms to supply our cities with food and to make it possible
for them to compete against massive agribusiness. I would like to see
urban food growing encouraged and supported. And I would like to see
us increasing our value added processing of the crops grown here in our
province. I absolutely believe all of these things are possible if we
direct the Saskatchewan spirit towards these goals.
Reduced pollution of our water, air, soil and food supply. No one wants
to breathe, drink or eat pollutants and we don't want to see ever increasing
landfills destroying our prairie landscape. So, let's stop supporting
organizations or ways of thinking that encourage this. Let's focus our
positive efforts on finding ways to not only prevent more damage but
to help clean up the mess that has already been made. Again I point to
the innovative people of Saskatchewan as people more than capable of
achieving this goal.
Improve accessibility of eduction. I loved my time as a student at SIAST
and at the U of S. The joy of learning I experienced should be more readily
available to people who wish to learn. Education and applied learning
in our technical schools, in our trades, in our Universities are key
to our ability to innovate in the future. The more we all know the more
solutions we are likely to find to the questions of how to make our present
vibrant and our future healthy and sustainable. I believe in a collaborative
approach to finding ways to make education more accessible.