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Putting his gun on the line

By: Mia Rabson

Posted: 04/15/2011 2:59 PM | Comments: 0

Green party candidate Matthew Friesen in Portage-Lisgar has an interesting blog on his website.

His post asking his supporters to stop calling Conservative Candice Hoeppner names is particularly good. He chastises people for things posted on Twitter about Hoeppner.

Federal Election

"I did check on some of the stuff and I’ve got to say, I’m appalled. The "tweets" are cruel, vicious, and personal. Would you say that to her face? Would you say that to your mother? I don’t like Candice’s policies and actions at all. (Obviously, as I’m running against her.) Regardless of what she stands for and how wrong you and I think it is, she is still a human being. She deserves the same respect and courtesy that everybody else does. I think it’s wonderful that people disagree with others’ opinions, and that we can have free and open debate in this country. I expect as Canadians, as citizens of the best country in the world, that we could be civil in our disagreements. I expect we can all be grown up enough to argue in a meaningful fashion. Sure, criticize the actions, the platforms. Bring logic and reason to the discussion."

Amen to that.

An earlier blog post however is a bit jarring.

He offers to give Hoeppner his rifle if the Conservatives put some teeth behind their pledge to get rid of the gun registry by introducing it as a government bill and a confidence measure. (Ie – if the legislation fails, the government falls). Is it even legal in Canada to give someone else your gun as a sort of reward?

Regardless it’s refreshing to see clearly how a particular candidate thinks and who they are behind the party brand. It would be nice if all candidates were able and allowed to be so candid.

Mia Rabson, Winnipeg Free Press

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About Mia Rabson

Mia Rabson is a born and bred Winnipegger whose interest in politics seemed clear when she dressed up as Prime Minister Brian Mulroney for Halloween in the 7th grade.

Her interest in writing was no surprise to her parents, who learned early in Mia’s life that no piece of blank paper — or wall, for that matter — was safe in her hands.

She holds an honours BA in English from Queen’s University, a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Western Ontario, and has completed a political journalism fellowship in Washington, D.C. with the Washington Centre for Politics and Journalism.

Prior to working for the Winnipeg Free Press, Mia briefly worked for the Detroit News in the paper’s Washington bureau.

Mia joined the Free Press team in February 2001, and in April 2001 was appointed to the Manitoba legislature bureau. In December 2004, she was appointed bureau chief at the legislature. She became the newspaper’s parliamentary bureau chief/national reporter in Ottawa in January 2008.

In 2008 she was nominated for a Michener Award with a team of reporters from the Free Press for its coverage of the province’s child welfare system.

She counts reliving the invasion at Dieppe, France, with veterans of the failed Second World War expedition and overcoming her fear of heights to touch the Golden Boy statue atop the Legislative Building among her favourite experiences as a reporter.

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