WEYBURN - The Green Party is being represented in Weyburn-Bengough by North Hunter, a new resident to Weyburn, as she follows her passions and convictions cultivated since she was a young girl.
Born in Prince Albert, her family lived in Christopher Lake until they moved to her hometown of Lumsden, where she has been involved in community activism since she regularly took up volunteering at eight years old. She was involved with the Lumsden Scouts, led by her father, and the Lumsden Lions that he was also part of.
“Being involved in my community means literally thousands of hours of commitment to me. ‘We serve’ is the motto of Lions International, and I took that to heart along with Lord Baden-Powell’s directive to the Scouting movement he founded with to ‘leave the world a better place than you found it’,” she said.
“I am running in this election for the same reason that my maternal side of my family have switched to running as motivated Green party candidates, as a family with a deep interest in the original CCF led by Tommy Douglas,” said Hunter, noting this included her organic haskap farming grandpa Hamish Graham and her mother who has now become the leader of the Saskatchewan Green Party.
“As a Green Party candidate, I believe that every single citizen should vote and that every vote should align with people’s interests and to count proportionally. Even if one doesn’t vote Green, we need every single person to be invested in making sure the politics that impact on their lives are impacted by their vote,” said North. “I am running because I want to make sure others that vote like me can vote for the party that represents their interests best, just like every democratic citizen should have as an option for them.”
She added that she wants to represent the values the Green Party has never swayed from, namely that everyone should be represented in our politics.
“I may be young at 26 years old, but I have voted in every single election since I came of age. I have read about the politics that affect me just like everyone else around me has done, and I am committed to making sure that this new community I have moved to so recently in May becomes as close to my heart over the rest of my life as Lumsden has been. I am running because that is what you do for your community,” said Hunter.
Some of her top issues of concern include meeting the health care needs of every constituent; addressing education concerns, such as short-staffing of schools; addressing time stress in the community; addressing the drug overdose and suicide crisis in the province; and addressing carcinogen risks in the community, to revitalize the deteriorating asbestos and lead pipes that are a ticking time bomb across Saskatchewan.
“This is our community that must see not just a single new hospital but new drug treatment facilities, publicly funded pharmacies, therapist, and dental offices, and further
specialized treatment centres to lead Saskatchewan in our provision of what is rightfully ours: a community where no one ever has to leave this region to seek medical care,” said North.
