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People have asked me about running as the MLA for Point Douglas
asking me why.
To be able to run as an MLA in Point Douglas is an extension of the work that I care so much about.
I've always recognized that if we can give young people something positive to belong to,
whether it would be school sport
or getting involved in cultural activities,
creating summer employment, or getting involved in mentorship activities.
If you give them something positive to belong to they will not seek out something negative
and so much of my work around that has been in this area.
I try to, with so many people in this room, give something to young people to positively belong to.
I've also had the opportunity to virtually visit every school in the riding
from elementary to junior high to the high schools
to create enrichment programs for our young people
and improve high school graduation and also make sure that we don't set our goal only on graduation rates for our high school students
but we also make sure they can access post secondary
and that's been a lot of the work I do with people like Gerri Zacharias and Ian Elliot at the University of Winnipeg.
I'm glad they are here as well this evening.
I'm not sure if you know
but the legendary Ray St. Germain is here.
(applause)
Ray St. Germain, we started out going to schools together
to do performances for children.
Through my aunt, Shirley Lamboo,
we started to do some workshops for unions at UFCW
and the last couple of years,
we've been actually visiting every senior residence in Point Douglas
to tell them about things going on in the community
and also to put on a really good show.
So I want to thank Ray St. Germain for coming out.
Most times when I'm in a situation like this
standing in a circle I'm usually square dancing.
(people laughing)
I know that one of the most generous people we have in our community is our seniors.
They are willing to give up their time.
They are willing to give up all sorts of things to volunteer
and they make events like this very successful.
We often talk about if we can provide opportunities for children and youth
and if we can provide supports and resources for our seniors
we have the foundation for a very healthy and vibrant community.
I have been so proud to work with so many different people on those issues.
We clearly have some issues to deal with in Point Douglas.
We hear about them all of the time.
For me and the people I've been able to work with
we've never want to be defined by those issues.
We've never wanted to be "that's who we are as a community."
For people like Sel Burrows, Rowanna Hepburn, and Barry Hammond,
people who have done work in the community,
we've always wanted to be defined by how we overcome those issues,
how we come together as a community,
and certainly by the potential we see in people
regardless of their socioeconomic status,
their age or their cultural background.
It's always been about the potential we see in individuals,
the potential we see in each other,
the potential we see our community,
and certainly the potential we see in a room like this.
That's what gets me excited about politics.
That's what gets me excited about running for MLA in Point Douglas.
That's certainly what gets me excited about being a part of Premier Greg Selinger's NDP team.
Kevin Chief for Point Douglas www.kevinchief.ca