OrilliaMatters welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter from Krystal Brooks, who ran for the Simcoe North Greens in the provincial election, is in response to a letter regarding Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop, published Dec. 9.
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While I can and do agree with many of the arguments some have brought forward regarding our MPP, the Honourable Jill Dunlop, I do think there are some issues being raised that are more of a personal nature rather than political.
There are several issues that need to be discussed, but I would like to respond to Dennis Rizzo’s recent comments on the point many like to make regarding Jill being the minister of colleges and universities but failing to attend the panel discussion held by Lakehead in the provincial election.
I attended that forum as the Green party candidate. I have no intention of engaging in politics in the future, but I really want to state that, given what I walked into at that time, I should not have attended, either. I was told it would be a casual conversation about education. This was not the case. It was, in fact, the same question-and-answer format that most debates are.
I’m generally pretty good at discussions involving topics I’m familiar with. Education is not one of them. That shouldn’t surprise anyone considering I do not have an education at all, not even a Grade 12 diploma. That is exactly how I felt I was being treated. Uneducated. I did identify myself as a hopeful student, though, and I’m always happy to learn and hear different perspectives. I only received criticism and degrading comments from some viewers who took issue with my ignorance and how unqualified I was for a position as a candidate.
While I can agree with both sentiments, I cannot agree that attending debates and forums during an election is an indication of one’s skill set and the quality of care and compassion they will bring to the table. Again, this is coming from a place of lower education, so take that with a grain of salt. I think the general consensus is that if I or others can’t take the heat when it comes to politics, we shouldn’t be in the kitchen anyways.
Jill is silent, as many politicians are presently. So were you when it came to the level of racism I was shown in that election. So were most on the James Smith Cree Nation devastation. Most are silent on Indigenous issues. Thanks for the land acknowledgments, though.
I showed up to all but one debate. I left in tears at a couple because I so often only really made a fool of myself. That’s what tends to happen when one (a socially awkward one at that) enters an entirely different world that was never meant for them and tries to force themselves to fit in. A world that suits those who created it. Colonial politics is something I tried to make myself fit into, but I don’t fit and I never will. I still showed up at that time, though, because it seemed to be extremely important to the community.
I have a tremendous amount of love and respect for anyone who enters politics and for all who live in this community despite how out of place I’ve always felt. I no longer have any political affiliations, but I can genuinely say I am thankful for the experiences. It was a combination of happiness and heartache. I don’t envy anyone who is elected to office or anyone who chooses to run in the future. I do admire anyone who puts themselves out there like that, though. It’s not easy.
Jill Dunlop was one of the only people who showed me kindness and respect in that election. Her campaign team actually put up signs for me after my sign was written on. “Go back to the reserve …” I certainly will. It’s where I feel safest and it’s where I know for absolute certainty I will never struggle to get out of bed if there or knock on the door of a stranger and be screamed at with racist remarks. I often see our MPP at community events there. I will never vote for a conservative, but I will also never not thank Jill for showing me a kind of decency I seldom saw from others in this riding during that election.
The Greenbelt is a land protection issue. This is not a “Jill” issue or even a “Ford” issue. This is an Indigenous issue, as all land and environmental issues are. This is what “land back” is about. Returning the role of caretakers of the land back to Indigenous people. Jill is silent and so she should be. It’s her time to listen and yours, too. This land belongs to no one. But once cared for by my people. It’s your time to listen now.
Krystal Brooks
Orillia
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