It was an amazing experience on the evening of March 1, 2011 when Michael Ignatieff and I spent an hour on a virtual town hall speaking directly by telephone to thousands of London West voters.
Unlike Stephen Harper, who does not take questions unless they are scripted in advance, Michael Ignatieff welcomes free-ranging, unscripted conversations with Canadians. I was honoured to have him spend time with us.
Michael and I each spoke for 2-3 minutes, then started taking questions. We took a dozen questions in all, and asked some survey questions.
The questions ranged from energy to home care for seniors to Canadian democracy to our vision for Canada. Many other voters left voice messages with more questions for me. Here is a Liberal Party blog about one voter who asked a question, Gil Fearnall: http://www.liberal.ca/blog/.
I want to sincerely thank all those in London West who took part in the town hall. It shows that you take your civic duties seriously, and I hope you found it useful.
The survey results were very revealing. Here are some results:
Question 1:
What do you think should be the most important priority for the federal government today?
Jobs and the Economy 40%
New Prisons 2%
Health Care 41%
New Fighter Jets 4%
Environment 13%
Question 2:
Stephen Harper has now been Prime Minister for five years. During that time has your own personal quality of life improved, worsened, or stayed the same?
Improved 13%
Worsened 58%
Stayed the Same 29%
Question 2 tells me that people in London West are hurting, either financially or otherwise. A federal government has to address this, and I do not sense that the Harper government is doing so.
The results in Question 1 lead me to believe that the Liberal Party is speaking to the priorities of Canadians generally and London West in particular. We will put people ahead of jails and jets.
The town hall also showed me that those seeking public office need to find new and innovative ways to talk to people and listen to their concerns. This new system works well, and I hope to use it when I am elected.
0 Responses to “Listening to Canadians”