Sherri Jackson wins Simcoe-Grey Green nomination
Simcoe-Grey Greens have elected Sherri Jackson as the party’s candidate in the upcoming federal election.
The Creemore area resident won the nomination in a three-way race held by the local riding association on May 26. Jackson shared the ballot with riding association president Kendra Marr, and former New Tecumseth councillor Jess Prothero.
Jackson said she decided to put her name forward for the Green Party because, after a period of feeling helpless and hopeless about the existing political climate.
“I was really feeling like it was time to get involved. There was no more time to sit back and watch things happen,” said Jackson. “I need to contribute somehow, more than I was.”
The year prior, Jackson had sold Hummingbird Montessori School, which she founded a decade earlier, to focus on her music career and do some writing. She grew to admire the Montessori School principles of caring, inclusive self-led learning when she was looking for alternatives to education for her two sons, who are now teenagers.
Next, Jackson called up the local riding association and joined the party. It was Marr who asked Jackson if she had considered running. Jackson could honestly say she hadn’t but it sparked something in her.
“[Green Party policy] really aligns with my view of the world in such a strong way,” said Jackson. “The more I learn, the more I feel connected to what the Green Party stands for and what they are trying to achieve. I think it’s absolutely for us to make a shift in thinking.”
She said sustainability is key and looking at a shift to a green economy as an economic opportunity is part of what was attracting about the Green Party.
“Switching from fossil fuels to clean energy is not going to be a bad thing for our economy, it’s actually going to fuel our economy in really great ways. It’s an evolution, it’s a technical advancement. It’s not going backward, it’s moving forward,” said Jackson.
Last Thursday, Jackson hosted a Green New Deal town hall meeting in Creemore, attended by 22 people. It was one of 200 meetings being held across Canada through a grassroots movement supported by 80 organization and lots of individuals who wish to take immediate action in addressing climate change. The input is being sent on to help form a first phase of a Green New Deal proposal and make it front and center in the federal election. The movement is not associated with the Green Party but it is very much aligns with its philosophy.
“I think people are realizing that we all need to be involved in this. We can’t wait for our government to make the right decisions for us. We have to inspire our government to make the changes that we want to see,” said Jackson.
She said people are asking for change in everything from reducing single use plastics to establishing secure jobs.
What she likes about the Green Party is its willingness to collaborate and accept ideas from others.
“We need to get away from the divisiveness that’s happening in our political system, all that it does is make it harder for things to change and I think the Green Party represents the fresh perspective that we need to cooperate. We need everybody’s voice. We need all good ideas to be considered,” said Jackson.
Jackson is co-hosting another Green New Deal town hall in Collingwood with the Nature League on June 6 at the Collingwood Public Library, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Visit www.greenparty.ca.
In March of last year, the Conservatives elected former Essa Township Mayor Terry Dowdall as their candidate, after MP Kellie Leitch announced she would not seek the nomination.
The NDP and Liberals have not yet announced who will be running for their parties when Canadians go to the polls on Oct. 21.
