Last night’s All Candidates Forum at the Royal Canadian Legion in Srigley Street produced one clear winner, Jennifer McLachlan. 

She was the only wannabe MP to turn up.

Disgracefully, the Conservative’s Sandra Cobena was a no-show. Nothing was more important than this event, organised by a group of local Christians because no-one else was prepared to do so.

Cobena should have cleared her diary to make this event a priority. She had nothing to lose. The Conservatives are trailing in the polls.

The NDP candidate was, predictably, also a no-show. Anna Gollen is a paper candidate with, literally, nothing to say. The NDP can’t win here and a vote for Anna Gollen is a vote for Sandra Cobena.

Weirdly, the organisers had asked one of their own to fill the spot on the stage where Sandra Cobena would have been sitting had she bothered to turn up.

Positive

I came away with a positive impression of Jennifer McLachlan though I prefer my politics more astringent.

Her credo is neighbourliness just like her mentor, the former MP Tony Van Bynen who was far too bland for my taste.

When she was asked questions she glanced at the folder in front of her to make sure she said the right thing. 

I overheard someone complaining she was just reading from a script.

When reciting the prepared answers she came across as wooden, referring to the Liberal leader deferentially as “Mr” Carney. 

Balancing the Budget

She was asked - to a ripple of laughter - how she planned to balance the budget. 

“Mr Carney is an economist and I will follow the leader’s lead.”

She is the ultimate Party loyalist. If you like Mark Carney there is no reason not to vote for Jennifer McLachlan. There’s no danger she will ever step out of line.

Jennifer McLachlan was so much better when she threw the away the prepared notes and went skiing off-piste. 

She said she would “go off script a little bit here” before describing her volunteering in BC, doing environmental work.

“I did so for a bigger picture on what the environment problems were. I have a 26 year old and a 24 year old daughter and I'm telling you the environment is essential to their future.”

Prepared notes

Then it was back to the notes with nods to energy efficient housing; zero emission vehicles, expanded public transit systems, ten new national parks and all the rest.  And you can’t talk about the environment these days and shut out the unfolding disaster in the Arctic with thawing permafrost and collapsing ice-roads. But I sensed no urgency about the climate emergency. It was just something on a long list of to-do-points.

“We will closely collaborate with indigenous communities and municipalities to enhance climate resilience, disaster preparedness and sustainable land management.”

Of course, all politics is local and this was where Jennifer McLachlan hit her stride.

Walk the walk

She was asked what she would do for the poor and for homeless people. She spoke about taking a homeless man off the streets and into her home for two years. 

“I am just going to speak personally here… I don't know if anyone is aware of Larry Woodcock. He was homeless and hung out on Main Street for the majority of his life, drawing the great pictures for everybody. At the tail end of his life I invited Larry in to live in my home. Larry lived with us for the last couple of years his life. I’m only sharing that because I care about homeless people. I care about the vulnerable. I genuinely walk the walk. And I gave Larry that moment in his last days surrounded by the community. An hour before he passed at Southlake Hospital he was given a Maid’s Cottage Butter Tart by a member of the community that I had sent to the hospital… if you wanna go visit……

"When I owned a restaurant (Cachet on Main Street) I hired Inn from the Cold to come and do the maintenance and lawn maintenance. I support Blue Door's construction program where people in transition learn a new skill. Or you get refreshed and get out there and start earning. I think addressing mental health is important but not everybody that's going through an economic crisis has a mental health problem either. So I've done significant support to the food pantry. I was project manager on the Cereal Centre Kitchen and donated a lot of my time to build that as well.

So again, it's really key for me, as your Member, to bring this whole community together...  I want to back up the not-for-profits, the charities and foundations in our community that are doing great work and I want to make sure they continue to get some federal investments. I want to advocate on their behalf but I want everybody to really start working together a little more as well.”

This is her life experience. Helping others. Not as a one-off but over many years. And it is clearly laudable.

She would bring that perspective to Ottawa. 

I found her authentic.

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Note: In today's polling update from the Writ, Eric Grenier has Newmarket-Aurora leaning Liberal - down from "likely". So it is not in the bag.

Update at 3.30pm from Newmarket Today: Newmarket-Aurora voters disappointed Conservative and NDP candidates skip Forum.