The Green Party recently selected Amanda Moddejonge to run as their candidate for Thunder Bay-Rainy River in the upcoming federal election.
“I am proud to carry the Green Party banner,” she said.
“We have a strong, experienced, and dynamic leader in Elizabeth May, who many polls are showing as the only leader with a positive approval rating.
Moddejonge, who’s a Canadian Armed Forces veteran, has a communications background in emergency management, dealing predominately with environmental issues.
She also has worked as an environmental technician for Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and hazardous waste facilities.
“I have experience dealing with a lot of government departments at the federal and provincial level when it comes to environment compliance and environmental policy,” noted Moddejonge.
She says her working experience is one of her strengths, which has provided her with perspective on how issues within the government mostly stem from policy and division between the province and federal government.
“What we’re expecting to see right across is a minority government, and what the leadership of our party is focused on is working across party lines to get things done effectively,” Moddejonge remarked.
While she isn’t anticipating that Green Party leader, Elizabeth May will become the next prime minster, she’s hopeful the Greens will make a notable splash in the coming election.
“We have experienced MPs and we know we’re getting more in the house this time around,” Moddejonge noted.
“We’ve already seen green MPs being elected and this is a snowball that’s going to continue at this point,” she added. “That’s what I’m hearing from knocking on doors.”
Moddejonge is hoping to work with the Liberals, Conservatives, and NDP to get a more Green approach to policies.
“That’s been a big part of the problem here that I’ve seen. It comes to people playing politics for the sake of playing politics as oppose to actually getting things done,” she quipped.
In the 2018 provincial election Moddejonge ran for the Green Party in the Thunder Bay-Superior North riding, where she finished fourth.
She told the Times her campaign has been well-received so far when speaking with constituents and she plans to make information about the Green Party well known among voters as the election draws nearer.
Meanwhile, individuals who are skeptical of human-caused climate change are being asked to look at the science, which Moddejone says is pretty clear.
Although those who don’t believe climate change is a top priority should note the Thunder Bay-Rainy River riding is an area that’s been very effected by pollution where environmental laws haven’t always been strictly enforced by government, according to Moddejonge.
The Green Party’s vision, meanwhile, involves launching meaningful action to avoid climate catastrophe, investing in the green economy, as well as ending colonialism and oppression of indigenous people.
If elected, the party also aims to protect and expand health care, abolish high tuition fees for post-secondary students, create green transportation and infrastructure, provide better support to small businesses, and defend Canada’s fresh water resources.
A full slate of candidates is running in the Thunder Bay-Rainy River riding for the federal election on Oct. 21.
Moddejone joins liberal candidate Marcus Powlowski, Progressive Conservative candidate Lynda Rydholm, NDP candidate Yuk-Sem Won, and Peoples Party of Canada candidate Andrew Hartnell.
