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<div style="direction: ltr;font-family: Tahoma;color: #000000;font-size: 10pt;">Time is short. We have to draw up a questionnaire and then send it out and then I guess we do something with it, but I'm not sure what. I suspect the candidates' answers will
all come out rosy and smelling like fresh dew on the grass in the spring. I don't think we would reach many people this way and there may be too much work involved.
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<div>I think it would be better if we put our heads together and committed ourselves to some of the following:</div>
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<div>1. Make sure we have someone at as many of the all candidates' meetings as possible to ask questions, and also possibly hand out a very short GREN statement on some key environmental issues (eg, the Harper gov't's sabotage of Kyoto and inaction on climate
change, tar sands, water issues,....)</div>
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<div>2. Set up a roster to write letters to the editor of the Record and Waterloo Chronicle, and perhaps second opinion pieces.</div>
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<div>3. Do some exploration of the cyber- and blogosphere and put together a short list of key sites, preferably with some focus on our Region, where the more eloquently yakky and persuasive of us might like to dive into discussions and debates.</div>
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<div>4. Send even as few as three or four people out with placards to the entrances of venues of party leaders' rallies and visits. Those events are pretty boring and the press are just dying to find something different to report on. We would have to be
very clever so that what we do and say is colourful, humorous, sly, and 1000% more interesting than what is going on at the controlled "rallies". I've done this a few times and it is surprising how the hungry media go for it. Once in Saskatchewan we managed
to boost the issue of a stinky, polluting and heavily government-subsidized pulp mill to dominate the election campaign. We set up a mobile booth that was a facsimile of an old-fashioned snake-oil huckster's stand for selling cure-all remedies and handed
out little vials of the effluent from the mill, or simply asked people to come forward and have a whiff from a big bottle of particularly smelly effluent that we labeled as the government's environmental policy and asked them for their opinion. We were delighted
by the number of people who stopped to listen and participate, and were buoyed by the laughs we got as we parodied the premier dispensing snake oil.</div>
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<div>5. Put up your own hand-crafted sign in your front yard and have a little pocket on it with your own statement on environmental issues. I've done this a couple of times and found that people did take my leaflet and either read it on the spot or put it
in their pocket and walk on. Make sure the sign is a good one. Once when the Reform Party was running a strong candidate named Peter Doig I went to Canadian Tire and spent $2.49 on a "Beware of the Dog" sign, added an ^ with an I above it between the O and
the G, wrote "BE CAREFUL - VOTE WISELY" below it and nailed it to our lovely silver maple beside the front sidewalk. I got some very amused comments from passersby.</div>
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<div>6. What are your ideas?</div>
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<div>By the way, I wouldn't mind being included earlier in such email discussions. I don't like "reply-all" when it is simply a matter such as one person telling one other that he will arrive at the meeting at 15 to 7, but do wish to be included in substantive
group matters.</div>
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<div>- Greg Michalenko</div>
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<div id="divRpF420320" style="direction: ltr; "><font face="Tahoma" size="2" color="#000000"><b>From:</b> executive-bounces@gren.ca [executive-bounces@gren.ca] on behalf of John Jackson [jjackson@web.ca]<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, April 07, 2011 9:36 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> GREN Executive<br>
<b>Subject:</b> [GREN-Exec] FW: Environmental Questionnaire<br>
</font><br>
</div>
<div></div>
<div><font face="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><span style="font-size:11pt">Thoughts please on the question of whether we should do an election questionnaire. See comments below.<br>
<br>
John<br>
<br>
-- <br>
John Jackson<br>
17 Major Street<br>
Kitchener, Ontario N2H 4R1<br>
519-744-7503<br>
<br>
<br>
------ Forwarded Message<br>
<b>From: </b>Kevin Thomason <<a href="UrlBlockedError.aspx" target="_blank">kevinthomason@mac.com</a>><br>
<b>Date: </b>Thu, 07 Apr 2011 09:28:11 -0400<br>
<b>To: </b>Deb Swidrovich <<a href="UrlBlockedError.aspx" target="_blank">deswid@gmail.com</a>><br>
<b>Cc: </b>Susan Koswan <<a href="UrlBlockedError.aspx" target="_blank">dandelion@gto.net</a>>, John Jackson <<a href="UrlBlockedError.aspx" target="_blank">jjackson@web.ca</a>><br>
<b>Subject: </b>Re: Environmental Questionnaire<br>
<br>
Deb,<br>
<br>
Good question. I think it is only worth doing if we can actually get some media attention with it - i.e. profile for GREN and knowledge that our efforts might make a difference. I worry at this point the candidates are so far into the campaign and there is
only three weeks until May 2nd that they won't have time to answer it and by the time we get any answers back we won't have much time to do anything with it.<br>
<br>
I'll cc some other folks here and see what they think. Did it come up at the meeting last night at all?<br>
<br>
Kevin.<br>
<br>
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</span></font></font><font face="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><span style="font-size:11pt"><br>
On 2011-04-07, at 5:39 AM, Deb Swidrovich wrote:<br>
<br>
</span></font>
<blockquote><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="Arial">Hi Kevin:<br>
</font><font face="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><br>
</font><font face="Arial">FYI -- our 2008 questionnaire. I guess we should be doing questions soon. What do you think?<br>
</font><font face="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><br>
</font><font face="Arial">Deb<br>
519-746-8403<br>
</font><font face="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><br>
<br>
---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>
From: <b>John Jackson</b> <<a href="UrlBlockedError.aspx" target="_blank">jjackson@web.ca</a>><br>
Date: Sun, Sep 21, 2008 at 11:38 AM<br>
Subject: FW: Environmental Questionnaire<br>
To: <a href="UrlBlockedError.aspx" target="_blank">7gn@7generations.net</a><br>
<br>
<br>
At our GREN meeting Thursday evening we decided to send out a questionnaire<br>
to the election candidates.<br>
<br>
The message below has also been sent to the candidates for Kitchener Centre,<br>
Kitchener-Conestoga [except the NDP candidate. If you have contact<br>
information for that candidate please send it to me.], Cambridge, and<br>
Guelph. If you think it should go to any other ridings, let me know. If you<br>
want another riding added, please send me contact info for those candidates.<br>
<br>
Thanks to David Wellhauser and Deb Swidrovich for pulling this together.<br>
<br>
John<br>
--<br>
John Jackson<br>
17 Major Street, Kitchener, Ontario N2H 4R1<br>
519-744-7503 <tel:519-744-7503> <br>
Fax: 519-744-1546 <tel:519-744-1546> <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
------ Forwarded Message<br>
From: John Jackson <<a href="UrlBlockedError.aspx" target="_blank">jjackson@web.ca</a>><br>
Date: Sun, 21 Sep 2008 10:48:49 -0400<br>
To: <<a href="UrlBlockedError.aspx" target="_blank">andrew@kw.igs.net</a>>, <<a href="UrlBlockedError.aspx" target="_blank">info@peterbraid.ca</a>>, <<a href="UrlBlockedError.aspx" target="_blank">info@cindyjacobsen.ca</a>>,<br>
<<a href="UrlBlockedError.aspx" target="_blank">cathy@votecathy.ca</a>><br>
Subject: Environmental Questionnaire<br>
<br>
Dear Candidates in Kitchener-Waterloo Riding<br>
<br>
The Grand River Environment Network (GREN) is a network of citizens’ groups<br>
and individuals dedicated to protecting and restoring the Grand River<br>
watershed. The federal government has a critical role to play in protecting<br>
and enhancing the environment.<br>
<br>
We have put together a questionnaire with 13 questions of concerns about the<br>
environment in the Grand River watershed. Please return your answers to<br>
these questions to us by Friday October 3. Please send them to my e-mail<br>
address or to the address below.<br>
<br>
Thank you in advance for providing this information to us. After October 3,<br>
in addition to sending your answers to our members, we will be making this<br>
information available to the media in the area.<br>
<br>
We look forward to working with you over the coming years.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
John Jackson<br>
Chair, Grand River Environment Network<br>
<br>
--<br>
John Jackson<br>
17 Major Street, Kitchener, Ontario N2H 4R1<br>
519-744-7503 <tel:519-744-7503> <br>
Fax: 519-744-1546 <tel:519-744-1546> <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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<GREN Candidate Questions.doc><GREN Candidate Questions.doc><br>
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